2004 CHEVROLET MALIBU tow

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-7
Safety Belts
.............................................1-10
Child Restraints
.......................................1-31
Air Bag Systems
......................................1-52
Restraint System Check
............................1-60
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
......................................2-10
Windows
.................................................2-16
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-18
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-22
Mirrors
....................................................2-35
OnStar
®System
......................................2-38
HomeLink®Transmitter
.............................2-40
Storage Areas
.........................................2-44
Sunroof
..................................................2-48
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-21
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-31Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-45
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-52
Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-31
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-12
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-45
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-49
Tires
......................................................5-50
Appearance Care
.....................................5-78
Vehicle Identication
.................................5-86
Electrical System
......................................5-87
Capacities and Specications
.....................5-96
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-11
Index................................................................ 1
2004 Chevrolet Malibu Owner ManualM

Six-Way Power Driver Seat
If your vehicle has this feature, the power seat control is
located on the outboard side of the driver’s seat.
To adjust the power seat, do the following:
Move the seat forward or rearward by pushing the
control toward the front or back of the vehicle.
Raise or lower the entire seat cushion by holding
the center of the control up or down.
Raise or lower the front of the seat cushion by
holding the front of the control up or down.
Raise or lower the rear of the seat cushion by
holding the rear of the control up or down.
Manual Lumbar
If your vehicle has this feature, the handle is located on
the outboard side of the driver’s seat. Push the
handle down to increase lumbar support. Pull the handle
up to decrease lumbar support.
1-3

Head Restraints
The head restraints are adjustable. Press the button on
the side of the post to adjust the head restraint. Slide
the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint is closest to the top of your head. This position
reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
Passenger Folding Seatback
{CAUTION:
If you fold the seatback forward to carry longer
objects, such as skis, be sure any such cargo
is not near an air bag. In a crash, an inating
air bag might force that object toward a
person. This could cause severe injury or even
death. Secure objects away from the area in
which an air bag would inate. For more
information, see “Where Are the Air Bags?”
and “Loading Your Vehicle,” in the Index.
You can also fold the front passenger’s seatback down
to allow for more cargo space or as a temporary
table while the vehicle is stopped.
To fold the seatback down, do the following:
1. Make sure the seatback is at the most upright
position and locked.
2. Push forward on one of the levers located on either
side of the back of the passenger’s seatback.
1-6

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can’t properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:Move the child toward the center of the vehicle,
but be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the
child’s shoulder, so that in a crash the child’s upper
body would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults on page 1-28.
1-32

Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous at
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with the
seating surface against the back of the infant. The
harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash,
acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
1-38

What Makes an Air Bag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For
both frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the inator, which
inates the air bag. The inator, air bag, and related
hardware are all part of the air bag modules inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front
of the right front passenger and in the ceiling of
the vehicle, near the side windows.
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But the
frontal air bags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and many
side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion
is not toward the air bag.Side impact air bags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including frontal or near frontal collisions,
rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily because an
occupant’s motion is not toward those air bags. Air bags
should never be regarded as anything more than a
supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal collisions for the driver’s
and right front passenger’s frontal air bags, and
only in moderate to severe side collisions for the side
impact air bags.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inates?
After an air bag inates, it quickly deates, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the air bag inated.
Some components of the air bag module — the steering
wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, the instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s bag or the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows — will be hot for a short
time. The parts of the bag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be
some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deated air bags. Air bag ination doesn’t prevent the
driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor
does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
1-58

CAUTION: (Continued)

Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down or
stop your vehicle. Locking your doors can
help prevent this from happening.
There are several ways to lock and unlock your vehicle.
From the outside, use your key or remote keyless
entry system, if your vehicle is equipped with this
feature. Use the key to unlock the driver’s door by
turning the key in the lock toward the rear of the vehicle.
Turning the key back to center and then toward the
rear a second time will unlock all of the doors and the
liftgate. Turning the key back to center and then toward
the rear of the vehicle a third time will open the trunk
or liftgate.
From the inside, you can lock and unlock the door by
moving the manual lock knob down and up, or by using
the power door lock buttons.
Power Door Locks
With the power door locks,
you can unlock or lock all
the doors and the
liftgate on your vehicle
using either the driver’s or
front passenger’s door
lock switch.
Press on the top of the switch to unlock all the doors
and the liftgate. Press on the bottom of the switch to lock
all the doors and the liftgate.
The rear doors do not have power door lock switches.
Rear seat passengers must use the manual lock knob to
lock or unlock the rear doors.
2-11

Liftgate
To open the liftgate on the MAXX from the outside, use
the trunk button on the remote keyless entry transmitter
or the remote trunk release button, located on the
lower edge of the driver’s door.
Unlocking all doors using the power door unlock switch
or the remote keyless entry transmitter unlock button
will also unlock the liftgate. Locking all doors with
the power door lock switch or the remote keyless entry
transmitter lock button will also lock the liftgate.
You can also use the key in the driver’s door lock cylinder
to unlock and open the liftgate. Turn the driver’s door lock
cylinder toward the rear of the vehicle and back to the
center twice to unlock the liftgate. Turn the driver’s door
lock cylinder toward the rear of the vehicle and back to
the center three times to open the liftgate.
If the liftgate is unlocked, you can manually open it by
pushing on the touch pad switch located on the underside
of the liftgate trim panel, slightly to the right of center.
If none of these ways of opening the liftgate works, there
is a pull cable located under the body trim panel in
the liftgate area which will open it. This should be used
in case of emergency only, not for daily use.{CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to drive with the liftgate
open because carbon monoxide (CO) gas can
come into your vehicle. You can’t see or smell
CO. It can cause unconsciousness and even
death. If you must drive with the liftgate open
or if electrical wiring or other cable
connections must pass through the seal
between the body and the liftgate:
Make sure all other windows are shut.
Turn the fan on your heating or cooling
system to its highest speed and select the
control setting that will force outside air
into your vehicle. SeeClimate Control
System on page 3-21.
If you have air outlets on or under the
instrument panel, open them all the way.
SeeEngine Exhaust on page 2-33.
To close the liftgate, pull down on the openings, then
rmly shut the liftgate. Don’t drive with the liftgate open,
even slightly. SeeEngine Exhaust on page 2-33.
2-15