Warren, MI — April 04, 2016 — Though no accidents have yet been detected, General Motors will recall 6,280 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit vehicles, with production dates ranging between 2013 and 2014. The official Part 573 Safety Recall Report, submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on March 16, noted that these vehicles could be subject to a power steering assist failure that could leave drivers struggling to properly steer.
This source stated that the components associated with this recall come from the Mando corporation, based in the Republic of Korea. This specific hazard comes as the result of normal police work, as systems within these vehicles are affected during use.
“Subject to the extended idling times and elevated temperatures experienced in typical police applications, these vehicles may experience loss of electric power steering (EPS) assistance while driving or idling as a result of fretting corrosion on the connector between the EPS module and the torque sensor,” the report asserted.
The repair instructions address both those vehicles already in the field and those en route: the latter will get epoxy to support the connector, while dealers replace the steering gear assemblies in the former. The newer gears will better resist corrosion.
The Associated Press mentioned the 20 hour periods that police cars often run in its coverage of this recall. Drivers in affected cars won’t lose control of steering completely, and the NHTSA Report noted that drivers will see a malfunction indicator light and hear a warning chime if the issue is present.
General Motors first detected this issue through complaints submitted as part of the Speak Up for Safety program in 2015. The vehicles were assembled in Holden, Australia, and impacted cars with model years between 2014 and 2016.
