Federal complaint record · Chevrolet Malibu · model year 2004

2004 Chevrolet Malibu

Owners submitted 1,147 federal complaint reports about this model year, placing it at the 94th percentile for complaint intensity within its 2002 to 2006 midsize sedan cohort. The largest reported component group is steering. Sample sizes and limitations are shown below.

Steering · 57% · group n = 933Electrical · 9% · group n = 154Lighting · 6% · group n = 92Seats · 4% · group n = 69Powertrain · 4% · group n = 67
1,147
Complaint records on file
78,500
Median mileage at the reported problem · 942 complaints reported mileage
57%
Of classified component reports name steering · group n = 933
94th
Complaint-intensity percentile in a cohort of 45 model years

Steering · 6 in ten classified complaints

Where this record concentrates

All failure files
Component group 01 · Steering57%

Steering reports

Chevrolet Malibu · model year 2004

Reports in this group933
Share of classified reports57%
Component groups on file6
Open the failure files

Adjacent model years · same badge, different data

The complaint signal has a shape

Compare model years
2003
0.3complaints per 1,000 estimated vehicle-years
569 matched incidents
This car
2004
0.4complaints per 1,000 estimated vehicle-years
1,147 matched incidents
2005
0.3complaints per 1,000 estimated vehicle-years
975 matched incidents

The line compares submitted complaints per 1,000 estimated vehicle-years, not failures per 1,000 cars. Vehicle-years use compiled US sales, a 0.25 prior-calendar-year plus 0.75 current-calendar-year model-year allocation, and the shipped survival curve. Rates appear only where estimated vehicles in operation are at least 5,000.

From the record · recurring narrative clusters

What recurring complaint clusters describe

How clusters are built
Steering effort · 607 reports

Reports describe steering effort or control concerns

Cluster 1 of 32004 Chevrolet Malibu
Stalling or shutdown · 82 reports

Reports describe the vehicle stalling or shutting off while driving

Cluster 2 of 32004 Chevrolet Malibu
Loss of propulsion · 81 reports

Reports describe reduced power or hesitation while driving

Cluster 3 of 32004 Chevrolet Malibu

Cluster summaries paraphrase recurring symptoms reported to NHTSA. They are aggregate descriptions, not individual verbatim reports.

Records through 2026-07-19Published 2026-08-02 · Updated 2026-07-19

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NHTSA consumer complaint records can reveal recurring patterns across published model years. MotorCensus summarizes those records as one complaint-signal index, with a 95% interval and sample size, updated with each data snapshot.

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