[jfullam]

Just came back from a great family vacation at Seaword in Orlando. When we got back, we went to start our 2008 Saturn Outlook (with 57K miles) that had been sitting in the Parking Lot for 5 days.
The engine made a load whirring noise and when I went to turn the steering wheel it got much worse. I shut off the car and got out and looked under the engine and found Steering Fluid pouring out.
We arranged for a tow to the nearest Saturn Service Center. The service guy just called me and said it is not covered under warranty, I will need a new Power Steering Fluid Cooler and it will cost $507 with parts, labor and tax. Anyone have this happen to them? Do I have any recourse or am I screwed paying this bill? (I think I'm screwed!)

 

[rbarrios]

did you hit anything on the road?

 

[jfullam]

No, didn't hit anything ever...

 

[6Sixathome]

I have never heard of that going bad ???. We hear of PS pumps and racks failing but not the cooler. I think you are probably stuck paying it :'(. Let us know when you get it back and tell us what they did to it.

 

[rbarrios]

I remember a couple of owners on the Trailblazer forum having to replace theirs...
But this was a rare occurence......

I think many Trailblazers owners on the forum were surprissed to find out that there was a PS radiator looking thing tucked under the vehicle.
In fact- Ive never seen it in my Trailblazer-- but I know its there somewhere..
But like I said-- there was so few post about this type if a failure. Yours may be a similar case....

 

[spartan]

Seems like this should be a warranty item if it is within 3yr/36K/

 

[BigTallV]

The OP indicated their vehicle is at 57K Miles, so they are beyond the bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage (unfortunately).

 

[Bruce_Lee]

"I shut off the car and got out and looked under the engine and found Steering Fluid pouring out."


I just took my 2008 Saturn Outlook XR FWD to have them check a 'noise' on the steering wheel and I was told by the serv tech that "it doesn' have power steering fluid because it has 'electric' steering".

This makes sense to me since I couldn't find the steering fluid reservoir any where.


What do you guys think?

I will be going back this Saturday for a full steering system check because of the 'clunking/poping' noise I hear everytime I try to go into or out of a parking space (and NO, it is not the ABS system because it also happens when I am pulling into a parking space after driving for some time).


thanks,

BL (in San Francisco - home of the import luvers).

 

[6Sixathome]

"I shut off the car and got out and looked under the engine and found Steering Fluid pouring out."


I just took my 2008 Saturn Outlook XR FWD to have them check a 'noise' on the steering wheel and I was told by the serv tech that "it doesn' have power steering fluid because it has 'electric' steering".

This makes sense to me since I couldn't find the steering fluid reservoir any where.


What do you guys think?

I will be going back this Saturday for a full steering system check because of the 'clunking/poping' noise I hear everytime I try to go into or out of a parking space (and NO, it is not the ABS system because it also happens when I am pulling into a parking space after driving for some time).


thanks,

BL (in San Francisco - home of the import luvers).

Bruce_Lee, our OUTLOOKs do NOT have "electric steering". We have power steering and the reservoir is under the black engine cover which if you take the oil filler cap off and pull up on the cover it will be on the passenger side of the engine. That service tech would scare me if he told me that, he should know better, Ion's and some Vue's had electric steering maybe he's I'll see if I can find an oil change pic of mine with the cover off.

 

[Bruce_Lee]

Thank you for this information.


Now I think I should be scared of this 'service tech' and dealer......


It's not like I actually trust them, or that I am happy with their tech service, BUT, it is the closest Chevrolet dealer.


I will wait to see what they find when I go in on Saturday.


BL.

 

[rbarrios]

I wonder if he popped his head under the hood and didnt see the PS cap and thought--- ohhh electric.

 

[Superfan]

Just a follow on to this thread....I also just had a power steering fluid leak fixed today in my 2008 XR. Same scenario as described in this thread...leak also was from the cooler. However, my Outlook is still within the bumper to bumper warranty so no cost to me. Parts alone would have been $300 according to the tech report.

Anyone have a picture of one of these things? I had no idea there was such a thing as a power steering "cooler" until this happened.

 

[rbarrios]

item 20 in the pic.

 

[Superfan]

rbarrios - Thanks for the pic !

 

[seark19973]

I had the same problem when my 08 Outlook when it had 13,000 miles on it but it was covered under the warranty. Perhaps you cam make the case to GM that it is a defect since it appears to be a common problem with Outlooks.

 

[jsimms]

I just took my 2008 Saturn Outlook XR FWD to have them check a 'noise' on the steering wheel and I was told by the serv tech that "it doesn' have power steering fluid because it has 'electric' steering".

This makes sense to me since I couldn't find the steering fluid reservoir any where.

I know on the Acadia (MY07); the power steering reservoir is under the gray cover; just pull it off and there it is

 

[Lambda Man]

This happened to my 08 Outlook with 37500 miles on it. They told me the same thing that it wasn't covered (1500 miles to late) and that it was about a 400 dollar fix at the gm dealer. I told the service writer that this is crap and showed some disgust, he called the regional gm warrenty person and they put it under some gm insurance plan which I didn't have, but all I had to pay was the 100 dollar deductable.

 

[jsimms]

This happened to my 08 Outlook with 37500 miles on it. They told me the same thing that it wasn't covered (1500 miles to late) and that it was about a 400 dollar fix at the gm dealer. I told the service writer that this is crap and showed some disgust, he called the regional gm warrenty person and they put it under some gm insurance plan which I didn't have, but all I had to pay was the 100 dollar deductable.

Sounds like a "sympathy fix" since you were close to the end of your B2B; some dealers will cover the entire cost, but $100 is better than $400 :thumb:

 

[carbonflash2]

this porblem just popped up pn my 08 Outlook today....I drove for 2.5 hours from Datytona Beach, then when we stopped for gas a few miles from the house. When I fired the Outlook back up, I noticed the steering effort was not the same. I still need to go and check the fluid, but I didn't notice any leaking or smoke coming out the back whlie driving. Thanks for the info.

 

[6Sixathome]

this porblem just popped up pn my 08 Outlook today....I drove for 2.5 hours from Datytona Beach, then when we stopped for gas a few miles from the house. When I fired the Outlook back up, I noticed the steering effort was not the same. I still need to go and check the fluid, but I didn't notice any leaking or smoke coming out the back whlie driving. Thanks for the info.

Did you notice any PS fluid on the ground?