Dear sir: I have a 1999 Oldsmobile Aurora that I purchased new, with a delivery date of 09/22/1999. The car is used primarily by my wife with approximately 78,000 miles on the odometer. We have kept the car up and now find a very expensive repair that we feel is neither of our doing nor a normal ware item. In the past two (2) year the steering column has become loose internally. Today at the dealership, the service writer says the steering column needs to be removed to tighten the three (3) bolts that holds the column assembly together costing $540. My wife is having other items worked on today at the dealership, but is very reluctant to perform the steering column work because she believes, as I do, that this repair should be a safety item GM should pay for. We understand there have been other cars with the same problem, but there has not been any recall notice. Under the present recall atmosphere, I am asking that GM repair the steering column as soon as possible for safety reasons. If there is a failure of the steering column it could result in damage and injury. As a follow-up to the statement above, today I have just finished speaking to an oldsmoble customer representative and have been told GM will not pay for the repair due to the age of the car.

- Boynton Beach, FL, USA

Steering failed while turning left on 1999 olds Aurora with 34,000 miles with no indication of a steering problem before the failure. Turning right was fine, but the car could not make any left turn unless it was only a minor movement to the left while traveling at less than 10 mph. GM paid for 50% of repairs, but a failure like this with no warning needs to be addressed. My wife was using the car and the steering failed while she was parking it. If the failure had happened while she was driving the car I can guarantee there would have been an accident because when the steering fails, instantly, you can't make a left turn under normal driving conditions.

- Dover, NH, USA