steering rack issues with Buick Enclave

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I am seriously considering buying a used Buick Enclave in the 2009 to 2011 vintage probably but am hesitant to do so because of numerous reports of steering rack failures on these vehicles. Is this a serious enough problem to not buy the car? Is there any way to check for impending failure or any maintenance that can be done to lessen the chances of failure? Are there certain model years where the problem is worse or better? Thanks in advance for any and all help with this.
 
That alone wouldn't turn me off but there's something lacking in this vintage GM.

Wife's 07 HHR is not showing durability in the stupid stuff, like metallurgy. Snapped a couple lug studs already, some brake lines are blistery, a spring broke.

The intermediate steering shaft rattles; not taking action yet. But it feels like a yugo.

I'd still snap up the car you want if it's cheap enough, I have a fondness for the *value* used GM provides. And owning some are an excuse to keep tools around.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
That alone wouldn't turn me off but there's something lacking in this vintage GM.

Wife's 07 HHR is not showing durability in the stupid stuff, like metallurgy. Snapped a couple lug studs already, some brake lines are blistery, a spring broke.

The intermediate steering shaft rattles; not taking action yet. But it feels like a yugo.

I'd still snap up the car you want if it's cheap enough, I have a fondness for the *value* used GM provides. And owning some are an excuse to keep tools around.
wink.gif

THe "value" is provided by thhe rapid depreciation the seller has to suffer?
 
Check around to see if there's any extended warranty for that specific part for the specific vehicle in question. GM extended the warranty on the steering rack, the battery cables, and the water pump on my Cruze. All those are known trouble areas for cars in a certain range of VIN's for that model. You might get lucky and find an Enclave with an extended warranty on that part. Whether it transfers to a second or third owner is another thing.
 
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Originally Posted By: edwardh1
our 84 olds ciera had a bad rack. after about 5 years gm did a warranty recall, that was nice but it was void if your car had more than 50,000 miles on it.

Practically every P/S rack sucked back in the 1980s. My dad told me how the 1985 Maxima cost $1200 to replace the P/S rack, and it happened just barely outside the warranty.

Anyway, does the Buick Enclave share a P/S rack with the Chevy Silvarado 1500? I see those racks fail with less than 3 years on them. I don't understand why that is.
 
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