NHTSA Complaint #10596566 — 2004 CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX

ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS OVER THE PAST YEAR I WOULD HEAR A LOUD CHIME AND MY POWER STEERING WOULD GO OUT IN MY 2004 MALIBU MAXX, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE. EACH TIME THIS HAS OCCURRED, I WOULD TURN THE CAR OFF AND RESTART IT WHICH WOULD RESOLVE THE POWER STEERING PROBLEM. INITIALLY, I TOOK THE CAR TO A MECHANIC WHO SAID THERE WERE NO LEAKS IN THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM AND IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN ELECTRONIC PROBLEM. I CHALKED IT UP TO OLD AGE (FOR THE CAR) AND CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE CAR WITH CARE. MY WIFE HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR SINCE THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE SHE COULD NOT CONTROL THE CAR IF THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT. RECENTLY I HEARD OF A RECALL ON T.V. REGARDING MY YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL. THE RECALL DESCRIPTION FIT MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS CAR. I CONTACTED THE GM DEALER (SWEENEY CHEVROLET IN BOARDMAN OHIO) AND WAS TOLD 'THERE HAD NOT BEEN A RECALL ON MY CAR AS OF YET'. THEY WENT ON TO SAY THAT IF I WANTED IT FIXED, TO BRING IT IN AND PAY OUT OF POCKET. I WOULD LATER BE REIMBURSED BY GM IF, IN FACT, THERE WAS AN EVENTUAL RECAL. MY COMPLAINT IS THAT I DON'T HAVE $500-$1000 FOR A REPAIR THAT I MAY NOT GET REIMBURSED FOR. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT MY CAR SHOULD BE COVERED BY THIS RECALL THAT WAS ANNOUNCED NATIONALLY ON T.V. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE SO THAT GM CAN BE MADE TO FIX THIS CAR BEFORE IT CAUSES AN ACCIDENT? ADDITIONALLY, I HAVE BEEN BRUSHED OFF BY THEM REGARDING THE TURN SIGNALS SINCE THIS CAR HAS BEEN UNDER WARRANTY. I HAVE REPLACED OVER 100 BULBS SINCE THIS CAR WAS NEW. THEY OVERHEAT AND MELT THE SURROUNDING MATERIALS. I HAVE ALREADY REPLACED THE ENTIRE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY, TO NO AVAIL. I NOW DRIVE THIS CAR WITHOUT A LEFT FRONT TURN SIGNAL BECAUSE IT WILL BURN OUT THE BULB WITHIN A DAY OR TWO OF REPLACING IT. I'M NOT SURE IF THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF GM IN THE PAST, BUT IT SEEMS TO BE A FIRE HAZARD. *TR