Bought this veh. Brand new 2004. Had steering issues from the beginning. The vehicle had less than 65K on it. Always had vehicle serviced at the dealer or dealership I worked for. Had steering shaft replaced, had steering shaft bolt replaced, had rack and pinion replaced.. son drove the veh., making a left hand turn in the outer left turning lane left him with lots of room to turn, wheel locked up and he crashed ! veh. Is totaled, notified insurance company that too many issues with the steering and locking up situation..even gave them the web site to look for themselves. The way I see it is it is one less very dangerous veh. On the road. To bad GM doesn't handle this...one yard either direction and my son would have hit solid concrete poles or heavy reinforced intersection lighting and electrical box and I would be filing wrongful death suit. Why does it have to go to this extreme?

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

Driving on the highway I-81 and steering failed completely stop and locked while driving major defect needs serious attention GM really needs to recall or parts manufacturer. Chevy Malibu is a death trap a bad accident to happen.

- Carbondale, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel became stiff and the steering warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. After restarting the vehicle, the power steering functioned normally. The failure recurred intermittently. The contact inspected the vehicle and replaced the electronic power steering motor. After the repair the failure continued. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 260,000.

- Hampton, VA, USA

The electric power steering will quit with little to no warning making the car extremely hard to steer safely. The problem only seems to happen when moving, I've never lost steering in say a parking lot, it has been on the road every time. Usually the light on the dash will light up and warn you and most times noting happens, other times you'll lose all power steering almost immediately. Twice I have lost steering first, then the light came on later. No rhyme or reason to when it happens, it can be when making a turn and I once a few weeks ago lost it 4 separate times while on a freeway not making turns. Turning the car off, then back on has fixed it almost every time though twice it took more than one try. The second time this happened I did run off the road as it was after a large turn and I was unable to get the wheel straightened up in time to not run both right side tires off the road, this was the first time I lost steering and did not get a warning light. When the steering is off it is much, much worse that a car without normal power steering. I have driven old cars that had no power steering and can handle those fine, I would say the effort required after loosing the electric steering is over twice what is needed for normal cars. I am a large man and it is quite a struggle for me, my wife cannot hardly move the wheel at all and certainly not safely. This appears to be a pretty widespread problem, see this link for a few examples. www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Malibu/2004/steering/power_steering_going_out_intermittently I feel this is a definite safety issue due to the times it happens, and the severe impact on drive-ability with little, to at time no warning at all. Thanks so much for your time!

- Bloomington, IN, USA

The first time the power steering intermittently went out I was just parking. The Malibu has electronic steering so there is no warning when the steering is about to fail like with a normal power steering pump. I checked some connections and thought I had it fixed because it worked when I started the car again. A few weeks later I was in the city and the steering quit working again if I wouldn't have had a good hold on the steering wheel when I was turning I could have easily ran into someone or even worse hit a pedestrian! this problem is well documented in Malibu's of this age and a common problem. It is only a matter of time before this causes a death if it hasn't already!

- Pender, NE, USA

My wife was driving to work when her check engine light came on and power steering flashed across her information screen. When she was attempting to make a left hand turn, the steering wheel locked up on her. Fortunately she was able to get the car pulled into a parking lot. We had to have the vehicle towed to a mechanic, who looked at it and said that the only thing he thought it could be was the rack and pinion. We had that replaced and everything was fine for a few days, and then the same thing happened again. It has been a constant annoyance, and you have to constantly restart the car to get the power steering to come back on. Just recently it was taken back to a mechanic who stated he had to replace fluid? I picked the car up from him on 9/19/2011 and today 9/20/11 with my 11 week old daughter in the car it happened again. From what I've read, this is a very common problem on these vehicles, and had I known that at the time I would not have purchased this vehicle. It is unsafe not only for the driver and passenger of the cars, but also anyone that just happens to be around when it happens!! I consider myself to be a strong person, and I have been driving on several occasions when this has happened, and I could barely get the car safely pulled to the side of the road. I cannot afford to spend $600 for a repair when it is a faulty part that the manufacturer should take responsibility for!!

- Bossier City, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 25 mph, the electronic power steering failed and caused the steering wheel to seize. The check engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The failure recurred intermittently at different speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics where the technician stated that an electrical module had to be replaced. The contact was unaware of the exact part. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph and attempting a turn when the steering wheel seized. The failure recurred on an intermittent basis and the steering service light would occasionally illuminate. The contact would shut the vehicle off after the failure and upon restart the vehicle would operate as normal. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Hanover Park, IL, USA

My car has always had little quirks that didn't seem right about it since I purchased it from my Chevy dealer. It was under warranty at the time so my level of concern wasn't as high as it is now. Things like a sporadic start to the engine while trying to crank the car and the car shimming or quivering when driven faster then 70 mph (highway). I have taken the car back to the dealership for assessment which all came back inconclusive. This last experience merits this complaint. I stopped at a red light taking my hands off the wheel to adjust my seat belt. I glanced over to my steering wheel and it begin to dance/rock right to left and left to right. My hands were clear of the steering wheel and my foot firm on the brakes. When I proceeded to drive once the light was green, I put my foot on the gas that is when my warning signal chimed, and the power steering message flashed on the message center screen. Simultaneously the steering wheel locked up and it became extremely difficult to steer. I begin to maneuver the vehicle into a nearby parking lot. I realized that turning the vehicle took a great amount of effort. After getting in to the parking lot and turning the engine off I waited for about thirty minutes then I proceeded to restart my engine to see if the same trouble would occur. I drove around in the parking lot for about fifteen minutes to see the I would encounter the same issue. The car seemed fine considering, I drove it home. I have not had any problems since but it was a horrifying ordeal.

- Savannah, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when driving at any speed, the steering wheel seized and became difficult to maneuver. The failure recurred several times and after the vehicle was shut off and powered back on, it would operate as normal. The dealer did not offer any assistance and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the contact was awaiting diagnosis. No repairs were performed. The current and failure mileages were 120,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Holden, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. While the contact started the ignition, the power steering warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The warning light remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 164,000. The VIN unavailable.

- Fresno, CA, USA

I have a 2004 Malibu and the power steering will stop working and be extremely hard to handle.I went online to see if anyone else had a problem also, to find multiple owners of the same vehicle complaining of the same steering issues.we have been pleased with our Malibu and have had this problem for the past 6 months, I certainly would hope GM would recall this problem, I am a GM buyer, now owning a 2010 Silverado, and have preferred GM products since my first vehicle, a 67 Impala in 73. I would appreciate a response back to me so I can determine what to do next. Thanks for listening and anything you can do.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

Power steering quit while driving. Went on line and saw lots of similar complaints for the same vehicle-2004 Chevy Malibu.

- Kennewick, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph, there was an unexpected loss of power steering, followed by an illumination of both the power steering and engine warning indicators. The contact drove to the side of the road where the engine was turned off and restarted. The vehicle resumed with the steering malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who advised that the failure was contributed to the electric power steering motor. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.

- Cedar Park, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a yellow light would illuminate on the instrument panel and the steering wheel would seize. After shutting the vehicle off for a few moments, the steering would resume as normal. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 170,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Pryor, OK, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering lamp illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle was difficult to steer. The vehicle was not taken to an authorized dealer to have the failure diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 23,000 and the current mileage was 32,000.

- Hampton , VA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering would deactive while the vehicle is in motion. The dealer was notified, but did not diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 92,850 and the current mileage was 93,000.

- Hopatcong, NJ, USA

I was driving down the highway around 11 pm I went to make a right turn and all of a sudden the steering wheel locked up and the car started beeping about the power steering. The next day I go to have the car inspected and it drives normal no power steering lights on. I have called to find out if there are any recalls and there are not this happens too often to just be ignored my father was the previous owner and it was happening to him as well. I have replaced the rack and pinion, control arms and tie rods and still nothing is working.

- Marlborough, MA, USA

Steering wheel will lock up driving down the road almost caused head on crash.

- Shelbyville, TN, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated and the steering became extremely resistant. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer and they advised him that the steering column needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted nor was the vehicle repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Newlondon, NC, USA