Date: 11/15/10. 2004 malibu maxx lt. While exiting a limited access highway at 25 MPH, the driver's seat suddenly dropped two or three inches down and to the right, nearly causing the operator to crash into the safety barrier. Once the vehicle was stopped, an inspection revealed the seat frame weld had separated. Research shows this is a problem that has been reported to the federal safety agency on a number of occasions without corrective action. The dealer has inspected the damage and claims this is a recurring issue. Repair is over $1,000. The resulting litigation will run in the 10's of millions as the dealership notes that in a collision the seat may not stay anchored. The safety restraint is also attached to the seat, so it will be ineffective as well. Investigate and issue the recall!
2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx seats complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 93 of 93, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I noticed the driver seat was "rocking" to the right when I sat down. When I looked under the seat I noticed that the crossbar was broken at the weld joint on the right side of the seat.
Front weld of the driver seat broke, causing the seat to sometimes lean towards the front right. We took it to chevy, asked them to check the seat and do a state inspection. They said that they didn't know what it was and had to pull the seat out. They then told me that it would be $1,000 to repair the seat, then told me it would not pass inspection without repairing the seat. When I picked up the car, more welds had broken and the seat wobbled a lot. They told me that if I put the seat in the totally down position that it would not wobble. We complained to the manager, and he has agreed to call gm to see about getting an allowance to get it repaired. Now I am looking online and see that there are a lot of complaints about broken welds on the seat. I hope that there will be an investigation into this issue.
2004 chevy malibu maxx - 55k miles, driven by small woman in her 70's. Crossmembers in the driver's seat frame failed, along with welds on both sides of the rear crossmember. The seat tilted significantly to the right, preventing the driver from sitting properly & safely. After failure, the seat would shift noticeably in turns, and the repair shop said in the event of an accident, it was highly unlikely the seat would remain anchored. The fact that the driver's seat belt was anchored to the seat caused further concern, as it would not stop a driver from being thrown forward in the event of an accident. Cost to repair is $1000 - outrageous for what is clearly a manufacturer defect, given it is such a common problem. Chevy should be recalling these vehicles or offering to repair the problem at no cost to the vehicle owner.
2004 malibu maxx driver's seat weld broken making the seat rock during vehicle operation.
Front drivers seat. 2004 malibu maxx. Seat became 'pitched' to the right. Dislodged of assembly. We took to dealership and were told that it was 'broken' and needed to be replaced.....this happened 2 times totaling 1200.00. Upon research this appears to be an all to common problem with the malibu seat assembly.
The support rail under my drivers seat in a 2004 chevy malibu maxx broke. The weld completely separated.
2004 chevrolet malibu max - the driver's seat frame has failed at the bottom resulting in the seat leaning to the right, moving around during cornering, and the seat generally being not anchored entirely to the floor of the car. The vehicle has less than 41000 miles and this failure was not due to any incident other than normal driving. Currently awaiting backordered parts from the dealer at significant cost. Continuing to drive car in unsafe condition. Other owners report similar issues on several websites. This appears to be a manufacturers defect.
Front and rear crossmembers in the driver's seat frame failed, along with welds on both sides of the rear crossmember. The seat tilted significantly to the right, interfering with the opening of the rear seat entertainment unit and placing a strain on the seat adjustment motor. After failure, the seat would shift noticeably in turns, and the repair shop said in the event of an accident, it was highly unlikely the seat would remain anchored. The fact that the driver's seat belt was anchored to the seat caused further concern, as it would not stop a driver from being thrown forward in the event of an accident. Several local gm dealers said that they have no recourse and that the seat is no longer available. I had to have the seat completely stripped down and have several parts and welds replaced at a local metal shop.
Driver's seat frame broke at right front weld joint. Seat then leaned to the right and moved forward and backward. This occurred under normal driving conditions at low speed. Mechanic said this is a significant safety issue since during hard braking or impact the seat would not hold and would likely break entirely loose and slam the driver into the steering wheel. $850 to replace the seat frame. Gm would not pay to fix this obvious design/manufacturing defect.
My 2004 malibu maxx front power drivers seat suddenly tilted to the right causing an uncomfortable uneven drivers position. If you raise the seat it tilts more to the right & gets mostly even when all the way lowered, from reading other peoples description I believe my right front drivers seat mounting brackets weld broke. Which will require a seat replacement instead of a part. Hearing this is a $1,000 repair is distressing to say the least. Appears there is a defective weld on this vehicle that gm should fix. Thank goodness it didn't break while I was driving.
My 2004 malibu - the frame to the drivers seat came unwelded so the seat tilts to the right. This caused strain on the motor that moves the seat back and forth so now that is out as well. I have seen many similar complaints online for this exact issue. I'm very surprised there has not been a recall. Chevy wants $500 just for parts!!!! Insane.
2004 malibu maxx driver seat frame breaks under normal use.
1. A support/adjustment bar for the driver's seat broke causing the drivers seat to suddenly drop to the right. 2. Support/adjusting bar is broken and will require repair/replacement. Can not adjust the seat correctly for comfortable and proper driving position. Almost put the car into a guard rail in when it happened. Good thing my 16 year old was not driving it at the time. 3. Dealer wants $1000 for repair, no replacement part available, requires entire seat frame to be replaced at $400+.
Power dirver seat on 2004 chevy malibu maxx broke causing the seat to lean to the right.
Bought a certified used 2004 malibu maxx in august 2007 with 19000 miles. Currently have 68000 miles. Drivers seat frame cracked. Was not in any accident or any incident which could have caused the frame to crack. The driver seat is 4 way electric powered seat.
Drivers seat frame broke at weld. Seat was no longer attached to vehicle. Almost caused me to have an accident. $843 to replace the frame.
The weld broke on the driver's seat mounting bracket. There was no abuse of the seat to cause this to fail. It did not cause crash or injury. The drivers seat mounting bracket was replaced.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the driver's seat dropped approximately 3 to 4 inches on the right side. The contact arrived home and discovered that the bracket failed. The current mileage was 42,678 and failure mileage was 42,653. Updated 09/10/08. *lj the seat frame weld broke. Updated 09/12/08.
Seat bracket broke while driving causing seat to suddenly drop to one side. As a result, driver nearly lost control of vehicle. Inspection of the seat mount revealed two failed welds. Contacted gm the next day, then brought vehicle to nearest dealer at gm's request. Dealer initially reported that the problem was a clear factory defect and suggested that gm should repair it at no cost to us. After two weeks of "considering our request," gm denied the claim and suggested that we should have purchased an extended warranty. The problem has not been corrected at this time.
Was driving when drivers seat lurched to the left. When I got home and inspected the seat I observed that a weld had broken in the lower seat frame component associated with vertical height adjustment for power seat.
Was driving on exit ramp on local expressway when drivers seat lurched to the left. When I got home and inspected the seat I observed that a weld had broken in the lower seat frame component associated with vertical height adjustment for power seat.
I went to the dealership and traded my saturn vue for the 2004 malibu maxx. When I test drove the car, after the acceleration reached 4rpms, there was a high pitched whine from the engine closest to the tire. They looked at it and said that it was a loose belt. So I bought the car and they said to bring it the chevy dealership to get it fixed. I took it in and they said they couldn't duplicate the problem so I had to ride with them. Also, my seat heaters were turning on automatically, car constintly pulls to the right, I have to turn the key over for a long time to get the car to fully start up. They couldn't duplicate any of the problems so I am still dealing with all of them. For the whining noise, they said it is a drive belt that needs to be replaced, but it is out of stock. How convienient.
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