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Comments
Do you have any problems with door lock switch operation on your vehicle?
Do you have remote keyless entry on your vehicle?
Back to the stereo- the service department said they were able to pull something from memory showing that the code had been set. However, since the stereo isn't doing it now (in fact, it only did it twice within a 20 minute period that one evening, and hasn't shown the message in the few days since), and since everything seems to be working correctly otherwise, that they can only make note of the issue in their system, in case something else happens in the future..
e2helper: I'm taking a guess, but I wonder if you could confirm / deny / tell me how close I am- you mentioned in your reply to another poster having the "Check DAB" message appear that nothing could be done right now, but to expect a future firmware update to fix the problem. I'm guessing that means that this message is being triggered incorrectly (ie.- something in the software for these radios is causing them to trip a hardware error message when there's really nothing wrong), and that the firmware update will be to fix that problem? Am I hot, lukewarm, cold as ice?
Thanks again for all the help you give us here!
I am on a little shakey ground for a couple reasons on this one.
First of all I (personally) don't completely understand how the communication between radio and XM receiver works as far as all the "handshaking" that goes on. It is just one area I haven't had much of an opportunity to get very smart on.
However this should change since I am currently driving a G6 GT with XM option (similar radio as Malibu) and so I can get a little smarter by observing how it works.
The other thing is that I know there is a radio (not XM) software update coming which is supposed to address this occurrence (which happens very infrequently). However I am not in a position to indicate when it might be available. I would be putting myself in a bad position by making any promises on a specific date.
I usually will only indicate stuff to you when I know that your dealer has access to it.
All I can say is stay tuned.
My power adjustable pedals ('04 Maxx) stick at the bottom of their travel (closest to the floor).
By pushing the "up" switch 15-20 times they finally will move up. After sitting a few minutes, at the bottom position - same problem all over again. I wrapped some wire at the bottom of the pedals' travel, to limit bottom travel, and they functioned OK for about two months but now it's back to malfunctioning - wire probably compressed. Was hoping there is a TSB.
VIN 1G1ZT64824F243449
There is no TSB on any issue with adjustable pedals, only a few documents trying to clarify the troubleshooting tree for technicians.
The adjustable pedal system is comprised of 4 main electrical components: Customer switch, motor on accelerator pedal, electronic module and adjustable pedal position sensor on brake pedal (which is NOT the brake pedal switch used for stop lamps). There is a mechanical drive cable from the motor assembly on accelerator pedal used to move the brake pedal. The accelerator pedal is driven directly. This sensor is used as a double-check that this other pedal is actually moving.
You already gotten a new one of those sensors, right?
I'll do some checking and see if I turn up anything but no promises
No sensor replacement. Had car in dealership about problem but he wasn't aware of any fix and nothing was repaired.
>...adjustable pedal position sensor on brake pedal...<
Is there an adjustment I could check that would correct difficulty?
Any info is appreciated. Part number of sensor? If I can explain to dealer what to do maybe it'll be corrected... Thanks.
I don't want to suggest it is sensor at this time, I will be back in touch if I hear from folks I bounced your complaint to. With holiday coming up in it might be a week or so before I follow up.
A couple questions. The radio has zero lights on it. When driving at night with headlights on there is no illumination on any part of the radio. Is that the way it is supposed to be?
In colder weather the hatch flies up fast and the shock mechinism does not prevent it from slamming against the top stops. Is there anyway to adjust this?
Other then that I am pleased with the vehicle.
Thanks.
Few days later my mother backs into it with her Cadillac - nice basketball sized dent in the front fender. I could care less - cars are just transportation to me. She insisted that it be fixed so she took it to get estimates - $1500, so I said no way, the dent can stay. Then I thought I'll try Dent Wizard with their "paintless dent removal". Came right to my house, 45 minutes later he was done for $100. Looks great - not perfect but almost. While he was working the dent out from behind the entire fender from front to back would flex,bend and twist. This is the cheapest, thinnest sheet metal I have ever seen on a car. So A warning to all - If someone leans on it, it will probably cave in.
Today I go to drive off with it and its bouncing up and down - flat tire. I fill it up and 8 hours later its flat again. I had someone look at the tire while I slowly drove forward with the wheel turned all the way to the right to look for a nail. While I'm doing this the power steering quits. Not sure but I guess if you hold the steering wheel all the way to one side it overloads and shuts down but so far it has not started working again. There are no warning messages on the DIC either.
Its getting ugly now. A Mistake buying it I guess.
I think that locking and unlocking the doors re boots the computer. Referring to the fender, it's not sheet metal but some composite material which is meant to give in a collision. If you look behind the rear fender you'll see 2 lengths of rigid tubing about 2x3 inches in size. They take the actual impact in a rear ender.
We've had virtually no trouble with our Maxx and I really don't want to fix it if it ain't broke.
'04 Maxx
vin: 237245
built: May 24, 2004
Thanks,
DavisMaxx
Davis, CA
Yes, that is one of the most obvious indications of the fuel tank issue and your vehicle build date is in the right range. I don't think it affects capacity that much but does cause inaccurate fuel level indication as you are seeing. You would find that when the low fuel light comes on you can only add 12-13 gallons of gas instead of 14-15 (because it is coming on too soon) but few people probably drive all the way down to a low fuel light.
There is a potential that under the right conditions you would see a "Check Gas Cap" warning on your DIC. Others who have experienced that might better say WHEN that would happen but my guess would be if would start a morning or 2 after you filled tank vehicle with gas. It would then continue to display the message for a few days. It all has to do with your driving and fueling patterns.
There is even a slighter potential you might see a Check Engine Light once in a while associated with this condition.
The corrective action does require fuel tank dropped for testing and likely replacement. Dealer has bulletin #04-08-49-025 describing the condition
Sorry to hear about all your problems, gla4601.
Putting this all in perspective though the dent and the flat tire are not the cars fault and my car has not been back to the dealer yet for anything. Something like a rattle is to be expected I guess.
BUT!!!! Occasionally not starting is not acceptable. I'm at the point where I dont even want to drive the car anymore for fear of ending up on the back of a tow truck. I'm back to driving my other vehicle on a daily basis and the malibu just sits. It was supposed to be the other way around. Worse the no start condition seems to be a problem that has no solution and in all probability will never be fixed.
Once again we have all been had by GM. It's only going to get worse as these 2004 Malibus get on up to 20K+ miles. I can only imagine how much the EPS steering column costs out of warranty.
To me it still seems to be an anti-theft device thingy acting up.
3745:
One possibility is a poorly connected wiring harness or sensor. That would definitely cause intermittant problems. Also, what about humidity or temperature - do they have any effect on the start problem?
I may have an unwanted winter trip ahead of me?
Also, are there any chains that can fit the vehicle? Chevy made me sign a release stating that use of chains on the Maxx will damage the car and will void the warranty for any damage caused.
I speak from experience. However, I see that the Malibu battery is more protected. Back to the no-start situation - luckily it has happened very infrequently and my little procedure seems to get it going again.
I think you people have all taken my comments the wrong way.
First it would seem my experience is on par with others who have posted here and probably even better so far. Second I do in fact like the car.
If I took the car to the dealer I'm sure they could fix the door rattle. As far as the no-start problem they would be clueless and would tell me they would have to see the car when it is actually not starting and even then they would probably just guess and replace some random item and send me on my way. Since I am not the only one having the no start problem we can assume that it is common yet GM does not have an answer for it and probably never will unless they are forced into it.
Perfect example is the power steering issue that many Malibus have had. If the NHTSA did not get involved the problem would still continue or at least would have lingered much longer. Worse, if the original design of the EPS was only lasting a few thousand miles how long can we expect the corrected design to last? - Probably just past the warranty period. Anyone know how much that steering column costs? Probably be a nice cash cow for GM.
I should have learned my lesson from past experience with GM. I had a Gran Prix that went 500 miles before it needed to go back to the dealer. From there it was about every 1000 miles and it was back to the dealer right through the entire warranty. Within a couple of months of the warranty expiration some of the same problems cropped up - Starter, Instrument cluster, Intake Gasket Leak and others. GM, in a nice way told me to go to hell. This car made it to 60K miles before I could not take it any more and gave it away rather than burn it.
I am aware that all carmakers have some problems but I think that anyone planning on keeping their Malibu more than 3 years (like myself) is in for a rocky road and will no longer be defending, praising, and glorifying the Malibu. For my sake and everyone else here I do hope I am wrong.
You vehicle build date was 4/30/04. I agree this built well after the steering column change. I can't help on the transmission, the service bulletin #04-07-30-021A just mentions a date code range on transmission itself (between 4016 and 4126) so you dealer would have to look at tag on transmission to confirm but since 4016= Jan 16, 2004 and 4126=May 5, 2004 it is kind of a no-brainer based on when your vehicle was built.
Yes there is a PCM software update for your vehicle. I think a few other posters on board had this update done - main changes were to address engine idle and transmission 3-4 shift complaints I think. But those other owners could better describe the improvements. Your vehicle is a sedan while some of the others were Maxxs but similar update was done.
Gas mileage still up there in the high 20's. Trip computer indicating gas mileage still about 10% higher than actual. No transmission howl or steering issues. No rattles. No problems with starting. No gas cap issues.
Tried the remote start this morning. For whatever reason, the windshield defroster went on automatically and I did not leave it running the night before. Will try again tomorrow but that would be nice if it would automatically go on each time as I would never remember to have the defroster pre-set the evening before.
By the way, the last 6 numbers on VIN are 177249. Does this mean the build date was Feb 4?
I purchased the vehicle April 6.
You own LT model with automatic HVAC system. It automatically goes into a special auto start mode when you do a remote start. There are 3 different "zones" it will choose depending on temperature inside vehicle. It doesn't matter what setting you left your HVAC controls in, they are overriden during the time it is in remote start mode. You will notice the display says "AS" if you look in vehicle. I think I posted elsewhere more of the specifics for these 3 zones but it might have been in another forum. I will look for it and post again if you are interested
BTW, the rear defogger will also turn on by itself automatically with remote start with either type of HVAC system although the temperature that happens at is a little low (outside temperature around 35 deg F, I think).
And isn't it amazing how variable dealers are? The one that sold my Maxx couldn't tighten a loose screw without wrecking something, while the current one (15 miles away) seems to be doing good work.
If you can, try another dealer. And without sounding banal, it really helps at first to be nice with them.
Also,
I __really__ appreciate e2helper taking the time to contribute information and suggestions!!
And in fairness to GM engineers (I was one years ago), they don't __try__ to build bad products.
#347 of 821 by e2helper Sep 17, 2004 (5:10 pm)
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Pete,
I don't think a BCM replace, right?) would correct intermittent Airbag light but you will certainly find out.
Both rear windows leak when going through a car wash. The seals seem to be okay. Front door windows don't leak a drop.
Check the exterior of rear door windows. On each rear window towards the rear of the vehicle, You may find a large gap between rear window frame and door frame edge. On my maxx those gaps were 1/4" wide and I could see the body paint at the back of the gap (the factory seals between these frames were too narrow to seal the gap).
This appeared a prime leak canidate and I've sealed both sides by filling both gaps with black silicon rubber. I've not had any leaks since.
Year ago before electronic sensors were used the module was called DERM (Diagnostic and Energy Reserve Module.
Guess they dropped the energy reseve part of the name although modules still contain that feature.
I should mention, in fairness to Chevy, that the S10 has been ultra reliable. 30K miles now and other than needing front brakes and front shocks at 10K mi had no other problems and never blinked once. Funny how things work as the S10 is known to be quite troublesome.
There is no GM customer loyalty - zero -zilch. I mentioned what happened right after the warranty expired with the Gran Prix. Now I'll mention what happened during the first 7 or 8 months.
The car was a living hell starting when it was 3 weeks old. One of the main problems it was having was the windshield wipers would not turn off. I drove around for 6 months with the windshield wipers going constantly (yeah sometimes I would remove the fuse if there was no rain forcast for many days). They could not fix it. Each time it went back they would order another part and tell me they would call when it came in. In the mean time somthing else would go wrong the car. When I finaly got fed up with it I called GM and told them what was going on. The arranged for a GM rep to meet with me at the dealer. This nice man offered to take the car off my hands. His offer???? He would take the car back and give me $9K towards the sticker price on any vehicle on the lot meaning if I chose the same model Gran Prix with a sticker price at the time of 19K it would have cost me 10K for him to "take the car off my hands" after 6 months of hell. Shows how much they really care about customer satisfaction. I guess that should have been enough reason never to buy a GM product again but I guess I just like punishment and abuse.