maxx tail lights out even after replacing bulbs

[xokayxo]

seems like since i bought this car on tuesday i have not been able to enjoy the excitement of buying a new car. two of the tail lights were out when i bought it, and i thought, no problem i can change a tail light.

well, i changed all four of the tail lights and the two that were out are still not illuminating. the bottom tail light on the driver's side and the top light on the passenger's side are the two that will not light up. is this some kind of wacky feature on this car or could there be a wiring/fuse problem? i dont want to have to get all gangsta on this dealership.

[slls]

I saw on another forum that a owner with the bulbs out adjusted the contact tangs in the light assy so they would contact the bulb. Not sure if that is your problem but worth looking into.

[wpbharry]

Geez, Louise.

You should know, right up front, that the '04 and '05 Malibu and Maxx are not the most reliable of vehicles. Nothing major (although I have had a new fuel tank (guage not reading full when full) and transmission (awful 2-3 shift whine), under warranty due to parts supplier defects in the assembly process), but a boatload of minor nuisances. Welcome to the club!!

I've replaced one of the 4 taillights, about 2 months ago. So far, the new bulb is working fine.

Since the front lighting issue might now be surfacing in the rear, yes, it could be burned out contacts. The front lighting issue is that Chevy used the front parking lights as Daytime Running Lights on the '04s and '05s (changed for '06) and the front parking lamp contacts have a nasty habit of burning out. Other than mine, I can't recall seeing an '04 or '05 on the road recently with 2 working front parking lamps.

That's my hunch.

Your selling dealer is in for fun from you.

Might want to check Consumer Reports reliability records first, in the future. It's all there in black and white (and red).

[slls]

My 04 Malibu with both DRL's working, 30K.

[MalibuBob]

I've got an '05 Malibu (sedan) and haven't replaced any bulbs after over 50K miles.
Getting back to the original problem, besides a possibility of a problem with the lightbulb socket, there may also be a ground problem associated with those bulbs. If you can, trace the wiring from those sockets, see where they're grounded, and make sure the grounds are intact and secure.

[xokayxo]

this is freaking great.


I took my car back to the dealership I bought it from and they told me that the bottom tail light on each side are the brake lights... and that whoever last changed the bulbs switched the sockets in the assembly so that on the driver side, the brake light was in the top tail light position instead of the bottom. (and on the passenger side it was fine)

Is that true, though? are the bottom tail lights the brake lights, and when you hit the brakes the top lights *arent* supposed to illuminate?

[MalibuBob]

Originally Posted by xokayxo

Is that true, though? are the bottom tail lights the brake lights, and when you hit the brakes the top lights *arent* supposed to illuminate?

It's that way on my '05 Malibu sedan.
As for switching the positions of the lights, I see that a lot when in traffic. Instead of replacing one light at a time, people pull all the bulbs out, and then don't replace them in the correct places.

[goldwinger]

My 05 Maxx The top lights in the rear are only running lights, no brake light in the top.