1994 Chevrolet Astro Suspension Problems

“This is the second time I will have to replace the torsion bar on this 1994 chevy Astro awd van. The first time was about 4 years ago. I have done a search and there are hundreds if not thousands of reports of the torsion bars failing without warning, resulting in bottoming of the suspension. Fortunately, it failed when I was parked both times it has failed but could have been devastating if I was on the highway.”

“We own a 1994 chevy Astro van. Fortunately, it was sitting in our driveway when one of the torsion bars broke, dropping the van down onto the front left tire. If this had happened while we were driving the van with our family, it could have been disastrous. Two days later, the other torsion bar broke, again in our driveway. In looking at the way the torsion bar is mounted to the cross member, it appears that a manufacture defect created a problem where snow, salt, rain and dirt accumulated into the cylinder shaped tube that the bar is mounted into, towards the rear of the vehicle. …”

“After parking the vehicle in the driveway, later the consumer returned to find the vehicle left front leaning over. The consumer went under the vehicle to see what happened and it was discovered, the torsion bar was broken.”

“The torsion bar broke on my van less than 15 miles after returning from a vacation to the mountains. My mechanic informs me that the parts are back ordered and almost impossible to locate because this is such a common problem with this vehicle. My brother who works in the parts department of a large automobile dealership confirms that this has been a common problem. I want GM to stand behind the repairs. …”

“Drivers side torsion bar broke while van was parked in a parking lot. My wife had just driven 50 miles on the nys thruway at 65 MPH in morning rush hour traffic with her boss in the van going to a nursing conference. They parked the van in a parking lot and when they returned 2 hours later they found the van drivers side down on the front tire. I would hate to imagin what could have happened if this had happened in rush hour traffic. Would it have even been recognized as the cause of an accident? …”