NHTSA Complaint #10507382 — 2004 CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX

UPON ACCELERATION USING THE GAS PEDAL, THE CAR LOSES TOTAL CONTROL OF ITS STEERING. ALL ENGINE LIGHTS AND FAILURE LIGHTS GO ON.SOMETIMES JUST MAKING A SIMPLE TURN AT AN INTERSECTION, THE CAR LOSES COMPLETE STEERING CAPABILITY. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, INCLUDING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 50 MPH ACCELERATING OVER A SLIGHT INCLINE OR AT 10 MPH AT AN INTERSECTION WHILE MAKING A LEFT OR RIGHT TURN. I NOTICED TROUBLE WITH THE STEERING WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT MY CAR UNDER WARRANTY BUT IT WASN'T AS SEVERE. JUST WHEN BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE THE STEERING WAS TIGHT, BUT THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD THE SHORT RACK STEERING GEAR, STEERING RACK, INTERMEDIATE SHAFT, AND SERPENTINE BELT REPLACED BUT TO NO AVAIL. ON THE WEBSITE WWW.LEMONLAWCLAIMS.COM THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 42 STEERING COMPLAINTS OF SIMILAR NATURE REGARDING THE SAME YEAR MAKE FOR THE MALIBU. AN NHTSA INVESTIGATION WAS PERFORMED PE04-031 BASED ON EIGHT REPORTS OF ALLEGED POWER STEERING FAILURES. THE PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS BASED ON THE REPORT I PRINTED UP IN 2010, HOWEVER I AM NOT CERTAIN OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF THIS INVESTIGATION. I'M SURE THERE ARE A LOT MORE FAILURE REPORTS THAT HAVE BEEN OPENED, THOUGH I CANNOT FIND A RECALL REGARDING THIS FAILURE. AS A SIDE NOTE, SOMETIMES THE CAR HAS TROUBLE STARTING - IT ALWAYS HAS AND THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT DETERMINE THE FAILURE. WHEN TRYING TO START IT UP, HITTING THE GAS PEDAL WILL CAUSE THE ENGINE TO KICK OVER AND NOT STALL. THERE IS ALWAYS THE SMELL OF FUEL. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS IS PART OF THE FAILURE. IN ADDITION WHEN THE STEERING FAILS OR THE STEERING WHEEL JERKS UPON ACCELERATION, A CLICKING SOUND CAN BE HEARD. THE ORIGIN OF THIS CLICKING IN UNKNOWN. I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL ON THIS OR BETTER YET A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. *TR