Started my car after work and my power steering was suddenly gone after working fine for 2 days (just bought the car). I took it to my mechanic and he did a trouble code search. The computer kept displaying torque sensor error. Took it to gm and found out that they will not cover the cost to replace it because I have a v6, not a v4 engine. Apparently gm extended the warranty on the v4 steering columns, but not the v6. Drove back home and let the car sit for about 4 hours. Went and started it up and the power steering was back. Turned the car back off and it overnight. Started again this morning and the power steering is gone again! Very unhappy since I just bought the car!
2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx steering complaints
Page 4 of 10: complaints 71 to 100 of 251, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving down the road when the power steering went totally out. I heard a chime, saw the wrench light up on the dash and a power steering message appeared on the message panel. I noticed the steering was much more difficult and then went out all together. I turned the car off and back on again and the problem was temporarily resolved only to reappear later again. I know that the 2005 was recalled for the same issue and think this one needs to be also. It is not safe at all to drive.
Power steering malfunction flashed on the instrument panel and within seconds I lost all power steering until I stopped the vehicle shut it off and restarted engine. I have had this happen before but in the parking lot and random malfunction indicators since I purchased the vehicle. This is a malfunction that these cars rolled off the assembly line with. Gm chooses not to do anything about it and if I end up paying over $1,000.00 for the repair I vow to never purchase another general motors vehicle again.
The power steering locks up when driving, gets very tight and cannot turn the wheel.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the power steering assist failed. The contact had to use excessive force to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was shut down and restarted but that was only a temporary remedy. The contact also mentioned that the failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the steering column and interior module need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 88,700 and the current mileage was 92,400.
After several power steering service alarms in the preceding months, that all reset after the engine was turned off, the alarm came on and the power assist failed leaving the car extremely difficult to steer. Took the car into the dealership the next week and they reprogrammed the steering and sent me home. The next day the steering failed again. I then looked up the problem on the internet and found out this is a prevalent problem and has no real fix! What do I do now?
The steering locks up between 2000 and 3500 rpms. The tool, steering and battery light keeps flashing when the power steering locks up or before the steering locks up. Chiming sounds go off and a clicking noise from the dash board. I heard many people are having the same issue. It should be a recall because it almost cause me to be in an accident many time. I had to stop driving me car due to the danger.
While driving the vehicle the power steering failed completely as has been noted by thousands of other 2004 chevy malibu maxx owners. The steering becomes difficult is not impossible to operate or it locks up completely as was the case today and will not allow the steering to be turned. As a 30 year law enforcement veteran I recognize this as a very serious life safety issue. This vehicle needs to be recalled since gm is fully aware of the problem but does not want to step up and fix this issue that has caused accidents and injury to owners. The fault indicator comes on and a beeping occurs and the display in the center of the dash says "power steering".
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle became difficult steer. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the electric power steering had failed and the column and steering module would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,653 and the current mileage was 53,000. Updated 7/1/13 *cn updated 07/17/2013
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH the power steering failed. The contact stated that the power steering light illuminated for months prior to it failing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 86,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The check engine and power steering lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the steering column would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact the vehicle was previously repaired under a manufacturer's recall for the steering. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.
Upon acceleration using the gas pedal, the car loses total control of its steering. All engine lights and failure lights go on.sometimes just making a simple turn at an intersection, the car loses complete steering capability. This has happened at various speeds, including on the highway at 50 MPH accelerating over a slight incline or at 10 MPH at an intersection while making a left or right turn. I noticed trouble with the steering when I first bought my car under warranty but it wasn't as severe. Just when backing out of a parking space the steering was tight, but the dealership could not find the problem. I have had the short rack steering gear, steering rack, intermediate shaft, and serpentine belt replaced but to no avail. On the website www.lemonlawclaims.com there have been at least 42 steering complaints of similar nature regarding the same year make for the malibu. An the federal safety agency investigation was performed pe04-031 based on eight reports of alleged power steering failures. The preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis based on the report I printed up in 2010, however I am not certain of the current status of this investigation. I'm sure there are a lot more failure reports that have been opened, though I cannot find a recall regarding this failure. As a side note, sometimes the car has trouble starting - it always has and the dealership could not determine the failure. When trying to start it up, hitting the gas pedal will cause the engine to kick over and not stall. There is always the smell of fuel. I am not sure if this is part of the failure. In addition when the steering fails or the steering wheel jerks upon acceleration, a clicking sound can be heard. The origin of this clicking in unknown. I really don't understand why there hasn't been a recall on this or better yet a class action lawsuit.
Power steering fault light on yellow wrench light intermittent. Steering shake.
I started the car, put the car in drive and accelerated. When I went to turn the wheel, a light appeared on the dash (looks like a wrench) and on the radio display said power steering. I lost all power steering. This has now happened multiple times in the last month. I pulled out on to another road and while in the process of turning, I lost my power steering. I had to pull over into a parking lot, which was very difficult to do since I did not have power steering. Turned the car off and restarted the car. The light went away and my power steering came back. The car is very unsafe because the failure happens while driving. My husband called chevy dealer and they stated that this car is not covered under the service recall notice!!
I was driving on the highway and an engine light came on and it said power steering across my radio. I thought that meant I need power steering fluid but after doing google searches, I find that means I lost my power steering control. Luckily, I was going straight and at a high speed so I didn't lose control based upon what I read. However, I have two little girls and will sue in a heartbeat if anything happens to them as a result of this issue. Especially, since this is a known issue since 2004. Why the heck haven't you forced chevy to recall these vehicles. I don't care that in most cases steering is not affected and that it can be reset by turning the car off and on. I have read about so many incidents of near crashes and some injuries. This is ridiculous and needs to be fixed before someone dies.
Stopped and put vehicle in reverse. Check engine light came on and power steering stopped working. Returned to normal after turning vehicle off and restarting.
I have been having power steering problems with my 2004 chevy malibu for several years. It feels like the steering goes completely out while driving on freeway or other roads and find this to be a safety issue. I originally had dealership check steering and was told it was fine and there was no recall, but I have read where several others are experiencing the same problem. In the last few months, the problem has gotten worse for my daughter, who now drives the car. The power steering light has been coming on and goes off when you park or restart the car. She recently lost all power steering and had difficulty steering the vehicle off the road. Today, we took the malibu to the gm dealership where we purchased it, and ouch!...was told the repairs total $900 plus tax. Dealership will need to replace steering column as motor has gone bad and also need to replace the intermediate shaft that connects to the column since it is binding up. I don't know whether to get a second opinion and wonder if we can wait to have the shaft replaced? Should I also contact gm to see if they will reimburse for parts?
Driving down straight section of road. Power steering alarm comes on and steering wheel goes stiff. Slowed and stopped before next turn (would not have been able to negotiate turn). This has happened on an often enough basis (usually before being on the road) and using fix described in other often reported issues with this type of steering, stopped car, turned off, adjusted position of steering column and restarted. Steering returned to normal.
Power steering went out while idling at drive thru window of fast food(first incident). 2 more after that while idling. The message center said power steering and chimed every incident. Is there a recall for this?
My pregnant wife was driving when the power steering just went out this is the second time and from reading multiple complaints and they do nothing to solve it.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. The contact stated that the driver was driving 40 MPH when the steering wheel seized. The power steering light and check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel when the failure occurred. The driver stopped and shut off the vehicle. The steering wheel functioned as normal upon restart. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 160,000.
Starting soon after purchase, several times since (approx 3-15 times a week depending on season). Power steering shuts off randomly. If done while turning, it will require extra force and concentration to keep on course. Most times issue cannot be reset for full duration of travel (15 min - 3hrs), this is done by shutting off vehicle, after stopping on side of road, and restarting. Usually occurs when warm, either from sunny day for first start or winter once heater is warm. Many close calls!
Driving approx 20 miles per hour when turning left at an intersection and the vehicle service light came on, power steering message displayed on the information console and the power steering stopped working. The unexpected loss of power steering caused the vehicle to enter into the shoulder of the road. The power steering system worked after turning the car off and then back on. However the power steering light continued to show on the information panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for repair and the steering column was replaced. No further information message concerning the power steering has been seen since the repair.
I purchased my vehicle brand new in august 2004. The power steering went while I was turning on to a street in I believe december 2004. It was taken to the dealership and the steering column was supposedly replaced. A couple of months later, the same thing happened again. When I took the car to the dealership again, I questioned why it was not recalled at the time, since this was the second time it happened. I was advised that it was a bad batch of steering boots and there were not enough problems to replace them. Again, the steering column was supposedly replaced. All seemed to be fine until I believe december 2010. The steering went again. I contacted the dealership and gm to see what could be done. I was advised that my problem had been taken care of in 2004/2005 and there was nothing they could do. I took the car to a local mechanic who had to replace everything once again. This time it cost me over $1500.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 malibu maxx. The contact stated that while turning at 3 MPH, the steering wheel seized and was difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was stopped and shut off. The steering wheel functioned as normal upon restart. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, where they stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 89,000 and the current mileage was 89,050.
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