2001 Pontiac Grand Prix Power steering

JULES7917

MEMBER
2001 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX

Steering problem
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix 6 cyl 143000 miles

My husband's car has been to the mechanic 6x in the last 6 months for the same problem, lack of power steering. It grinds at first, then fails completely. They have replaced the pump twice and now the rack and pinion twice. It was in on Saturday where they replaced the pump and pronounced it fixed. It was broken by Monday and went in that afternoon. Now they are pronouncing it fixed again with a new rack and pinion. I'd like to know the statistical fail rate for these type of parts. I feel like either they are using used/cheap parts or they are just incompetent when they are putting them in. Either way I know something is up. I am asking for a refund of the 2000 dollars we have put into the power steering and would like to know if I have grounds for asking for it.

1 Reply

MMPRINCE4000

MECHANIC
8,549 POSTS

You could probably take them to small claims court for the PS unit.

Probably would be good to wait a month or so and see if the steering is indeed fixed, before starting any litigation.
It will be your responsibility to prove they were negligent, or just "fishing" (replacing parts in the hope they find the right one).

Dealers will generally use new parts, garages or independant shops will use remanufactured parts, or sometimes used parts from a junkyard.

Depending on the age of car, remanufactured parts are all that is available.