general problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu

The driver side seat that is welded to the frame of the car has broke. The right side of my drivers side seat now collapses when driving which is extremely dangerous not to mention the seatbelt is attached to the right side of the seat and buckled into it which is now collapsed which could cause a major issue if I was to ever get into an accident. I have done some reasearch online and this appears to be a common issue amongsts most 2004 Malibu owners. I am the second owner and I get the car is close to being 20 years old but mine only has 60k miles the drivers seat weld should not just detach and collapse while driving on a practically brand new car. Not to mention I am an average sized man 200 lbs 5 foot 7 on top of that I enquired to fix it at my local Chevrolet dealer and it will cost well over 1000 dollars based on a verbal estimate. I can jerry rig the seat to not collapse but that doesnt stop the fact that god forbid im in an accident my drivers seat could potentially become detached hurling myself and the seat into the window causing severe bodly harm or worse death. Please look into this as im sure many other people have this same problem it is a faulty weld in the drivers seat and needs to be adressed by the manufacturer Chevrolet.

Drivingdown the road turned on a sharp curve lost all steering went into ditch suspension bottoms out on frame electrical problems with security program.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the seat belt would not stay in place. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign number: 04v188000 (seat belts) but the remedy failed to repair the vehicle. The contact mentioned that the seat belt adjuster would not stay in place ,when it is set, after the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 42,000. Wh.

Noticed drivers seat was leaning inward, toward console, and felt wobbly. Took car to laoca mechanic and was informed the ancorage on my seat was defective and need to take my vehicle to a chevy dealership. I contacted gm to inquire about recalls concerning this matter was told nne on record. I did inform them that I'd done some research and found that this is a problem with Malibus'. I was referred to a chevy dealership which is going to cost me $85. 00 for a problem that has been reported long ago. Im sure this the first time the dealership has seen this problem. I was told by my mechanic that my seatbelt will more than likely not hold if I were in a collision. This dangerous. Are they waiting for someone to die!!!.

I sat down in the vehicle and found that the drivers seat was leaning. I looked on line to see if I could fix it myself. I found a lot of complaints that the welds break and this is a common problem with these vehicles. I contacted Chevrolet and they told me I had to have the vehicle checked by a chevy dealer. I brought the vehicle in and they told me that the seat welds did break. I am not an overly heavy person, so I thought that even though the vehicle was older, that this is a design problem, and not an age or neglect problem by the owner. Chevrolet told me that since the car was too old, I was responsible for getting it fixed. This is a safety issue, as if I get in an accident with the vehicle, the fact that the seat belt is attached to the seat, and the seat is not secured, I can be hurt badly. If I were the only person with the problem, I could see why I should fix it. Since this is a known problem with these vehicles, it appears that it is a design flaw, and poor quality workmanship from Chevrolet. I have attached the web site that I saw the complaints on. . Read more...

Power steering locked up while driving thru a curve causing a accident which resulted in one rider injury. We made a claim with gm and they denied it stating that the data from the black box showed that there was not any equipment malfunctions. The power steering started working after the accident. The data showed that the driver side seat belt lock was told to deploy and it did not. To me and everybody else, that is an equipment malfunction. Gm told me that since the driver was not hurt that they denied this one also. The back seat rider was injured when the rear door glass shattered sending glass into the back of his head. This required medical attention to remove all of the glass fragments.

Upon raising my power seat something broke. The motor is really loud and when it went up the left side did not go up right and the seat leans to the right into the center console, doesnt feel as though I have any support under right side of seat. I am short and I need to sit up to see over the steering wheel and I now cannot. Seat belt is connected to seat frame and if im in an accident I feel the seat belt will not help. This issue needs to be recalled! read other people have this same issue on this same year.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel seized and it became hard to turn. The power steering warning light illuminated as the failure occurred. The contact stated that the front drivers seat became lower and they were unable to adjust the front or back. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for both failures where the failures were unable to be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000. The current mileage was 95,000.

Part is actually the seat hook bracket assembly weld. Couldn't get this accepted in "affected parts" above. Moved the seat while parked and it broke. Took to dealer and after inspection they said it was an inferior weld that came apart. They offered to give me the number of a man who would come out and weld it but that it probably wouldn't hold because you're putting a weld atop an inferior one and it would disqualify me if there was ever a recall on it. I have it propped up with pieces of wood. Its very uncomfortable as it leans to one side and a little forward so I feel like I'm sliding out of my seat. It is difficult to get at so I'm leaving it that way for now. Will my car be included in the recall? my niece has the same make, model and year and has the same problem with hers. I feel that if I'm in an accident, my seat will fly freely and the seatbelt won't be much help so I may be hurt more if we fly forward or toward the car door since nothing is holding the seat in place.

The seat beat do not lock in case of an accident. The drivers seat rocks while you are driving an adjusts by itself you can not keep the seat still. The welding has come apart from the base. The head lights are melting the bulbs for the signal and running light. I just caught that last weekend the lights stopped working when I look at the bulb it was melted which could have started an fire. I am waiting for the letter for the recall on the stern now. This would be the second time for it. I keep my car up to date with everything oil and whatever need to be done I am on top of it. But I have to many safety issue with it right. Seat belt, stern,drivers seat, headlights. Not only that the rotor whorppes every six months.

2004 chevy Malibu driver side seat frame broken welds. The welds in the frame have broken causing the seat to become unstable. Given that the welds are breaking under normal use and that the seat restraints are anchored to this frame causes safety concerns. If the vehicle owners are unaware of a defective weld and the seat should break under crash impact the safety restraint could fail possibly causing greater harm. I have experienced this problem under normal conditions and can see that the integrity of the seat and safety restraint could be compromised. I subscribed to some car forums and was surprised to see the number of people with the same problem on the 2004 and 2005 chevy Malibu models which indicates some form of defect. I am of average height and weight and did not misuse the seat in anyway.

The welds on the driver seat frame break. I first noticed this in February 2010 when my seat would raise at an angle. Recently I was cleaning my car and I noticed the seat belt was not attached securely. The weld holding the seat belt to the seat frame had cracked and broken free. I found a used seat and when it was delivered, this seat had the same exact problems, multiple welds on the seat frame that are cracked and broke. This frame is critical to the safety of the driver. This website shows that there are many more complaints of regarding the same defect. . Read more...

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the front drivers seat weld had failed and the seat became unstable causing the seat belt to fail. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed the seat weld had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000. Sw.

What can I say I have been writing about this car for the longest. I just want to say the other complaints about the bulbs burning out, the driver's seat breaking at the weld and the seat belt light constantly coming on is an ongoing problem I'm sure gm knew about this. I have complained to deaf ears both to NHTSA and gm. The last time I made a complaint was in may 2014 to both of them about the steering. Gm and NHTSA says there is nothing they can do since there was no recall. Exactly 2 weeks later the ceo of gm comes out to say the Malibu maxx is included in the recall! I paid to have my steering wheel replaced in 2007 because of power steering failure, the dealer said I needed the steering column replace and I did to the tune of almost $800. Now a bulletin was sent out to dealers in 2005 about a key insert for any customer who came in to complain about power steering failure, but this was not given to me as a choice. They were sure I needed the steering column replaced, so I did. Now that my car is included in the recall and I paid, perhaps, unnecessarily to have my steering column replaced as anyone know this defective part is part of the steering gm still does not want to reimburse me my money back. I bought the Cadillac catera which was discontinued due to many recalls and because of all my complaints gm gave me $3000 toward a new gm car, which I applied to the Malibu maxx. I won't put my money or given credit toward a gm again, I'm through and since nearly half of my family members are gm owners I am getting them to make their next purchase something other than american made cars. I make sure I tell everyone about my experience so they will think twice about a company who didn't want to invest 90 cents topossibly fix a problem per car.

The vehicle lost power steering control while driving 25 mph. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the consumer that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The adjuster assembly on the passenger seat belt was replaced.