2006 GXP premature tie rod end wear

[quincy T9]

My 06 Grand Prix GXP failed a safety inspection due to both of the outer tie rod ends being worn out. The vehile had just over 37K miles on it and GM would not repair this under the 36/36 warranty. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration's web site has several complaints posted on this problem. If you have one of these vehicle get the tie rod ends checked for wear. If they need replacing contact the dealer and file a complaint with NHTSA.

[GTP Dad]

Welcome to AF!!

Thanks for the heads up on the tie-rod ends on 06 GP's. This may be a common issue especially since there are no grease fittings on these tie rods.

[BNaylor]

Welcome to AF.

Thanks for the info. What state? Failed safety inspection for outer tie rods? Thats interesting. How did they check it or determine the tie rods were worn out?

[quincy T9]

The car failed the Virginia state safety inspection which all vehicles registered in Va must pass annually. When the front wheel of the vehicle is raise and you move the tire from left to right you can see the slop in the tie rod end, there should be no movement in the joint. The right side tie rod end was the worse, you could move the front wheel 1 in to 1 1/4 with no movement in the steering wheel. Purchased new tire rod ends from NAPA and was told that they sell a lot of these and have heard this complaint before. I'm not sure how many other GM cars this part fits.

[BNaylor]

Thanks for the feedback. So Virginia actually raises the front end during state safety inspection? Glad I don't live in Virginia. If you review the GM TSBs generated on the subject much of what appears to be a bad tie rod was due to the factory not torquing the jamb nut properly leading to premature failure. Not only applicable to your model Grand Prix but other GM cars. In most cases when the outer tie rods are really that bad you should have noticed that in every day driving. The right side may show wear more since all the torque from the drivetrain is generated there.

Tie rods don't cost that much to replace and you benefit by gaining a grease fitting and a hole to install a locking cotter pin on the stud. And don't forget to get the alignment checked.


Also, just as a note the GXP model is nose heavy with over 63% of it's weight on the front end so front end wear (steering and suspension) may be exacerbated.

[quincy T9]

When I saw the amount of wear I was surprised that the car didn't drive bad, the only inclination that something was wrong was a slight wander when changine lanes, no shimmy at all. Another possible reason for the difference in wear left vs right is that we drive a lot of secondary roads and the right side his more dips, holes and rolls in the edge of the pavement. Both the jamb nut and the stud mounting nut were tight so the service bulletins that I found were not applicable.