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2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 434 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, most often about the steering (58% of complaints, typically around 76,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Malibu Maxx model year since 2000 and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx problems
Steering
251 complaints · 58%Half of these problems showed up before 76,000 miles. Parts named most often: electric power assist system, hydraulic power assist system, rack and pinion, column.
Three weeks ago, noticed something was wrong with steering on 2004 malibu max. Took it to the dealership and was told nothing was wrong. On march 18th the steering failed and fortunately we were going slow and go through the intersection into a parking lot avoiding accident. Car was towed to dealership who now stated…
Steering goes out. Just driving down the road and steering failed. I could not turn the wheel. I am past the warranty and three different stories from three different people. It sounds like this is a known defect.
Seats
93 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 93,500 miles. Parts named most often: front assembly.
Driver's seat frame broke at right front weld joint. Seat then leaned to the right and moved forward and backward. This occurred under normal driving conditions at low speed. Mechanic said this is a significant safety issue since during hard braking or impact the seat would not hold and would likely break entirely…
The driver's seat frame failed at a weld joint. The seat rocks backward to the right. Dealer says entire frame must be replaced at a cost of $1200.
Lights
38 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights, turn signal, tail lights.
The seat belt do not lock in case of an accident. The drivers seat rocks while you are driving an adjusts by itself you can not keep the seat still. The welding has come apart from the base. The head lights are melting the bulbs for the signal and running light. I just caught that last weekend the lights stopped…
The seat belt do not lock in case of an accident. The drivers seat rocks while you are driving an adjusts by itself you can not keep the seat still. The welding has come apart from the base. The head lights are melting the bulbs for the signal and running light. I just caught that last weekend the lights stopped…
Electrical
37 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles. Parts named most often: starter assembly, instrument cluster/panel, ignition.
First my horn fuse continued to blow. I replaced the fuse multiple times. Then my turn signal light went out. I looked at it and noticed that both sides had holes burnt through the amber globe. I was out of town and didn't want to receive a ticket for non working light so I had it replaced, however within a day the…
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…
Brakes
20 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 61,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
Front and rear brakes have had to be changed prematurely. Rear brakes had to be replaced at 20k miles. Front brakes changed at 60k miles. Calipers sticking and causing noise and uneven wear on new brake pads. Gm dealership advises that this is not a defect.
Brake lights flashed intermittently when I was not braking. I was stopped and informed of this by at state trooper. "check engine" light was on. The cruise control has disengaged involuntarily since 2005. I had a new brake pedal position sensor installed, but the cruise control still disengages and the check engine…
Transmission
20 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
I've received 3 letters in the last approx. 8 months. First was recalling power steering, then one for brakes,and then transmission. As soon as car was paid off I literally had to buy another trany twice in two years . The last letter said I can definitely crash because of this recall problem specially said I would it…
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. The contact stated that while making a left turn the vehicle shifted into neutral independently without warning. The contact depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The contact attempted to manually shift the vehicle into park however, the transmission failed to…
Fuel system
14 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 101,000 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. The contact smelled a strong odor of gasoline emanating from the vehicle. Upon further inspection, he noticed a large puddle of gasoline near the fuel tank. He took the vehicle to an authorized dealer and they stated that they would need to replace the delivery pump and…
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. The contact stated that the fuel pump became fracture d on the elbow of the pump. The contact noticed a gasoline leak in front of the exhaust as he was driving an unknown speed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis who attempted to seal the…
Air bags
13 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. While driving 30 MPH, the contact drove down an embankment. The air bags failed to deploy and the vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was pulled out of the woods and towed away. Both occupants were slightly injured, although they were wearing their seat belts. A police…
My car was in a rollover accident where it left the road and flipped twice landing on it's side against some trees and the air bags did not deploy. Not the ones in the front nor the side air bags. The insurance co. Said the car is totaled. Luckily my children weren't in the car at the time but if they had been would…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx recalls
Stability control: electronic stability control (esc)
Risk: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the bas and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an interim letter to customers on july 14, 2014. The recall began on august 18, 2014. Owners may contact general motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). Gm's number for this recall is 13036.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 chevrolet malibu vehicles manufactured may 16, 2003, through october 11, 2012, 2004-2007 malibu maxx vehicles manufactured june 25, 2003, through april 5, 2007, 2005-2010 pontiac g6 vehicles manufactured may 26, 2004, through january 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 saturn aura vehicles manufactured april 24, 2006, through may 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the body control module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the brake apply sensor (bas) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'park' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash
Transmission: floor shift
Risk: If the transmission shift cable fractures while the vehicle is being driven, the transmission gear selection may not match the indicated gear and the vehicle may move in an unintended or unexpected direction, increasing the risk of a crash. Furthermore, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, despite selecting the âparkâ position, the transmission may not be in âpark.â if the vehicle is not in the "park" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and gm dealers will replace the shift cable assembly and mounting bracket, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-553-6000. Gm's number for this recall is 14152.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) notified the agency on april 29, 2014, that they are recalling 56,214 model year 2007 and 2008 saturn aura vehicles. On may 22, 2014, gm increased the recall to include an additional 1,074,899 model year 2004-2008 chevrolet malibu vehicles manufactured from may 16, 2003, through october 5, 2007, model year 2004-2007 malibu maxx vehicles manufactured from june 25, 2003, through april 5, 2007, and model year 2005-2008 pontiac g6 vehicles manufactured from may 26, 2004, through september 28, 2007, and equipped with 4-speed transmissions. The total number vehicles being recalled is now 1,131,113.
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. Gm expects to send an interim notification around may 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 saturn ion, 2009-2010 chevrolet hhr and 2010 chevrolet cobalts. Dealers will replace the eps motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 chevrolet malibu and malibu maxx, 2005-2006 pontiac g6 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, pontiac g6 and saturn aura built from mar
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, 2004-2006 malibu maxx, 2009-2010 hhr (non-turbo), 2010 cobalt, 2008-2009 saturn aura and 2004-2007 ion, and 2005-2009 pontiac g6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (eps) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Turn signal lamps
Summary
Gm designed the my 2004 and 2005 chevrolet malibu and malibu maxx vehicles with a daytime running lamp (drl) system that uses the same filament (the high power filament of a dual filament bulb) as the front turn signals.the high power filament operates at full battery voltage when functioning as a drl.the drl is illuminated whenever the headlamps are off, increasing the duty cycle of the front turn signal bulb.the my 2003 and earlier malibu vehicles (malibu maxx was not manufactured for sale in the u.s. Prior to my 2004) used a headlamp based design, operated at a reduced voltage, for the drl function; gm reverted back to this design on the my 2006 and later malibu and malibu maxx vehicles.
Turn signal lamps
Summary
The subject vehicles may experience loss of function of one or more of the park, turn, stop or daytime running lamps (drl).failure of the bulb may also include discoloration (heat damage) to the bulb socket.general motors (gm) technical service bulletin (tsb) number 06-08-42-004c instructs technicians to examine the lamp housing for signs of discoloration and to replace the bulbs and or sockets depending on the severity of the discoloration and the condition of the bulbs and sockets.the scope of investigation in the preliminary evaluation (pe08-062) was the 2004 malibu/maxx.however, the agency evaluated gm's warranty data which indicates that the 2005 model year (my) malibu and malibu maxx v
Loss of electric power steering
Summary
In performing this engineering analysis, odi determined that the electric power steering system in the subject vehicles can malfunction or fail, causing the driver to lose power steering assistance; however, due to the following reasons, odi has decided that further expenditure of agency resources on this investigation is not warranted at this time: - gm issued customer satisfaction campaign (csc) 04050a indecember 2004 to address the alleged defect in approximately58,700 subject vehicles, encompassing at least 97 percent of thecomplaint and warranty claims population.vehicles outside thecsc 04050a population contain a newly designed torque andposition sensor and have experienced a relativel
Loss of electric power steering
Summary
Odi opened pe04-031 based on eight reports of alleged power steering failure in the subject vehicles.the complaints allege that the driver suddenly lost all electric power steering assistance without warning making the vehicle difficult to steer. The subject vehicle utilizes an electric power steering assist system (eps) that provides variable steering assistance based on steering wheel torque, steering wheel postion, and vehicle speed.general motors documents identified the following two factors that contributed to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles: a.contamination of the torque and position sensor from theseparation of grease applied to the steering column assembly. B.electrical n
Questions about the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (251 complaints, typically around 76,000 miles); seats (93 complaints, typically around 93,500 miles); lights (38 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 14, 2014 (stability control). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx?
- It is the most complained-about Malibu Maxx model year since 2000, with 434 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.