Wandering Silverado...

[Marv88]

My truck is a 2016 Silverado regular Cab 2wd with less than 6,000 miles and from day 1 the steering wheel was off center, it didn't track properly and it pulled to the right. It took 5 attempts by 3 different techs to finally get  the alignment correct and it has been driving great since then other than pulling a little to the right only when cold for some reason they could not figure out. Last night while making a slow left turn over a small dip I heard a clunk and once I got up to about 30 mph the truck started wandering to the point where I was constantly jockeying the steering wheel to keep it straight with occasional clunking during the 5 minute drive home. I can't see anything obvious so I was wondering if anyone could point me towards what to look for that may have broken or come loose etc so I can determine if it is safe to drive the 20 miles to the dealership or if I should just have it towed. Thanks in advance for any insight.

[2017SierraSLT]

Until the vehicle is fully inspected, I would not drive it an inch. Steering problems are serious. Have it towed.

[JerryCanada]

This sounds serious. If it's still under warranty I'd get it towed to dealer. Or at least have someone competent look at it before it goes back on the road.

[sk]

I agree with getting it to the dealer.

 

These trucks have electric power steering and other people have had electrical issues where it jerked the steering out of their hands so it may not be something broken or loose -- it could be an electrical issue.

[Marv88]

Thanks guys and yes it is still under warranty. I think the clunking may have actually been my UnderCover one piece hard Tonneau cover (I just found I failed to close the latches when I left Home Depot last night) and now that the electric power steering was mentioned I do recall that it almost seemed like the truck was steering itself from side to side. I'm going to drive it down the backroad behind me where nobody will be to see what happens.

[O_J_Simpson]

You might have blown a Rancho shock.

[Marv88]

15 minutes ago, O_J_Simpson said:

You might have blown a Rancho shock.

I replaced the rears with Belltechs but haven't had a chance to install the front ones yet so I'll check those out. 

 

I took a short drive hitting several bumps and the clunking is gone so I'm pretty sure that was from the cover not being latched. Truck seems to drive fine now however I'm going to take it in anyway. BTW. I googled "Silverado electric power steering problems" and to my surprise an article came up from August stating 800,000 GM trucks are subject to recall for power steering problems! Thanks again guys.

[2017SierraSLT]

2014 trucks were the focus of that recall

[Marv88]

2 hours ago, 2017SierraSLT said:

2014 trucks were the focus of that recall

Gotcha.  I did more research and could  only find one complaint for a 2016 that was nearly identical to mine so it must be pretty isolated.

[sk]

Search these forums for something like "G218 ground".  There is a ground up in the front drivers corner of the dash that has some issues.  When this ground is not seated correctly it causes low voltage to the BCM which then causes a whole bunch of electrical issues.  It's easy to check and repair yourself but if it's under warranty I would make the dealer do it.

[Marv88]

1 hour ago, sk said:

Search these forums for something like "G218 ground".  There is a ground up in the front drivers corner of the dash that has some issues.  When this ground is not seated correctly it causes low voltage to the BCM which then causes a whole bunch of electrical issues.  It's easy to check and repair yourself but if it's under warranty I would make the dealer do it.

Thanks and I found the thread you were referring to. Interesting thing is recently I have been working inside the drivers side dash where that ground is while making a template for the new mids/running new wires/test fitting etc so it's very possible I have bumped that ground making it worse.

Man without this forum I would have never imagined something like a possibly bad ground could cause steering issues! 

Thanks again guys for all the insight!

[Marv88]

The ground was tight and did not have the insulation pinched between it as mentioned in that thread so Im just going to take it in.

['17 Sierra]

Do you have Lane Assist on your truck? It will intervene and try to center you back in the lane if activated.

[Marv88]

18 minutes ago, '17 Sierra said:

Do you have Lane Assist on your truck? It will intervene and try to center you back in the lane if activated.

 I don't have that feature on mine and didn't even know it was available!

[Huetatos]

I don't even think you can get them on regular cabs. Thats one of those expensive packages I'd think.