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2004 Chevrolet Malibu Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 1,147 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu, most often about the steering (70% of complaints, typically around 72,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Malibu model year since 2000 and has 6 recalls.
Most common 2004 Chevrolet Malibu problems
Steering
798 complaints · 70%Half of these problems showed up before 72,000 miles. Parts named most often: electric power assist system, column, hydraulic power assist system, rack and pinion.
While driving at 30 MPH steering wheel locked up and wouldn't turn in any direction. When this occurred a wrench icon illuminated on the dashboard. Consumer veered off the highway, turned the vehicle off, and restarted it. This unlocked the steering wheel. A service representative indicated that was a common problem…
I had noticed while driving that the words "power steering" had come across my display and an orange light with a wrench came up on the dash in the bottom left corner. When I first noticed this problem a few months ago, I took the car back to the dealer where I purchased the car. They told me the sensors were faulty…
Electrical
151 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, horn, wiring, instrument cluster/panel.
In july 2011 the power steering went out. About a week later it started going out while driving. Had the steering column, and racket and pinion replaced, and the then the radio stopped playing cds, and the seat belt light constantly stays on even if you have the seat belt on.
Car would not start because the anti-theft system was activated for no reason. Was able to start it by leaving the ignition switch in the on position for 10 min. There have been many many complaints about this issue.
Lights
84 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 66,000 miles. Parts named most often: turn signal, headlights, brake lights, tail lights.
We own a 2004 chevy Malibu ls sedan with 66,000 miles on it. In march we had the front right turn signal light bulb replaced, and within a week we had to replace the rear left turn signal. Then on may 1st, we were on a trip when the rear right turn signal went out, so we replaced that. The next day the front left turn…
The turn signal lens a part of the front headlamp assembly is apparently melting from heat caused by the turn signal light bulb. The lens is mounted inside of the clear headlamp lens and is made out of amber colored plastic. This melting is occurring on both sides of the vehicle and has caused several light bulb…
Seats
69 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 96,000 miles. Parts named most often: front assembly.
Upon entering the vehicle, the driver's side power seat collapsed, leaving the seat leaning backward and to the right. There appear to be broken frame welds on the right side where the up and down motor is located. As the seat is no longer attached to the frame, this is an extreme safety risk were there to be an…
Was backing out of parking space and heard a metallic clank from under the driver seat. The seat tipped back and to the right, as if the right rear corner of the seat is no longer supported. The car is not safe to drive, as the seat moves around freely and would not be as safe in an accident. After a very short…
Transmission
64 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, axle assembly, driveline, clutch assembly.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while traveling on an off ramp at an unknown speed, the steering wheel seized. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under an unknown recall but the failure recurred. Also, the contact received notification for recall NHTSA…
While shifting from park to reverse to back out of my driveway the shift handle popped up and is no longer attached completely to the shift lever. I have to push down on the handle while pushing in the button to shift or else the handle pops up and I am not able to shift.
Brakes
61 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 55,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, foundation components, pedals and linkages, antilock.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. In july of 2006, the steering column was replaced at only 15,000 miles. Recently, the contact felt the steering loosen while driving 20 MPH. On july 21, 2009, the steering knuckle failed and she lost control of the steering. She had to place the gear into park in order to stop…
The driver was traveling on a two lane road and came to a curve in the road at which time she reported that the brakes would not slow or stop the car and the car began to veer in an unintended (and unsteered) direction. The driver attempted to correct the car's path and speed and it went out of control striking four…
Engine
37 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 75,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact's vehicle will not start on several occasions. She took the vehicle back to the dealer three times, but they were unable to duplicate the failure. The most recent failure occurred on april 12, 2008. After driving off the dealer lot, the contact made a stop and the…
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…
Suspension
31 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 36,500 miles. Parts named most often: front.
I purchased my 2004 Malibu on the date listed as incident date. After bringing home and driving a bit, I began to notice a clunking noise under the front floor when going over bumps and turning the steering wheel. This is especially noticeable at low speeds.
: the contact stated there is a noise in the front end while turning at low speeds. The dealership determined this is the issue addressed in the technical service bulletin, manufacturer #1716682 regarding the suspension. The bulletin stated the repair is being designed and should be available in the first quarter of…
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 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.
Brakes: control unit/module
Risk: Unexpected ABS activiation could increase stopping distance up to about 11 feet dpending on the grade of the road, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the ABS controller. Owner notification began on june 16, 2004. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438.
Full defect summary
Some of these passenger vehicles have an electronic control unit (ecu) that may calculate a higher than actual vehicle speed because of an erratic rear-wheel speed sensor signal, and cause ABS activation where it is not needed or needed ABS activation to be extended during braking as the vehicle speed drops to about 3 MPH.
Seat belts: anchorage
Risk: If this occurred in a crash, the driver could receive greater injuries.
Fix: Dealers will insert a retainer on both the driver's and passenger's belt anchorages. Owner notification began on june 16, 2004. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, analysis of an a side impact crash test conducted by the NHTSA;s new car assessment program (ncap) indicated that the outboard anchorage of the driver's seat belt could disconnect because of contact between the seat trim and the anchorage connector when the seat was adjusted to its lowest position.
Equipment: labels
Fix: Owners will be sent replacement labels with instructions on how to install them. Owner notification began on april 21, 2004. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438.
Full defect summary
Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) no. 208, "occupant crash protection." some of these vehicles that were not equipped with an advanced occupant restraint system (aors) have driver and passenger side sun visors with aors labels. The aors labels do not include statements and the illustration required by fmvss no. 208 for vehicles without aors.
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
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (798 complaints, typically around 72,000 miles); electrical (151 complaints, typically around 90,000 miles); lights (84 complaints, typically around 66,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu have?
- 6 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?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Malibu model year since 2000, with 1,147 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.