Consumer Complaint Detail

GMC / SIERRA 2500 HD / 2001

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 004255826 Incident Date: Jan, 19 2004
Consumer's City: SPARKS Consumer's State: NV
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: General Motors, LLC
Model Name: SIERRA 2500 HD Model Year: 2001
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Steering:hydraulic power assist:pump
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 1GTHK29U31E Date added to File: May, 25 2021
Date Complaint Received: Jan, 20 2004 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Oct, 22 2000
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 8 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: I own a 2001 gmc 2500hd 4wd, automatic transmission, extended cab, shortbed, 6.0 litre gas engine. purchased in october 2000. the truck is completely stock except for an tire upgrade to 285/75 r16. on dec 17, 2003, i took a wide left turn on to a street. after making the first left, the steering felt strange. while making the second left the power steering disappeared completely and so did the brakes. the vehicle was now heading too wide right and i was stomping on the brakes to try and stop it. i almost ran into a post to the right of the turn. luckily there was no traffic and i was able to bring the truck to a stop. the power steering was completely gone and so were power brakes. i had to muscle the 8600 lb. truck back and finish the turn in a very physical manner. this was no easy task. i drove it a short way home very slowly and with great difficulty. i discovered the power steering pulley shaft had sheared inside the power steering pump. i replaced the power steering pump.the day after the second unit was installed, the very same thing happened again. i snapped the same shaft on the second pump. fearing i had just received a bad part, i again replaced the power steering pump. i spoke to many mechanics specializing in front end and steering work. they have all confirmed that this is the same pump that has been used in older gm truck models. the only difference is now the pump provides additional work to the power brake assist. this is beyond the ability of the older design pump, originally only designed to provide power steering. the situation that most commonly occurs when this pump fails is usually when the vehicle is in motion and during a turn. to lose control of these heavy trucks in this instance is dangerous and could very likely cause and accident. i am very concerned about the design of this critical component and the immediate loss of vehicle control that happened to me. there are many of these trucks out there that have this same flaw. *ak