[UpComingMommy96]

I have a recall on my 2002 impala that was scheduled to be fixed a week from yesterday that I thought was a ignition fix. I did more research on my car and found out it could also be a electrical recall. Well I had been experiencing the problems the unfixed recalls cause.
The unfixed recalls caused the car to cut off locking the steering wheel and made the car stall out and unable to stop or control the car. A couple of nights ago my boyfriend little brother and me which I am eight months pregnant were driving and it and it was snowing but the roads weren't bad. We managed to maneuver into a curve that slowed us down and luckily stopped us. My boyfriend got out to check for damage because when backed off the curve we heard a dragging noise we all thought it was a flat tire come to find out.
It was our tie rod. We called gm that Monday and they towed our car to the nearest dealer ship for free we told him our situation and the dealer was really rude and said that he was just making us a new key and that the car stalled out because of the weather. And refused to fix the damages the recalls caused. WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET THIS TAKEN OF CARE OF
WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGES THE RECALLS CAUSED?

[Fr_Chuck]

It is doubtful they will do any more, than fix the car for the recalls on it.

You can take the car to the service center and speak to a manager and see what they are wiling to do

[J_9]

GM is only required to repair the issues involved in the recal(s). If the tie rods aren't part of a recall GM won't pay for it.

[AK lawyer]

... was scheduled to be fixed a week from yesterday that I thought was a ignition fix. ... . A couple of nights ago [the car stalled] ..."

You had an appointment for "a week from yesterday", and the car stalled night before last. Had you brought it in for recall service last week as planned? What makes you think the stalling was related to the recall problem?

[UpComingMommy96]

my car died out completely is why my tie rod snapped because my breaks and steering wheel wasn't working at all not even any light was on. and when i said a week from yesterday i meant on the 25th coming of this month.
my tie rod would of never snapped if the car wouldn't of shut off and locked up. i'm just happy i wasnt going faster than i was and i didnt hit anyone other than the curb.? i don't know what to do..

on top of that im 8 months pregnant, i had my boyfriend with me and my 7 year old brother.

[ebaines]

The recall is for the infamous GM problem of the ignition switch cutting power to the engine, which is indeed what happened to you. Information on this recall campaign is here: Chevrolet Recall Campaign 14V400000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | AutoMD
Given that the broken tie rod is apparently a direct result of the ignition switch defect I suggest you contact Chevrolet Customer Assistance to see if they can direct the dealership where the car is located to fix the tie rod as well as perform the recall repair. Contact info is here: General Motors | Contact Us | GM.com

[AK lawyer]

...
on top of that im 8 months pregnant, i had my boyfriend with me and my 7 year old brother.

I fail to see how the fact that you are pregnant, and had others with you in the car, has anything to do with anything, assuming neither you nor the others were injured.

[UpComingMommy96]

Shouldn't matter if we got injured or NOT my car shut completely off in the middle of snow and traffic. It wouldn't stop or turn.!!!! I said luckily i wasn't going any faster or i would of been injured in fact i have to be induced at 37 weeks due to the baby being too stressed out and not moving as he should after what had happened none US of got hurt just shookin up a little and it scared the sh*t out of us.
LIKE I SAID MY CAR WOULD NOT BE RUINED (the inner tie rod would have never busted) IF THEIR RECALL WOULD HAD BEEN FIXED BEFORE HAND SO I THINK THAT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR THE INNER TIE ROD TO BE FIXED BECAUSE I TRIED TO SAVE MY LIFE AND MY BROTHERS AND MY BOYFRIENDS AND MY UNBORN SONS BECAUSE OF THE RECALL THAT WAS NEVER MENTIONED. So now that i have said that please think of all the possibilities that could of happened ion the non-controllable car with everyone's life in you're hands. Its pretty damn scary my friend. if the car would have never locked/shut off.... just saying.

[smoothy]

A car stalling for a bad ignition switch or anything else will NOT break a tie rod, yours was worn out long before then and is your problem to fix. And you fault for improper maintenance. Slamming on your brakes hard which is many times rougher on everything in the driveline won't break tie rods that are not worn out.

You need to complain to the shop who did your last safety inspection because they should have failed you on it. Assuming you live in a state that has them. You are barking up the wrong tree trying to blame the Dealer for that. THose are wear items, and it's a 12 year old car... they were long overdue for replacement.

I've been driving for 37 years..I've driven well over a million miles most of that on older cars...I've slid off the road hard enough to blow a tire out, abd ned a rim and spindle, I've taken out a hundered feet of gaurd rails and bent the stearing arm so severely the wheel was pointing sideways.....the tie rods never broke.

[ebaines]

Smoothy - I must disagree with several of your points. First, you weren't there, so to assume that you know how much damage a tie rod may have sustained from hitting the curb is too much of a stretch, as is your statement that improper maintenance has to be to blame. It is quite possible for a good tie rod to be broken if the wheel hitting an unmovable object like a curb. It is not at all unusual. I've been driving for 40 years, have been in a few accidents myself, but have never had the left rear passenger door of my car damaged - by your logic I could state that it's impossible for a left rear passenger door to ever be damaged in an accident unless there was improper maintenence.

The question in this thread is how the OP should proceed - I suggest thay we all stick with that. The legal question here - still unaddressed - is does a manufacturer who has a recall program underway, but still incomplete, bear any responsibility for damage to a car that is the direct result of the fault covered by the recall?

[smoothy]

Ebains... I've been working on cars for the last 42 years...(there isn't ANYTHING you can do to a vehicle that I haven't done multiple times) I can without any doubt state that a tie rod isn't going to snap because of a car stalling. And if it was from hitting a curb to fast... there are other parts that will sustain significant damage before a tie rod in good condition will fail. This is a 12 year old car, likely has high miles, tie rods likely worn out.

I have bent steering knuckles up to 90 degrees without snapping tie rods. Those are a very high strength item and not designed to be the weak link. Take a stroll through a wrecking yard some time...look at the vehicles that had severe front end impacts. Look and see how many of them don't have broken tie rod ends.

From my experience....its not impossible (even new parts CAN fail due to a defect)...just that a tie rod defect is highly unlikely because its lasted 12 years and a LOT of miles..

And if someone is going to try and pursue that claim in court....good luck proving it. That part will be subjected to extensive failure analysis by professionals (and manufacturers have deep pockets and that sort of knowledge) and the court isn't going to simply accept a non-experts word.

Sure stranger things have happened....but then people do get hit by falling space debris from time to time to despite the odds against it.

[ebaines]

Getting a little off topic - but haven't you seen tie rod bushings fail, causing the tie rod to become disconnected?

To the OP: have you contacted GM yet? See: GM Ignition Recall Safety Information

[AK lawyer]

... We managed to maneuver into a curve that slowed us down and luckily stopped us. ...

(Emphasis added.)

It is quite possible for a good tie rod to be broken if the wheel hitting an unmovable object like a curb.

(Emphasis added.)

OP wrote "curve". Ebaines figured she meant "curb". It seems to me that hitting a curb might break a tie-rod; however driving onto a grassy shoulder (even if on a curve) probably wouldn't. I expect GM might tend to agree.

[UpComingMommy96]

I meant curb.