Steering gear assembly replaced 12/21/06.
2004 Chevrolet Malibu steering complaints
Page 21 of 28: complaints 581 to 610 of 799, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My 2004 chevrolet malibu was parked legally in front of my house. The street was covered with black ice. The driver of a 1999 ford ranger truck slipped on the ice and hit the front of my car. His auto insurance, state farm, paid for a rental car for 40 days and paid $5,338.10 in body repairs, including replacing the radiator. However, when it came time to pay $527.18 to replace the steering shaft and the gear shifter, they refused. The reason given was that these parts in the 2004 chevrolet malibu have a history of wearing out prematurely. The car ran fine before the accident. However, after reading the complaints on your web site, I would also like to add my complaint. I bought this car as a gm certified used vehicle on august 2, 2007, 17 months before the accident. The car had 31,720 miles on it when I bought it and 34,517 miles at the time of the accident, a difference of 2,797 miles I think people should know that insurance companies do not pay for certain components on the 2004 chevrolet malibu. This car is still being sold all over the country. I found 7 gm certified used vehicles, chevrolet 2004 malibu's for sale within a radius of 250 miles ranging in price from $9,500 to $14,000. People think they are safe when they buy these 2004 malibu's; they are not. Is there some way they can be taken off the road? *tr the intermediate shaft needed to be replaced. Updated 03/18/09.*jb the consumer was also informed the brakes and gear shift needed to be replaced. Updated 04/09/09.
I lose power in my steering on my 2004 chevy malibu ls.
Power steering failure on 2004 chevy malibu. When backing out of parking space, power steering failed. Since then, steering has intermittently failed, sometimes resulting in violent shaking of steering wheel.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. While driving approximately 20 MPH on normal road conditions, the steering wheel locked. The contact had to use force in order to barely turn the steering wheel. She heard a loud clicking noise from the steering system prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they stated that the failure was related to the steering column. The steering column was replaced. The failure recurred and has not been repaired again. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 6,100 and current mileage was 20,000.
Power steering message comes on and there is only 85,000 miles. No warranty to cover this issue at this early in its life!
The steering wheel on my chevrolet malibu locked up on a busy street without warning. The check engine/service light did not come on until after my steering wheel had already locked on me. After restarting my car 3 to 4 times the steering wheel unlocked. My steering wheel has locked up four times since then. I phoned chevrolet because my supervisor at work informed me that she had the same problem with her chevy malibu,and she had a recall/defect notification. Chevrolet informed me that because my VIN# was not from the factory with the defects they are not liable for repairs.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. Immediately after purchasing the vehicle in november of 2005, the contact began experiencing failure with the steering column. While driving 20 MPH, the steering column stopped moving. She turned the wheel as hard as she could in order to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the steering column was defective. They also stated that the vehicle was under recall and the steering column was replaced. For the past three years, the contact has had to replace the steering column every six months. The manufacturer stated that they would not reimburse her for the repairs of the steering shaft which was believed to be related to other problems. . Updated 11/14/08 *cn the steering column was replaced 4 times and the lasst time it was replaced, the steering shaft was replaced as well. Updated 11/19/08.
The steering went out on my 2004 chevy malibu ls. Fortunately I was in a driveway when it happened. Had this happened on my way to work I am sure that I would have died. I was turning out of a driveway and heard a clunk and then was unable to steer. My steering wheel went all the way around. I checked out recall and complaint websites and found that this has happened several 2004 malibu owners and chevy refuses to make this a recall.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. Within 60 days of purchasing the vehicle, the contact heard a loud thud coming from the front end of the vehicle. She took the vehicle to firestone and they discovered that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The dealer stated that the bushings were failing. The contact was adamant about having the vehicle further investigated. The dealer confirmed that the rack and pinion failed and made the replacement. In less than a year after the replacement, the rack and pinion failed again. The independent dealer stated that the manufacturer was aware of the failure with the rack and pinion; however, nothing could be done. A second replacement was also recommended at the contact's expense. The failure mileage was 41,200 and current mileage was less than 54,000.
Popping in steering column when turning, occurs all the time.
I was stopped at a stop sign on mon 8/25/08 when the indicator noise sounded and the words "power steering" showed up on my radio tuner. I felt a small click in my steering wheel at the same time this occurred. When I started driving again, I could tell my power steering had definitely gone out as the wheel was extremely hard to turn. I had absolutely no warning that this would happen. The car had been working great up to that point. (2004 chevy malibu w/ 68,673 miles). The power steering was out for the rest of my drive home. Today, when I went to drive it to the dealer for repair, the power steering was working again. I took it to the dealer anyway and they are telling me I need a new steering column. I'm concerned that if I don't get this repaired, the power steering will go out again randomly.
Power steering goes out on a regular basis in my 2004 chevy malibu ls. I have had to pull over and turn off the car and restart on several occasions to get steering power back. The dealerships claim there is nothing wrong with my car and have charged me 110 dollars in diagnostics and unsuccessful repairs.
Power steering problem. Clunking when turning before. Now power assist comes and goes. Very dangerous.
Refer to the federal safety agency action #: pe04031, my car had the same problem. I brought it to the chevy dealer in 2005 and was told "that's how the new electronic power steering" works. I always felt it wasn't right and have narrowly avoided crashes a few times when the steering froze up. My mechanic noted the problem during the car's yearly inspection and replaced the steering module. This is potentially a very dangerous situation that chevrolet should be responsible for fixing.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. While driving the vehicle at any rate of speed, the front end of the vehicle vibrates. The vehicle was taken to a dealer on two separate occasions and they diagnosed it as having a faulty internal steering shaft that had been greased improperly. The current mileage was 36,500 and failure mileage was 36,047. Updated 09/13/08. *lj updated 09/16/08
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. While backing out of the driveway at 5 MPH, the vehicle swerved to the left when the contact attempted to swerve right. The vehicle was difficult to turn and unable to be moved to the left. The power steering did not work when turned to the right, and the steering wheel was very loose when it was turned to the left. The failure has occurred twice. She took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. There is no recall for the failure; however, she found numerous complaints and one possible investigation. The contact feels that a four year old vehicle should not be experiencing these types of failures. The current and failure mileages were 74,404. Update 09/10/08 *cw the consumer stated the power steering failed 3 times. The dealer replaced the steering column. Updated 09/16/08.
I lost power steering on my 2004 chevy malibu last week. Car has 34k miles on it. For about 4-5 seconds there was absolutely no steering, then no power steering. This is a safety issue absolutely. Gm refuses to pay for repair or help me at all. They also refuse according the their spokesman, to do a recall.
Power steering failed while car being driven.
I purchased a chevrolet malibu in the year 2004. The car is over 100,000 miles and out of warranty, however, the incident that I experienced with this vehicle is life and death hazard in the manufacture of this car. I have owned chevrolet's since I can remember and my dad is an x-employee of general motors. The situation that took place with my car is while in automatic drive gear and going traffic speed the power steering unit shut down and I could have been seriously injured or killed because you are now driving manually with the steering in the car. This defect in workmanship could have resulted in a catastrophic accident where many people could have been injured or hurt! If my wife or daughter was driving the vehicle I don,t think they would have controlled the vehicle. I called general motors and they brushed me off? The complaint no. I filed is [xxx]. I also, wrote a letter to the consumer complaint division of gm in detroit. I have not heard back anything as of yet! I have never owned a new vehicle that where the power steering unit shut down in driving mode. I think this complaint represents a defect in the manufacture of this car. I had gm responsible for the fixing of my car warranty or no warranty. The car is only 4 years old and I maintain the servicing of this vehicle on a regular basis. In the past three years I had 3 replacements on my gas cap also because of defect in workmanship. This incident took place 1 day prior to the filing of the complaint with gm. I was really shaken up when this power steering shut down. I am not sure of the exact day but it was fri. In the beginning of may. I called gm the next day in regards to this incident. So, the date may be off you can check with gm on the date I filed the telephone complaint. Thank you, [xxx] . Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
When turning the steering wheel it makes popping noises and can be felt on the steering wheel. It appears to be getting worse over time. I am a little concerned that it may be ready to fail. The dealership indicated that it was not serious.
I had a small vibration in my steering wheel at about 74,000 miles. I took it into the dealer and they changed the steering column. I now have 91,000 miles on my car at it is vibrating worse then it ever has before.
Electric steering will loose power. The steering column has been replaced twice. The first time the deals replaced it free of charge. Second time the dealer paid for the parts but I had to pay for the labor $ 225.00.
Multiple problems with this car - left turn signal does not work - car is aligned and still wants to go left (electrical steering issues I am told) - adjustable pedals do not adjust - visor mirror is broken -
Loss of power steering.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the car icon light would illuminate intermittently on the dashboard. On one occasion, the vehicle experienced loss of power steering. The dealer replaced the steering column. The current mileage was 56,011 and failure mileage was 53,300. Updated 04/08/08.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. While driving 35 MPH, the power steering failed and the warning light illuminated. The failure occurred intermittently. The dealer stated that the steering column needed to be replaced at the cost of $700. The failure mileage was 67,224 and the current mileage was unknown.
My steering wheel started to move on its own even at idle. This happened for a day, then I lost my power steering as I tried to turn left in a parking lot. The car wouldn't turn. Now I cannot steer left or right and the check engine light is continuously on and you see "power steering" in the info box on the dash. I am upset that I am finding many complaints on the internet and chevy/gm has not made this issue a mandatory recall. I will be even more upset if I run into the same issues that other people have had by having their steering columns replaced 2 and 3 times only to continue having problems!!!
Was heading to a wedding 200 miles felt a funny vibration in the front end pulled over then the dash lit up like a christmas tree the wrench light came on the stereo display read power steering started dinging. Turned off the vehicle to check power steering pump found out didn't have one. Turned around to come home called the groom so he could find new bestman night before wedding. Called gmac when I got home and they told me I had to have a diagnostic done the vehicle got up the next day went to the dealer they told me I needed a new steering column charged me $70 to tell me what I already new because I read the reports. The dealer wanted to charge me $600 to replace it. I have been working with the dealer and gmac to fix the problem because I feel I should not have to pay for there defective part.
2004 chevrolet malibu with electric. Consumer states that this failure occurs without any warning and sometimes the power steering light will illuminate. *kb the consumer stated in order to regain power steering, he must pull over and re-start the vehicle. The first time the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, they stated it needed to be reprogrammed or recalibrated, which did not fix the problem. The second time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, the problem could not be duplicated. On 2 separate occasions, the dealer replaced the power steering gear and intermediate steering shaft due to a noise being heard when making turns and accelerating.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2004 Chevrolet Malibu?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history