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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
26 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
12 / 0
Average Mileage:
72,654 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Chevrolet Malibu steering problems

steering problem

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2004 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 15 of 36)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #429

Jan 032013

Malibu

  • 101,300 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving my daughter to a doctors appointment, and my car dinged 3 times and "power steering" came across on the radio face, and I lost power steering. I shut the car off and when I started it again it was fine. Today (1-23-13) I was driving with my daughter in the car, and I was driving around a curve, when the car dinged 3 times again and power steering displayed across the radio screen. I lost power steering in mid turn, and had to fight to keep the car under control. Does someone have to die for this to ne corrected? ## VIN failed ##

- Martinsville, IN, USA

problem #428

Jan 212013

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
As for the lighting I cannot count how many light bulbs I have replaced on this vehicle to the point that I had the auto shop replace them since I thought I was doing something wrong. They only last about a month or two and burn out which is really dangerous when you don't know if will work or not. The steering issue is a much more dangerous problem, this is my wife's car and she got stuck leaving the house and physically could not turn the steering wheel which she described as locking up. I can not imagine if she were to be turn down a busy intersection on not been able to turn the vehicle to the proper lane. This is dangerous and should be a recall item as the 2005's were!!!

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #427

Dec 032012

Malibu

  • 130,031 miles
Upon slowing down the car to make a right turn, the power steering failed causing the car to veer into an oncoming lane of traffic.

- Greenville, TX, USA

problem #426

Dec 062012

Malibu

  • 85,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5-10 mph, the power steering assist failed as the steering wheel became extremely difficult to maneuver. The contact moved off the roadway and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 85,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Mason City, IA, USA

problem #425

Dec 062012

Malibu

  • 93,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph and completing a turn, the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel became very difficult to maneuver. In addition, the power steering warning light illuminated immediately after the failure. The contact shut off and restarted the vehicle, as it performed normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where they advised that the they could not get the vehicle to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 93,000.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #424

Sep 192011

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
One morning last month, I was driving my kid to school at speed 30 miles per hour, when suddenly the electronic power steering problem light turned on again, and the steering power was gone and the steering was totally locked, I could not make any turns. Because this is the 4th time it happened, I knew what to do. I stopped the car at the middle of the road ( I am lucky it is happened during local not highway driving). I turned off the engine, then turn on the engine again, and everything back to normal. So far it happened at least 5 times to me. The current mileage of my car is 116000.

- Mercer Island, WA, USA

problem #423

Sep 192012

Malibu

  • 131,233 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I am having the same problem as half the 2004 Malibu owners. I have a 2004 Malibu my power steering just stops working. This has happened several times. I have almost had several accidents because of this. I found 176 people on one website that is also having this problem and several other website with the same complaint on. Chevy has not recalled the 2004 for it. However that did recall the 2005 for the same problem. That only because someone died in the car due to the power steering problem. Wow now I feel safe. I am a single mom I cant pay $600 for a maybe fix. They cant promise after replacing the steering column it will even fix the problem. I cant buy a new car. They need to take responsibility for there mess up. Guess I have to wait till someone dies in the 2004 before they fix it and who knows I might be the one that does. Facebook connect

- Tracy, CA, USA

problem #422

Dec 012011

Malibu

  • 84,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the steering became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle regained steering on its own. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the tie rod end needed to be replaced. After the repair the failure continued. The driver was traveling approximately 45 mph when she lost control of the steering and crashed into a telephone pole. The driver was transported to the hospital by ambulance. The contact stated that the driver sustained injuries to her neck, head and back. The vehicle was destroyed. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000.

- Norht Muskegon, MI, USA

problem #421

Nov 012012

Malibu 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 23,000 miles
2004 Chevrolet Malibu lt. Consumer writes in regards to power steering problems. The consumer stated each time he turned the steering wheel, the warning light would illuminated. It locked up on one occasion and the consumer was unable to turn the steering wheel. The consumer discovered a recall had been issued for the electric power steering starting with the 2005 models.

- Mcdonough, GA, USA

problem #420

Aug 262010

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
First time it happened we were pulling out of a parking lot. Power steering message came up and steering wheel got stiff and we could not turn the wheel, my husband turned off the car and restarted it and the power steering came back. It has happened more than a few times since. My concern, I am a very small person I do not have the strength to turn the wheel when it happens and eventually I will not be able to get the car pulled over to a safe place to stop it and restart it. The last time that it happened to me was November 5 2012 taking my grandson to school going about 40 miles per hour, I was just driving along and the power steering just went out. I will tell you Chevy Malibu or any Chevy is not on my list for my next car.

- Wrightsville, PA, USA

problem #419

Nov 052012

Malibu

  • 80,985 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph the power steering failed. The contact mentioned that after turning off the vehicle for 10 minutes the steering resumed normal function. Also, the contact stated that the wrench symbol illuminated on the instrument panel when the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was told that the eletronic power assist failed. The failure mileage and the current mileage was 80,985.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #418

Nov 042012

Malibu

  • 186,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph the power steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel became very stiff. The contact was able to pull over and check under his hood to see if the fluid was low. After lifting the hood the driver noticed that there was no reservoir for the power steering fluid. The contact then called the dealer and informed them of the situation. They advised him that the vehicle had an electronic motor and there was no where for him to place the power steering fluid. The driver waited a while and then restarted the vehicle, which temporarily repaired the steering failure. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure and current mileage was approximately 186,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #417

Oct 252012

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 62,158 miles
While driving home from work my power steering light came flashed on the radio and the dashboard, I tried to make a right hand turn and the wheel was very hard to turn. I pulled over to the side of the road turned the car off and waited about 5 minutes started it back up and it was ok. I drove for about 1 mile and it did it again. This happened my whole drive home, I had to keep turning the car off at each intersection just to make it home. This happened again yesterday October 25th, I had to keep turn the car off in order to make it home. Since I drive about 8 miles each day to and from work I am concern that this is a very dangerous situation. I went on line and have found that this is a serious problem with the 2004 Malibu, why in the world has there not been a recall on this problem.? I am just thankful that I was not on the highway when this happened, because this could have been a disaster. I live in an area of the country that can be very bad in the winter and with this happening someone can be seriously hurt if you cannot maneuver in bad weather. I hope that there have been enough complaints that this will call for General Motors to do a recall before something terrible happens.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #416

Oct 112012

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 62,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the steering failed without warning while turning left. The steering became hard to turn and caused the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The steering resumed normal function for a brief moment and the mechanical warning light illuminated after the failure occurred. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 62,000 and the approximate current mileage was 64,000. Updated 3/5/13 the consumer stated the steering issue, was intermittent.

- Mountain Home , AR, USA

problem #415

Oct 132012

Malibu

  • 163,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed while approaching a stop light. The contact was able to coast into a parking area. The power steering warning light illuminated after the failure occurred. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 163,000.

- Reading , PA, USA

problem #414

Oct 092012

Malibu

  • miles
Couldn't get out of my drive way. This is the first time this happens, went online to find a solution and found out it was a manufacturers error. I can see its not on the recall list even though there has been some complaining done, even after getting it "fixed".

- Yuma, AZ, USA

problem #413

Jul 152011

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
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.

- Montgomery, AL, USA

problem #412

Jun 062012

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
As my son was driving, the power steering went out and it was very difficult to steer. After turning off the car and restarting, the power steering came back on. This has happened twice.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #411

Aug 062012

Malibu

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel as the failed power steering message appeared on the stereo display. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact that there was a voluntary recall for the failure but stated that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

- Norfolk, NE, USA

problem #410

Jun 252012

Malibu

  • 67,356 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who reset the steering and corrected the failure for three weeks before recurring. The dealer was notified who advised that there were no recalls for the vehicle for the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 67,356.

- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA

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