Texas Yankee

My son's 2012 Equinox LS was in the repair shop where they bought tires (the shop also does other general repairs) and they told him that one of the lights on the dash (ABS indicator ?) was due to the Steering Angle Module needing to be replaced \ reset \ reflashed, and that their shop didn't do that type of work. A bit of research found Steering Angle Sensor (is that the same thing ?). I called a local Chevy Service Department and they tell me $76 for the part and 3 hours of labor totaling $645. I've called a local shop that does the kind of work I was told needed to be done - I'm waiting to hear back from them.

The repair shop told me that IF the Steering Angle Module isn't replaced, the impact would be that the ABS portion of the brakes will operate like regular brakes, versus ABS brakes.

This stuff is way beyond my knowledge of auto repairs - does it make sense? If not, what questions should I ask?

Also, if the Steering Angle Module stuff sounds right, can anyone give me a ballpark guess on what this type of repair should cost?

Thanks !

mountainmanjoe

I've changed your text back to black. The grey on grey was impossible to read.

mountainmanjoe

Not really. The SAS is used for the Stabilitrak system, not ABS. That's the system that tries to straighten out the vehicle in the event that the driver loses control (spin-out, slide, fish-tail, that sort of thing). It does not help with brake lock-up. That just doesn't make sense. If he's got a reverse camera with the turning radius display thingy, it's used for that too.



That depends. If it just needs recalibration, then it's quick.
If it needs to be replaced then you have to pay a little more for the part (which doesn't sound like much), and taking apart the steering column (not too bad). Then it has to be re-calibrated.

So $569 for labour? That's $190 per hour. Crazy. Should be closer to $100/hr
Ask around.

Texas Yankee

Sorry about the gray text - I tried to change it . . . but couldn't.

The labor rate I referenced was from a Chevy dealer's service department - I've always found dealer service prices to be crazy high - almost double what it'd cost me elsewhere.

Given the price the dealer charged me, even if I find a local shop that costs less to fix the issue and the dashboard lights go away, I'm on the fence about fixing it - long story, but it's an older car and maybe not worth throwing any more money at it - but only IF it's OK to drive (as the guy said) with the problem. What would be the handling and safety implications with the Steering Angle Module NOT fixed \ replaced \ re-set \ flashed? My son's been driving the car like this for a while now, and he can continue to ignore a dash light of little consequence, but I don't wanna put my son into a dangerous car. Any thoughts? Thanks for responding . . .

mountainmanjoe

Like I explained. It's stability control. It prevents the vehicle from losing stability (tipping over or spinning out of control) in bad situations. So the answer is of course, there is a direct and significant impact on safety. It could save his life. SUVs with a high center of gravity need this system the most.

Texas Yankee

I appreciate your help, but my lack of knowledge about these cars (I've been a Honda driver for 30 years) has me completely in the dark - I'm not questioning your expertise, but I'm also thinking that the guy at the shop that couldn't fix the issue and referred me somewhere else, likely wouldn't have exposed himself to potential liability by telling me that it's OK to drive without fixing the sensor and then re-calibrating it, if it would truly be dangerous to drive. My son owes more on the car than it's worth, and between the tires he just put on it and now these most recent repairs that left the sensor not repaired, if I were to pay for the sensor repair (if that's all that's left to fix), I'll be throwing good money into a bottomless pit for a car that's not worth what it costs to fix.

Texas Yankee

One other thing the guy told me that I didn't mention - sorry - he mentioned something about the module sending a "bad signal" or "no signal" and that while the ABS light lit up, it was really the track assist that had a problem. I'm far out of my element here and trying to avoid a "try this, try that" approach with different mechanics that may or may not know what they're talking about . . .

mountainmanjoe

With the high incidence of SUV rollovers, there's a good reason for installing these systems, and it's no wonder it's a standard feature.(Honda has VSA too).
I can't comment on any shop that you may have visited, but I doubt that a GM dealership would fail to inform you of the increased risk.
Whether the car is worth it or not is totally up to you. Maybe you can save some money by installing it yourself. Have you tried searching the web? It shouldn't be too difficult (Of course you would still have to visit a shop to have it programmed.). For that matter, I would personally get in there anyway. It might be something as stupid as a loose connector or nicked wire.

mountainmanjoe

which module?

do you have a copy of any of trouble codes that were scanned from the computer?