2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (192) · Seats (87) · Steering:electric Power Assist System (30)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Malibu Maxx model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
379 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 2014-05-14 · campaign 14V252000 · 2,440,524 vehicles
Defect: 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
Risk: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Satu
Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:floor Shift 2014-04-30 · campaign 14V224000 · 1,131,113 vehicles
Defect: 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, thr
Risk: If the transmission shift cable fractures while the vehicle is being driven, the transmission gear selection may not match the indicated gear and the vehicle may move in an unintended or unexpected direction, increasing the risk of a crash. Furthermore, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, despite selecting the PARK position, the transmission may not be in PARK. If the vehicle
Fix: GM will notify owners, and GM dealers will replace the shift cable assembly and mounting bracket, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 14152.
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2014-03-31 · campaign 14V153000 · 1,373,177 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. GM expects to send an interim notification around May 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 Saturn Ion, 2009-2010 Chevrolet HHR and 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts. Dealers will replace the EPS motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 Chevrolet Malibu and M
Service bulletins (165)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-18 · PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from tac.
Unknown Or Other 2024-09-06 · PIT3271P · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about changing the tire and wheel size on vehicles. general motors will only support a tire calibration for tires that have been sized, tested and designed for the vehicle in question and its applications. technician s
Electrical System 2024-08-26 · General Communication · Service Campaign
vehicle wide programming (vwp) is a new process to update software on gm vehicles. it provides the ability via a single selection within techline connect to first identify which modules need updating and then proceed to updating affected modules (with some exceptions). the updating of modules is com
Power Train 2024-07-24 · 24-NA-141 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
gm is receiving damaged (cracked or broken) transmission cores returned to the reman facilities. the damage is being caused either in the removal process by the technician, or inadequate packaging or shipping. this bulletin advises the dealers to be more careful not to damage the transmissions durin
Fuel/Propulsion System 2024-06-28 · 16-NA-383 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin advises of a new fuel injection cleaner kit used for decarbonizing the intake valves to correct conditions of rough idle, crank no start, extended crank or misfire, mil with dtcs, and explains how top tier fuels should be used to reduce carbon build-up.
Unknown Or Other 2024-06-17 · 18-NA-099 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information for use on a product assistance claim (pac), which is formerly known as a product allegation resolution (par) claim.
Showing the 6 most recent of 165 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-05-25 · Air Bags · 164,000 mi“the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated that after he turned off and restarted the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to bruce’s auto body shop where it was diagnosed that the air bag side impact sensor failed to reset and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufactu…”
2023-05-09 · Steering · 160,000 mi“the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated while driving 50 mph, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. the contact related the failure to nhtsa campaign number: 14e044000 (steering) however, the vin was not included. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. the manufacturer…”
2022-05-02 · Steering:hydraulic Power Assist:power Steering Fluid · 117,000 mi“the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. the power steering warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with power steering failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified…”
2020-06-17 · Power Train · 100,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated that while making a left turn the vehicle shifted into neutral independently without warning. the contact depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. the contact attempted to manually shift the vehicle into park however, the transmission failed to engage. the contact pushed th…”
2019-07-03 · Steering · 100,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. while driving approximately 60 mph, the steering ability seized and all the warning indicators illuminated. the contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road as the power steering warning indicator remained illuminated. the vehicle was driven to the contact's residence and then to mccurley ch…”
2019-05-06 · Steering · 125,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. while operating the vehicle, the power steering malfunctioned and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. also, 'power steering' displayed on the instrument panel. the vehicle was driven to billion automotive (600 w. 41st, sioux falls, sd) where it was diagnosed that t…”
2019-04-05 · Steering · 155,000 mi“no steering,steering turns around and around without stop turning in either direction,right or left. second time this happened,spent approximately $1200.00 before. car this time ended in a tow pound yard. triple aaa moved my car to a shop called quick stop where i wanted to get my car fixed at only to discover they didn't do electrical work which t…”
2019-04-02 · Steering · 140,000 mi“steering out of whack. i have had my control arm on both sides changed along with axles and a alignment. no luck its still all over road. i drive from sylvester ga to tifton ga everyday. it does the same thing everytime. also i have had my lights replaced 3 times in the last year. why arent the lasting. gas cap keeps reading error. whole car. i can…”
2019-03-21 · Seats · 54,000 mi“the 6 way front drivers seat has failed 6 times since 2006. the most recent incident was 3/15/2019. the first failure was in 2007. the welds that support the frame break and i have replaced the seat 3 times, welded 3 times. this is a significant safety issue as it has occurred while driving after hitting a bump and caused me to loose control of the…”
2019-01-29 · Steering · 157,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu maxx. while turning the steering wheel in either direction, a popping noise was present and the steering ability seized. upon inspection, it was discovered that the steering shaft pulled out of the rack. the air bag warning indicator illuminated after the failure. the failure was not diagnosed or repaire…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.