2004 CHEVROLET MALIBU — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,137 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (701 complaints · 61.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 47
  • Fires 7
  • Injuries 22
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2003 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 701 of 1,137 owner complaints (61.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 701 complaints, 61.6% of reports STEERING 701 · 61.6% · 22 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 85 complaints, 7.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 85 · 7.5% · 4 crash reports 2 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 67 complaints, 5.9% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 67 · 5.9% · 3 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 46 complaints, 4.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 46 · 4.1% · 5 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 34 complaints, 3.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 34 · 3.0% · 6 crash reports ENGINE: 22 complaints, 1.9% of reports ENGINE 22 · 1.9% FUEL SYSTEM: 22 complaints, 1.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 22 · 1.9% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 20 complaints, 1.8% of reports SUSPENSION 20 · 1.8% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 15 complaints, 1.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 15 · 1.3% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 332 complaints, 29.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 332 · 29.2% · 10 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 701 61.6% 22 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 85 7.5% 4 crashes · 2 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 67 5.9% 0 crashes · 3 fires
POWER TRAIN 46 4.1% 5 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 34 3.0% 6 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 22 1.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 22 1.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 20 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 15 1.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 332 29.2% 10 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2003. 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q2: 30 owner reports 30 2004-Q3: 47 owner reports 47 2004-Q4: 43 owner reports 43 2005-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2005-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2005-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2005-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2006-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2006-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2007-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2007-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2008-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2008-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2008-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2009-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2009-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 2009-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2010-Q1: 38 owner reports 38 2010-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2010-Q3: 39 owner reports 39 2010-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2011-Q1: 23 owner reports 23 2011-Q2: 33 owner reports 33 2011-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2011-Q4: 32 owner reports 32 2012-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2012-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2012-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2012-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2013-Q1: 27 owner reports 27 2013-Q2: 28 owner reports 28 2013-Q3: 20 owner reports 20 2013-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2014-Q2: 65 owner reports 65 2014-Q3: 64 owner reports 64 2014-Q4: 41 owner reports 41 2015-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2015-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2015-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2016-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2016-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2019-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2003 Oct 2025 Investigation PE04031 ● Investigation PE04031 Investigation EA04018 ● Investigation EA04018 Investigation PE08062 ● Investigation PE08062 Investigation EA09004 ● Investigation EA09004
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 8
2004-Q2 Owner reports 30
2004-Q3 Owner reports 47
2004-Q4 Owner reports 43
2005-Q1 Owner reports 19
2005-Q2 Owner reports 15
2005-Q3 Owner reports 12
2005-Q4 Owner reports 4
2006-Q1 Owner reports 13
2006-Q2 Owner reports 15
2006-Q3 Owner reports 6
2006-Q4 Owner reports 7
2007-Q1 Owner reports 4
2007-Q2 Owner reports 10
2007-Q3 Owner reports 12
2007-Q4 Owner reports 8
2008-Q1 Owner reports 13
2008-Q2 Owner reports 12
2008-Q3 Owner reports 17
2008-Q4 Owner reports 6
2009-Q1 Owner reports 13
2009-Q2 Owner reports 13
2009-Q3 Owner reports 21
2009-Q4 Owner reports 16
2010-Q1 Owner reports 38
2010-Q2 Owner reports 23
2010-Q3 Owner reports 39
2010-Q4 Owner reports 31
2011-Q1 Owner reports 23
2011-Q2 Owner reports 33
2011-Q3 Owner reports 19
2011-Q4 Owner reports 32
2012-Q1 Owner reports 17
2012-Q2 Owner reports 11
2012-Q3 Owner reports 14
2012-Q4 Owner reports 14
2013-Q1 Owner reports 27
2013-Q2 Owner reports 28
2013-Q3 Owner reports 20
2013-Q4 Owner reports 11
2014-Q1 Owner reports 20
2014-Q2 Owner reports 65
2014-Q3 Owner reports 64
2014-Q4 Owner reports 41
2015-Q1 Owner reports 22
2015-Q2 Owner reports 23
2015-Q3 Owner reports 12
2015-Q4 Owner reports 12
2016-Q1 Owner reports 12
2016-Q2 Owner reports 6
2016-Q3 Owner reports 8
2016-Q4 Owner reports 4
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 6
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 5
2018-Q1 Owner reports 5
2018-Q2 Owner reports 5
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 8
2019-Q1 Owner reports 7
2019-Q2 Owner reports 10
2019-Q3 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 3
2020-Q1 Owner reports 3
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 7
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 5
2021-Q2 Owner reports 4
2021-Q3 Owner reports 3
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 2
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE04031
Defect investigation 1 EA04018
Defect investigation 1 PE08062
Defect investigation 1 EA09004
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 1,137 complaints · page 1 of 46

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources