Seat Broken problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

The driver's seat is broken and dips down in front and to the right. It's like a bracket under the seat is broken. It's dangerous because every time I lean forward, my seat drops down in the front which could affect my driving. I have read online that there are many Malibus with the same exact issue.

Driver's seat rail broke. Seat tilts towards console, not allowing proper seat positioning and rocks back and forth.

I own a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The front drivers seat recently has started uncomfortably leaning to the right and shiftng back and forth. I was just informed by my mechanic that the frame on the front seat drivers side is broken. He did not recommend trying to fix it due to the fact that by breaking it has affected the whole integrity of the frame. He advised me to get a new seat due to safety issues if being in accident or crash. He said the seat could come all the way loose and cause the driver to fly forward and sustain serious injury. Also, it could cause the air bag to inflate prematurely. I would like to see gm do a recall due to this being a safety issue. And by doing research on the computer I have found that there are a lot of Malibu owners that have had their car seat frames break. This problem is not due to abuse or extended wear. It is due to an inadequate, defective part. I need advice as to how to proceed with addressing this issue with gm. Thank you.

I have owned a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx for a couple years. Recently the drivers seat started wobbling and now sits uncomfortably crooked leaning to the right. I had my mechanic take the whole seat out to determine what the problem was and he said that the frame holding the seat to the floor had broken in 2 places. He said that there was no way to fix it safely for several reasons. He said that the materials for the frame were weak and inadequate. He said that it would be impossible to weld because there was no way to do it without possibly starting the seat on fire. He also brought up the facts that if a seat wasn't securely bolted to the floor and was loose that in a front end crash the seat would throw the driver forward into the windshield. The air bag "might" help slightly. Or - if you were hit from the rear with the seat loose the seat would collapse backward and throw the driver to the rear of the car or possibly through the rear windshield. Either situation could cause serious injury or death to a driver with this situation. My mechanic suggested replacing the whole seat but why would I spend the possible $900 and end up with a seat with the same inadequate, weak frame only to break again. The seat broke because of cheap, weak, inadequate materials that were used. It did not happen from wear and tear or abuse. It is a huge safety issue that gm needs to recall and fix at their expense. I hope others reading this complaint will pursue this issue with gm until a recall happens, and before any of us are killed!.

I was driving about 35 mph on flat strait road when the drivers seat suddenly dropped down, back and toward the right. Upon inspection I see that the weld on the brace/frame of the seat has broken. The seat is now unstable and sloping to the right. I fear the other side may snap as well. I see several other complaints regarding the exact same issue. This needs to be recalled before somebody is seriously hurt.

Noticed seat moved and tended to lean driver toward center console. Upon inspection the seat frame broke at the right rear. When the car accelerates the seat rocks backward for several inches. I have owned the car since it was purchased new from the dealer.

My daughter purchased this car about a year ago, she stated the drivers side seat would not adjust. I assumed a bad adjustment motor. When I examined the seat I discovered that the welds on the front cross-bar and the rear cross bar were separated between the seat and lower adjustment frame, this causes the drivers seat to lean toward the center console and rear of the vehicle. Upon first examination I thought the welds had broken, but on closer examination it appears that the weld did not penetrate the metal far enough as the weld and bar were both intact, except for some superficial scaring on the tubing. This results in a major safety problem as the seat belt is attached to the seat at the right side of the drivers seat, not to the floor of the vehicle. Should this vehicle be involved in a frontal crash these broken welds render the seat belt ineffective at best or useless, depending on the weight of the driver. If the air bags do not deploy the driver will be thrown foreword along with the seat with the appearance that the drivers weight broke the seat, when in-fact the seat was either broken already or severly weakened by inadequate welds. A cursory on line search revealed that this defect exists in in the chevy Malibu, monta carlo, pontiac grand prix, pontiac g6, Saturn aura and ion. Model years 1999 through 2009. I contacted gm ref# 71-1377722607 and as with many other on line complaints were told in essence too bad out of warranty your problem not ours. I am fully capable of welding this frame my self, and will do so however, gm dealers charge app $1000. For the repair and if using the same stock frames, will install a faulty frame. In my opinion these faulty welds expose people without a passing familiarity to mechanics, to unnecessary expense as well as an unnecessary safety hazard.

2004 Malibu lt, weld on rt front of 6 way driver seat broken, seat motor runs but can not make seat adjustments. The seat sags to right when trying to move forward or back. But will not move forward or back on the seat frame.

Driver's seat broke at welds on two support bars. Seat leaned to the right. Became very dangerous since seat belt is attached to the seat near the breaks. In the event of a collision seat probably would have broken loose and caused serious injury or death. Contacted gm about the problem and were advised to fix seat ourselves since it was not a recall item. (we did have the seat replaced. ) we do have the broken seat in case someone from the NHTSA would like to inspect it. I noticed that there are numerous other drivers who have complained of the same problem. Seat replacements run about $1000. 00 at a dealership.

My wife's 2004 chevy Malibu driver's seat is broken and bobbles up and down and toward the right. According to info I've been reading on websites, many other drivers have had this problem. It appears that the welding has broken loose and causes the seat to bobble. This is a major safety hazard and needs to be addressed by gm. The following link will show all the complaints about this model Malibu. . Read more...

The driver's seat is broken and rocks to the rear right. It appears the weld broke in the seat frame. I have read multiple complaints of this in the chevy Malibu and wonder why a recall hasn't been issued.

The driver's seat is broken and rocks to the rear right. It appears the weld broke in the seat frame. This is the 2nd time the seat has broken. The first time, it was covered by warranty. I have read numerous complaints of this in the chevy Malibu and am requesting that gm issue a recall. This is a significant safety hazard as the seat is not stable, especially during turning maneuvers.

The weld on the seat broke and the seat leans right and back, very uncomfortable and a real safety hazard if you ask me. The seat does not move up and down correctly or front to back either. We had fixed at todd wenzel in hudsonville mi a used seat cost us $472. 95 we feel this was a defective seat and a safety hazard.

While driving went to put on the brakes and the driver seat made a loud thump and shifted forward to the right I had to grip the steering wheel and pull over because the seat was leaning forward to the right and made it hard for me to drive. I got out and the bar under the seat that guides the seat was broken had to manuever it to drive after puttting a block of wood under it to stabalize the seat so I could drive. Had new tires, lugs and nuts put on car in June along with entire suspension system fornt and back and wheel alignment and on two occasions my lugs had to be changed due to breakage or lugs coming unscrewed and dropping off on front driverside and back passenger had car checked and there appears to several mechanic shops nothing visibly wrong but this is a sure safety hazard.

I recently encounter an incident with my 2004 chevy Malibu driver side front seat, out of no wear the steel welded bar under the seat broke on the right side cause the seat to tilt to the right, making it very difficult to drive the cars in a safe manner. To the NHTSA team this problem is dangerous and unsafe something should be done to correct this problem before it resort in a life and death situation.

As I sat down in drivers seat the seat seemed to lean to the right and tilted back slightly. I looked under seat to see what was wrong and noticed a bar across front side of seat was broke away from it's original welded position. After removing seat I noticed that the bar had indeed broken free from weld. Not only was the weld broken but the bar which wasn't really a bar but a pipe slightly thicker walled than a piece of type m copper piping broke off with a piece missing. Also noticed same problem with the pipe that encases the bar at rear of the seat that allows the seat back to tilt back or forward. The pipe has also broken the weld and missing a piece of the pipe. We bought this car brand new and my wife is the primary driver . Weight average 155 lbs. So I don't believe weight plays a part of this poorly designed work of failure. Mileage is less than 10,000 per year owned. This is extremely upsetting. Is Chevrolet responsible or since warranty is over they can get away with this poor design and safety issue?.

For the second time my drivers seat has broken on the right hand side at a weld joint on the front cross rod. The first time it failed around 30,000 miles and the second time around 71,000 miles. This is a common problem, a safety issue and needs a recall. Not only is Chevrolet getting away with this, but the fix is complete seat frame replacement that cost the consumer about $1000. Chevy wins again as they get to sell a defective part at a profit. A great deal for chevy until I buy my next car. Time to do the right thing and do a recall.

As I turned my 04 Malibu to the lt my drivers side front seat broke on rt side causeing me to lean hard to the rt and rearward almost loosing control of car. I have 81371 mi. On car. Appears to me to be a safety issue. I thought gm stood by their products. Looking at all the other complaints about this same issue and gm refuseing to fix this safety issue,I am worried about how safe this car really is. I also had my heated seats come on all by their over 300 documented times while under warranty and said there was nothing wrong with it. The seats came on even when no one was sitting in the seat.

Weld broke on seat and fell to the right. Only way to drive was to put the seat all the way to the floor. Have been looking for 2 years for a replacement seat in the junk yard. I have found 4 matching seats over the 2 years, but every one had the frame broken. Problem is that in a severe accident the seat could come unhooked from the car. 2nd problem is that the safety belt hooks to the seat not the car or frame rendering the seatbelt useless. Had it welded 3 times and breaks in less than a month. It is shame that Chevrolet will not do a recall. Probably because they have no solution as it was a poor design. I own 5 Chevrolet vehicles including 3 Malibu's, 2004, 2005 and 2011. None with problems like this.

Drivers seat broken. Appears a metal weld under the seat broke and causes the seat to lean back and to the right.

The driver's seat broke causing me to fall/rotate to my right and to the rear of the car. Seat failure was caused by a structual failure of 2 welds on the bottom seat frame. Welds located at the right bottom rear and right bottom front of the main support members. The seat frame have been replaced by a local service repair shop. I kept the frame after seeing what caused the seat to fail. I can provide pictures if you need them.

While driving our 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx with a 6 position driver seat, I hit a pothole and the driver seat broke loose. This caused the seat to drop down, back and to the right. This resulted in a momentary loss of control causing me to pull the steering wheel to the right and ending up off the road and hitting a small tree. The contact to the tree caused damage to the trim around the headlight and the lens. Inspection found 2 welds on the seat frame had broken. The 1st weld is on the front cross bar and right frame rail. The 2nd weld had broken on the rear cross bar and the frame where the seatbelt receptacle is attached. We called the chevy customer service line and we were told that chevy had not had received complaints about broken welds on the seat frame but would be happy to record our concern. We talked to the dealer and we were informed that this was not covered under warranty. I asked about recalls and TSB's regarding this issue and was informed there had been no recalls or TSB's reported on the seat frame. In fact this was the first time our local dealer had ever seen this type of failure. Repair for the seat alone will be over $1,000 not to mention the other damage caused by running off the road. I called bone yards in our area and was told this was a common problem and they could not keep seats in stock.

Driver seat broken at weld mount.

The front driver's become loose and rocket to the right side. Took the vehicle to the dealer who said the seat frame broke. Dealer states frame must be replaced - cost $1200. 00 I asked if it could be welded and he said no because it's a safety issue. I've never had a car whose frame broke from normal use. I see on the internet that there are many other similar complaints and feel this should be investigated for a recall. I only found out about other because of a automotive forum. There are many others like this who I'm sure don't know about your website.

Chevy Malibu driver side seat frame broken welds. The welds in the frame have broken causing the seat to become unstable. If the car was involved in a minor accident the seat would fall apart. I am average size and weight and believe this is a factory defect.

While sitting in the driveway was adjusting the seat for me to drive then the seat dropped down and now leans to the right and rocks back and forth when going over any bumps at any speed. Front weld of the driver seat broke, causing the seat to sometimes lean towards the front right. We took it to chevy, asked them to check the seat and do a state inspection. They said that they didnt know what it was and had to pull the seat out. They then told me that it would be $1,000 to repair the seat, then told me it would not pass inspection without repairing the seat. When I picked up the car, more welds had broken and the seat wobbled a lot. They told me that if I put the seat in the totally down position that it would not wobble. Now I am looking online and see that there are a lot of complaints about broken welds on the seat. I hope that there will be an investigation into this issue. I believe this is a safety issue and could cause serious damage to the driver if car was in an accident. Jm.

Front weld of the driver seat broke, causing the seat to sometimes lean towards the front right. We took it to chevy, asked them to check the seat and do a state inspection. They said that they didn't know what it was and had to pull the seat out. They then told me that it would be $1,000 to repair the seat, then told me it would not pass inspection without repairing the seat. When I picked up the car, more welds had broken and the seat wobbled a lot. They told me that if I put the seat in the totally down position that it would not wobble. We complained to the manager, and he has agreed to call gm to see about getting an allowance to get it repaired. Now I am looking online and see that there are a lot of complaints about broken welds on the seat. I hope that there will be an investigation into this issue.

The welding under the driver seat is broken causing the seat to tilt to one side and sometimes rock. If a collision occurs the seat will not hold the driver securely in the seat.

2004 Malibu maxx driver's seat weld broken making the seat rock during vehicle operation.

2004 Malibu maxx driver seat frame breaks under normal use.

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...

1. A support/adjustment bar for the driver's seat broke causing the drivers seat to suddenly drop to the right. 2. Support/adjusting bar is broken and will require repair/replacement. Can not adjust the seat correctly for comfortable and proper driving position. Almost put the car into a guard rail in when it happened. Good thing my 16 year old was not driving it at the time. 3. Dealer wants $1000 for repair, no replacement part available, requires entire seat frame to be replaced at $400+.

The weld on the drivers seat broke.

2004 Chevrolet Malibu lt sedan failure: weld under driver seat broke in two places. Causes seat to set lower on one side placing driver at awkward position to controls. If a collision occurred, the seat would fail causing the driver to be thrown who knows where. Correction: seat removed for inspection, must be replaced as unable to repair.

Driver's seat frame broke at right front weld joint. Seat then leaned to the right and moved forward and backward. This occurred under normal driving conditions at low speed. Mechanic said this is a significant safety issue since during hard braking or impact the seat would not hold and would likely break entirely loose and slam the driver into the steering wheel. $850 to replace the seat frame. Gm would not pay to fix this obvious design/manufacturing defect.