04 Malibu Maxx - Another Week in Service

[wpbharry]

After springing for the trannie howl fix back in January, which took the dealer a full week, my Maxx ended up in service yet another full week this week, for a host of issues. Here's the scoop, in case anyone else has similar troubles:

1) "Oil" leak/burning smell. Turns out when they replaced the trannie, they didn't secure a gasket, so the whole thing had to be dropped again. I was really worried because some '04+ Malibu/Maxx owners have reported genuine oil leaks.

2) Hatch leaking water. Cure (hopefully) was to replace the 3rd brake light (CHMSL). Some seal around that was bad during the assembly process.

3) Suspension clunk at low speed. Their solution at this point was to tighten the tops of both shock towers, but I think that a TSB is still in the works, that keeps getting delayed. And bet that will be to replace the entire rack, which will cost GM BIG bucks on a lot of vehicles, so they're probably stalling. This issue affects all '04 and '05 Malibus and Maxxes, as well as all '05 G6s.

4) I didn't have time to address this one this week, but the sunroof shade rattles like the dickens. They have a TSB, which requires removal of the entire headliner to fix. That one will be another week.

After the fuel tank replacement caused the car to be in the shop for a week a year ago, you can bet that I'm getting tired of this. Yet another quality piece of GM production, and very likely my last. Three "iffy" Chevys in a row, although this one's the best, if that says anything.

I forgot to mention that the '06 Malibu LT sedan (4-cylinder) that I had for the week (6,000 miles) showed vastly worse build quality than mine. Looked as if the person that assembled the driver's side interior trim pieces was hungover or worse. And the doors rattled when closed, unlike mine. Not good, GM.

[bcopeland]

That speaks common for the New GM. This definitely is not my Father's GM. They SUCK. I wonder if GM execs read Automotive Forums.