Cruise control failure on the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu
When cruise control failure gets reported
Owners of the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu report cruise control failure at a median of 100,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 95,000 miles and a quarter after 150,000 miles, from 20 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 72,000 miles. It is the 13th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 90,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 155,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 65,980 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
5% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90,020 miles | 95,000 miles | 100,000 miles | 149,750 miles | 156,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $200–$1,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 21 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2014, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2001 at 105,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 174; the 2004 has 26. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
This vehicle is equipped with remote start, which allows you to start the vehicle from the key remote. On friday 8-19 the "service engine soon light" came on briefly when vehicle was started but did not come back on after I shut the vehicle off and restarted. The following monday 8-22-05 after making a stop, shutting off the engine, and getting off the car the engine started on its own and stayed on for appx a minute, it then shut off and restarted in less than a minute. This cycle repeated for about 8 mins or so on its own. I got back on the car after dropping my child off at school and drove at hwy speeds with the cruise on, after a few minutes of hwy speeds the cruise control shut off and was non responsive. I got off the hwy parked and shut the vehicle off. Again the engine started on its own, this time staying on for several minutes. I drove the vehicle to a chevrolet dealership and explained the problem. The service dept replaced the keyless entry module and reprogrammed the brake ecu as they said the keyless module was malfunctioning and causing the engine to start using the remote start feature. They also said the brake…
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the steering column would become loose while driving at any speed and the wheel would sporadically shake when driving over 50 MPH. In addition the power steering warning light was illuminated when the failure would occur. The contact stated the failure was the second occurrence and the steering column was replaced in 2007. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the recent failure. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 115,000. The consumer stated the vehicle made a clunking, knocking and rattling sound when driven at a low grade speed and when the steering wheel was turned. The vehicle also shook violently. The driver seat didn't to stay on track and was difficult to adjust forward and backward. The horn and cruise control were inoperative. The brake and accelerator pedals no longer adjusted. The safety locks did not latch at times when the button was pushed and the gas cap continued to open after it was locked causing the engine light to illuminate. Updated 02/01/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the steering column would become loose while driving at any speed and the wheel would sporadically shake when driving over 50 MPH. In addition the power steering warning light was illuminated when the failure would occur. The contact stated the failure was the second occurrence and the steering column was replaced in 2007. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the recent failure. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 115,000. The consumer stated the vehicle made a clunking, knocking and rattling sound when driven at a low grade speed and when the steering wheel was turned. The vehicle also shook violently. The driver seat didn't to stay on track and was difficult to adjust forward and backward. The horn and cruise control were inoperative. The brake and accelerator pedals no longer adjusted. The safety locks did not latch at times when the button was pushed and the gas cap continued to open after it was locked causing the engine light to illuminate. Updated 02/01/12
Also reported on the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu
Other steering problem
Steering column or shaft failure
Loss of power steering
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other electrical problem
Other body or interior problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 26 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does cruise control failure happen on the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu?
Across 20 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 100,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 95,000 miles and a quarter after 150,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is cruise control failure on the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu?
26 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.4 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed