2018 CHEVROLET BOLT EV Steering Problems

The steering fails to return to center after a turn, especially at low speed. It requires me to manually center the wheel, and can make steering difficult in low speed city driving. No warning lights or codes are displayed. Front end alignment seems to be good with very little drifting in either direction. Highway driving provides some centering of the wheel, though less than any of the vehicles I have driven. When test driving the vehicle on 9/15/25, I asked the dealership about the issue. They stated it had been inspected roughly a month prior and no issues were found with the steering, and no pending recalls existed that were related to steering. I bought the vehicle the same day and realized it had the symptoms at all times at low speeds. Chevy Bolt forums have reported the same issue, with a lot of vehicles having low miles.

Steering wheel makes noise and is hard to steer. The car creaks and clunks when driving over any type of speed bump, pothole, etc. Looking online, this seems to be a chronic safety problem with this make and model.

Steering does not return to center without effort. Feels stiff. Very different from other owned cars.

The steering wheel will not return to center after turning. The steering feels stiff, and the steering wheel will not return to center on its own.

At about 40k miles my steering changed. The steering would no longer straighten out. It occurred to me on a windy road, and made the drive a lot more difficult as I was not used to it. I just got it fixed from the Chevrolet dealership and they replaced the steering box.

The steering rack loses its lubrication make it turn harder and could potentially fail completely leading to a loss of steering. I noticed that when I am steering around a curve the steering wheel fails to pull back to the center position and has to be manually forced back. Loss of steering or steering malfunction could lead to a fatal crash. I have not had my vehicle inspected by a dealer or mechanic but have researched the problem and many people online have reported failure of the steering rack/gear as well. There is no warning from the manufacturer about this problem and could go unnoticed until the problem is severe. The manufacturer (Chevrolet) should be required to replace this faulty part at no charge to the customer.

Sometimes, the steering wheel of the car will not return back to center after turning. The steering also feels a lot heavier. This usually happens after driving straight for a little and then having to make a turn, but may happen spontaneously in other situations as well. The steering wheel suddenly not returning to center when it is expected increases the chances of accidents, especially in areas with many curves and people/activities. The car does not show any warning signs. The dealership said they said they didn't notice it when driving and thus didn't want to further check it (they only drove it from one parking spot to another).

On 4/5/2025 I was driving at 35mph and the steering wheel began to violently shimmy. The vehicle became difficult to steer putting safety at risk. Slowed to 25mph but shimmy did not stop. ABS warning light came on and Stabilitrak warning light came on and warning that steering was being was being automatically reduced. Driving became very difficult. Stopped and had car towed to Chevrolet. Car was diagnosed with broken left and right front axle anticlick washers and metallic debri found on sensors. Both front axle anticlick washers were replaced, sensors cleaned, and codes cleared, and brake fluid had to be flushed. Cost $850 to repair. Subsequently found out another friend had same thing happen to their 2018 Bolt. This was a safety issue and put us at risk while driving.

Steering wheel does not return to center

The steering of my 2018 Chevy Bolt is sticky. At moderate speeds and going around sweeping corners and curves, the steering becomes sticky and does not want to return to center - you must guide steering back to center and there is friction involved in pulling it back to center. This is a safety issue because the sticking does not allow the driver to sense true road conditions especially in adverse weather. The problem has been reproduced by the dealer and is commonly discussed in Chevy Bolt forums including this one: [XXX] There are no warning lights or indicators of this issue - it is something that you begin to feel with the steering. Certain weather, temperature, and driving conditions seem to make it more pronounced. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Well known steering issue causing steering to almost "lock" and not return to center. Seemingly caused by lack of grease on the steering gear. Obviously dangerous for all involved as it is a steering problem.

my bolt was bought in 2018 (2018model) and has only a lil over 35k mileage. I was just informed by the dealer that the whole steering gear needs to be replaced as it could fail at any moment. I checked online for similar issues and seems like there are thousands of complaints of this, I was quoted for $3700 to get this repaired.. This is such a safety issue that it needs to be a recall, especially when considering such a low mileage!!

The steering gear went out at 45k miles and I JUST got the car recently. The steering stays stuck when I turn it and it takes turns very sharply. In snow or rainy conditions,This might be fatal. I checked out a couple of forums online regarding this issue and seems like a lot of people have also encountered it. It’s a $4000 fix when I took it Chevrolet. This should be something Chevrolet recalls, not for us to fix as it could end up in a lot of injuries or ever death.

The steering does not return to center after a turn. It must manually be returned to the center position. Also, there is a creaking sound when turning the wheel.

While driving, the steering wheel is stiff when turning left or right and the steering wheel will not return to center after turning a corner or chaning lanes.

The rack and pinion steering degraded over a short period of time with less than 25,000 miles on the vehicle. The first thing we noticed was that the steering wheel would not return to center. Gradually, the steering worsened until it got to the point that the only way the steering would return to center was if it was forcefully pulled to center by the driver. The dealership told us they had no idea what could cause this. We looked online at Chevy Bolt forums and discovered that many other people were having these issues. We took the vehicle to a highly rated repair shop and the mechanic drove the vehicle. He felt it was one of two issues and tried to repair the system without replacing the entire rack and pinion but the repair was unsuccessful. He disassembled the car and determined that the rack and pinion had failed. He showed me evidence of a leak in the system. We have not had any difficulty since it was repaired 6 months ago. There were no warning lights or messages. This was extremely dangerous to both the driver of the vehicle, other drivers and passengers, as well as pedestrians and bicycles because the steering was so unresponsive. It was not possible to make a steering correction quickly due to the issue, thereby putting those in the vehicle and others on the road in danger of a collision.

Steering gear failed. My young daughter usually drives this car. I drove it for the first time in a couple of weeks because it was blocking my car in and immediately knew there was a an issue. When turning a corner it was difficult to straighten the steering wheel back to center and if not forced it would continue turning instead of returning back to center on its own. I immediately took it to a mechanic who indicated that the steering gear was failing. He said that when he had the car on the lift to diagnose, it was very difficult to move the wheels by hand. The failure happened pretty quickly and could have been disastrous had I not driven the car.

My 2018 Chevrolet Bolt steering does not self center. After a turn I have to manually turn the steering wheel back to center. This occurrs turning either left or right. The steering also feels a bit heavy. This is alarming that something is binding in the steering. It is becoming more noticeable. The car was recently in the dealer shop for a seat belt cover recall and they didn't notice anything wrong. The tires were rotated but that made no difference. My wife took the car in for the recall but didn't know to ask about the steering. There are no warning lights.

The factory installed steering rack is binding and fails to return to center. The car has 96,000 miles on it. The steering is dangerous and the vehicle does not track straight even after multiple attempts to align the front end suspension. We replaced the tires, front struts and aligned the vehicle only to discover there is a manufacturing defect in the design of the steering rack.

I purchased this car at 15,000 miles in October 2021. It’s my first electric car, and I just assumed that the stiffness in the steering wheel was part of the electric car experience. Big mistake! I took it into the dealer last week and they want $3500 to replace the steering mechanism, I’ve been looking online and I see lots of other people having this issue. This seems like a severe safety issue and Chevy needs to take responsibility for it.

This car has only 33,000 miles and has been driven gently, mostly on the highway. My wife took her car into the dealer to have the computer software updated (from the battery fiasco-it has never worked correctly since the batteries were changed) and the dealer advised that the car has a "stuck" steering gear, and it was unsafe to drive. The dealer produced an estimate for $2883.24 to change the steering gear, with the same presumably defective parts that were originally used. Now that it has been pointed out my wife said that the steering was getting harder and harder over time and that it probably was starting within the 3 year warranty period. Chevrolet does not consider the vehicles steering to be part of the "drivetrain", even though you cannot drive the car without steering and the dealer says that it is "unsafe to drive"

The steering binds up while turning and the steering wheel does not return to its center neutral position. This is a major safety issue because it takes significant effort to get the car to go straight again. I have nearly gone off the road because of the car’s unpredictable steering. The problem was reproduced and confirmed by my Chevy dealer. The technician attributes the problem to a defective steering gear. After some research online, I see that this problem is common with the Bolt. This is a major safety concern and there should be a recall to correct the problem and hold Chevrolet accountable. There were no warning lights or other signs of malfunction. The problem has made the wheels out of alignment, however.

Our vehicle's power steering is intermittent. It randomly shuts off, leaving the driver with no power steering. Most frequently, the problem surfaces just after start-up, however, this problem also occurs after driving the car for several minutes, such as when the vehicle is parked but turned on, when the vehicle is in motion while driving, and even once in the middle of a U-turn. Once out, the power steering stays off for several minutes, sometimes only 5 minutes, sometimes 15. Once out, the power steering has a) come back on without warning 5-15 minutes later, while the vehicle is in motion while driving, or b) not returned at all for the duration of a drive. It feels unsafe to drive a car that will lose power steering in the middle of a drive. Imagine you are turning the vehicle around a tight corner at 30mph, and all of a sudden the vehicle's trajectory is instantly changed and/or affected because you aren't prepared to grip the steering wheel and apply force strong enough to hold its position without the power assist. Or, imagine the power steering goes out, and you're driving on natural power, applying force strong enough to keep the vehicle on its intended trajectory, but then, without warning, power steering returns, and you suddenly have to correct by lightening your hold? In both scenarios, the power steering is unreliably putting the driver and passengers, along with other motorists or pedestrians, at risk due to the intermittent and unpredictable power steering problem. Yes, it has been inspected by the manufacturer at a Chevy dealership and it was determined: "Internal Power Steering Module Failure. Verified on road test. Found no communication from steering control module. Test power and ground. Recommend replacement." A warning sound and a flash notice on the indicator screen both emerge simultaneously when the problem occurs, however, no messages or indications happen prior to the failure. For us, they first appeared in February 2022.

Over the last month I have noticed that the steering fails to return to center once I turn the front wheels more than a few degrees to the right or left. I thought it could be a tire wear or miss-alignment issue so I got new tires and an alignment but the problem is still quite bad. While I noticed it starting at the end of July, it is an ongoing problem. It seems to be getting worse - the steering now ‘sticks’ consistently in both directions.

The steering wheel.does not turn back to the center once I make a turn. Mechanics say it is a steering gear that is out of order. My wife and I got into the accident multiple times due to this.

It appears the steering rack is binding up. On sweeping corners at moderate speed (30-50mph) the steering wheel must forcefully be returned to center, regardless of direction and wants to turn a little further into the corner, the driver must always forcefully maintain control of the wheel at moderate speeds. The car has recently had a 4 wheel alignment, and steers straight otherwise. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The failure may put drivers at risk if they are not able to overcome the force required to straighten the wheel (which is far beyond the typical force required to drive a car with power steering) or are inattentive to the behavior. The vehicle has not yet been diagnosed by an independent service center. I have diagnosed it myself by putting the vehicle up on jack stands. With the front wheels off the ground, and the steering column disconnected from the steering rack, you can feel that the steering rack has bound up. While gripping the sides of the wheels, with them off the ground, and the steering column disconnected, the wheels are very difficult to steer, and you can feel the rack skips and jumps discontinuously. I will have the failure inspected by a GM dealer within the next few weeks as time allows. There are no warning lamps or messages. The primary symptom is that the steering wheel does no return to center upon exiting turns. This is a discussed failure on the Bolt EV forums & internet here: https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/steering-wheel-not-centering-after-a-turn.33873/ https://www.carproblemzoo.com/chevrolet/boltev/2017/steering-problems.php https://www.carproblemzoo.com/chevrolet/boltev/steering-problems.php https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/2018-chevy-bolt-46k-miles-needs-steering-rack-3k-dollar-repair.37332/page-2#post-701932 https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/steering-rack-oil-leak.28129/

Driving curvy mountain road and the steering wheel fails to return to center. Nearly caused a terrible accident.

Steering on this vehicle failed at less than 40,000 miles. Car is almost uncontrollable and drifts off the road; steering now requires enormous force to maintain a straight course.

THIS VEHICLE AS 42987 MILES ON THE ODOMETER AND HAS BEEN USED ONLY IN STANDARD HIGHWAY DRIVING. THE STEERING STARTED TO MAKE A "CLICKING" NOISE AND BECAME HARDER TO HANDLE. A SEARCH OF THE INTERNET INDICATED THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON IN CHEVROLET BOLT CARS, OFTEN OCCURRING WHEN THE VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN A FEW THOUSAND MILES. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE LOCAL CHEVROLET DEALER WHO RAN A COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC THAT SHOWED THE CAR'S STEERING WAS OPERATING "WITHIN MANUFACTURER'S SPECS." I WAS ABLE TO PERSUADE THE DEALER TO DO AN ADDITIONAL EXAMINATION. THE TECH DETERMINED THAT THE STEERING RACK/GEAR ASSEMBLY WAS SHOT AND THE PROBLEM COULD NOT BE REPAIRED SIMPLY BY RE-TORQUING THE STEERING HEAD BOLTS. THE COST OF REPLACING THE DEFECTIVE STEERING RACK WAS QUOTED AT $2,033. POSTS ON THE INTERNET SUGGEST THAT THE DEFECTIVE STEERING RACK IS OFTEN DISCOVERED BY OWNERS WITHIN THE WARRANTY PERIOD AND THEN REPAIRED BY CHEVROLET. WHAT IS NOT CLEAR IS HOW OFTEN THE DEFECTIVE STEERING RACK IS DISCOVERED JUST AFTER THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY (THE "BUMPER TO BUMPER" WARRANTY ON A BOLT IS ONLY 36,000 MILES, SO MY DEFECTIVE STEERING RACK FAILED JUST AFTER THE END OF THE WARRANTY AND CHEVROLET WILL NOT COVER THIS DEFECT.) I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THE NHTSA INVESTIGATE HOW OFTEN THIS DEFECT OCCURS AND ORDER A RECALL.

Mileage: 42,987