[Shonda]

Hey guys,
So I had my ats for about a year now. Had zero problems with it. One day recently I went to start it and there was no power steering, I left it parked and my bf went after work to try it out and it was back to normal!! Takes it to the dealership and they say I need a new Steering Gear!!! $2800 plus tax just for the part alone.. One person says i can't get a used one, another says it needs to be brand new for programming? 🤔
Now this week my battery just went completely dead. Found out it was the orginial battery, what a hassle to get to it in the trunk.. But whatever no biggie for a new battery.

My question is.... Could it have been the battery that was causing the power steering to go out? I mean.. I took it to another dealership and there was no codes.. Nothing popping up.. But when I take it to a specific dealership they are saying it needs a whole new gear, but there was no warning signs.. No pulling.. Noises anything.. I'm so confused?!

Any help would be greatly appreciated 😊

 

[rsingl]

A failing battery can cause many issues in modern vehicles including power steering being unavailable. So it is quite possible that the new battery has solved the issue.

Also, a poor connection anywhere between the battery and the power steering assembly (it is fully electric and current draw is significant) can cause a fault, common trouble spots are the connections to the steering assembly itself but also the cables/connections at the battery. Intermittent issues are often due to cables/connections.

Once a car is out of warranty, unless you have a truly good dealer then you should seriously consider a good independent shop. The business model for dealers evolved decades ago into being heavily dependent upon the service shop for profit, the evolution from internal combustion to electric is going to force a change in this model as service visits drop.

I remember getting a laugh out of dealer service prices back when my 1989 Olds Trofeo was in for a warranty issue and the dealership wanted to replace the serpentine belt which wasn't under warranty and that was going to be a mere $210 part plus labor back in the early 90s. I stopped by Farm and Fleet on the way home from the dealership and bought the belt for around $10 and replaced it in about 5 minutes. Even in the old days when you had to loosen and then tighten the alternator to remove and then tension the new belt and often had to replace several belts instead of a single serpentine belt, it was an easy job and definitely not worth a dealership charge.

Rodger

 

[DavidATS]

Agree with the above, having a power steering problem and needing a new battery at almost the exact same time I would replace the battery and see if it fixes the issue. If they both failed at the same time it seems like a big coincidence.

 

[Shonda]

Thanks guys! It was the old battery that was causing the problems. Saved me $800 for installation on the steering gear.. Took a loss for buying it but might be able to sell it to someone now that I don't need it.
Crazy how cadillac dealership didn't pick up on this. Smh

 

[tluvsnick]

What does the power steering gear part look like? I'm having this same problem. But I'm not sure what part your talking about. I'd love to see videos with our posts. I'm a female and have nobody to help me but maybe ruin me. Some top notch came to see why I had a small transmission leak and puts the jack in the front of the car and all of a sudden when he's gone i notice my car won't start. So in lift up the hood and I see what I thought was a power steering gearbox, not sure is broken in pieces and one of the 3 connectors on the top is broken but still able to replace. But not sure if we tape this part up and rewire it will it still work. The power steering code isn't on my car anymore. But now my car won't start it will only allow everything else to turn on but that. So any ideas on why maybe this battery dont want to catch any charge?

 

[tluvsnick]

Thanks guys! It was the old battery that was causing the problems. Saved me $800 for installation on the steering gear.. Took a loss for buying it but might be able to sell it to someone now that I don't need it.
Crazy how cadillac dealership didn't pick up on this. Smh

So did you sale this part?