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Steering wheel shakes

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Malibu Pete 
#1 ·
Hello, new here and my apologies if this has been posted. My 2011 malibu has developed an issue where the steering wheel shakes when putting slight pressure on it to the right. The shaking stops if you are actually turning right and never does it to the left. Occasionally it gives a power steering ecs warning and shuts off the powere steering when started up, but if i turn it off and restart the warning goes away. Im guessing its the torque sensor but everything i have seen says it needs a computer calibration once replaced. Anyone gones through this before?
 
#2 ·
Certainly sounds like it is the electric power steering torque sensor. Contact GM directly to find out if your vehicle [have VIN handy] is covered by any recall,TSB,special coverage etc.
If you have to perform this repair yourself, it does require a final expensive scanner calibration/setup.

Should you repair this yourself, I suggest you report this steering failure to the NTHSA so that in the future, others may receive assistance with this problem.
 
#3 ·
Definitely sounds like the Steering Position Sensor.
GM covered this under warranty for 10 years or 150,000 miles from date of in-service, whichever came first.
I had it done under warranty on my 2012 Malibu LT in 2015. It failed again last spring with 194,000 miles on the car. Bought a GM unit from RockAuto, and installed it myself using YouTube videos to guide me through the process. My son borrowed a SnapOn Zeus unit to recalibrate the sensor. RA no longer carries the GM part, but they have several aftermarket units. Total time start to finish was about 4 hours.
If it cuts out while driving, at best it steers like a truck with manual steering - at worst, it can try to find center on its' own, quite possibly sending you into the guardrail or another vehicle.
 
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