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Comments
Kristen
Kristen
Rebates were that high to clear inventory. Now that most of the 04s are gone, there's no need to have the rebates as high. What you may get lottery-lucky on is finding an 04 that has been on a dealer lot for ages and the dealer is willing to take a loss plus the existing rebates.
kcram
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Smart Shopper and Wagons Message Boards
I stop the car, shut off the engine, unlock the driver's door (with the lever) and press the hatch release button on the lower door panel. I hear the "thunk" of the hatch releasing but when I walk back there to raise the hatch, it won't budge...it has only partially released.
It releases OK when I use the power door lock button to unlock all doors (which then allows me to open the hatch with its exterior button), and when I press the key fob button...but if I have to do either of those things, what's the point of having the release button on the door panel?
Am I missing something? Thanks in advance.
Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Matt, I live in Knoxville, TN and I just purchased a Galaxy Silver 2004 Malibu Maxx LT. It's got the 1SB option, XM and DVD (no engine heater, OnStar or 6 disc). I took delivery on Sept. 30 from a dealer in Bristol, TN who located the exact car I wanted from a dealer in Virginia. The car has 315 miles on it and is at the tint shop as I write this getting a mild tint put on.
My wife will be the primary driver and we hope to use it for our frequent road trips to Chicago. I hope to be an active participant on the forums and just wanted to thank everyone who contributes for your valuable information!
Several other Maxx folks here had this problem, but the workaround is simple. Under the rear end chrome trim strip is a wide "depression" and on the underside of the depression to the right of the license place is a rubber covered switch. Depress this to unlock the hatch.
As for the rear hatch squeaks, they can come from two places: 1) the parcel shelf can move around a bit during driving, 2) the rear hatch plastic trim fasteners metal can rub against the aluminum. Both are fixable (I fixed b) by covering the fasteners with packing tape, and a) by moving the shelf to the second position.
I got the whole car (minus windshield) tinted for $165 out the door (which includes a 9.75% sales tax here in Knoxville). The shop I went to only had 35% (the legal limit) or 15%. I went with 15% and kind of regret the choice. I think it looks really sharp, but it's my wife's car and it's too dark for her tastes. I suspect that we'll be getting it re-done by a shop that offers tints of 25% or 30%. I think those would be a great compromise for the wife and I. At 15%, it's like a limo - you can't see inside the car, which is a bit darker than I meant to go.
beedublu, sorry to hear your problems and I feel for you. I think I can help on at least one. Our Maxx right out of the dealership would not read above 3/4 even if the tank was full. Our dealership found a TSB that said their was faulty tank design and to replace the gas tank with a new design. They did, and it fixed the problem. What I understand is happening is the sending unit is getting in the way of the float so that float can never move up to the full tank level.
We had our service engine soon light come on after first getting warnings about the gas cap not being tightly on the car. What I have noticed is this is a very tight fitting gas cap and just because out put in and turn it till it clicks it might not be on. Kind of hard to explain but easy way to test is if you can pull it straight out after the click it did not sit in the track properly. I am much more careful to give it a little pull after it reaches the click point to make sure it is right. The dealership can tell you what the code in the computer is that caused the light to come on. Most likely the gas cap but if there is a presure problem in the fuel system they can also check that and locate it.
kris10, the easiest way I know to shop a range of dealership to find an 04 is to use the GM BuyPower site. I used it to find the dealership that had the right model for us so I did not have to waste time calling or driving around. Great thing was I was able to look at the window sticker and price it before I even drove there. Good luck. My wife asked the same question on the rebates you did when we were deciding. The answer is no one can say, totally depends on how sales go next year. If they have a good year they will probably not go so crazy with rebates. If another bad one they will be back, whatever it takes to move the cars.
Good luck, hope this helps.
Stephen
The very latest calibration available for the Maxx had a modification to 3-4 upshift. Perhaps this addressed your complaints? This calibration didn't start getting used until early May 2004 so if your build date earlier than that you might want to mention this concern to dealer on next visit and that you "hear" there is a new calibration that might address it.
Now I actually know VINs for a couple of your vehicles and I know that maxx4me had an early May built vehicle but I think it changed after your car was built (I will double-check myself on this though)
We have no major mechanical issues, just minor items like the window shade, the CD player ate a CD, and a buzz from the instrument cluster bezel. Seems to be a very well made car. The dealer (Hanlees in Davis, CA) has been absolutely terrific about taking care of things.
We just turned 1K so I changed the oil and filter. Very easy to do on this car. Now I'll go until the computer says it's time, then switch to synthetic. I always use an AC PF 47 filter.
Terrific car, terrific value!
On a positive note, the rattle from the liftgate seems to have gone away on its own. It might be temperature related...it has been colder around here of late and the rattle was most noticeable on 60 degree mornings.
The only problem, which I don't think has anything to do with the car itself, is little black spots that have appeared in the paint. The local car wash owner said it wasn't tar but mold. He said it was from parking next to a mulched area. Sure enough there is some kind of wood mulch in all the flower beds around the driveway. He said you have to pick the heads off and then use polish to remove the discoloration under it. This is something I never heard of, but I will have to clean it all off and Simonize it to get it back to perfect. By the way I "only" got a $1,000 rebate back in the early days but have enjoyed the car a lot.
When we got it down to a quarter we took in and later that day they said the tank needs to be replaced due a flaw in the design with the float. They installed the new tank. They also lubricated the gate mechanism and sealing gasket to fix the squeak. We got the car back and gage now reads full, gage works right but we have not filled it up since to test for the gas cap problem. It needs to go for gas very soon so we should soon see. I told my wife I would like to go the first time filling it up to try it since we are not 100% sure the cap issue is fixed.
Beedublu, if you are not getting the check gas cap message and your service engine light is on you might have a real problem that you want to have checked on. For us the service engine soon light did not come on till a while after seeing the gas cap message and the dealer said it was on because of the pressure leak from the gas cap not being securely on. They did a pressure check with cap on securely and the system was tight.
I think the tailgate problem is exactly what other have listed here with the pins that hold the tailgate trim on are rubbing. That problem is definelty aggrevated by heat. When cold in the morning almost impossible to make happen. On a nice sunny afternoon when it is warm in the car squeaks on every little bump. I told the dealer about what others had posted here and he said he did not see any service bulletins about it (surprises me) but he might not have looked in the right place. I am going to print the explanation and bring it with me for the next oil change. If they do not want to fix it will do it myself in the same way others have here.
njscribe1: the mold problem from a nearby mulch supply is not only for cars, but for house paint too. It has been well documented that if you are going to have mulch around the house, ensure it will never be at the same level as a painted surface. I have no doubt that it is causing problems with the paint on your car.
Regarding the window shade, hopefully your dealer did the Bulletin fix for it (adding reinforcements to the trim)
I think the car came with the reinforcements from the factory. When I feel inside the trim there is a piece of what feels like cardboard. I've had no problem with them snapping open. But one shade wouldn't retract, so that's the one being replaced.
Now that we have 1200 miles on it I have opened her up a couple of times. She will really fly! We're conservative drivers with small kids in the car, but it's sure nice to know that power is there if you need it.
Of course you should report concern to your dealer but at the present time he would likely not be able to correct them - and he would probably have a hard time even reproducing them.
This is not any type of official response and as I have said many times on other posts, you now likely know more now about this than the dealer. I will work thru the proper channels to make sure that dealers are getting the appropriate information to know what to do on these issues.
I appreciate the input
I parked car, turned off engine and removed key. Radio kept playing as it should until I opened the driver door. I locked car with my fob. I forgot something in car. I walked around the other side of the car and hit the unlock 2x on same fob to unlock all the doors. Before I opened the passenger door, I notice the radio was playing again. I had to open and close driver door again to stop the radio.
A day or 2 later I noticed the other problem. I usually leave the fuel econ displaying on DIC, even though it is not accurate. After unlocking with my fob and starting car, it was obvious the fuel econ was reset. Stepping through info, I noticed avg speed also reset. No other item reset. I thought perhaps I may have manually reset them and forgot (senior moment). Then I remembered that the night before I used my wifes keys/fob by mistake to run a short errand. The next day after unlocking and starting with my keys, the fuel econ and avg speed were displaying their original values.
Anyway to activate the instrument panel lights (short of my current solution of placing a hat over the photo/light sensor)? The stalk mounted lighting switch does not power up the instrument lights.
I've checked the owners manual-nothing.
Gotta find a way to wire in a FM modulator for my Sony XM receiver. I know you were working on this for another lister, too. I have the factory service manual, and hope I can find a suitable spot/connector to wire the modulator.
Thanks,
MadMaxx
the other gentleman was able to reach behind the panel and disconnect the antenna lead I believe..it appeared to be a pretty detailed procedure to disassemble all to get to it..so he simply reached in to access it from behind..I assume you are doing antenna interface vice another method...?..anyone who has XM..should go to www.XM411.com great site for XM radio stuff, news, updates, and install help
thanks for the quick reply. I am really on the fence here because I think that $3,000 is alot of money for me and I am paying cash so this would allow me to take a nice vacation and have some extra spending money for the holidays as well. Here is a more detailed explanation for my delemma:
DEMO
2004 Malibu MAXX LT(Silver)
Orig. Sticker ($22,495.00)
Dealer Rebate ($ 5,000.00)
Docs, Title, State Fees and Tax ($1,125.25)
Total OTD $18620.25
NEW
2004 Malibu MAXX LT 1SB desired color(Navy Blue) with 6 cd changer.
Orig. Sticker ($25,930.00)
Invoice ($24,240.00)
Factory rebate (-$3,500.00)
Tax ttl etc ($1288.00)
Total OTD $22,028
Difference $3407.75
per mile $0.49
I should first say that neither car has XM which was one on my original wish list but both dealers told me that I could easily get an after market installed for less than their $300.00 option price.
The Blue MAXX has 1SB ($1,085.00) but the dealer selling the demo told me that I would have a considerable loss of headroom with the moonroof. I am 6' 4" would this effect me?
Any more advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. Hoping to be driving off in my new car within 7 days!
Current 2004 sticker $24,725 (MSRP has gone up by $2230.00 in only six months and you wonder why gm can offer such high rebates!!
sounds like the dealer talked you into a car.that didnt have all the options you wanted on it.....
I believe one should buy a car for all you want to include the options.....
www.xm411.com has lots of help on the XM radio...good feedback forums and acccessories from the basic to advanced
Thank you for your help with this. I haven't taken delivery of the car yet so I can probably get the XM on a different car but it will cost me thousands because the car they are offering me was a dealer demo with 7k miles on it. Still in mint and approx. 3k below what a fresh car would be. My other problem is that the 2004 models are thinning out and the selection is more and more limited.
I would rank my preferences to this:
1: LT
2: XM
3: Color
4: Moonroof
I live in Watertown, MA (Boston area) and I have contacted several dealerships and none can come up with a model that fits these criterea without having onstar, rear dvd and 6 cd changer which adds another $2k!!
I currently own a truck with a delfi 'SkyFi' XM tuner which I installed the FM transponder only to receive low sound quaility through it. I now use the cassette adapter and am happy with the sound quality. Too bad MAXX doesn't come equipped with a cassette deck LOL!!
I rationally cannot see myself spending $4k-$5k more only for the XM feature and I also am not very happy with the sales team at the dealership who did not even try to get XM installed by their service department. I think I will call them and tell them that the deal is off unless they can give me XM!!
I look forward to any advice or feedback any of you may have regarding this.
Thanks,
Reese
To everyone, does anyone know where to get a roof rack for the Maxx? I saw one the other day (it's only the 3rd one I've ever seen on the road) and it had a rack on top with skis. I searched on-line but couldn't find anything for the Maxx. Any ideas?
http://www.rackwarehouse.com/fitguides.html