[jim0266]

On our 19 Bolt I noticed around 800 miles the car was not tracking straight (pulling/drifting right) and the steering wheel was also not level, cocked to the right.

I took the car in three times for alignments (around 800, 3,000 and 7,500 miles). Each time the problem was not resolved. Finally I came across some information that sounded like a possible fix. I contacted my Chevy dealer again with this information, going right to the service manager. The lucky part was the dealership had hired a new service director. He took me and the information I presented seriously and opened a TAC case with GM after verifying the issues.

They wound up centering the electric powering steering module on the vehicle during the alignment process. Now at 14,000 miles for the first time my Bolt steering wheel is level and the car is tracking straight.

He said to his team they needed to fix this since I had been in three times before without a resolution. Good employees make all the difference.

 

[RecessionProofDriver]

Glad to hear you finally got it diagnosed. I have a '19 as well but haven't had any problems.

Most of the problems I've seen people having with Bolts are the older ones or they don't list their model year, so it's good to see someone with the same model year (albeit more miles) as mine have a problem that's corrected and documented in case it later rears it's head.

Can't tell you how much it's appreciated for you to share this info as a future resource.

 

[Motoarzan]

OMG. I've had this exact same problem since my vehicle was new and driving me crazy. Been over a year now and 4 visits to the dealer. They acknowledge the pull to the right but keep doing wheel alignments! Can you help me? Do you know what the fix is or can share a copy of a work order or something showing what they did. I think they need to replace the entire steering rack but is it just a module or something?
Please help, I need to point this dumb dealership in the right direction.
My issue is when I make a left turn the steering returns to the center position when you come out of the turn. When making a right turn it does not return to the center position and slowly drifts right...you'd hit the curb in the span of about 20ft or so. Funny enough once you got momentum like like 50km/hour or more or on the highway it drives perfectly straight. Weird.
Thanks, Mike

 

[XJ12]

OMG. I've had this exact same problem since my vehicle was new and driving me crazy. Been over a year now and 4 visits to the dealer. They acknowledge the pull to the right but keep doing wheel alignments! Can you help me? Do you know what the fix is or can share a copy of a work order or something showing what they did. I think they need to replace the entire steering rack but is it just a module or something?
Please help, I need to point this dumb dealership in the right direction.
My issue is when I make a left turn the steering returns to the center position when you come out of the turn. When making a right turn it does not return to the center position and slowly drifts right...you'd hit the curb in the span of about 20ft or so. Funny enough once you got momentum like like 50km/hour or more or on the highway it drives perfectly straight. Weird.
Thanks, Mike

Mike, I'll mention @jim0266 so there's a higher probability your post will be seen. No idea what a steering module is either. I had assumed it was the rack, but maybe not. A module of position sensors maybe?

 

[jim0266]

@Motoarzan

I asked the service manager if centering the electric powering steering module is software or hardware fix, but he was not sure and the tech was not there to ask. I can try and follow up with him.

Below is all the relevant information from the service manager from our email exchanges.

I will also PM you my VIN, the name of the dealership and the name of the service manager. With that information your dealer might be able to track any information they captured in the TAC opened on my case.

Jim

"We have opened a GM TAC case and are waiting to hear back from them. I did test drive the vehicle yesterday. We are going to make sure we spend the time trying to resolve the drifting/pulling issues through the manufacture and will probably perform another alignment just as a precaution.

I personally test drove the vehicle 3 times, we did open a TAC case, explained the situation with them in depth and then performed an alignment on the vehicle. NOW the big difference that I think may have occurred is that we centered the electric powering steering module on the vehicle during the alignment process. Not so sure that happened the last time we did the alignment. I was not actually here at that time.

On my final test drive the same drifting/pulling feeling i felt to the right is NO longer there. Of course with a shorter wheel base the vehicle is more road crown sensitive BUT drives totally different now than when I drove the first time.

every time the vehicle is aligned (once every 12 months recommended) that centering needs to be done--- since we have had the vehicle in here a couple of times and this is the first I have worked with the vehicle could have been on us."

 

[jim0266]

It was good while it lasted. My drift/pull to the right has returned.

 

[Lin19687]

Mine also does this but not constantly. I have been on flat roads and it is on and off doing it.

I have not aligned it as it started from about get go.


I am just buying my time till another maker comes out with a longer range EV and will switch then.



also the poop way they slap this car together is very sad. Their QC sucks

 

[Packard V8]

Mine also does this but not constantly. I have been on flat roads and it is on and off doing it. I have not aligned it as it started from about get go. I am just buying my time till another maker comes out with a longer range EV and will switch then. also the poop way they slap this car together is very sad. Their QC sucks

Sorry a couple of our members have issues with the Bolt. But then, there are the vast majority here who have had fewer problems than a typical ICE.

Having owned dozens of cars and trucks over the past sixty years, the Bolt is the best all-around of them all.

Go to German or Italian designed and built car fora. There, cars costing 2X - 4X that of the Bolt, there will be far more issues requiring long dealer stays and many of them. Ironically, most of the problems are electrical.

jack vines

 

[Balloondoggle]

I picked up a '19 LT a few weeks ago and now, 1700 miles later the pull to the right is driving me nuts. Even when it tracks straight, the steering wheel is cocked a few degrees right. Last time I saw this behavior in a car it was a dragging brake pad, but with regen I can't really tell for sure if it straightens out when the brakes are applied because I can't tell when they transition from regen to physical.

I want to take it in and have it looked at, but at the same time I don't want to give it up for a couple of days because I enjoy driving it - the new-car novelty hasn't worn off yet and I'm still adjusting my thinking to the differences between this and the Leaf that preceded it.

 

[MikeyBolt]

Curious how much the affected cars are pulling to the right. I ask because mine generally pulls to the right but on portions of the road that are visibly crowned to the left, it pulls to the left. My steering wheel is straight but I do think mine has a very slight right pull because in lanes that I would judge to be flat (no crown), it seems to have a very slight right pull but it takes several hundred feet to drift out of lane. I wonder if the alignment on these is just set for efficiency and that causes them to have more of a tendency to follow the crown. I have about 700 miles on my 2019 and judging by the nubs on the new tires, they seem to be wearing evenly at least.

To me, it's not bothersome but I wonder if some of you have much more of a pull than I do.

Mike

 

[Balloondoggle]

I have seen it on crowned roads in other cars, but then the wheel is straight when the road levels out and everything is tracking correctly. In this case it can pull me out of the lane in short order, beyond what LKA can prevent. After a 500 mile road trip last week my hand hurt from holding it left so long. I also had to wonder if LKA was somehow working against me, but turning it off made no difference.

 

[Motoarzan]

Road crown will effect drift but this issue is is not that. Go into a flat mall parking lot and make a left turn. The vehicle will return to center and drive straight. Now make a right turn the steering wheel will not return quite to center like it only returned 98% or so.

 

[JPT]

My '17 also pulls a bit to the right. The crown of the road makes a difference, but even on the left side of the crown the car still heads to the right. However it isn't a strong pull and I haven't taken it in for an alignment in 35000km. I will, but in the meantime I've just staggered the tire pressure a tiny bit and it seems to even it out.

 

[Balloondoggle]

Road crown will effect drift but this issue is is not that. Go into a flat mall parking lot and make a left turn. The vehicle will return to center and drive straight. Now make a right turn the steering wheel will not return quite to center like it only returned 98% or so.

That's exactly what I'm seeing, thanks. It is accompanied with a vague sense of slop in the steering when things are centered.

 

[MikeyBolt]

Road crown will effect drift but this issue is is not that. Go into a flat mall parking lot and make a left turn. The vehicle will return to center and drive straight. Now make a right turn the steering wheel will not return quite to center like it only returned 98% or so.

Sounds like a good experiment to try. I'll test it out this weekend when I go out and will report back.

Mike

 

[JohnnyEV]

I have seen it on crowned roads in other cars, but then the wheel is straight when the road levels out and everything is tracking correctly. In this case it can pull me out of the lane in short order, beyond what LKA can prevent. After a 500 mile road trip last week my hand hurt from holding it left so long. I also had to wonder if LKA was somehow working against me, but turning it off made no difference.

Your lane keep assist may need to be calibrated. There was a software update on my '17 but it has never pulled to one side, just tracked better on the white line verses the double yellow where it would track on or over the line. The update helped a bit, but it is not that great of a system. Maybe the Leaf's system was better, but I would take it in if it is under warranty.

 

[Motoarzan]

It's not a lane keep assist issue. My dealer opened a case with GM. They advised there are a number of defective steering boxes from the manufacturer and the fix is to simply rip it out and replace with a new one. My Bolt is going in next week for the new steering module and I will report back.

 

[PhilBo]

It's not a lane keep assist issue. My dealer opened a case with GM. They advised there are a number of defective steering boxes from the manufacturer and the fix is to simply rip it out and replace with a new one. My Bolt is going in next week for the new steering module and I will report back.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[sparks]

I am a simple harmless troll who immensely loves his Bolt
In a spirit of frivolity if I had the one side problem...suggested procedure would be to do the same thing to the opposite side as was done to the problem side
Bolt EV ...straight and true

 

[Balloondoggle]

It's not a lane keep assist issue. My dealer opened a case with GM. They advised there are a number of defective steering boxes from the manufacturer and the fix is to simply rip it out and replace with a new one. My Bolt is going in next week for the new steering module and I will report back.

Is there any chance you have a case number or other reference? I'm setting up service for this issue now and am anxious to avoid an argument over whether this is warranty or not.