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I don't remember right now whether the Malibu has the button or not but even if it does I always set my parking brake anyway. Better safe than sorry.
My drill is get car in position, set parking brake, shift into park, remove key, do whatever, etc.
A good example is the 1992 Toyota Corolla that we once owned. The parking lot for the townhouse we were living in at the time had a slight grade up toward the houses. She left the parking brake off after work and couldn't get the gear lever to move the next morning. She also didn't know what the little button at the rear driver's side edge of the gear shift console was for, but I did. (manuals are wonderful things sometimes, lol)
Thank you!
So for any other owners of the new 'bu that have an issue with the way the original headrest leans forward compared to the rest of the seatback I highly recommend getting it taken care of under warranty at the dealership. It costs nothing but your time.
As for dealership service: they work with what GM builds. Even they can't make lemonade of a car. It doesn' sound like parts or service when complaints are fairly consistent in a car model.
Just in case you're interested in the updated head restraints yourself njmaxx, here's the post where e2helper gave us the particulars I needed to get mine taken care of:
e2helper, "Chevrolet Malibu Owners: Problems & Solutions" #1580, 15 Feb 2005 5:42 pm
Gotta keep in mind that every car line produced has a few bad ones slip out, and likewise every line has its own common issues to watch out for.
As for the Malibu, when I last checked a few months back the blade matcher books I've found didn't mention the 2004. But sounds like it's time to try again.
I wanted to give an American car a try (have driven foreign from 1973 to 2003). We'll see if the decision was a good one.
What is bothering me is that all three of these were announced I believe in June, over 2 months before I purchased my vehicle. Last week I had my car in the shop, and they had to do all three of these recalls on my vehicle..
HOW CAN THE DEALERSHIP HAVE SOLD ME A CAR THAT HAD RECALLS ALREADY ANNOUNCED, WITHOUT FIXING THEM BEFORE I TOOK THE CAR OFF THE LOT???? I am EXTREMELY unhappy about this.. Is that even legal, to sell a "defective" car without fixing the "defects" before I take the car off of the lot? Obviously the car was "defective" if there was a recall campaing.. What if I had gotten into an accident and the ABS brakes did not work correctly, or the seat belt anchor had broke..
By the way, that dealer decided he was getting ripped off and decided not to buy my Chevy dealer out...but his cousin went ahead so it gets a new name and new ownership anyway.
If you had gotten into an accident and the seat belt had broken, I suppose you could have sued GM, or the dealer. But you didn't have an accident, so that is a moot point, and speculation gets no one anywhere.
My Maxx has had the hard starting issue about 8 times since I bought it at the end of September, 4100 miles ago. The very first time it happened, I figured out what the problem was with everyone on the Forum's help, and I got the TSB from the board. It wasn't serious, so I didn't hurry in to the dealer. This past week I was out of town, so I asked my father (retired and with very little to do!) to take it in. I wrote out a list of things to do: the ABS recall, the seatbelt recall, (both from the GM website, not from any official notification), fix the left rear speaker that wasn't working, and do the PCM reflash. I included the TSB number for the reflash and wrote that the car had hard starting problems and a rare rough idle.
To make a long story short, my dad told me that the service manager grilled him about how and where he got the TSB number, since they are only meant for Chevy dealers. My dad said I got it from the internet, but that was all he knew. Apparently, the SM was very unhappy that a customer had this info.
So, I have two concerns -- #1 am I endangering the people who give us these TSB's by letting this dealer know I have them, and #2 where can I take my car now? I'm not very happy about that SM, not to mention they said they fixed the speaker, but it still doesn't work. This makes me wonder if they did ANY of the work at all. This dealer has been around for 40 years and is supposed to be one of the best Chevy dealers in L.A. Like too many people here, I love my car but don't like the dealer.
Thanks for reading my rant. Any ideas?
The GM Chevy Owners web site also posts recall information (all 3 of mine were listed there).
Your SM sounds like "old school", is way too typical and will do nothing to further repeat business, let alone inspiring a future Mailbu purchase. Sadly, I too have yet to find a decent service center in Los Angeles, CA (have been to three klutz outfits so far - am becomming very concerned).
Hope not anyway, because my list now includes the same TSB as you used for the hard starting issues. Our LT sedan has had to crank itself over 2x many times in the recent past when the first attempt didn't work. Every time the car was still somewhat warm from previous driving. Then this past weekend it actually failed to start at all, and took me around a minute of repeated attempts before it finally cranked over.
Anyway, thanks to all who provide us with the information and TSB #'s that lets us make sure our cars are in the best possible condition and keeps us from having to spend unnecessary time and money in the service department as the mechanics have to figure out the problem on their own.
Well, the Maxx still pulls to the left, and when they install the new sensor next week, the gauge will still show 3/4, when full.
When I go back next week, it will be with TSB numbers, and a "no excuses" attitude. I hope to get better results.
I still don't see why GM would worry if we know of the TSBs. It HAS to at the very least save them some time in the shop when we already have the problem's solution in hand. And that translates to money, not just in mechanic man-hours either, but possibly in parts, when they replace something that wasn't bad in the first place. We also lose time, just not money. (er, except possibly lost wages, in some cases..)
Obviously this is talking about things still under warranty. The situation is even worse for out-of-warranty repairs, where WE are the ones out of money.
Filled up again yesterday having driven almost 400 miles.
This time the actual mpg was 30.589!
For the first time, everything works like it is supposed to, the Maxx drives just great, and the fuel economy shot up!
Could the pull to left have actually diminished average mpg by 3.5 miles every gallon? Time will tell or maybe 4,000 miles was a loosening up point.
I would like to ask current Malibu owners: if you had to do it over again, would you buy a 2004-2005 Malibu Maxx. My reason for asking is that my girlfriend may be in the market to replace her 95 Saturn SL2 soon and one of the cars she might consider is the Maxx.
This past 12/30, I was in the market for possibly getting a new car, as the engine in my Olds seized (partially my fault). I ultimately got a slightly used engine put in, but had looked at the Maxx and liked many features on it.
I could have gotten an 05 Malibu LT for $18,300 including all taxes - out the door, including the GM 5yr, 60k extended warranty. The car factory stickered for like $24k plus taxes. (A Maxx would have been about $500 more.)
With GM's sales going south, and their bond ranting near junk status, I have not doubt they would be willing to make the same offer again, especially around June 30th.
So, again, knowing what you, as an owner know today, would you make the purchase again?
Thanks, in advance, for any and all replies!
Cheers,
Steve
Having said all that, I wish I had bought the full size GMC truck. I miss having a truck as a daily driver.
Maxx gets within 2 mpg around town-- pretty good, I haven't had a chance to take a long trip yet.
Maxx has more features-- even though the Koreans knew how to option.
Chevy has a better dealer network.
I for one LIKE the ohv engine. Not a real screamer, but good torque, and no timing belt to replace.
Can't figure out whether I like the styling or not, but at least it's unique. That's the great thing-- strange but interesting styling and normal but competant inside. If I don't like any of the dealers lots of people should be able to do repairs.
Still out for further thought-- the much maligned steering. It's much better than I thought but the car tends to wander if the road isn't perfectly crowned. I also think that the steering is better on some days than others-- probably road conditions. Lots of people knock the OEM Bridgestones, and maybe that's the weak link.
Seating surfaces are probably durable but plain, thought Hyundai interior finishes were slightly better. Lots of people knock the gray interior, I have the neutral-- normally don't like wood trim, but I guess it's OK.
Looked at a Scion xB which has the same space, better seating, but the damn thing cranks at about 3500 rpm at 70. Would be very tiring.
Looked at a number of small suv's like the Tucson and the Mazda/Mercury/Ford triplets, Maxx has all the practibility but gets much better mileage.
Looked at Mazda 3, Kia Spectra5, and Elantra 5 door. Even though I like the smaller size, the Maxx was a lot more car for a little more money.
Looked at a Mazda6, didn't drive one-- would have if they had a 5-speed hatch or wagon (irrational, I know since Maxx isn't available with manual transmission). Was able to get a 6 cylinder Maxx for about a thou. less than a 4 cylinder 6 Wagon. Maxx gets better mileage even though the M6 is sportier.
Has anyone determined the cause and permenant fix for this defect?
I bought my maxx LT June 04 and have some sercous electronic steering crap going on. Have had it in 3-4 time's and the last, the big engineer came in and could not figure it out. am the first with this problem and now their are at least 10 others across the US c/o about the same thing. SO my advice is to wait.
The only concern I have is that it has a noticeable pause in shifting between gears during light-moderate acceleration.
I don't mind hammering it down, of course, but with gas at $2/gal I discovered that this was happening. Is it an issue?
Other than that, I really like it. Strong acceleration, good interior comfort and gobs of conveniences. GM's idea of "entry level" has certainly made progress over the past 20 years.
04mailbu
Cheers!
While much improved, GM build quality is still no match for the Scion. Wrt Civic, the USA ones seem prone to rattles.
If the xA would have a sixth gear it would be a good competitor to say the Mini Cooper. Like the looks but it's a pretty small car. It's taken me the better part of two months to get used going from an Elantra to the Maxx. The xA would double that leap.