Chevrolet Steering: Power Steering Fluid

Chevrolet is recalling about 3,150 vehicles over a problem with the steering. After prolonged exposure to elevated fluid temperatures, the reservoir may leak.

Campaign
11V591000
Manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS LLC
Reported
19 December 2011
Vehicles
3,150
Built between
Oct 2009 – Apr 2011
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
24 January 2012
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between October 2009 and April 2011. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2011 Chevrolet CaptivaBuilt October 2009 to April 2011
  • 2012 Chevrolet Captiva SportBuilt October 2009 to April 2011

What the defect is

General motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 chevrolet captiva vehicles manufactured from october 2, 2009, through april 21, 2011. Driving the vehicle with the transmission in manual mode and in first gear causes the engine and power steering pump to operate at higher speed than is typical. Increased pump speed generates heat that is transferred to the power steering fluid and can result in power steering fluid temperatures that approach the power steering pump reservoir’s melting point.

What could happen

After prolonged exposure to elevated fluid temperatures, the reservoir may leak. Leaking fluid, in the presence of an ignition source, may result in a fire.

What gets fixed

GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE POWER STEERING FLUID COOLER WITH AN IMPROVED VERSION, FREE OF CHARGE. AN ADVISORY LETTER TO CUSTOMERS, ALONG WITH INSTRUCTIONS, WILL BE MAILED IN JANUARY 2012. WHEN PARTS BECOME AVAILABLE, GM WILL SEND ANOTHER LETTER ASKING CUSTOMER TO TAKE THEIR VEHICLE TO A GM DEALER TO HAVE THE REPAIRS PERFORMED. GM ANTICIPATES PARTS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN MARCH 2012.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtOctober 2009 to April 2011
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA19 December 2011
  3. Owners notified24 January 2012

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 19 December 2011.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
11333
Recalling manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS LLC
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Gm's recall number is 11333.OWNERS may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand