A steering gear bearing failure, prompting General Motors to recall
over 1.5 million of its most popular vehicles, is reportedly not due
to an issue with the failed pinion bearings themselves.
• the original recall article from November 21, 2002
eBearing spoke to several people involved in the situation. It now
appears that the bearing failures are being caused by an undisclosed design
problem with the rack and pinion units, unrelated to the bearings.
The manufacturer of the bearings is not involved in the recall.
GM's Official Defect Summary: Certain passenger vehicles and mini vans
have lower pinion bearings in the power rack and pinion assembly in which
the retainer tabs were not crimped properly. These and some other retainers
used in vehicles assembled between January 1, 1996 and October 31, 1997,
could fail and permit the ball bearings to escape.
Vehicles involved in the recall:
Model years: 1996, 1997, 1998
Production dates: January 1, 1996 through October 31, 1997
Make and model:
Chevrolet Cavalier
Chevrolet Lumina
Chevrolet Venture
Oldsmobile Silhouette
Pontiac Sunfire
Pontiac Transport
Model years: 1997, 1998
Production dates: January 1, 1996 through October 31, 1997
Make and model:
Pontiac Grand Prix
General Motors indicated 1.2 million of the vehicles are located in the United
States and 240,000 are located in Canada. The company said there have been 15
reported crashes due to the problem.
Owners will be notified of the recall in January 2003.
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