Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS AND HEADLIGHTS FAILED WHEN THE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS WERE ACTIVATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.
THOUGHT THIS WAS THE CAR FOR ME. WRONG. AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR THE FOLLOWING THINGS HAVE GONE WRONG AND MOST SEEM DANGEROUS. NO WAY TO CONTROL HEADLIGHTS .. DRIVING AT NIGHT AT 55 MPH, LIGHTS ALL SHUT OFF THE INDICATOR LIGHTS ALSO STOP WORKING AT RANDOM TIMES IGNITION DOES NOT ACCEPT KEY EVERY TIME RESULTING IN LEAVING A SPARE KEY IN THE IGNITION AND HOPE IT STARTS. IF NOT I'M REQUIRED TO WAIT 15 MINUTES BEFORE STARTING OR LONGER. THE TRACTION SYSTEM NO LONGER WORKS, ALONG WITH CRUISE, OR STEERING CONTROLS TOTAL POWER LOST TO STEERING WHEEL, HOPE THIS DOESN'T AFFECT THE AIRBAG. I HAVE THE SUPERCHARGED VERSION, THE ENGINE CAUGHT FIRE AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. NEEDLESS TO SAY IT IS NO LONGER SUPERCHARGED. NOT SO SURE ABOUT THIS ISSUE, HOWEVER WHEN PUMPING GAS THE PUMP WILL KICK OFF EVERY HALF GALLON PUMPED INTO TANK. ANOTHER FIRE ISSUE? *TR
AS DRIVING AT 45 MPH DURING RUSH HOUR, I USED MY INDICATOR TO CHANGE LANES. THIS IS A ROAD THAT HAS 3 LANES. I WAS CHANGING LANES INTO THE MIDDLE. I HAD MY STEREO ON AT A NORMAL VOLUME WITH MY BABY IN THE CAR. AS I STARTED TO MOVE INTO THE MIDDLE LANE SO DID ANOTHER CAR FROM THE 3RD LANE. I WAS BEING HONKED AT BY SEVERAL CARS. AS I TRIED TO RECOVER, I WAS ALMOST HIT BY THE CAR MOVING INTO THE MIDDLE LANE AND ALMOST CAUSED A BIGGER ACCIDENT BY TRYING TO RECOVER BACK INTO THE LANE I WAS IN. IT WAS AT THIS POINT I REALIZED MY INDICATORS HAD SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. AFTER 20 MINUTES OF DRIVING THE INDICATORS SUDDENLY CAME BACK ON. FOUR DAYS LATER I WAS IN THE SAME SITUATION. NAVIGATING THE ROADS WITHOUT INDICATORS. OUT OF PANIC I HIT THE HAZARDS. THE LIGHTS ALL TURNED ON WITH THE HAZARD BUTTON. I TURNED IT OFF AND NOW THE INDICATORS WERE WORKING AGAIN. WELL THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A ONE TIME THING. EVERY TIME THE INDICATORS HAVE GONE OUT SINCE, NOTHING WORKS TO GET THEM WORKING AGAIN. *TR
2004 MONTE CARLO FIRST LOST TEMP GUAGE AND HEAT/BLOWER THEN LOST AT TIMES SPEEDOMETER AND TACH THEN LOST BOTH THEN LOST GAS GUAGE ALL BUTTONS ON STEERING WHEEL AND DASH-RADIO, CRUISE CONTROL HAVE MELTED AND BURNED OFF I AM NOW LOSING MY HEADLIGHTS AND IN RESPONSE TO THIS I SLAM ON MY BRAKES. NO ACCIDENT YET NO FIRE YET PLEASE WE ARE ENTITLED TO OUR RECALL TOO THANK YOU *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ILLUMINATED WHEN BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO OPERATE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND ENGAGED THE LOW BEAMS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE DIMMER SWITCH. THE CONTACT PLANNED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO. THE CONTACT STATED THE HEADLIGHTS BEGAN TO TURN ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. THE CONTACT HAD TO TURN ON THE HIGH BEAMS IN ORDER FOR THE HEADLIGHTS TO REMAIN ON CONSISTENTLY. THE DEALER STATED THE COMPUTER IN THE VEHICLE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN, BUT THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 100,000.
AS I WAS DRIVING MY 2004 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS , LAST NIGHT, I OPERATED THE STEERING COLUMN MOUNTED HEADLIGHT DIMMER CONTROL. THE HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT. AFTER WIGGLING THE LEVER THEY CAME BACK ON BUT I WAS UNABLE TO SWITCH THEM FROM HIGH BEAM TO LOW BEAM. I'VE SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND FIND NUMEROUS INSTANCES OF THIS OCCURRING. THANKFULLY THERE WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT RELATED TO MY INCIDENT. *TR
I HAVE A COMPLAINT WITH THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH ON MY 2004 CHEVY MONTE CARLO. WHEN TURNING HIGH BEAM ON AND OFF THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOOSE CONNECTION THERE AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES MULTIPLE TIMES TO CHANGE THE BEAM SELECTION. OCCASIONALLY MY HEADLIGHTS WILL GO OUT COMPLETELY WHEN THIS HAPPENS. I DON'T FEEL THAT THIS PART SHOULD BE WORN FOR THE AMOUNT OF DRIVING I DO IN THE EVENING WHERE I WOULD USE THIS FUNCTION. MY VEHICLE HAS 86,289 MILES ON IT AND AGAIN, MAJORITY WOULD BE DAYTIME DRIVING. THIS PROBLEM STARTED APPROXIMATELY 1 YEAR AGO AND HAS SINCE. *TR
WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT WITH HEADLIGHTS ON AND SWITCHING FROM HIGH BEAM TO LOW BEAM USING STEERING MOUNTED SWITCH THE HEAD LIGHTS WOULD GO OUT. THE LIGHTS WOULD ONLY COME BACK ON AFTER REPEATED SWITCHING OF THE HIGH BEAM SWITCH. *TR
MY 2004 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS S/C WHICH I PURCHASED NEW HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING POOR DIMMER SWITCH OPERATION FOR OVER A YEAR. THE ISSUE IS THAT WHEN CLICKING FROM LOW TO HIGH BEAM OR VICE VERSA, THE SWITCH HAS A SPUNGY FEEL LIKE IT WANTS TO BRAKE AND THE LIGHTS WILL NOT ACTIVATE TO DESIRED HIGH OR LOW. OFTEN TAKES SEVERAL TRIES BEFORE LIGHTS DIM OR GO TO HIGH BEAM. SOMETIMES THEY GO OUT BRIEFLY. GM WAS CONTACTED AND I WAS GIVEN A CASE NUMBER 71-690473858. THEY INSTRUCTED ME TO HAVE LOCAL DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSIS PROBLEM. DEALERSHIP DETERMINED IT WAS AN INTERNAL FAULT IN THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH. QUOTED PRICE OF $536.18 PLUS $126.00 LABOR TO REPAIR. I WAS CHARGED $22.47 FOR THIS DIAGNOSIS. GM WANTED TO SETTLE FOR 50% OF COST TO ME. I DID NOT ACCEPT BECAUSE I CANNOT AFFORD THIS NOR DO I BELIEVE IT IS DUE TO MY USE OF SWITCH.I FEEL IT IS GM'S DEFECT AND THEY SHOULD REPAIR WITHOUT COST. TALKING WITH CO-WORKERS, I HAVE FOUND 3 OTHERS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. 2 OWN MONTE CARLOS AND 1 OWNS A MALIBU. ALSO, ATLEAST 1 OF OUR GM PASSENGER VANS AT WORK WHICH IS A 2007 HAS THE SAME ISSUE. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH GM MULTIFUNCTION SWITCHES NO MATTER WHAT VEHICLE. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT WHEN HE SWITCHED THE HEADLIGHTS FROM HIGH TO LOW BEAM, THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. IN 2005, THE DEALER COULD NOT FIND ANY FAILURES WITH THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER, IT RECURRED THREE DAYS LATER. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 40,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 10,000.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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