2004 Chevrolet Malibu Review
Fuel Economy
23 - 25 mpg
Summary
What Edmunds.com says
Roomy, affordable and well equipped, the 2004 Malibu delivers excellent value.
Pros
Balanced ride and handling characteristics, plenty of passenger and cargo space, ample safety and convenience features, innovative remote start feature.
Cons
Down on power compared to its competitors, lackluster interior, no manual transmission available.
What's New for 2004
The midsize Malibu has been totally redesigned for 2004. It now rides on an entirely new vehicle platform and offers a more powerful V6 along with must-have safety features like side curtain airbags and adjustable pedals.
Consumer Ratings & Reviews
Malibu
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 6 | Build Quality: | 7 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 6 | Reliability: | 8 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 6 | ||
Vehicle
2004 Chevrolet Malibu LS 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
Bought the car new in 2004, and have had very little trouble with it. Around 22,000 miles, i had to replace the brakes, tires, and Chevy took care of the tie rod ends (good on them, as it was abought 2 months out of warranty). Other than that, no real issues. Sometimes the alternator light comes on when I accelerate hard, but only for a second or two. Gas mileage is great, I put a K&N air filter in it and get regularly 35+ mpg on the highway, better than most 4 cylinders I have driven.
Favorite Features
Good mileage, power, comfortable.
Suggested Improvements
real time fuel mileage, on occasion it takes a couple tries to get started
Solid Car
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 7 | Fun-to-Drive: | 7 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 8 | Reliability: | 8 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 7 | ||
Vehicle
2004 Chevrolet Malibu LS 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
I purchased my 2004 Malibu after going for three months without any car following an accident which totaled by 2004 Cavalier. As luck would have it it put me in a great position to wind up with this Malibu. I had never really heard much about them until I found this one at a local dealer. After reading up on it I found that it sounded like it would be worth a look. I took it for a test drive and looked it over and found it was great. I have owned it for three weeks now and the car has been more than what I imagined it would be. Roomy, comfortable, with loads of features that I could only have dreamed about in my Cavalier (remote start, automatic lights, electric pedals and seats etc).
Favorite Features
Remote start, sound system, comfortable seats, attractive interior and exterior, loads of room.
Suggested Improvements
Fully electric seat adjusters, not just height and lumbar, will someone please give me a glovebox that will fit a mini umbrella?, steering wheel spokes are a little awkwardly placed. Driver information center better suited to being in main console.
Going on my 5th year of ownnership
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 10 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 10 | Interior Design: | 10 | Reliability: | 8 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
2004 Chevrolet Malibu LT 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
Overall I have been happy with my purchase, the car is fun to drive and handles well. Not crazy about the dashboard, and the Onstar is worthless to me. I cancelled them after a 2 hour wait for a battery that died in 102* temps...Ride is pleasant but somewhat noisy on highways. Front and Rear seats are comfortable. Gas mileage is is great on interstates. I feel this car is excellent competition to the foreign manufactures. I now have a little over 50K miles and have not really had to use the extended warranty I paid for for the amount it cost me. Don't recommend buying it.
Favorite Features
Ride, gas mileage, comfort, all the bells and whistles it has. I use them all.
Suggested Improvements
Better looking dashboard, radio display, CD player gets stuck sometimes.
Great when it's working
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 9 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 5 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 7 | Reliability: | 5 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
2004 Chevrolet Malibu LS 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
We bought a Malibu LS in 2004 and when it works it is great. We have gotten highway mileage anywhere from 35-38 mpg on several cross country trips, and it has nice acceleration when needed. We had to have the steering column replaced (under warranty) and the mechanic explained that this was a common design flaw in the '04 Malibu and that we were just fortunate that we weren't doing anything dangerous when the power steering went out. Other than that and a few other maintenance (under warranty) issues, we like our Malibu and if we were in the market for another sedan we would get another Malibu (but our family is outgrowing sedans).
Favorite Features
Highway fuel economy, power, comfort
Suggested Improvements
The steering column was massively flawed and had to be replaced on many Malibus.
I love this car!
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 10 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 10 |
| Comfort: | 10 | Interior Design: | 10 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 10 | Exterior Design: | 10 | ||
Vehicle
2004 Chevrolet Malibu LS 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
I bought this car in December 2007 and have had no problems at all. It's great on gas mileage, very roomy and comfortable, and it looks great! My Malibu is loaded, heated seats, 6 disc CD changer, sunroof, spoiler, remote start..you name it, it has it! This is truly my dream car and I wouldn't trade it for anything! I plan to own this car for a very long time. I know others have complained about different things but I don't think it's because it's a Malibu, I think it just depends on the car. Mine is awesome!
Favorite Features
Heated seats and remote start! Even if my car isn't warm yet my seat automatically is!
Suggested Improvements
The heated seats are difficult to clean but thats it.
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