2004 Chevrolet Malibu Problems

Above Average Complaints

Real NHTSA owner complaints for the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu.

20032005
Complaints
1,639
Crashes
78
Fires
11
Injuries
36
Fatalities
Recalls
8

Worst 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Problems

Top 3 most-reported issues with average mileage at failure.

#1715 complaints

STEERING

Avg mileage:85,591 mi
Crash-related:26
#2139 complaints

STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

Avg mileage:16,819 mi
Crash-related:3
#3117 complaints

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Avg mileage:91,075 mi
Crash-related:7
Fires:2
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All Problems by Category

Every NHTSA complaint category for the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu.

ComponentComplaintsCrashesFiresAvg MileageVolume
STEERING7152685,591 mi
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM139316,819 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1177291,075 mi
SEATS6896,301 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING601288,077 mi
POWER TRAIN494121,551 mi
STEERING:COLUMN4330,919 mi
SERVICE BRAKES306161,866 mi
AIR BAGS24121109,003 mi
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL23392,812 mi
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)211104,911 mi
SUSPENSION21149,755 mi
UNKNOWN OR OTHER19241,653 mi
ENGINE17140,637 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING1643,357 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL1353,463 mi
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM13135,086 mi
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM1337,427 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION1289,400 mi
SEAT BELTS12170,455 mi
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE1092,382 mi
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC10141,323 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH8308,497 mi
STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE8112,290 mi
WHEELS8332,604 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN760,375 mi
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP719,785 mi
STEERING:RACK AND PINION751,570 mi
SUSPENSION:FRONT716,876 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS6243,316 mi

Recalls for 2004 Chevrolet Malibu

8 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting ~15,838,023 vehicles.

14V252000ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
~2,440,524 affected

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 avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL
~2,440,524 affected

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 avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH
~2,440,524 affected

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 avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS
~2,440,524 affected

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 avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
~2,440,524 affected

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 avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V224000POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT
~1,131,113 affected

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.

14V224000POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
~1,131,113 affected

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.

14V153000STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
~1,373,177 affected

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.

Other Chevrolet Malibu Years

Wider context: See the full Chevrolet Malibu reliability report with year-by-year comparison and generation analysis.

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