2004 Chevrolet Malibu problems
Owners have filed 1,639 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. Steering is the most reported problem area, at 57% of complaints. After that come electrical system (9%) and lighting (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,639 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 57% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 78 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 36 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 miles 1,305 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 317 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 111 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 148 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 126 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 169 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 153 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 84 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 95 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 53 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 14 |
| 200k+ miles | 35 |
What the data shows
Among the 1,305 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 69,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 62,000 miles (772 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 78 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 36 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Chevrolet Malibu with enough data (717 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu sedan. While driving 30 MPH, she crashed into a dirt mound and blacked out. When the driver side air bag deployed, the steering wheel was detached. There was smoke and some flames present around the steering wheel. The driver was able to regain consciousness, smelled smoke and stopped the vehicle by shifting the gear into park. The seat belt also broke, threw the contact into the rear seat and the vehicle flipped over into a field and was destroyed.
I was living in pennsylvania at the time and as I was coming home from work I was traveling at approximately 25 to 30 MPH while coming around a curve the steering went out there was no way I could steer the car and I hit 2 cars and bounced off of them into a high curb my ribs were broken and I have been having severe pain in my hip.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the contact stated that the vehicle lost powering steering making it difficult to turn. The dealer was not notified. The contact did not inform the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 139,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Continued loss of power steering while driving and parked positions on highway, town and driveway. Recall was said to have been done. Problems consist error message on radio, dash, erratic shaking of steering colomn, loss of power steering.