A couple days ago I was backing out of my driveway when all of a sudden I hear a ding and look down at my stereo to see a power steering notice. I try to turn the wheel and notice that it's very hard to turn and I've lost power steering in my 2005 Pontiac G6. Just great I think to myself. After doing some research online about the issue, I discover that a number of Pontiac G6 owners are experiencing the same problem and GM has actually issued a special warranty covering the power steering in these cars for 10 years or 100K miles. My car only has 64K miles so I appear to still be covered by GM's special warranty.
The special warranty can be read in full on the NHSTA website at the following URL: http://www-odi. Nhtsa. Dot. Gov/acms/docservlet/Artemis/Public/TSBs/CSC-10033624-5786. Pdf
Bulletin #10183 reads as follows: General Motors is providing owners with the additional protection for the loss of power steering assist caused by electrical input signals within the steering column assembly. If this condition occurs on your 2005 Pontiac G6 vechicle within 10 years of the date your vehicle was originally placed in service or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first, the condition will be repaired for you at no charge.
I contact the GM Dealer closest to me in Greenville, Kentucky which is Mansfield Automotive Group and speak to the service manager about the problem. The service manager orders the parts for the repair and makes me an appointment for 8-19 at 10:00 A.M. I bring my car at the scheduled time and am told the repair will talk about an hour and a half. After about 2 hours the service manager informs me that my car is finished, but there is good news and bad news. They have replaced the sensors, but it has not corrected the power steering problem with the car. I ask him what the problem is with the car now. He states that it needs a new power steering motor/module, but that this part is not covered by the warranty and I must pay $430 out of pocket costs to have it repaired. I ask him if the faulty power steering motor could have been caused by faulty electrical input signals and he tells me that he cannot determine that, but it is indeed possible. I explain to him that I don't see why I should have to pay for this part then if there's a chance it could have been damaged by faulty input signals. Also, Bulletin #10183 is vauge and the way I read it, it states that the warranty covers the power steering assist system in the car that is possibly damaged by the electrical input signals. The power steering assist system would also include the power steering motor/module. He tells me there is nothing he can do and he wants me to sign a release for the car stating that the work has been done. I refuse to sign the form or any type of release stating that the car has been repaired when the power steering still is not repaired. He tells me I should contact GM because there is nothing he can do for me.
I leave the GM dealer and contact GM support via telephone. I explain the situation to the rep and also explain how the service manager stated how he was not sure if the electrical input signals were the cause of the failure for the power steering module. The rep tells me that they'll have to contact Mansfield themself and contact me back in an hour's time because the service manager has gone to lunch. I wait for 2 hours and no return phone call from the rep at GM. I call back and speak to two other reps before I am finally once again connected to the original rep. The rep tells they have read through the bulletin again and spoken to Mansfield and there is nothing they can do even though the bulletin reads that GM is providing additional protection for the loss of power steering. I ask to speak to a supervisor and the rep actually tells me, "No, and that they're just going to tell me the same thing." I again request to speak to a supervisor and the line goes silent for a long pause and I hear, "Okay..."
A few minutes later and a supervisor is on the line. I again go over the contents of what the bulletin says and try to point out how the service manager says he couldn't be certain if faulty electrical input signals were the cause for the failure of the power steering module. The supervisor tells me the warranty does not cover the power steering module and I tell her according to the bulletin it does not say that and she says that it's worded kind of vaguely, but now she is telling me that it doesn't and that she is correcting the bulletin for me over the phone. Is she legally allowed to do this? Are tech support supervisors allowed to revise bulletins issued by GM and the NHSTA over the phone?
So after going round and round with the GM Dealer, a telephone tech, and a tech supervisor I still have a car with no power steering even though according to GM's bulletin I am supposed to be provided with additional protection for loss of power steering. Protection? What protection? I'm still trying to figure that out myself.
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