# Broken Power seat actuator



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

I have searched around and it appears you are the first forum member to report this failure.

With that in mind, I doubt if a redesign of any sort has ever occured.....You just are the lucky one to be the first.

Rob


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## GracieAllen (Mar 31, 2015)

HMPH! This is NOT something I'd want to be a trend setter for! But it could be worse. This, at least is fixable. We've currently got (I believe) THREE recalls that all portend massive failures but all say "don't bother coming in unless it happens". Which has my wife totally freaked out 'cause she's SURE the steering is going to fail while on the expressway and so on. It'd be funny if it wasn't making her uncomfortable driving the car...


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

The 2011 had an 8 way power seat, must have been some issue with the design as GM changed to a 6 way power seat in 2012+.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

From a guy that use to work on vehicles made in the 20"s and 30's, been a downhill ride ever since. Vehicles are far more complex and the quality of materials is next to a crime. In 1949 quit adding nickel to the steel and with 24 month payments, cars were a pile of rust before you made that 24th payment.

Recently, wife and daughter, broke off cheap plastic knobs, 120 pound little woman, need a very delicate touch. 18 month old grandson if not watched and do a lot of damage. 

We have a power seat, going forward, not too bad with a 120 woman, because you are going uphill. A lot less stress in going backward. After she drives, have my mark memorized so back the seat off before getting in. Ha, have to do this anyway or will never get in. A steel gear has to be machine, plastic in a mold that kick these out faster than you can see. Stockholders love this.

If memory serves me right, in 1965 shop labor was 35 bucks an hour, maximum payments was 24 month, but vehicles only carried a 12 month or 12,000 mile warranty, whichever comes first, this is not new. But today, is 36 months or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first with up to 72 months to pay it off. So not only have that car payment but three years of out of pocket expense to get it repaired. Wonder who came up with this?

Largest throwaway part is the entire unibody, designed to be crushed. Does have an effect on the cost of your auto insurance. Recall paying something like 70 bucks per year back in 1965 for full non-deductible insurance. Probably noticed this is costing quite a bit more today.

All I can say, is that they get us one way or another. If a rich guy, can write off the entire vehicle as an expense on your income tax. But us poor slobs, no deductions even though without it, can't get to work or school. Written off as a business expense.

Well over 95% of us fall into this poor slob category, all I can say is that we are not very smart, counter this if you wish. But these are cold hard facts. Ha, from the people I know around here, can name every player for the Packers, but don't even know who their congressman is. Ha, and with the Packers or any other team, money out of their pocket with no say in the outcome. Still have some say with the government that rules us.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

GracieAllen said:


> HMPH! This is NOT something I'd want to be a trend setter for! But it could be worse. This, at least is fixable. We've currently got (I believe) THREE recalls that all portend massive failures but all say "don't bother coming in unless it happens". Which has my wife totally freaked out 'cause she's SURE the steering is going to fail while on the expressway and so on. It'd be funny if it wasn't making her uncomfortable driving the car...


I think you would be doing your wife a favor by reenforcing the fact a warranty extension (3 things you are calling recalls) are a benefit.
Chevrolet has seen a higher than normal, or higher percentage of the build, experience a problem.
In general, the trigger point is when a particular component exceeds 3%.....so, in this case they have been paying claims or seeing a particular problem for a component exceeding three out of every hundred units.

I have a 12 eco.
Like your car, mine has not had a failure with any of the three assemblys that the warranty has been enhanced on.....so, at this point I have to believe that I currently fall under the 97% that are unaffected but Chevrolet has provided a financial safety net if our cars develop the concern.

So, I look at it as a benefit of sorts.

Go forward with the seat repair and enjoy the car.....with the seat exception, I believe you have a good one.

Rob


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Least I know why GM won't sell you just the gear, they don't have one, purchase the power seat actuator part # 13578632 as an assembly. 

If they did sold you the gear, would have to pay some dealer 85 bucks an hour to replace it, and looks like a pressed on part. 48 bucks isn't bad at all, and look at it this way, will have a spare motor on hand. Maybe you can put that in a slot car.


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## GracieAllen (Mar 31, 2015)

Robby, my wife's concern isn't the warranty extension, it's that (among other things) the STEERING will lock up and refuse to turn while she's traveling 70 mph on the expressway in the middle of nowhere and everyone in the car will die... So, she's not seeing it as a benefit - she sees it as a life-threatening flaw, of which she now has THREE letters for different ones from GM, who's telling her not to expect the dealer to do anything unless she encounters and survives the occurrence. At 64, she's been driving a long time, and she's never had a vehicle with this many recalls, problems, letters, possible dangerous flaws, and so on (I don't actually see the letters, she just tells me when she gets a new one). The tipping point will happen if she doesn't want to drive the car from MN to Indiana for the annual 4th of July return to the ancestral home (an event I'm fortunately not required to attend). If she's concerned enough that she won't hop in the car and drive it a thousand miles, it'll get replaced. 

As for the plastic piece on the seat motor - it DEFINITELY comes off. There's a small screw in the end of the worm piece on which the plastic thing goes. Undo the screw and it comes right off. Or the new one would go right on. BUT, in either case, it comes as an assembly - in this case it's 13578636 if I recall correctly. I"ll order one when we get back home next week.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

GracieAllen said:


> Robby, my wife's concern isn't the warranty extension, it's that (among other things) the STEERING will lock up and refuse to turn while she's traveling 70 mph on the expressway in the middle of nowhere and everyone in the car will die... So, she's not seeing it as a benefit - she sees it as a life-threatening flaw, of which she now has THREE letters for different ones from GM, who's telling her not to expect the dealer to do anything unless she encounters and survives the occurrence.


Having experienced the steering issue this is definitely an over exaggeration of what occurs when you have this problem. At best its more of an annoyance, a notch you can feel at center so the steering isn't as smooth as your used to, you still have full control of the car. The Steering does not lock up and everyone doesn't die, LOL. 

The other 2 letters you mention are for a battery cable which if effected the poor connection could cause numerous electrical gremlins and erroneous error messages on the DIC. Again if this effected you it would be hard to ignore, but should not endanger you in any way. The other letter was for a possible faulty water pump, which if your loosing or smell coolant, having high engine temps or related warnings would also be a pretty obvious issue. 

See the letters from GM for what they actually are, warranty extensions. Instead of 3 year/36K miles on the battery cable you get 10 years/120K miles warranty. The steering would also normally only be covered by the 3 year/36K warranty, but was increased to 10 years/150K miles. The water pump would normally be covered by the powertrain warranty, so you go from 5 year/100K to 10 year/150K. Seems like great assurance GM stands behind their product.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

> As for the plastic piece on the seat motor - it DEFINITELY comes off. There's a small screw in the end of the worm piece on which the plastic thing goes. Undo the screw and it comes right off. Or the new one would go right on. BUT, in either case, it comes as an assembly - in this case it's 13578636 if I recall correctly. I"ll order one when we get back home next week.


Admittedly was going by trends. So you had this gear in your hands? Can you post a photo of it? What's wrong with it, spun out keyed shaft, broken teeth? Is their a part number stamped on it? Gears date back to the ancient Greeks, many gears are available. Maybe the reps on this board can help you.

I lost our power steering, and several manufacturers have recalls dating back to around 2007. Did you actually experience this or just speculating? Power assist is minimal when driving down the highway, parallel parking is a different story.

Such a thing as a locking steering wheel pushed by insurance companies to prevent thief, learned its next to worthless, my stupid question is why are they still using it? Anti-thief was put on top of this, but still doesn't prevent a flat bed truck from stealing your car or a guy holding a gun to your head. 

Electric power steering was pushed by the EPA, so would have less than an extra pint of PS fluid to recycle. Locking an AT in Park was pushed by insurance companies, because of major lawsuits where people claimed it jumped out of gear and they ran over their own kids. Don't have this with a manual. Ha, was backing out of my grandkids home yesterday, told them to stand in the yard where I could see them. Do you want grandpa to run you over? NO was the answer I got to this. 

Had my teeth cleaned yesterday by a nice young lady that was very pregnant the last time I saw her. She had to show my photos and her first comment was the birth cost her $4,000.00, and not even tax deductible, and added in her tax bracket, paying about 90 cents per day less in taxes to support it. Can only deduct whats above 10% above hers and her husbands gross income.

Airbags were found to kill as many kids as adults that refused to wear their belts, congress says, put your kids in the back seats. So besides getting no breaks, have to buy either a SUV or a minivan that burns gas like crazy.

Not the automotive industry completely at fault, blame the EPA, the IRS, and insurance companies for your complaints.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

GracieAllen said:


> Robby, my wife's concern isn't the warranty extension, it's that (among other things) the STEERING will lock up and refuse to turn while she's traveling 70 mph on the expressway in the middle of nowhere and everyone in the car will die... So, she's not seeing it as a benefit - she sees it as a life-threatening flaw, of which she now has THREE letters for different ones from GM, who's telling her not to expect the dealer to do anything unless she encounters and survives the occurrence. At 64, she's been driving a long time, and she's never had a vehicle with this many recalls, problems, letters, possible dangerous flaws, and so on (I don't actually see the letters, she just tells me when she gets a new one). The tipping point will happen if she doesn't want to drive the car from MN to Indiana for the annual 4th of July return to the ancestral home (an event I'm fortunately not required to attend). If she's concerned enough that she won't hop in the car and drive it a thousand miles, it'll get replaced.
> 
> As for the plastic piece on the seat motor - it DEFINITELY comes off. There's a small screw in the end of the worm piece on which the plastic thing goes. Undo the screw and it comes right off. Or the new one would go right on. BUT, in either case, it comes as an assembly - in this case it's 13578636 if I recall correctly. I"ll order one when we get back home next week.


As stated, the steering thing is a momentary loss of assist, not a loss of steering control.....and the moment of loss is just that...it momentarily feels like more effort was required to make a steering correction at speed.

If the car did not have power steering it emulates the feeling of a car with manual steering.......and those that have experienced the feeling (myself included, a couple of times two years ago) found the feeling occurs only when highway driving for long periods and a minor steering correction takes place.......wheel feels tight, then it feels normal.....blink of an eye from a time measurment standpoint.

Kindof one of those "what was that?" feelings.

I assure you, if the steering actually 'locked up' a true recall would have occured long ago.

Recalls are going to be a fact of life.....late model cars/trucks have so many electronics and the potential for components not operating as designed is increasing with each model year.

You indicate your wife (and I'll assume you as well) are in your 60's.......I'm 65, so, I too get caught up in the frustration of looking back at previous cars that were far simpler......and that simplicity meant they rarely had problems beyond maintenance.
The only thing that makes it easier for me to not get too frustrated is I'm still, although semi retired, still in the mechanic business.

I see these changes on a annual basis.....each year brings a bit more complexity.....not just our cars....everything we use.
If a consumer purchassed a new car every year, they too would feel the complexity is evolutionary.

But, most consumers replace a car at 5 to 10 year intervals, so the changes in technology feel revolutionary, and often, very aggravating when that technology jump has a hiccup.......mindset being "What the heck....can't anybody make a car anymore?' type response.
We quickly forget about all the safety and minimal maintenance requirements the new car brought with it......that and the incredible fuel economy, almost emission free, and far more reliable operation that is part of the package.

I reflect back to cars of the mid seventies.....you're old enouph to remember......how many times did you have to restart the car on a cold start just to get out of the driveway?
Do you remember a annual tune-up?......plugs, points, condenser, distributor cap and rotor, plug wires, air filter, fuel filter, PCV valve......a three thousand mile oil change, coolant flush every two years, fuel pumps dieing, drive belt replacement (on average, three to four belts).
How about a starter and alternator every two to three years......not unusual.
How about rust?.......I don't know about you, but here in the salt belt these turds were starting to ventilate their sheet metal around the third or fourth winter.

Most of the parts I've mentioned don't exist anymore on your car and many of the other components likely will still be installed when the car goes to its grave.
Rust? Actual perforation is uncommon before the tenth winter in the salt belt.....folks that don't endure the chemicals only have to worry about paint so old it flakes off and interiors that rot away from sun damage.

Those things from the early 90's and earlier rarely made five years before the drivers seat was ripped to shreds.

Jeeze!......look what you did!......I sound almost like Nick (had to say it Nick, heh heh....otherwise someone else will)

Anyways, looking back, I really don't miss the old stuff.....and I'm a collector......so, I still put up with the old stuff.
But it sure is nice to hop in the Cruze, after horsing around with the old stuff, knowing the odds are it'll run, with no surprises or immediate needs, and just enjoy the ride while using hardly any fuel, and when I get home I only have to lock the door and call it a day.

My fingers are sore,
Rob


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

1964 was the year the silicon transistor and the thyristor were in mass production, my company developed a very reliable solid state ignition system and a voltage regulator to replace the very unreliable contact points.

Visited OMC, Kiekhaefer, all the majors in Detroit, they were in Detroit back then. All mechanical engineers, wouldn't have thing to do with electronics. Until the EPA was formed, first introduced in the 1972. Ha, basically 2-3 transistor circuits, very simple, very reliable.

Today, I feel they are going way overboard, can't even switch on a dome light before going through a BCM.

Didn't stop me from adding a solid state ignition and voltage regulator in my 1965 Buick. Voltage was rock solid and never had to change ignition points again.

At times, I wish they left it this way. 

Other stuff? Like a digital watch, clock, DVD player, HDTV, refrigerator, range, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, HVAC heating/cooling system, dumb for the use cell phones, etc., etc.


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## GracieAllen (Mar 31, 2015)

Gads, we sound ancient!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I definitely remember the cars of the 60s, the days when mom's "grocery getter" was a fire-breathing rocket compared to the fuel efficient roller skates we use now. And having to warm up the car before it moved and the annual tune-ups and all that. Of course, I can also remember that you could GET to everything to do that annual tune-up in 20 minutes... And replace a water pump in an hour or so.

As I said, I don't usually see all the recall and warranty extension letters she gets. I get the condensed version of "GM says this may happen but the dealer doesn't want to see the car unless it happens." I figure as long as she's confident the car will get her where she's going, we're OK.

As for the seat actuator... I had the motor assembly off. The motor has a 90 degree piece with a screw thread piece about 4 inches long with WIDE threads. Wrapped around that is a plastic piece that moves back and forth on the threads as the motor rotates. The plastic piece is attached to the seat frame and when it moves the front of the seat goes up and down. That plastic piece is split down the middle and it doesn't make good contact with the teeth on the metal piece. So, when the driver gets in the car the seat makes noise as the plastic piece slips down. Switching drivers requires moving the seat back and forth which changes the positioin of this actuator, which works when there's no load. Next driver, big noise again... It's not dangerous but it's something I'll fix. I can take a photo when I pull the old one out again and replace it 'cause the diagram in the GM parts display doesn't show it very well. I'm just surprised there haven't been other people with the problem but it could be a fluke and ours just had a flaw in the plastic piece.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

More than likely nylon, if even this for this gear. Delrin is far superior, seen Delrin wheel bushings wear out the metal axle before they even shown signs of wear.

Yet to find a glue for nylon, some claim to have it, child's paste works just a good. Had some success by drilling an under sized hole and pressing in a hot steel pin.


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## GracieAllen (Mar 31, 2015)

Seat's fixed... And, the dealer managed to totally wind up the wife again... She called with the three letters and was told the bring the car in on Wednesday. Did so. I went over to pick her up a couple minutes later and she was at the end of the drive, pulling out. Asked and was told by her that the *&^%$# service person told her they were just warranty extensions and there was NOTHING to check. So, she's all PO'd at GM again, and Chevrolet in particular... Don't bother, it doesn't HAVE to make sense...

In truth, if we'd been able to find a Toyota that fit in the 185" garage space and had enough leg room for my 6'4", 280 pound self, we wouldn't have the Cruze. Her last Toyota went 12 years, 180,000 miles, never had a recall, the only repair was a water pump we changed in the driveway in about a half hour, and the only reason we got rid of it was 'cause we were buying a car for the offspring (don't ask), and it seems silly for mom to drive a 12-year-old car while the kid had a new one. But, it is what it is. And she's not mad enough to trade it in, and she's heading off on the annual thousand mile pilgrimage to the ancestral homeland for the next week. And I"m NOT!


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

GracieAllen said:


> Seat's fixed... And, the dealer managed to totally wind up the wife again... She called with the three letters and was told the bring the car in on Wednesday. Did so. I went over to pick her up a couple minutes later and she was at the end of the drive, pulling out. Asked and was told by her that the *&^%$# service person told her they were just warranty extensions and there was NOTHING to check. So, she's all PO'd at GM again, and Chevrolet in particular... Don't bother, it doesn't HAVE to make sense...
> 
> In truth, if we'd been able to find a Toyota that fit in the 185" garage space and had enough leg room for my 6'4", 280 pound self, we wouldn't have the Cruze. Her last Toyota went 12 years, 180,000 miles, never had a recall, the only repair was a water pump we changed in the driveway in about a half hour, and the only reason we got rid of it was 'cause we were buying a car for the offspring (don't ask), and it seems silly for mom to drive a 12-year-old car while the kid had a new one. But, it is what it is. And she's not mad enough to trade it in, and she's heading off on the annual thousand mile pilgrimage to the ancestral homeland for the next week. And I"m NOT!


Have a pleasant/peaceful week, heh heh.

Brother in law got married last Saturday.....First time married.....62 years old......I shed a few tears.....family thought I was a sensative sort.

NOT.....I shed a tear for the fool leaving blessed batchlorhood after 62 years......doomash!

Rob


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## GracieAllen (Mar 31, 2015)

<chuckle!> Robby, I absolutely wish him and his new bride a TON of years of happiness! I think 62 is when you SHOULD get married. By then you've HAD the Corvette or Porsche or whatever really FUN car you want. You've DONE your street racing and the vast majority of incredibly stupid and life-threatening things you wanted to do (say, for instance, running hot laps at Road America in said Corvette), and you're as mature as ANY guy is eve likely to get... Or perhaps your taste runs more to fer-real race cars with engines that cost more than your house when you blow 'em up while doing that racing. Nope, 62 sounds just about right......


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Ha, that is about how old I was with my 2nd marriage, and this is after I swore I would never marry again. What a wonderful woman who actually found me. We both made stupid mistakes when we were young. Have yet to have a major argument, we can sit and talk our problems quietly. If I can't come up with a solution, she can. Only regret we didn't meet some 30 years ago and can't have our own kids.

But do have plenty of grandkids so can play house, what a wonderful woman she is. Also frugal like I am, ha, never believed in soulmates until we met.

Hope your brother-in-law is just as happy, one thing I had to do was to raise my marriage IQ greater than a two. How can anyone sign a contract for life when you are young and stupid?


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