1995 SL broken steering rack

On my 1995 Satrun SL steering rack broke and resulted on completely loose
steering wheel disconnected from wheels. We were extremely lucky this
happened on parking lot and not on Hwy, we couldn't steer the car at all,
steering wheel was completely disconnected from wheels.
Had the car towed to dealer, nobody believed my story until they checked
themselves.
Now they telling me it takes about $800 CDN to fix.
Anybody heard something like that happening?
I'm going to complain GM because this should not happen even on 8year old
car, real safety hazard. How can I trust other components on that car?

 

There was a recall on the 95 Saturns just for this reason. You should check
it out. I seen this on one of the Saturn or Gm recalls.
I own a 95 also, thats why I took interest in it.
Good Luck
"

 

Here it is. Only a certain VIN range, with manual steering, was affected.

CAMPAIGN: MANUAL STEERING GEAR REPLACEMENT #95-C-01 - (08/30/1994)
SUBJECT: MANUAL STEERING GEAR REPLACEMENT

YEAR and MODEL: 1995 SATURN SL MODELS

DEFECT INVOLVED

Saturn has determined that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety
exists in certain 1995 SL models equipped with manual steering. Some of
these vehicles may have been built with a steering gear pinion shaft that
was improperly heat-treated by our supplier. This shaft could fracture
during vehicle operation. If this were to occur, steering control would be
lost and a vehicle crash could occur without prior warning. To correct this
condition, Saturn will replace the manual steering gear assembly in these
vehicles.

Most of the affected vehicles are in Retailer inventory and have not been
delivered to customers. However, we are contacting owners of affected,
delivered vehicles and assisting them in making arrangements with a Saturn
Retailer to have their vehicle transported to a Retail facility for service.
Owners are being advised not to drive the vehicles until repairs have been
completed.

VEHICLES INVOLVED

The following Saturn vehicles will require this campaign:

Certain 1995 Saturn SL model vehicles within the following VIN range will
require this campaign:

SZ119029 through SZ129713.

 

Thanks,
It was the same problem and they fixed it for free, however they said my car
wasn't on recall serial number list, so this defect must have been more wide
spread.
Scary, anybody who owns 1995 SL check your steering, if it's even possible
to check before it breaks.