The contact owns a 2000 Buick Regal. While driving 35 mph, the contact had difficulty turning the steering wheel to the left. The failure occurred intermittently. The mechanic stated that the cause of failure was the cold weather. The failure became progressively worse in the winter. The mechanic stated that the rack and pinion failed on the driver side. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that there was a lean with the power steering short rack. As of July 6, 2007, the vehicle has not been repaired. The current mileage is 65,000 and failure mileage was 50,000. The consumer stated dealer refused to admit there was a defect but the vehicle was never inspected by the dealer. The consumer stated took the vehicle to another dealer to be repaired and the consumer has the original part. Updated 09/05/07

- Glenview, IL, USA

2000 Buick Regal steering gear failed while driving at low speeds. ** answer required*** the consumer stated the more pressure that was applied to the steering, the more it locked up. The rack and pinion was replaced.

- Harrison, MI, USA

I have a 2000 Buick Regal. In June 2005 three warning lights started showing up on my dash "check engine", "anti lock brakes" and "traction control system off". the light stayed on for 1 week and then went off. Thirty days later, the light came back on and stayed on for 1 week and then went off. I took the car to the williams family auto mall dealership (where I originally purchased the car and have had my car serviced) to diagnose the problem. They told me the anti lock brake system needs to be replaced and it will cost me $3,200 to fix. The car has 80,000 miles on it. I declined having this fixed because I do not have that kind of money to repair the car. In the middle of August, the three warning lights came on again and have stayed on since them. Now that I see the recall notice for GM's trucks and SUV's with anti lock brake system problems I wanted to see if my problems are related to the recall. I also wanted to see if there is anyway I can have my car repaired along with this recall notice. Its not right for such a system to go out with 80,000 miles. In August 2005, I also has the power steering go out on all left turns. This was a major safety issue and I had to pay $1,000 to have this fixed. This also happened at 80,000 miles and again, in my opinion, should not have gone out. I had no choice but to repair this problem because I could not make any left turns with the vehicle. I took the car to the dealership for an estimate which was $2,300 who said the "rack" was out. I then took it to a local garage, dempseys, and they said the "pinion" part of the steering was out. I had the car fixed at dempseys for $1,000 with refurbished parts and the problem is fixed.

- Newark, DE, USA

Went to back out of parking spot at doctor's office car made a "banging" noise. The power steering would not work when turning to the left. It does work when turning to the right. I went to a transmission shop because I thought something.happened in the transmission, causing the steering to bind when making a left turn. They told me that the rack was bad an not the transmission. I got on the web to find pricing for a new rack and found a web site that listed over 50 issues. With the rack for GM cars. I called GM and they are not willing to help. After reading the complaints from the web site I feel that someone needs to look at safety issues reguarding such an important part (steering) of the car.

- Chicopee, MA, USA

Steering column locked without warning. When the consumer was parking the vehicle or maneuvering a turn the vehicles steering became difficult to turn. The 1996 and 1997 Regals are being recall for steering problems (03V527000).

- Natick, MA, USA

Rack and pinion malfunctioned. As a result, steering failed without warning. No impact was reported.

- Saint Joseph, MI, USA

The technician stated that the rack and pinion was not working properly which made it difficult to turn left. Nlm

- Maspeth, NY, USA

*** this is a copy of what I submitted to Buick. They have yet to respond. ** have a 2000 Buick Regal. The car has been trouble-free since I have owned it (since July 2001). I was a mechanic for 10 years prior to getting out of the business. In all my years of fixing cars, I never had to replace steel lines on the rack and pinion unit. On my Regal, I had to replace the longer of the two (not the power steering hoses, but the steel lines on the rack itself). Even the folks at the dealer couldn't believe that I had to replace this particular line. Since my car is out of warranty, has their been any recall on this line" can I get re-imbursed for my troubles" sincerely, richard zielenski ati2D1@adelphia.net richard.zielenski@alcoa.com 216-641-5090

- Cleveland, OH, USA