Steering system grinding when turning hard left to hard right from dead stop...

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Within the last few days, I have noticed a grinding, chattering feeling through the steering wheel and the steering system on my 2007 STS-V when I am at a dead stop and I turn the wheel hard left to hard right. It does it whether the steering wheel is center or not and you can feel it from the steering wheels all the way down to the tires it seems.

I currently have 1,100 miles on the car and it never did this before. Does anyone else have this issue? I just want to make sure it is normal before I take it into my local Cadillac dealer for them to check it out.

SG

[dhemrick]

Originally Posted by AERO1

Within the last few days, I have noticed a grinding, chattering feeling through the steering wheel and the steering system on my 2007 STS-V when I am at a dead stop and I turn the wheel hard left to hard right. It does it whether the steering wheel is center or not and you can feel it from the steering wheels all the way down to the tires it seems.

I currently have 1,100 miles on the car and it never did this before. Does anyone else have this issue? I just want to make sure it is normal before I take it into my local Cadillac dealer for them to check it out.

SG

I have 4000 miles on my 2006 STS-V, and my car definitely doesn't do this. Turning the wheel is buttery smooth no matter what. I have to turn my wheel hard left while at a dead stop when backing out of my garage before preparing to go forward, and I have never noticed any grinding or chattering.

Just a guess, but could be the power steering pump or the belt driving the pump slipping. My steering pump went bad in my Silverado pickup a few years ago, and for a few months before it went out, there was slight a vibration (could be called chattering) in the steering wheel when turning hard. I could not hear it, but I could feel it in the wheel. I would describe it as the wheel feeling "nervous".

Eventually, the spindle driving the pump broke and the whole thing quit working. It was replaced under warranty, but try driving a 5500 lb truck with big tires and no power steering even for a day! Not fun. It now turns great and is way better than it ever was before with the old pump, so I probably got a bad one from day 1.

I'd say take it to the dealer. A Caddy should always be smooth.

I would say that is definitely not normal.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Originally Posted by dhemrick

I have 4000 miles on my 2006 STS-V, and my car definitely doesn't do this. Turning the wheel is buttery smooth no matter what. I have to turn my wheel hard left while at a dead stop when backing out of my garage before preparing to go forward, and I have never noticed any grinding or chattering.

Just a guess, but could be the power steering pump or the belt driving the pump slipping. My steering pump went bad in my Silverado pickup a few years ago, and for a few months before it went out, there was slight a vibration (could be called chattering) in the steering wheel when turning hard. I could not hear it, but I could feel it in the wheel. I would describe it as the wheel feeling "nervous".

Eventually, the spindle driving the pump broke and the whole thing quit working. It was replaced under warranty, but try driving a 5500 lb truck with big tires and no power steering even for a day! Not fun. It now turns great and is way better than it ever was before with the old pump, so I probably got a bad one from day 1.

I'd say take it to the dealer. A Caddy should always be smooth.

I would say that is definitely not normal.

Thanks for the info. I will be contacting my local dealer now and see if I can drop it off ASAP. It didn't feel normal to me and when it comes to cars, I am very sensitive to everything and this threw up a red flag because it never did this when I first got the car.

Again, thank you.

SG

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Just giving an update on this issue in case anyone else reading this has the same problem on their STS-V like I experienced.

I took the STS-V into my local Cadillac dealer yesterday afternoon and they are checking it out. They also agreed that the condition is not normal and both the service advisor and technician have "duplicated the concern." Of course like all dealers, they told me that this is the first time they have ever heard or seen this on an STS-V.

I will update everyone as to what they find and what they have to do to get my power steering to be silky smooth once again.

SG

[WillySTS]

Originally Posted by AERO1

Within the last few days, I have noticed a grinding, chattering feeling through the steering wheel and the steering system on my 2007 STS-V when I am at a dead stop and I turn the wheel hard left to hard right. It does it whether the steering wheel is center or not and you can feel it from the steering wheels all the way down to the tires it seems.

I currently have 1,100 miles on the car and it never did this before. Does anyone else have this issue? I just want to make sure it is normal before I take it into my local Cadillac dealer for them to check it out.

SG

Hello AERO1, I guess I will get to meet you soon. We will check it out for you, but I can tell you that my car does this as well, though not at the times you have described. Mine does it on hard right turns while braking. I first noticed it when speeding down the street towards my home and braking hard while turning into the driveway, and it does seem to be getting worse. I figured it was the way I'm driving it since my wife hasn't complained about it yet and she complains about everything the car does. I have changed my p/s fluid to synthetic and to my suprise it did not change. There is no associated noise with it so I have not decided what to do with it yet.

Believe it or not, I had the exact same sensation on my '95 Eldorado, years ago, and it never went away. In my experience with Cadillac we have had some power steering pump and/or gear failures for inexplicable reasons, but I have never had a "V" steering failure yet.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Originally Posted by WillySTS

Hello AERO1, I guess I will get to meet you soon. We will check it out for you, but I can tell you that my car does this as well, though not at the times you have described. Mine does it on hard right turns while braking. I first noticed it when speeding down the street towards my home and braking hard while turning into the driveway, and it does seem to be getting worse. I figured it was the way I'm driving it since my wife hasn't complained about it yet and she complains about everything the car does. I have changed my p/s fluid to synthetic and to my suprise it did not change. There is no associated noise with it so I have not decided what to do with it yet.

Believe it or not, I had the exact same sensation on my '95 Eldorado, years ago, and it never went away. In my experience with Cadillac we have had some power steering pump and/or gear failures for inexplicable reasons, but I have never had a "V" steering failure yet.

WillySTS,

Well, I may have to come down to Martin one day to drop it off, but it isn't exactly close to where I live. You should report your problem to GM or GM tech line so they can start looking into the problem so if other STS-V owners have this problem, they don't do what they did to me. If you need my case number, let me know and I will give it to you so you can also report your problem and reference my case number so GM knows it isn't an isolated problem.

I took it to Rydell Cadillac Thursday afternoon, because they are the closest to my home and they agreed that it wasn't normal when I called them and when I arrived. The service advisor felt it in the steering wheel, so did the technician, the shop foreman and the service manager. It looked like watching Cal-Trans workers...one guy working and five others standing there watching the one guy work.

So they called me several times today with updates which was nice of the service advisor. He told me that they all felt it and it is NOT normal, but they don't know how to fix it, they don't know what is causing the problem or what to do and they don't want to "throw parts at it" because it will come back to the technician, if it doesn't fix the problem.

So they called the GM tech line because I guess they didn't know what else to do and the GM tech line said that there weren't any known issues like they described so they didn't have a fix for it or a TSB in the GM system. GM tech line did create a case number for the issue and advised the technician to re-torque the front end of the car. The technician did this and when I picked up the car, it seemed to be done and the problem seemed to be gone which I was very happy with.

I drove the car 5 miles and the problem came back and this time seemed a bit worse. My car ONLY does it at a dead stop cranking the wheel back and forth from left to right and at low parking speeds. It has to be an issue with the power steering system's low speed pump, module, or whatever controls the low speed steering modulation at low speeds. You can see the wheels chatter as the steering wheel grinds. At normal driving speeds or high speeds, this does not happen.

My car only has 1100 miles on it! It is brand new!!!!!!

I also had an issue with my bluetooth system so they ordered an updated CD software kit that they said should get rid of the problem, so when I take it back to Rydell for the software fix, I will complain about the steering system again and hope that they fix it or have GM give me a new car. If they attempt to fix it 3 or more times unsuccessfully, I will contact the BBB auto line and initiate an arbitration so they can take this car back and give me a new one. An $80,000.00 Cadillac's steering wheel should be silky smooth, not gravel rough while turning the wheel.

SG

[WillySTS]

When you notice this, is your foot on the brake? If so, this may have an effect on it since the wheels actually rotate in opposite directions when sitting still. Mine seems to be getting more noticeable now that I'm paying attention to it.

Since you have it at Rydell and they have opened a case on it, they should probably stick with it until it is resolved, but keep us posted. Meanwhile, I'll let you know if I figure mine out.I usually do that sort of thing. It seems every Cadillac I've ever owned had some problem the dealer could not fix or duplicate and I end up figuring it out and telling them what to do, or fixing it myself(I started my career as a technician and have a little mechanical ability) but, I'm not to worried about it at the moment, but I think it is a problem within the steering gear. There is a little valve in there that has to do with varying the steering assist at higher or lower speeds. I feel it's in the gear, not the pump that is the problem...the pumps pressure is fairly constant.

What ever it is, I'm certain it is a minor problem when we do find what it is.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Originally Posted by WillySTS

When you notice this, is your foot on the brake? If so, this may have an effect on it since the wheels actually rotate in opposite directions when sitting still. Mine seems to be getting more noticeable now that I'm paying attention to it.

Since you have it at Rydell and they have opened a case on it, they should probably stick with it until it is resolved, but keep us posted. Meanwhile, I'll let you know if I figure mine out.I usually do that sort of thing. It seems every Cadillac I've ever owned had some problem the dealer could not fix or duplicate and I end up figuring it out and telling them what to do, or fixing it myself(I started my career as a technician and have a little mechanical ability) but, I'm not to worried about it at the moment, but I think it is a problem within the steering gear. There is a little valve in there that has to do with varying the steering assist at higher or lower speeds. I feel it's in the gear, not the pump that is the problem...the pumps pressure is fairly constant.

What ever it is, I'm certain it is a minor problem when we do find what it is.

WillySTS,

It happens both ways and it isn't worse one way or another. Whether my foot is on the brake or not, it does it and worse at very low parking speeds. I will keep complaining about it until they fix it and if not, I will complain until I get them to take the car back and get me a new one. This should not happen on a brand new car and it is a huge inconvenience to keep taking it in time and time again.

Let me know if you find anything. Thank you.

SG

[Tinmanx]

At 6000 miles, my v developed a power steering leak. When I took it to the dealership, they replaced the steering rack. I've recently noticed a vibration in my steering wheel when I turn the wheel at a stop. Similar to the feel it had when it was low on power steering fluid, but much lighter.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Originally Posted by Tinmanx

At 6000 miles, my v developed a power steering leak. When I took it to the dealership, they replaced the steering rack. I've recently noticed a vibration in my steering wheel when I turn the wheel at a stop. Similar to the feel it had when it was low on power steering fluid, but much lighter.

Thank you for the info. I wonder if the dealer checked the power steering fluid level. I know it isn't leaking or I would see it on my garage floor, but I will check it soon. It is weird because right after the dealer re-torqued everything on the front end of the car, it was gone, but came back within 5 miles of driving. Good old American quality.

SG

[z06bigbird]

Let us know what the final resolution of the problem is. Fascinating problem.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

I haven't taken the car back to the dealer for the second attempt on the steering chattering repair, but I noticed that it got WORSE when I drove it yesterday.

It is such a hassle to keep having to take the car in for service when GM doesn't have a known fix for it as of yet, but it doesn't seem safe to drive the car with this condition. The dealer doesn't want to throw parts at it and GM has no fix for it yet. I think the dealer doesn't know how to work on the high tech STS-V's steering system and that is why they didn't attempt to repair it.

I am sure GM will have a fix for it as soon as they get a bunch more reported complaints about the same problem I am experiencing.

Sure is a shame that GM charges so much for a car and doesn't focus on using quality components so things like this don't happen.

SG

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Just to update you guys on my situation, I took the car in today for the Bluetooth update (didn't work) and to complain about the steering issue as it still persists.

They did the Bluetooth software update, but it still doesn't work and still gives the connection failure message it did before when trying to connect.

The technician said he didn't want to throw parts at it and that GM doesn't have a fix for it yet as the car is too new (1366 miles) so no repairs were made although GM was contacted about it and they advised the technician that nothing was available for the fix and they didn't know what to do to fix it.

Tomorrow, I will contact Cadillac customer assistance and file a case with them and see what they plan on doing about an $80,000.00 Cadillac that has a problem the dealer can't fix both the Bluetooth and the steering system.

This is just ridiculous. I don't even have 1500 miles on the damn car!

SG

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Another update on my issue. I called Cadillac Customer Assistance and advised them what the problems are with the car and one of them being a safety issue because it deals with the vehicle's steering and since I have a 2 year old that I take everywhere with me, I don't want the steering to have a problem that causes an accident that may lead to injury.

The lady at Cadillac was very nice. She took all my info down and started a case file for me. She put me on hold, spoke to my service advisor at the dealership and he verified exactly what I told her.

Basically the dealer verified that there is a problem, but they don't know how to fix it and they don't want to throw parts at it because they don't know if that will fix the issue. My service advisor even told her that the dealer contacted GM technical assistance and opened up a case file with them on the steering issue. I also told her that I want the car replaced or my money back so I can get another vehicle.

She then told me that she is going to escalate the situation to a case manager and they will contact me within 24-28 business hours.

Now, I am waiting to see what happens. I will update everyone as soon as I hear from them.

SG

[LS6HVN]

Well interestingly I have this issue too. I didn't have this problem on my CTS-V. I've been lurking for a while since I got my 07' STS-V. And now I've got 1200 miles on her and I too have a "shutter" in my steering. I only notice it when I'm backing out of a parking spot, stop and crank the wheel in the opposite direction. Pretty unnerving when I'm showing someone my new "HotRod". I put some powersteering fluid in and thought the problem went away. But I noticed it again when I had a passenger in the car. Although it doesn't happen until I get closer to lock and is not as dramatic. Gawd, I hate to take it to the dealer. I 'm sure I'll get the same response. But I better get it in the system. I'll post when I know anything more. Good luck guys.