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.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the power steering failed causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn. The vehicle was restarted and was able to function normally. The contact stated that the failure occurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned making the steering wheel very difficult to turn. After turning the vehicle off and restarting it, the vehicle began to function normally. The contact indicated that the defect recurred multiple times. The failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Recall was announced months ago for the steering, but still have not received any recall notice or information. I had to have it replaced and paid for it because it failed. Was told by GM 800 service number that I would be getting a notice, which would have instructions on how to be reimbursed. As of today,06/03/14, I have received nothing.
This is the 5th time this had happened with my 2004 Malibu, but the scariest. Similar to the other times, but this time on a curve. I heard a chime& "power steering" appeared in the message box. My car veered to the ieft into traffic and I could barely steer it. It took all my 66 yea old strength to turn the wheel & get into my lane. I pulled off asap & turned car off in a safe location. Shaking for 15 min. I don't understand why this car is safe to drive. It does not revert to manual steering. The CEO is lying. I have owned manual steering cars and this does not steer that way. I am afraid to drive it it has also stalled with numerous lights coming on. ABS, engine, and one I think is another steering light, yellow with a line through it. Why aren't they pulled?cruise control comes on by itself & won't shut off.
I was leaving work and started my car and the power steering was not working. The check engine light on my dash panel also came on. This happened in a separate instance a couple days prior. The first time it happened I turned the car off and restarted it and the power steering was fine. The second instance I tried to restart the car a couple times with no change. I took the car home and then to the dealership where I get my maintenance done the next day. They replaced a power steering component and I paid for the charges. This all happened prior to my knowledge of these recalls.
- Fitchburg, WI, USA
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I got in my car and tried to crank it and it made a clicking noise. It took hours before it started, on another incident; several times I couldn't shift my car from park. My power steering light came on and when I was coming to a stop at a light the car list control serving left to right until I came to a complete stop. I always have to gas the car to get gas to the engine for the car to start. When I took it to the dealer he said that it was a recall problem and he's had several customers with my car come to him with the same problem. When I looked up the recall I noticed that my car was having the same issues as reported.
I lost complete control in the steering column as I was turning left at an intersection in traffic. The steering wheel freely turned 360 degrees, but the tires did not move. I had no way of controlling the vehicle as it was moving in traffic. Had I been on a highway or traveling at a higher speed, I could have been seriously injured and injured other drivers! the mechanic my vehicle was towed to stated that it was the rack and pinion component of the vehicle and there is currently a technical service bulletin for that component. Steering function is a vital component of any vehicle and I find it scary and appalling that this occurred and is not covered by a GM recall. Driving a car at any speed, not to mention highway speeds, without any steering control is extremely dangerous.
After being at a full stop I slowly entered onto another road taking a left turn. A powering steering message showed up on my radio screen and my steering was extremely difficult! on about 5 or 6 other occasions the same message appeared on my radio screen and my power steering failed. One time was while backing my car up, other times where when I turned my car on. After all incidents so far I was able to turn off my car, wait a minute, turn the car back on and the problem fixed itself.
I have had my car since 2011. I didn't have any problems with my car until 2012. My steering shaft broke and it was replaced at a Chevy dealership. All was fine until this year in March, where my steering was becoming very hard to do. When I turned my wheel, it would make sounds as if it was breaking and I needed to use a little more force to turn the wheel. As of May 15, 2014, I took my car to a Chevy dealership where a family member asked if they could see if any parts on my car was on recall and there are several recalls for the Malibu. My steering is getting worse by the day and my car is driving horribly. I have a 4 yr and this is my only transportation to and from work. I'm afraid to drive too far because the steering wheel might get stuck and may cause an accident. I wanted to report this before something actually happened.
Since I purchased the car in 2004, it has been at the Chevrolet dealer 4 times for the steering column and rack and pinion. The last time I brought it in was round 2007 and it started going out again in 2008. I was fed up with taking it to the dealer, so filed a complaint and was hoping it would get recalled. I checked the recall list for this year and found my vehicle was not on the steering recall list. I am very upset and will never purchase another GM car again. I refuse to pay out of my pocket for this ongoing issue.
As I was driving a loss of power steering happened. The car was almost impossible to turn. I had to brake very fast to keep from hitting the car in the next lane.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel was hard to turn. The failure recurred intermittently over a period of six months. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the steering column and torque angle sensor. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
TL-the contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the power steering would intermittently fail without warning. The vehicle would become increasingly difficult to control. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage and current mileage was 140,000.
After starting the car late at night leaving a friends house, was in the act of pulling out into the street when the steering became very difficult to turn, and the warning light came on. I was stuck out into the middle of the road until I turned off the car and turned it back on to rest the systems. If it was earlier in the day I very much believe we could have been injured by another car. I have had it do it to me before for just a couple of seconds the it was fine. Im getting very concerned about this problem.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering column failed and was replaced in 2004 however, the parts were found to be defective and were replaced by the manufacturer. The failure recurred in 2011 and the power steering column was replaced again. The contact was concerned that the part was defective due to the exact recurring failure. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The approximate failure mileage was 3000. Updated 6/24/14 updated 06/26/2014
Today after dropping my son off at school, my 2004 Chevrolet Malibu 3.5 V6 became nearly impossible to steer. It felt like the car had 2 flat tires in the front. With great struggle I was able to get the car off the road and avoid crashing. Had I not been strong enough to turn the car others could have been killed. This was a near miss. After having the problem this morning, I discovered that GM issued a recall for this problem. The recall id is 102634. GM has not implemented the recall even though they issued a press release on the problem on 3-31-14. I have spent the last 5 hours on the phone with 2 Chevrolet dealers and GM trying to find a solution since "they are aware of the problem but have not loaded my VIN into their system." People are being injured and likely dying because of this issue.
My battery light came on this morning and I came home from lunch tried making a left turn onto a street and my steering wheel locked on me. I couldn't turn my car, now my car won't even start. I barely made it home, thank god because I almost crashed into my neighbors house from my steering wheel locking.
While driving my battery light will flash on and chirp and my steering wheel sort of locks up, the display on my radio says power steering and the wrench light lights up on the panel. It is quite scary considering I have young children in my car about 95% of the time. I have been very close to crashing into other cars more than once. I would love to get rid of this car but am afraid this will happen to the next person and it could be fatal.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The contact also stated that the power steering assist would sporadically fail. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who re-calibrated the electrical steering, however the failure persisted. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number 14V153000 (steering). However, the VIN was not included in the recall campaign. The vehicle was not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Coon Rapids, MN, USA