2004 CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX Complaints

AFTER BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE, DROVE FORWARD A FEW FEET, TURNED RIGHT AT A STOP SIGN AND PROCEEDED FORWARD WHEN THE CAR'S WARNING CHIMES SOUNDED, THE "POWER STEERING" CAME UP ON THE DIC, THE SERVICE VEHICLE LIGHT CAME ON AND ALL POWER STEERING WAS LOST. IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT SO I CONTINUED DRIVING HOME WHICH WAS ABOUT 2 MILES AWAY BUT IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE TURNS. HAVE NOT TRIED TO DRIVE CAR DUE TO DIFFICULTY AND SINCE IT IS SUNDAY WAS NOT ABLE TO GET ASSISTANCE FROM MECHANICS OR DEALER. HAVE BEEN READING ONLINE AND SEEMS TO BE A COMMON AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM. NO RECALLS OR NOTICES RECEIVED BY DEALER. THIS CAR WAS BOUGHT NEW AND MAINTAINED. *TR

THE CAR BECAME VERY HARD TO STEER. TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIME SINCE AUGUST. THIS HAS ALMOST CAUSE TWO ACCIDENTS. *TR

TL* 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 FRACTURE WITH EPOXY BUT THE REMEDY FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED OF THE RECALL RELATED TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 12V459000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP) AND STATED THAT HIS MODEL VEHICLE WAS SUFFERING FROM THE SAME DEFECT. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 104,000. UPDATED 11/01/12 *BF UPDATED 11/02/2012 *JS

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. *TR

DRIVER'S SEAT WELD FAILED AND SEAT SHIFTED DOWN AND DROPPED TO THE RIGHT. ALSO EFFECTED SEAT ADJUSTMENT. ROCKED BACK AND FORTH ON THE FRAME. SEAT HAD TO BE REPLACED, COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AS THE STEERING BECAME HARD TO TURN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC, WHICH LOCATED THE FAILURE AT THE STEERING COLUMN. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 86,200.

THE DRIVER SEAT ON THIS CAR HAS COME OFF THE RAILS ON RIGHT SIDE CAUSING IT TO TILT. IF THE SEAT IS NOT MOVED TO THE LOWEST SETTING THE TILTS WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE CAR. I HAD THE SEAT REPAIRED ONCE; IT FAILED AGAIN AFTER ABOUT 6 MONTHS. AT THE SAME TIME I HAD THE EMERGENCY BRAKE REPAIRED. WHEN SETTING THE BRAKE, I HEARD A LOUD BANG. THE REPAIR FAILED ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO FOR THE SECOND TIME. I AM ALSO GOING THROUGH NEW BRAKES ON THIS CAR AT AN ALARMING RATE - THREE BRAKE REPLACEMENTS ALREADY AND THE CAR HAS 90,000 MILES. THE CAR IS AGAIN BEGINNING TO SHIMMY/SHUDDER WHEN GOING DOWN STEEP HILLS AND THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED. THE CAR SEEMS NOT TO SLOW DOWN AT ALL (I.E. SHIFTING GEARS) WHEN GOING DOWN HILL OTHER THAN BY THE BRAKES - IT FEELS LIKE A FREE FALL. THE SIGNALS, HEADLIGHTS, TAILLIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS ALSO NEED FREQUENT REPLACEMENT. I TYPICALLY HAVE TO REPLACE AT LEAST ONE OF THESE AT EACH OIL CHANGE AND HAVE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS NEEDED TO MAKE REPLACEMENTS BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. I WOULD ESTIMATE THE HEADLIGHTS/BLINKERS HAVE BEEN REPLACED AT LEAST A DOZEN TIMES. THE REAR LIGHTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED PERHAPS TEN TIMES. CURRENTLY THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT IS OUT AND CANNOT BE REPAIRED WITHOUT TAKING OFF THE INTERIOR COVER OF THE CAR TO ACCESS THE WIRING - THE BULB IS NOT THE PROBLEM. *TR

WHILE ADJUSTING THE SEAT UP, IT SUDDENLY DROPPED AND LEANED TO THE RIGHT. AFTER INSPECTING UNDER THE SEAT, I FOUND THAT THE WELDS ON THE FRONT FRAME BAR BROKE LOOSE ALSO TWISTING THE FRAME BAR. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS WHILE DRIVING AS THE SEAT REALLY LEANED OVER VIOLENTLY. ALSO, IT APEARS THE SEAT BELTS ARE ATTACHED TO THESE SUPPORT BARS. THIS ISSUE STILL HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS THE COST IS OVER $1000. SHOULD WE BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, THE SEAT WILL VERY EASILY TEAR AWAY FROM THE REMAINING WELDS POSSIBLY EJECTING THE DRIVER ALONG WITH THE SEAT. THE SEAT SHIFTS AND TILTS DRASTICALLY WHEN TURNING VEHICLE. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE ONLINE, I FIND THAT SEVERAL MALIBU MAXX OWNERS FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT YEARS ARE HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. THIS SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL ISSUE AS THE SEAT WILL COME LOOSE ALONG WITH THE SEAT BELTS SHOULD VEHICLE BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. *TR

THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT HAS BEEN COMING ON FOR SOME TIME NOW, BUT 3 DIFFERENT TIMES THE POWER STEERING HAS FAILED WHEN LEAVING FROM BEING PARKED. TURNING OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTING FIXES IT BUT FOR HOW LONG WILL THAT CONTINUE TO WORK. *TR

THE POWER STEERING LOCKS UP FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 10 SECONDS. IT OCCURS AT SLOW SPEEDS ON SURFACE STREETS, HIGH SPEEDS ON THE INTERSTATE, GOING FORWARD AND EVEN WHEN I'M IN THE MIDST OF A TURN. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WILL FLASH, THE LIGHTS FLASH ON AND OFF AND THE NOTICE BELL RINGS "DING, DING, DING." WHEN IT FINALLY STOPS THE, IF ITS SUMMER THE AC WILL STOP FUNCTIONING UNTIL I STOP AND RESTART THE CAR. IT IS A VERY SCARY 5 TO 10 SECONDS AND I'M VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE NOT CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AS OF YET. THIS HAS ALSO COMPROMISED THE EASE OF THE POWER STEERING WHEN IT HAS NOT LOCKED UP. PARKING IS VERY DIFFICULT AS THE TURNING RADIUS AND NOT GOOD AND ITS JUST DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER THE CARS STEERING. *TR