Steering unit went on 2004 Chevy Malibu max while driving 65 mph on thruway and GM refuses to do anything about it.

- Angola, NY, USA

Turning left at a major intersection the power steering went dead. The orange service indicator came on, and power steering came on the center display. I was able to glide into a gas station parking lot. The service dept said the whole steering column would need to be replaced but I needed to have that done at a dealer. I had the car towed to the dealer who then found the car to be operational. There were error codes in the system but they are so far unable to recreate the problem. They will try again tomorrow but if they can't recreate it I am supposed to come pick up the car and drive it as normal. This is very serious as had it could have resulted in a bad accident had I not been going very slowly at the time.

- Elk River, MN, USA

Driving in rush hour at 75mph, alarm chime came on, display says power steering, and orange light with a wrench. I lost power steering, and couldn't control my vehicle whatsoever. I ran into a ditch, crashed, and smashed the front end in. After doing research, this issue is common with many users of the same vehicle, but Chevy never released a recall. They refused any damage costs citing my high mileage as an excuse to not pay for it.

- Nashville, TN, USA

We own an 04 Malibu maxx, at 50000 miles app the power steering went out. It stopped working on the highway.if you turn the car off and re start power steering returns. This is happening to more than people according to internet car forums, so why no recall?

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. Shortly after starting the vehicle in the morning, the contact placed the gear into reverse. While driving 5 mph, she turned the steering wheel and it suddenly became locked. Immediately after, the power steering and check engine indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. Through online research, the contact found an investigation for the same issue (NHTSA action number EA04018 (steering:electric power assist system)). She has not yet taken the vehicle to the dealer, but believes that this investigation should have issued a recall. The current and failure mileages were 30,000.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

I have had an ongoing complaint about a clunking noise in the steering wheel of my 2004 Malibu maxx. Almost as soon as I got the vehicle I felt a faint vibration in the steering wheel and have taken it to Chevrolet on numerous occasions each time they claim they could not duplicate the problem. This knocking happens everytime I turn the steering wheel and it is getting louder and louder. Now that it is out of warranty GM is telling me to once again go and have it diagnosed, which cost about $90 and they do not guarantee to fix it at no cost. I talked to a csr and she does not admit or admit to knowing about this problem. I referred to campaign # 04050A 12/2004 posted on your website.

- Jackson, MS, USA

On my 2004 Chevy Malibu maxx, the power steering failed completely as I was driving yesterday. Last month, the steering was "stiff" turning to the right. My dealer lubricated something and the problem seemed to be resolved. This is the third time that the parts were lubricated, however the complete failure came yesterday. It is extremely dangerous. My wife was driving and could not steer the car since the power steering shut off. I did contact my dealer who informed me that there was a recall for the 2004 Chevy Malibu (recall #7126) for this same problem, but my VIN number was not one that was listed. According to my dealer, the entire steering column needs to be replaced, which was also the part replaced in the recall of the 2004 Chevy Malibu. My vehicle should definitely be added to the list of recalled vehicles since the power steering failure is an obvious design or part flaw that has already been recalled and replaced in similar models of the same production year. Please advise.

- Hancock, NY, USA

The power steering malfunctions, the wheel does not turn. The message center reads power steering, this has happened once a week for the past 4 weeks. Took the car to the dealership but they could not find anything. The vehicle has approx. 40K miles. I googled this issue and seems this is a common issue with this vehicle and see that GM has not issued a fix. We already did the recall back in 2005 on the steering column.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

The contact's spouse owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. While driving at various speeds and making a turn, the contact heard a clunking noise coming from the steering column. The vehicle has been to the dealer three times and they replaced the steering column under warranty, the ps gear, and the intermediate steering shaft; however, the clunking noise still persists. The current mileage was 45,523 and failure mileage was 19,557. Updated 2/23/09 updated 02/27/09.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

When driving, the power steering will jerk side to side and several times has completely failed making the vehicle extremely difficult to steer. The failure caused me to lose control on the interstate slamming me against the door of the vehicle, thankfully I was able to regain control although it was nearly impossible to steer. The driver information console displayed "power steering." After doing some research I saw that there are hundreds if not thousands of people who have experienced the same failure. That is why I decided to file a complaint.

- Mobile, AL, USA

I was traveling a straight section of I-75 going northbound that my power steering light came on. Since I bought the car in 2007, I noticed a knocking noise in the engine section and never thought nothing of it, just thought as being ok. So I took my Malibu to the dealership and they said that my 2004 Malibu maxx steering column must be replaced. So I called another dealership and was told that there were previous recalls concerning the power steering. I notified GM of the problem and they offered to pay half of the costs which was $430 of an $860 project. I think they should pay all because its still considered a new used car.

- Berea, KY, USA

I own a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. While driving on the NJ garden state parkway, I heard an audible alarm and at the same time noticed a "power steering" read-out on the on the dic display. All this time I am feeling the tightness in the steering and realizing that I have lost the power steering on the vehicle. Since then I have found that this loss is intermittent - it comes and goes with no prediction of when or where. I have also noticed that prior to the actually loss of ps, it seems that the system is losing control, I.e. trying to synchronize/stabilize before it fails. I have reported this to GM, who in term have suggested that I take it to the dealer for evaluation. When the problem occurs, it can be very scary.

- Westfield, NJ, USA

2004 Chevy Malibu maxx has major front end problem. Hard to steer, always pulling hard to the right, seems like power steering is not working at times, clunking noise when stationary and turning wheels and when moving going over bumps. At 33K miles have been told the rack and pinion needs to be replaced. Repairs haven't been done yet waiting on other estimates.

- Fort Collins, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated that the vehicle veers to the right due to steering failure, the interior lights illuminate and dim at random, and the starter on the vehicle was malfunctioning. The failures generally occur while driving 35 mph. The main failure, however, is that the vehicle fails to start occasionally. When she starts the vehicle, it sounds as if it is attempting to engage, but never does. The vehicle also makes a cranking sound. The vehicle has been to the dealer approximately 8-10 times. The dealer will make a repair, but the failures always continue. The VIN and engine size were unknown. The current mileage was 39,900 and failure mileage was 33,000.

- Southfield, MI, USA

I went to the dealership and traded my Saturn vue for the 2004 Malibu maxx. When I test drove the car, after the acceleration reached 4rpms, there was a high pitched whine from the engine closest to the tire. They looked at it and said that it was a loose belt. So I bought the car and they said to bring it the Chevy dealership to get it fixed. I took it in and they said they couldn't duplicate the problem so I had to ride with them. Also, my seat heaters were turning on automatically, car constintly pulls to the right, I have to turn the key over for a long time to get the car to fully start up. They couldn't duplicate any of the problems so I am still dealing with all of them. For the whining noise, they said it is a drive belt that needs to be replaced, but it is out of stock. How convienient.

- San Jacinto, CA, USA

My car makes a groaning or low growling sound when I turn the steering wheel. It seems that the hotter the weather is the more it growls and groans.

- Levelland, TX, USA

When slowing down and sometimes when accelerating there is a clunk sound from the bottom left of the steering column. At first we could hardly hear it and as the months passed on it got worse. Brought it to the dealer on March 31, 2004. They said GM is aware of the problem and are manufacturing parts to repair the defect. They gave me a GM document with id#1764730 and stating that the part will be available in the second quarter. I think I may have a lemon because earlier the power steering stopped and they replaced the whole steering system. It is now five months since I have been to the dealer and I have not heard anything. The car now sounds like the front end is going to fall off whenever we slow down and it sounds very dangerous. The car does not have more than 23,000 miles, which I consider fairly new, and sounds like it has 500,000 miles on it. My wife and I are both in our 60's and believe me we are not hot rodders. Please help us to solve this problem.

- Ronkonkoma, NY, USA

On December 2, 2005 I was traveling to work using my typical route highway 74 also known as the ortega highway when coming to a sharp and narrow curve my brake pedal did not work and my steering was locked. I was not able to control the direction of my vehicle as a result the vehicle merged to on coming traffic and tumbled four times.

- Corona, CA, USA

Chevrolet Malibu 2004, steering going out. Consumer concern about recall for this problem. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but they were unable to find the cause of the vehicle steering problem

- Washington, DC, USA

Occurence #1: with less than 2000 mi on vehicle, it lost power steering while driving. The message came on the console. Towed to dealer who replaced steering column. Occurrence #2: with approx. 5000 mi on vehicle lost power steering when in reverse exiting parking space. Dash light went on as well as console message. Towed to dealer.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA