on my mom'* 2001 bonneville, when the wheel is turned either way, it makes a popping/clicking sound. it doesnt happen all the time. what is wrong, and can i fix it without taking it to the dealer?

Yeah, afraid many (if not most) of us with 2000+ Bonnies have this problem. I have also discovered that there are many other full-size GM'*, including trucks are having the same problem. I think it is VERY widespread throughout the GM build. If your'* is not doing it all the time, it will. Mine started making noise and crappy feeling in steering wheel about 1 wk. after my warranty expired.

It is most probably the intermediate steering shaft. It is of defective design and/or manufacturer. This is a dealer fix, however, I'm going to have a go at her this weekend. If you are a good wrench-turner you can purchase a re-engeneered shaft and install it yourself, I think.

Others on this site have suggested a recall is coming, but I have my doubts, as most recalls are safety related.

Maybe others can pitch in..................................

we probably will just take it to the dealer...come to think of it, my mom might have already had this fixed once, not sure. i will check with her and see if it has happened again after they said they fixed it. gm is full of crap if my mom has had it fixed once, and it breaks again.

Your mom probably had them grease the coupling on their advice. This seems to be temporary fix, at best.

yeah...must be very temporary!!

In the early stages,timewise,GM had a 'fix' for the widespread problem with the intermediate steering shaft,...a special 'magic'grease that they applied to shaft'* U-joint/*(had it done to my wife'* '01 BonnevilleSE),it lasted about 3 months,then started grinding/creaking again,....GM has done away with this temporary fix and is now installing new shaft'*,......it'* been replaced in my wife'* '01 SE and just recently replaced in my '00 SSEi.(along with several other 2000-newer Bonneville owners),......Sad...but true.

I have a replacement shaft that I have yet had to the time to install. compyelc4, if you could post how the job went, after you're done, I'd appreciate it.

look at the strut mount it might be sticking

Job to pull the shaft is hard on the back but takes about an hour to do. I finally pulled mine after two dealer visits and the dealer attempts to grease the shaft and re-install. Use wheel bearing grease it works better and no problem to date. Delears screw up the boot covers at both ends (in the car under the steering wheel and out in engine compartment where boot covers the shaft. Make sure both are reinstalled or you will have cold feet as I did the first winter the dealer tried to fix the problem to no avail. Used duct tape to properly seal these boots after dealer had cut them in order to get at th shaft (to remove it from the car). Send me an email and I will walk you through the procedure to actually remove the problem component, grease it properly, and then re-install. JIm

Yeah, the dealers suck at this. It took me over two weeks, and four trips to Hall in Va Beach, and they forgot to put the lower boot back on. HELLO!?! Said it didn't ever have one. After a week and a half of the hot air from the rear exhaust manifold blowing up the steering column, I finally got them to put a new one on. The final repair report said the car never had one.

Gee, I guess I need to write Pontiac and complain about receiving a faulty vehicle.