Power Steering noise

[Winsurfer76]

I just had my 07 Outlook in for warranty work for power steering noise/whine. When I brought it in a month ago, the dealer said they would replace the pump and it would take a while to come in.

When I brougth it in Friday, the pump was not replaced and the ticket said the following: "C/S whining noise while turning, tech found power steering pump fluid low- topped off to MAX then added 12mm over full mark, performed Bulletin #PIT4537 No noise heard on test drive"

Does anyone know the details of bulletin #PIT4537 ? I told the service manager I thought the pump was going to be replaced. He said that this is what they are told to do. Any Saturn techs out there?

[ThePlainsman]

Originally Posted by Winsurfer76

I just had my 07 Outlook in for warranty work for power steering noise/whine. When I brought it in a month ago, the dealer said they would replace the pump and it would take a while to come in.

When I brougth it in Friday, the pump was not replaced and the ticket said the following: "C/S whining noise while turning, tech found power steering pump fluid low- topped off to MAX then added 12mm over full mark, performed Bulletin #PIT4537 No noise heard on test drive"

Does anyone know the details of bulletin #PIT4537 ? I told the service manager I thought the pump was going to be replaced. He said that this is what they are told to do. Any Saturn techs out there?

That's because they've replaced thousands of them and realize it's a faulty part. They're losing too much money on replacement (both parts and labor) so they're looking for a cheaper solution that will placate owners until their warranties expire. After that, they'll be happy to replace the pump.

I had mine replaced. If I were you, I'd demand replacement. But here's the downside, if the factory installed pump "failed", how can we know the replacement won't suffer the same problem after about the same number of miles?

[f3qu3t]

I have heard adding more fluid corrects the problem.

Why is it not possible that the full line is just marked too low?

[Winsurfer76]

I thought they were going to change the pump and the guy told me it would be 3 hrs. That was strike one. He also said he would call me when it was done. The service ticket said it was done at 9:20AM. I drove by the dealership on the way to lunch (11:30) and see my Outlook sitting outside ready to go. Strike two and three. By this time, I was pissed. I went inside and spoke with the service manager. I asked him why my vehicle was done for over two hours and no one had contacted me. All he could say was sorry. I also asked why my pump was not changed even though that was why I came in. He said it should have been communicated to me whenever I set up the appointment and that between the time my pump was ordered and now, "new" information came from GM on how to handle the power steering problems (hence the overfill). I proceeded to tell him his service department sucked and that he couldn't do anything to help that. This is why I'm asking about the bulletin number above.

Sorry about the rant, but I'm pissed off at the dealership and Saturn. This has killed any future thought of another Saturn purchase. I guess I should have stayed with Honda.

[khansen30]

Originally Posted by Winsurfer76

I thought they were going to change the pump and the guy told me it would be 3 hrs. That was strike one. He also said he would call me when it was done. The service ticket said it was done at 9:20AM. I drove by the dealership on the way to lunch (11:30) and see my Outlook sitting outside ready to go. Strike two and three. By this time, I was pissed. I went inside and spoke with the service manager. I asked him why my vehicle was done for over two hours and no one had contacted me. All he could say was sorry. I also asked why my pump was not changed even though that was why I came in. He said it should have been communicated to me whenever I set up the appointment and that between the time my pump was ordered and now, "new" information came from GM on how to handle the power steering problems (hence the overfill). I proceeded to tell him his service department sucked and that he couldn't do anything to help that. This is why I'm asking about the bulletin number above.

Sorry about the rant, but I'm pissed off at the dealership and Saturn. This has killed any future thought of another Saturn purchase. I guess I should have stayed with Honda.

Don't blame Saturn for one dealerships lack of performance. By the way, I would be willing to bet that your's was not the only vehicle being worked on that day and they might have been busy enough to be able to call you. The fix they did on it seems reasonable, if it works. If it doesn't, then you have a reason to complain.

I have never owned a Honda, but have you ever had any trouble with it and had to take it to the dealership?

[Winsurfer76]

Originally Posted by khansen30

Don't blame Saturn for one dealerships lack of performance. By the way, I would be willing to bet that your's was not the only vehicle being worked on that day and they might have been busy enough to be able to call you. The fix they did on it seems reasonable, if it works. If it doesn't, then you have a reason to complain.

I have never owned a Honda, but have you ever had any trouble with it and had to take it to the dealership?

I am upset about the fact that the dealership said they were going to do one thing and did another. This is not the first problem I've had with my dealer's service dept.
I am also upset with Saturn for not owning up to a power steering pump problem and "bandaid" fixing it to get by. How would you feel if GM told you to put extra oil above the full mark on your engine? You probably wouldn't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about your engine, would you?

I've owned a Honda product for the last decade and had great service from them. I got a trouble light on my Odyssey and it was a transmission problem. Honda acknowledged a problem with the transmission and replaced it for free (not under warranty mind you).

Bottom line is I think the Outlook is a great vehicle. I know that first year models have kinks that need to be worked out and accept that. I just feel they need to own up to a problem and come up with a better solution. As for the service dept. problem, I will take that up with Saturn.

[f3qu3t]

Does anyone have evidence to show that adding more fluid isn't the proper fix, and just a "band-aid" solution?

I understand the frustration that comes from having to deal with issues with a new vehicle. But, if I brought my Outlook in for an engine issue and the service department said add more oil, I would much prefer that over an engine swap.

Also, if the 12mm of extra fluid does not solve the problem, you will most definitely experience the same problem before your warranty expires. And if the problem persists; a) you will not be the only one having this issue, b) GM would most likely have a fix by that time, and c) you will have documentation of the previous attempts at repair (to support your argument for compensation).

[khansen30]

Originally Posted by f3qu3t

Does anyone have evidence to show that adding more fluid isn't the proper fix, and just a "band-aid" solution?

I understand the frustration that comes from having to deal with issues with a new vehicle. But, if I brought my Outlook in for an engine issue and the service department said add more oil, I would much prefer that over an engine swap.

Also, if the 12mm of extra fluid does not solve the problem, you will most definitely experience the same problem before your warranty expires. And if the problem persists; a) you will not be the only one having this issue, b) GM would most likely have a fix by that time, and c) you will have documentation of the previous attempts at repair (to support your argument for compensation).

You put it better than I did, thank you. Also, I don't know if you have more than 1 Saturn dealership in town, but if you do, could you go to them for help? What about another GM dealership for warranty work? I don't know about now, but in the old days you could go to any GM (Mr. Goodwrench) dealer and have any GM product worked on.

[ed nunez]

Mine has it too.

PIT4537 just instructs the service tech to add more fluid, but check the level before adding. See attached document.

I'm taking mine back to the service this week if I can to see what they will do about it.

I searched the GM bulleting system for any other bulletins regarding this issue and found no others for the Outlook/Acadia/Enclave.

[Winsurfer76]

Thanks for finding that Ed. The fix seems to be working. Hopefully they can get your noise fixed as well.

[Outlook IL]

Ed

thanks for the info. Mine has been doing this as well (wife is the main driver.) It seems to be most prevelent at slow speeds with turning. I can actually feel the steering wheel shake!!

[bjoseph]

My 2008 Outlook just experienced the same problem. Power steering pump groaning when turning the steering wheel at low speeds. I checked the power steering fluid level and found it to be just below the "low" level. I filled the reservoir until the fluid was just past the "high" level and this seemed to fix the issue.

When I took it to the dealership for service, they could find no leak so they added a dye to the fluid. This will allow us to identify the cause of the leak in the future if we find that fluid is low again in the future.

Can anyone tell me if the power steering pump or system is a common issue on Outlooks and advise me regarding what to do about it? If many of the pumps are failing or leaking, I want to know so that I can be more knowledgeable when discussing the issue with the dealership service personnel. I am afraid that if I do nothing, they will continue to tell me to top off the power steering fluid to "bandage" the issue until I am no longer on warranty and then have to pay out-of-pocket to replace the pump.

[floppydogg]

I experienced the same moaning noise coming thru the steering column at about 38,000 mi on my 2008 Outlook. When I took it to the dealership they dismissed it as exhaust noise. 4 months later and the sound was getting worse I took it to my local GM dealer as Saturn had bought the farm at that point, and one ride with the service manager and he heard the same moaning and immediately diagnosed it as the power steering pump. A new pump was ordered and installed yesterday and on the 35 mi drive home the sound was gone. Exhaust noise my %$#* I also mentioned to the service manager about the service bulletin GM had sent out recommending just topping off the power steering fluid but he said he would rather just replace the pump. Hopefully this won't be a repeat problem.

[Way2QWK]

If the low fluid level is addressed early enough the pumps usually dont need to be replaced. The newest bulletin consists of raising the fluid level and most importantly bleeding the system of air. I havent seen many pumps leak. The system seems to be under filled from the factory.

[VMMVMMM]

We just had ours replaced yesterday for the same reason. Didn't have any issues with the dealership this time, although when we brought it in a few months ago, they said they didn't hear the sound, which couldn't have been possible unless they just all sound that way and they can't tell the difference anymore.

[WFrazier]

I have a 2007 Outlook, last night in beautiful 75 degree weather I was having difficutly in turning the wheel. It was making a squeeling noise. I checked the power steering fluid and it was full. It works fine when i get up past 30mph but lower than that and i have to turn really hard.
Any suggestions?

[Harald]

Originally Posted by WFrazier

I have a 2007 Outlook, last night in beautiful 75 degree weather I was having difficutly in turning the wheel. It was making a squeeling noise. I checked the power steering fluid and it was full. It works fine when i get up past 30mph but lower than that and i have to turn really hard.
Any suggestions?

My 2007 Outlook was in the shop for the same issue in February. With the engine at low RPMs I couldn't turn the wheel at all, which made parking a challenge! They replaced the power steering pump but the problem didn't go away, so on advice from GM they replaced the whole steering rack assembly! All under warranty, fortunately. The beast handles well now, at least.

[Bob D]

I have a strange problem that any of the dealers I take it too can figure out.
The sequence of events as follows;
Visit 1: Dropped it off for 35.000 kilometer service and mentioned about the power steering noise and "stuttering or pulsing" of the wheel
They replaced hose as it was leaking and topped up fluid.
Visit 2: Took it back, noise had gone but still the shaky wheel at below 100 KPH. Very intermittent, much worse in rain or light snow
Visit 3: Dealer agrees something is very wrong (thankfully) and keeps vehicle for another week to replace left strut, wheel alignment, replace tie-rod end. Leave with same issues!
Visit 4: Took it to a different dealer with hope he may know what the problem is
Again I'm told there is something wrong so had wheel balancing and rotation.
Leave with same issues!
Visit 5: Tomorrow I will insist this has to be sorted. My guess now is rack or steering gear. Its a loaded out unit that cost nearly $50,000 and drives like a 10 year old Datsun. Its all under warranty but the inconvenience is really getting me mad. Can anyone suggest what can be wrong?

[tuzla1]

I had 13000 km on my 2009 XE fwd when I lost steering completely, they said steering cooler had a crack in it, replaced, warranty work

[KY91C2]

We have around 134000 miles on our 2007 outlook, and last night about 100 miles from home, we had the problem show up when stopping for gas. Power steering was loud, and did not work at low speeds (parking lot). Was fine for the rest of the trip at highway speeds. Checked the fluid this morning when cold, and it is barely above the min mark. I am going to add the fluid per the Saturn document, and see if it helps, since we are quite a bit past our warranty...