GM Quadrasteer: It Exists
Posted by Doug DeMuro in It Exists on | 9 comments
Today we’re going to talk about a subject I recently covered on The Truth About Cars. And that subject is: Quadrasteer.
For those who don’t know, Quadrasteer was a four-wheel steering option that General Motors offered on its GMC Sierra Denali pickup and – this is the cool one – the GMC Yukon XL and Chevrolet Suburban 2500. It only lasted a few years, mainly because there were only about 80 people out there who got really excited by it.
I’m one of them.
I think Quadrasteer is awesome, largely because it transformed these behemoth trucks into small cars when it came to the turning circle. But also because if you see a truck equipped with Quadrasteer in traffic, you can watch it turn and see all four wheels move! How cool is that? (Many of you are thinking: not cool at all. You are probably the same people who think fireworks are lame.)
Of course, there were actual benefits to Quadrasteer beyond cool factor. Those who tow boats and large trailers found the system to be incredibly beneficial, for example. The same is true for anyone trying to drive one of these vehicles in a large city.
Unfortunately, GM pulled the plug on Quadrasteer after three model years. Initially it was standard in the Sierra Denali, though it eventually became optional at a massive price jump. When no one bought it, GM bailed, leaving the pickups with the tightest turning circle around relegated solely to the used market.
9 Responses to “ “GM Quadrasteer: It Exists”
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One of my favorites. There’s a quadrasteer C3 that parks in my parking garage, where we have a really cramped S-shaped entrance to get through the gates. Every time I see it coming I’ll stand and wait to watch it snake its way through, so weird how that back end swings out in a turn. I’ve made many other attorneys roll their eyes at me when I grab their arm and insist they wait with me to watch…
Hah! Believe it or not I just discovered the C3 model does NOT have Quadrasteer – you must be seeing a Denali. Apparently they introduced the C3 for 2001 without Q-Steer, then added Denali and Q-Steer for 2002. I had no idea – up until last week, I always thought the C3 debuted Quadrasteer.
Ahh, I just know it’s an older, extended cab one identical to your photos.
Was it not called the C3 Denali for at least one year? Or am I thinking of the B9 Tribeca to just Tribeca change… There’s a surprising lack of info online on the C3. So the only thing that changed for 2002 was the name change to Denali, and Quadrasteer was standard. What a weird decision by GM.
The only other thing I’ve ever seen Quadrasteer equipped is a 2500 series Suburban. Seems the most logical application, it’d be a beast of a tow vehicle.
The first year (2001) was C3 only; in 2002 it became Denali.
Would LOVE a Quadrasteer Suburban 2500. What a wild car. As if the regular Suburban 2500 wasn’t cool enough. I just LOVE the lights on the roof and the little lights on the bulging rear fenders for the Quadrasteer-equipped vehicles to show how wide it gets.
This is not to be confused with the 4 wheel steering in some Honda products. I can attest to this by never admitting in public that I checked for the extra steering linkages under an Acura RL I test drove when the salesman mentioned it.
I know from a very close friend that now-a-days if you get even into the smallest accident with involving the rear of any QS truck, it’ll damn near total it. Parts are almost non-existant and no longer manufactured.
A buddy of mine got rear-ended in his 2003 Chevy 2500 with QS by Honda Civic. It broke the rear steering and mashed up the LR quarter. Totalled. The reason cited was that the parts are so scarce on the used market that the insurance company would rather write the truck off than have to have him in a rental car for a completely unknown amount of time.
That’s so sad. So basically the hope is ‘just don’t get damaged.’ I’ve heard the systems, functionally, are actually fairly reliable.
I had to drive Chevy Silverado 2500 to park it in our wholesale lot which snaked through a closed service dept. It was a crew cab with a bed over 6 ft. 2012 Ford F-150 crew cab 5.5ft beds had to 3 point turn several of these corners but the Quad Steer made it in one shot on all the turns. QS has to be the most under-rated truck tech.
To this day, whenever I see anything with Quadrasteer in the parking lot (which isn’t often at all in Berkeley), I always feel compelled to follow it just to see a four-wheel steering system in action and then point it out to everyone with me.
They just don’t understand Delphi was capable of making great things.