10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 57,910 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated that the vehicle remained on after the key was removed from the ignition, the transmission slipped out of gear, and there was an abnormal noise coming from the steering column. The failures occurred without warning. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 51,000.
- Albany, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. While operating the vehicle, the instrument panel lights suddenly turned off and on. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,000.
- Mansfield, MA, USA
2004 Malibu lt, weld on rt front of 6 way driver seat broken, seat motor runs but can not make seat adjustments. The seat sags to right when trying to move forward or back. But will not move forward or back on the seat frame.
- Holland, PA, USA
Electrical system:wiring exterior lighting:brake lights electronic stability control service brakes hydraulic:switches:brake light steering:electric power assist system the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control panic braking assist features. Turning signals & break lights not responsive. Sudden loss of electric power steering assist that happens at anytime while driving. Pictures attached pushing breaks & using turning signals no response. Car power steering also shuts down in the middle of driving. Contacted dealer will not provide help. Problem has happened for the last 16 months. Almost crashed 5 times.
- Bedford, TX, USA
Front turn signals intermittedy stop working
- Medina, OH, USA
2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. Consumer writes in regards to transmission shift cable recall notice and ignition key issues. The consumer stated the dealer was supposed to fix the cable that changed the gears and to get the key out of the ignition. When she picked up the vehicle, she only had one low gear, but there was suppossed to be three low hears and the key was still stuck in the ignition.
- Erin, TN, USA
2004 Chevrolet Malibu. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle dashboard light issues. The consumer stated some of the lights on the dashboard did not work.
- Thibodaux, LA, USA
July 18 - driving to work, heard and felt a clunk. On the radio display power steering was now displayed and the mechanics symbol illuminated on the dashboard. July 28- mccluskey is unable to duplicate trouble with car, they do not have parts anyway. Aug. 6 - vm car is ready. When we arrived told us there is a problem, they have used non-approved GM parts, they need to take those parts out and put in approved GM parts to be paid. Rear quarter of the car was damaged. Aug.14 - passenger side lower front bumper is now damaged Aug. 21 - picked up Malibu from the body shop, realize seat is broken call the body shop back within 5 min. Of leaving the lot, I went around a corner and I am thrown into the door. In Oct. Received the recall letter again, dealerships now have parts, take your vehicle in and have the repair completed. If this was done in August why did I just receive a letter? Nov. 27, while my husband was driving the car the power steering would not work again, making a turn at slow speed the car would not respond and acted as if he had his foot on the brake and the accelerator at the same time, as if he was power braking, the car would not move, the car was not drivable, completely unsafe. Dec. 3 borcherding Buick calls me and tells me the recalls are not the issue and cannot be completed until the steering column issue is fixed.the car had 57635 miles on July 18th the day the car was towed to mccluskey Chevrolet, on August 22nd the morning after I picked up the car from mccluskey Chevrolet the car has 58135. The car became un-drivable with 60890 miles. I have a receipt the power steering was replaced in 2005 under a recall/warranty and then again the power steering was repaired in 2009 with GM paying half we paid half due to the low miles on the vehicle.
- Mason, OH, USA
While traveling in a school zone going approximately 25 miles per hour, I was in an accident involving a school bus. I could not stop, or steer the car to avoid a collision with the rear of the bus. My car went under the rear of the bus, where it was crushed in the front end. The car seemed to just shut down, had no power steering and braking control. The air bags never deployed., even though they should have with the type of impact that the car received. We would like to make this complaint, on behalf of ourselves and any other motorist that might have had similar circumstances. Thank you.
- Douglasville, GA, USA
On 7/13/09 with 28500 miles & again at 5/21/14 with 43500 miles the rear hatch sop actuator faulty internal failure lock /solenoid #15145724 description latch #12.242 car delivered 2/11/04 7/13/09 lock fail cost $159 labor $230 =$390 5/12/14 fails lock $353.63 labor $240 =$ 594 chev garaged & maintained defective part never upgraded & GM refuses to acknowledge design effect total cost $984 price a rip off good by GM.
- Chestnut Ridge, NY, USA
Drls bulbs on headlights run too hot causing the bulb to burn out constantly and causing assembly to and melt. I have to drive with my headlights on at all times, or my turning signals will not work. I've already had to replace headlight assembly twice.
- Downey, CA, USA
2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. Consumer writes in regards to solenoid/lock failure and poor attitude of customer service agent. The consumer stated the hatch would not open, using the remote. The same part failed twice.
- Chestnut Ridge, NY, USA
The above date is approximate because I have had problem with this since I bought the car in 2004. I called the dealership, GM corporate, and NHTSA for years. I always got the same response, "cannot duplicate the problem". GM owes me money for all the aggravation and money for paying service dept. For nothing. My car lost steering on the highway while trying to pass an 18 wheeler, this meant I was in the left lane. By the grace of god, I'm still here!! I still have my car, but I have not received a recall letter!
- Jackson, MS, USA
Power steering light came on and ringing sound sounded and power steering went completely out in the middle of a busy intersection as I was making a right hand turn. I managed to get it to the curb and call for help. After sitting a while it became normal, but I am afraid this will happen again. There have been many complaints from other about this. See NHTSA action number ea 04018 and lots of GM service bulletins. My dealer cannot help because the recall was for 2005 Malibu max electronic power steering and not the 2004, but it is the same power steering unit. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Washington Court House , OH, USA
In June the drivers seat began listing to the right and rocking. The dealer looked at it and said it is a broken weld and quoted me $800 to fix it. Then in Sept of 2012 I was trying to maneuver out of a parking lot and the power steering locked up. It was really scary, it took all my might to get to a safe place to stop without hitting anyone. When I restarted it was okay and my mechanic did not see any obvious problem with it. Also the cd player no longer will load up cds although the other functions and info on the little screen work. Also the side mirrors no longer can be adjusted in the vertical plane although they still move horizontally.
- Seattle, WA, USA
Upon acceleration using the gas pedal, the car loses total control of its steering. All engine lights and failure lights go on.sometimes just making a simple turn at an intersection, the car loses complete steering capability. This has happened at various speeds, including on the highway at 50 mph accelerating over a slight incline or at 10 mph at an intersection while making a left or right turn. I noticed trouble with the steering when I first bought my car under warranty but it wasn't as severe. Just when backing out of a parking space the steering was tight, but the dealership could not find the problem. I have had the short rack steering gear, steering rack, intermediate shaft, and serpentine belt replaced but to no avail. On the website www.lemonlawclaims.com there have been at least 42 steering complaints of similar nature regarding the same year make for the Malibu. An NHTSA investigation was performed PE04-031 based on eight reports of alleged power steering failures. The preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis based on the report I printed up in 2010, however I am not certain of the current status of this investigation. I'm sure there are a lot more failure reports that have been opened, though I cannot find a recall regarding this failure. As a side note, sometimes the car has trouble starting - it always has and the dealership could not determine the failure. When trying to start it up, hitting the gas pedal will cause the engine to kick over and not stall. There is always the smell of fuel. I am not sure if this is part of the failure. In addition when the steering fails or the steering wheel jerks upon acceleration, a clicking sound can be heard. The origin of this clicking in unknown. I really don't understand why there hasn't been a recall on this or better yet a class action lawsuit.
- Merrimack, NH, USA
Turn signal bulbs are being melted by defective sockets!!! need replacement.
- West Jordan, UT, USA
My 2004 Malibu maxx has some sort of electrical issue has had it for years and drives me crazy. The turn indicator light was telling me the bulb was burned out when we went to change the bulb the whole bulb cover was melted we replaced the bulb it would last a few weeks sometimes a few months. We decided to order a whole new light assemble for that side since the globe was melted. We installed it a week later the whole turn indicator light and socket were melted together. We could not even get the bulb out. So we went back to the original light assembly same issue bulbs burn out. Also inside interior light sometimes won't shut off no matter how the switch is positioned. This car has electrical issues.
- Cookeville, TN, USA
In the middle of making turns, right and left, the electronic power steering will deactivate causing car to jerk, then steering will be extremely difficult. Car can be turned off and then restarted and the issue will stop for a short time. There has been recalls for this issue on other GM models but not my model. This issue first occurred while my 16 yr old daughter was driving and almost resulting in an accident. I am extremely concern for my daughter safety will driving this vehicle. I took the car out shortly after this happen to her and within 3 turns the steering wheel jerked, light on dash light, display showed power steering and steering reverted to what can best be described as prepower steering X 2. I am a muscular 300 pound male and I had a difficult time getting the car to turn safely into the lane and later off the road. This is a safety issue that was no covered by GM and should be addressed before someone is injured. Please reopen your investigation into this issue. Thank you for your time.
- Independence, MO, USA
- Chicago, IL, USA