New 2014 GM Truck Recall Covers Electric Steering Glitch

aflesch · November 1, 2017

Update: Dealership says the negative battery cable needs to be replaced to the tune of $300. GM customer service says that this MUST be a different issue than the recall fixed even though the symptoms are the same and they aren't going to pay for it. They gave me a $100 service voucher which they tell me isn't good to pay the diagnostic fee. Now I have to pay the $99 diagnostic fee plus a $35 loaner car fee just to pick my truck up without being fixed. The battery cable is $51 and I can replace it myself. This is not what I expect of a 3 year old vehicle with 47K miles. NOT happy with GM right now.

Edit: Just picked up my truck and the technician's notes say that the battery cable distribution block needs to be replaced NOT the negative battery cable as the service advisor told me. The part number they list is 23375728. GMpartsdirect lists part number 23375728 but shows it as discontinued. That tells me that GM knows there was a problem with this part since they discontinued it and superseded it with another one. Since it causes the same symptoms that they issued a recall for, it should be covered under the recall.

Edited November 2, 2017 by aflesch
Additional information

Magnate · January 23, 2018

My 18 steering feels like it loose for a second sometimes. Is this the same problem?

Magnate · January 24, 2018

It only has 1k miles on it so far and seems to happen when I'm turning which scares me. My 14 never gave me this feeling. My dealer said to go to a local service department. I've never had to deal with warranty. Do I bring the vehicle to the dealer and ask them to look at it? Is the local service department a chevy repair center?

Towing9s · February 23, 2018

Is this recall for 2014 only?

my 15 just started cutting the fool this week. Has done it twice. REALLY SCARY

MixerDriver · February 25, 2018

On 2/23/2018 at 1:33 PM, Towing9s said:

Is this recall for 2014 only?

my 15 just started cutting the fool this week. Has done it twice. REALLY SCARY

A quick search on the NHTSA website shows that a potential of 679 2015s were recalled for power steering issues. Sounds like they replace to entire assist motor, whereas the 2014 fix was a quick reprogram. My 2014 was one of the recalled ones. I never had the truck try to steer itself, but I did get a "Service Stabilitrac" message once. Took me longer to drive to the dealer than it did for them to fix the recall.

Even if GM doesn't think you're one of the 679 trucks affected and didn't mail you a notice, swing by the dealer and tell them what's happening. Hopefully they will be willing to get it fixed for you under the recall. If not, don't take no for an answer, as this is a safety issue.

King Bean · May 24, 2018

Hello fellow GMC owners. I'm new to the forum out of necessity, though I've owned many GMC trucks for the last 40 years. Just upgraded to a 2014 Sierra 1500 4x4 SLT last June. Truck has worked perfect until yesterday 5/23. On a steep paved downhill, the stabilitrak warning came on, then off. Several miles later, at highway speed of 65 the power completely shut down momentarily, then back on followed by the wipers starting up and the door locks activating. Being 100 miles from home I chose to stay at 60 in the right hand lane, but experienced the air bag warning light coming on and off followed again by the complete power loss twice more. Once in town and just rounding a corner in residential, loss of all power momentarily but managed to steer to the curbside. Was able to startup again and limp home. My question: I've seen a lot of recommended fixes, and I have an appointment on Tuesday at the GMC dealership for the EPS module reprogram if I'm under the recall group, but has anyone achieved 100% satisfaction that their problem is fixed?? Who can have confidence in pulling a camper, or letting wife take truck cross-country if this is not resolved?? Truck is just now at 35k miles. Thanks for replies.

Late update: online chat with GM 'help' shows the EPS program was updated during an oil change and tire rotation in 12/2017. So apparently whatever they did, was not a 'fix'. Next.....??

Edited May 24, 2018 by King Bean
quick update

King Bean · May 24, 2018

On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 7:51 AM, aflesch said:

Edit: Just picked up my truck and the technician's notes say that the battery cable distribution block needs to be replaced NOT the negative battery cable as the service advisor told me. The part number they list is 23375728. GMpartsdirect lists part number 23375728 but shows it as discontinued.

Hello. I was online with GM Parts source and apparently the cross ref part is now 84095546 to fit yours and my Sierra. Hope this helps. Has your problem been resolved?

Late update 5/31/18. GM was no help until the local dealer did their diagnostics. They determined the relay/fuse block to be the problem. The part had to be shipped from another dealer. Part #84075773 to the tune of $230.48. They installed it today, so test drive this summer to determine if that was the fix. Also, I replaced the battery terminal junction box myself, 84095546 at my cost of $40. Visual inspection couldn't find anything wrong or discolored. And as per other online researchers who are pointing to insulation between ground wires under the dash as a cause of weak signal, I pulled my dash apart and the insulation was clear of obstructions and ground wire was clear behind both front speakers. The saga continues......contacted GMC to reimburse for out of pocket $$$$. TBD.

Edited May 31, 2018 by King Bean

TheBlackPearl · September 26, 2018

I got the "Steering assist is reduced drive with care" DIC message this AM in my 17 CCSB w/12,770 miles when I was leaving for work.

Thankfully the steering still feels ok.

3-4 key cycles later it's still there so I called the dealership and they can't get me in until Monday.

I'm glad that I'm still under warranty, but these electrical glitches are getting old and starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Last month or so it was in for the "Service stabilitrac" and transmission clunks (They couldn't replicate the stabilitrac error and they said the trans clunks are normal operation)

I'm going to be bring up the TSB for the transmission software update again while I'm there.

Beer Belly · September 29, 2018

Just had my 2015 in for this recall......was done in about 1/2 hour

Roscopcoletrain · September 29, 2018

had mine done yesterday. Painless

Snoringbear · October 6, 2018

Yup, my trucks vin # is on the list. Thinking I will wait till the next oil change and have it reprogrammed then.

ic3man5 · October 15, 2018

Here is a link to the PDF describing the issue:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2018/RCLRPT-18V586-7680.PDF

Copy and paste from the PDF:

Quote

Description of the Safety Risk : If EPS assist is lost and suddenly returned, the driver could have difficulty steering the vehicle, especially at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.

Description of the Cause : Events that demand high current, such as low speed turns, can cause temporary low voltage conditions. When the system voltage drops below 8.8 volts for more than 1 second—e.g., during low-speed turns—EPS assist is disabled until voltage returns to 9 volts for a minimum of 40 milliseconds, at which point EPS assist returns.

Identification of Any Warning that can Occur : If power steering assist is lost (i.e., the vehicle reverts to manual steer) a driver information center (DIC) message may alert the driver to an EPS problem. Also, other electrical sub-systems may shut down at the same time or just before the event, which could temporarily disable the radio, stabilitrack, the DIC, chimes, door-lock cycling, air conditioning, or cruise control.

If the voltage is dropping below 8.8V no amount of software updates are going to fix this issue, more than likely if you are having this issue its bad wiring/connections.

I do know the stock battery is a pile of garbage, I had to replace it about 6 months ago.

Edited October 15, 2018 by ic3man5

Erikrobbins · October 25, 2018

On 8/31/2017 at 9:46 PM, tbarn said:

The current steering recall is the only steering recall I know of for '14-'15 LD trucks. Except for a very limited steering motor recall on '15s. No recalls for cables.

Tbarn, I'm new to the forum and new to forums in general so I'm sorry if this is out of place. My steering has completely gone out, thought maybe the recall would fix it just to have the dealer tell me my entire steering gear box needed to be changed. I've read in a few places that water can get into the gear box and short the steering control module. Has anyone else come across this issue? They're quote was $3k

tbarn · October 25, 2018

There are a couple of bulletins that mention loss of power steering. Without codes or a visual inspection I can't say whether you need a complete gear or not. One bulletin does mention water intrusion and the fix is to replace the entire gear. Battery cable and ground issues are generally but not necessarily intermittent issues.

Geojohn5 · October 30, 2018

I had the reprogram done and it seems like their solution to fix it was to dial down the power steering voltage. Now the truck steers like a sports car instead of the Cadillac it was. Taking it back