Headlights not turning on

[basement]

this is a 2002 malibu my son drives. He was driving at night when the headlights went out. All he's been able to tell me is there are no Driving lights and the low beams do not work. The only way to get any light is if he holds the dimmer switch on the column in the 'high' position, not sure if he means fully forward or holding back towards the driver.
There was a short history of the blinkers not always working, intermittent. I've asked him to pound on the steering column, and fish around under the dash while he pushes and tugs on the wiring.
I'm thinking what with the past history with the blinkers that the cause is a bad switch in the column.

What are your thoughts? And if we feel it is the switch how easy is it to replace?

I won't know more until he brings it home for Thanksgiving break.
Thank you

[DrivenDaily]

Check the bulbs - they could be burned out.

Check the fuses under the hood and the relay(s). On Gen7 models there is a fuse and relay for each headlight, not sure if yours has the same or just one serving both lights.

If he was pulling the stalk toward the driver then he was simply using the FTP (flash to pass) feature. It tells the BCM that you want high beams and energizes the relays for the high beams but does not turn on the running lights. If the lows are on it will leave them on but it doesn't turn them on.

If the fuses, relays, and bulbs are good then it has to be either the switch or the wiring, as you already pointed out.