I was driving my vehicle down I-680 in northern ca's bay area. While I was on the freeway in the slow lane and my power steering warning popped up on my car stereo display and a split second later I lost the ability to steer my car. I slowed the vehicle as fast as I could without slamming on the brakes. All of the cars behind me slammed on the brakes and I thought I was going to cause a pile-up. A nice man behind got out of his truck and helped me force the steering wheel to the right so I could pull the car off of the road. I then called my brother and he came and towed the car home. There has never been a warning to this issue. It never acted up and I have never been instructed to do a safety check on the power steering.

- Fairfield, CA, USA

While making a right turn the power steering failed.....I almost drove head on into oncoming traffic.

- Daytona Beach, FL, USA

Today we driving through a parking lot and trued to turn and heard a popping noise, and then lack of steering. The steering wheel turned but the wheels did not. Had to call a tow truck at a cost of $88 and took it to my local Chevy dealer. The diagnosed the problem as the steering intermediate shaft bolt broke and also the airbag sensor. The total cost of this repair is: $88 for the tow truck, $1500 for the repair and 2 1/2 days without the car. We have had this popping noise for a while and no one could figure out what it was. Some dealers said we needed to replace the complete rack and pinion steering system, others said it just needed greased. We chose to grease it and the noise went away for a while.so far I have replaced the power steering motor, which GM reimbursed me for about 1 year after I had it repaired. It seems like there are many complaints about this problem. It has been a good car except for these constant problems. Something needs to be done so GM will fix these issues.

- Olathe, KS, USA

2005 Chevy Malibu. Consumer writes in regards to steering failure in vehicle.

- Washington, DC, USA

While driving 25 " 45 and making a left turn or changing lanes to the left the steering wheel loses it power steering. This vehicle cannot be steered unless you are a power lifter at that point. This is my mom?S only vehicle and she is 77 and had carpal tunnel surgery on both her wrists, so I doubt she will be able to steer at all. So if GM says it?S not a safety issue, and the car can still be steered, they are wrong. There has been ?special coverage adjustments" for this issue on the 2006 models in United States and GM has actual recalls for 67,000 vehicles in Canada for the same thing. (manufacture recall number 12221) her vehicle VIN number doesn't fit into the selected VIN numbers and she has the exact same issue. Someone needs to have GM open up this special coverage for this issue period, regardless of the year. People with same problem on VIN numbers that get the coverage get a free steering column install and she has to pay $600 - $800 for same services? all this because of a small part that is riveted to the steering column on the inside that goes out every 30K miles.

- Wildwood, MO, USA

My power steering went out. I was pulling up to the light at the intersection of gum springs road and lee jackson highway in aldie, va, and "power steering" came across my radio and my power steering went out.

- Aldie, VA, USA

Power steering fails when accelerating, especially when attempting to merge onto highway traffic. "power steering failure" flashes on the console and chimes sound. Failure requires car to be steered using bodily force to control the vehicle, and has almost resulted in numerous accidents. Power steering turns back on about 1/2 second after releasing the gas pedal. Does not occur with any relative consistency to warrant taking it to the dealer. I have not been contacted by the manufacturer regarding any relevant recalls for this vehicle.

- Bowie, MD, USA

I purchased this vehicle in June 2007 which had a warranty and I purchased an extended warranty from trenor motors, urbana, Ohio. In October of 2007 I noticed a clunking noise when I turned the steering wheel left or right. I took the vehicle to the dealer where I bought the car and they had to replace the steering rack. Within a year, approximately September 2008 the noise came back and again they had to replace the steering rack. After two months went by the noise returned and they said that they got a bad steering rack and replaced it again. Approximately 9 months later in 2009 the noise returned and they said that the a sleeve needed to be lubricated which seem to help however, around August of 2010 the noise returned and the dealer lubricated it again which helped for about 9 months. In may of 2011 the noise returned so we contacted the dealer again and they told us that we would have to pay for any repairs/replacements since the car is now out of warranty.

- Springfield, OH, USA

The drivers seat frame broke and I had to replace. Also the car makes a popping noise when steered. Currently trying to get that into the dealer because it has been doing it for almost a year.

- Buckhannon, WV, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 20 mph, a chime sounded inside of the vehicle as the power steering warning indicator illuminated. Immediately, there was a complete loss of power steering. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road where the engine was turned off. The failure recurred four times. The engine was restarted and the vehicle resumed as normal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated the power steering column and intermediate shaft would need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the malfunction. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.

- Canton, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized while driving at various speeds. The power steering light illuminated on the instrument panel when the failure occurred. The contact would stop and restart the vehicle to correct the failure. The failure also corrected itself on a few occasions and the steering wheel began to function normal as the contact continued to drive. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Hayward, CA, USA

The steering wheel became very tight for about 3 mins. And the power steering light flashed on the radio panel. When the steering wheel loosing up it was too loose. The next day the check engine light came on and I went and had a mechanic check it out and he said that it was coming up as an electronic steering failure.

- Spartanburg, SC, USA

During a freeway exit during a decelerating 35mph right turn, the power steering stop operating. Continued on home for 3 blocks without any power to steering system. Next day, system work good. Scary ! ! google problem for info and found a lot of people has had the same problem with no 'fix' available. Anyway you could shed some help or information on this scary problem?

- Milpitas, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering failed, fuel would not pump properly into the vehicle, the fuel gauge displayed improper readings, and the speedometer was inoperative. The local mechanic repaired the fuel system. Neither the dealer, nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000 and the current mileage was unavailable.

- Chicago, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering assist would fail sporadically. The power steering assist would reset independently once the vehicle was shut off and restarted. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The current mileage was 125,007 and the failure mileage was unknown. Updated 05/08/12

- Newport, KY, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed while driving 35 mph. The power steering light illuminated as the failure occurred. The steering wheel became hard to turn and the contact was able to avoid a crash. The vehicle had to be turned off for a moment in order for the power steering assist to return to normal function. The failure was experienced numerous times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,000 and the current mileage was 116,000.

- South Bend , IN, USA

As I'm turning a corner my power steering will go out, it really doesn't have a set time at which it goes out, I can be parallel parking, driving straight, cold out, hot out, I have tried turning my car off and back on but it just goes out unexpectedly again. I received a letter from Chevy but my mileage is over 100,000 miles so they would not pay to have it fixed. I plan to take it to a shop, but how is this not a dangerous problem? there should be a recall on this before someone gets seriously hurt in an accident.

- Columbus, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph the power steering system failed, making the vehicle difficult to steer. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or a local mechanic for a diagnostic testing or repairs. The failure mileage was 127,000.

- Fort Collins, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when accelerating at 30 mph and merging onto the highway, the steering wheel and wheels seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the steering column failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred a few days later. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Hannibal, MO, USA

As other owners have experienced, the steering alarm light went off in my Malibu. I have seen that other Malibu in my cars VIN range experienced the same issue as issued by a GM warning. This seems to me to be an unsafe vehicle and GM should stand behind your vehicle as I could not allow my child to drive to co with the possibility that the steering would go out. While I did not get to the point where we had steering failure, the motor was diagnosed with major issue as did the electronic control which appears to be the root cause of the issue. This car would have steering failure if we did not got to the dealership and replace the motor and steering column.

- Collierville, TN, USA