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Edmunds says Numb Steering??

gjjb

SM 2006
Full Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
82
Location
Washington, PA
I've reviewed Edmunds.com and they say that the Avi's have numb steering. What does that mean? I am in the market for one, but I don't want to buy one if the steering is not right. I plan on towing a camper, so any replies are greatly appreciated. The safety of my family is of the upmost importance. I think the Avi's are cool!! (y)
 
Numb as in lack of feeling...  What does Edmund's expect from a 6000 pound vehicle with big tires?

It's no worse than the steering should be for this class of vehicle.
 
go to the search button on the top of the page & go to the search board where they have the topics listed , scroll down to the one that says (? ?Chevrolet Avalanche Towing & Hauling )? ?and do a search, it should answer a lot of your questions.

The reason for the low response is this subject has been discussed over & over again.

Buy the right truck for your hauling needs ( 2500 vs 1500)

I drive a 1500 it is perfect for me, I don't do any heavy hauling or towing, I live in the city, I have to find a place to go off roading.

funny thing is though once I get it all muddy I can hardly wait to clean it back up again.

any way to make a long story short it is simply the best damn truck I have ever had the pleasure to drive.

numb steering and all.
 
I dislike the steering in full-size Chevys.  I don't know what the solution may be, but I've just accepted this as one of those GM things that I guess is not going to change (kinda like the cheap interiors  :rolleyes:)

Still love the truck overall, though, and can't picture myself in any other full-size.





OK, maybe a Nissan Titan  :-X
 
gjjb said:
I've reviewed Edmunds.com and they say that the Avi's have numb steering. What does that mean? I am in the market for one, but I don't want to buy one if the steering is not right. I plan on towing a camper, so any replies are greatly appreciated. The safety of my family is of the upmost importance. I think the Avi's are cool!! (y)

ASk edmunds what they mean......

All these reviewers of various things use words that do not have any context with the subject they are writing about.....

The avy steering is fine to me....but I came from another GM product....before this one....

It is what I know....now...if you are driving a SPORTS CAR...then the Avy steering might seem a bit slow to repond and not have good road feel....buttttttttt...

for a truck is no different then the suburban, tahoe, silverado, and dare I say competitor products.....
 
gjjb said:
I've reviewed Edmunds.com and they say that the Avi's have numb steering. What does that mean? I am in the market for one, but I don't want to buy one if the steering is not right. I plan on towing a camper, so any replies are greatly appreciated. The safety of my family is of the upmost importance. I think the Avi's are cool!! (y)

There's nothing unsafe about the Av's steering, it just doesn't give a lot of feedback about what's going on.  It's way better than my '79 Malibu, but not as good as my '97 Explorer, itself panned for the same lack of steering feel.  The Av handles very well, but you have to learn to trust that the truck is going to do what you tell it to do, bacause you won't be able to tell through the steering wheel. 

Towing is no problem, steering is unaffected by my trailer.
 
Well that particular reviewer may have said that out of context (not sure how), but rest assured that nearly every single article I've ever read about newer full-size Chevys mention numb steering.  So, either they are all on a chevy-steering-bashing bandwagon, or the steering indeed is worse than that of the competition.

I'm guessing it's the latter.
 
and lets not forget that most of these same Chevys are plagued by intermediate steering shaft slop, that the "new" part may or may not have actually fixed.

I'm not going to let GM off so easy...I think they have nice trucks with very mediocre steering.

Oh yeah, did I mention that the interiors suck?  ;)
 
The steering on the AVA is better than my BMW, I would not trade this truck for a million dollars.  Like the saying goes gotta love the AVA.

Sam
 
RichUF said:
and lets not forget that most of these same Chevys are plagued by intermediate steering shaft slop, that the "new" part may or may not have actually fixed.

I'm not going to let GM off so easy...I think they have nice trucks with very mediocre steering.

Oh yeah, did I mention that the interiors suck? ;)

The technology exists to make a 5500lb truck steer well, they've just chosen to stick with 20 year old technology and put the money into ...well...um...I don't know where they put the money.  They really need to match or surpass the technology of their competitors, or that billions of dollars of deficits will just continue to grow.  I'm seeing lots of Titans.
 
The steering on the AVA is better than my BMW

then you apparently need to take your BMW in for service ?;)


I think what this boils down to is apparently the majority of full size truck drivers want steering that you can fling around with a pinky finger. ?A small minority (i.e. at least me and most reviewers) do not want this.
 
I'm seeing lots of Titans

me too...I'm not even close to in the market for a new truck, but I think I'm going to go drive one to see what all the buzz is about.

I'll bet my right arm that it steers better than my AV.
 
SamHouseIII said:
The steering on the AVA is better than my BMW, I would not trade this truck for a million dollars. Like the saying goes gotta love the AVA.

Sam

What BMW do you have, the Isetta? >:D

And no, I wouldn't trade my truck either, but there is room for improvement before it's time to shop for a replacement.
 

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RichUF said:
I think what this boils down to is apparently the majority of full size truck drivers want steering that you can fling around with a pinky finger.  A small minority (i.e. at least me and most reviewers) do not want this.

When the power steering went out on my wifes 960, I was impressed with how much better it handled, they had it boosted way too much.  They've fixed that with the new S60, it goes exactly where you steer it, and you know every thing that's happening.  It's the first car I've owned that I can't drive at the limit.  My wife thought the overboosted sloppy steering was just the way cars were till the S60.  Now that she's seen the light, we can never go back.  I think that's the way most Americans are conditioned, we grew up with sloppy steering, that's the way it's supposed to be. 
 
Define good steering...please....I think we all have difference of what we want...

maybe one day they will design a steerig system that is adjustable for feel..which should not be too hard since it is power assisted....
 
1.? Is light at low speeds, like in a parking lot.
2.? Doesn't require constant, driver-fatiguing adjustment due to slop at highway speed.
3.? Similar to the feel in my VW (despite the fact that it's a car).

There you go.  They've already got #1 down.
 
>:D ? You couldn't run fast enough to give me the keys to a Nissan Titan. ?

sorry guys but I wont ?ever turn my back on GM. here in Oklahoma they spent millions ,if not billions ?building a plant & then retooling it to keep up with the competition.
Since about 1977 or so up untill the present time.
My dad was employed there from '79 through' 95.
Right now they are going through hard times trying to sell the envoy to in a market that is not friendly to high end suv's.
I would hate to think what would happen to the people here in oklahoma and abroad if we all started driving nissans ?:D:
 
ygmn said:
Define good steering...please....I think we all have difference of what we want...

maybe one day they will design a steerig system that is adjustable for feel..which should not be too hard since it is power assisted....

'89 Thunderbird was the first car I drove with variable power assist.  One day has come and gone for quite a while.
 
ygmn said:
maybe one day they will design a steerig system that is adjustable for feel..which should not be too hard since it is power assisted....

Maybe ? actually they already have and "drive-by-wire" is likely the reason why GM hasn't spent money on improvements to old technology since it will be obsolete very soon. ?:B:
 
I know in the newer Audis people are pulling a relay that controls what they call Servotrinic. This is has to do with power steering and with this disabled it was discovered that you still have power steering for the parking lots but while driving it improves the "feel" greatly. So. Sperry are there any relays that we cam pull to modify our power steering and help this matter?? Probably not but it would be nice.
 
Big Bob said:
>:D  You couldn't run fast enough to give me the keys to a Nissan Titan. 

sorry guys but I wont  ever turn my back on GM. here in Oklahoma they spent millions ,if not billions  building a plant & then retooling it to keep up with the competition.
Since about 1977 or so up untill the present time.
My dad was employed there from '79 through' 95.
Right now they are going through hard times trying to sell the envoy to in a market that is not friendly to high end suv's.
I would hate to think what would happen to the people here in oklahoma and abroad if we all started driving nissans  :D:

They would be forced to move to Texas to work in the Titan Plant.  Or Tennesee to work in the other Nissan plant.  Or Ohio to work for Honda.  Buying a Titan shows GM that you can build a quality vehicle with American workers, and that it's their own mismanagement that's responsible for their woes.
 
sennister said:
I know in the newer Audis people are pulling a relay that controls what they call Servotrinic. This is has to do with power steering and with this disabled it was discovered that you still have power steering for the parking lots but while driving it improves the "feel" greatly. So. Sperry are there any relays that we cam pull to modify our power steering and help this matter?? Probably not but it would be nice.

I'm pretty sure the PS is mechanical rather than electronic, and with recirculating ball instead of rack and pinion, I doubt that it would be of much use.

The stated reason for staying with recirculating ball is so that off road capability is not diminished, but how many Av's really go off road on a frequent basis?
 
our recirulating ball slop steering system won't work without the fluid pumping through it, without power assist, like a rack-and-pinion system, will it? ????

VWs get electric steering next year, I think. ?GM's getting beat to the punch yet again.
 
Uesque said:
They would be forced to move to Texas to work in the Titan Plant.? Or Tennesee to work in the other Nissan plant.? Or Ohio to work for Honda.? Buying a Titan shows GM that you can build a quality vehicle with American workers, and that it's their own mismanagement that's responsible for their woes.
HMMMMMM ?????? move to Texas or move to Tennesee??

No thanks. ;D
 
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