1997 Chevrolet Malibu 3.1 SFI from North America

Summary:

I would definitely buy this car again

Faults:

Nothing major has gone wrong just little things, brakes, things like that.

General Comments:

I bought this car off my mom about 21000 miles ago and the only thing I have to do to it is brakes and tires. I drive all my cars like race cars so I have put this car through its paces and it hasn't let me down yet. the one thing that bugs me is that it has a speed limiter at about 106MPH, but that's just because I am a speed demon.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st November, 2004

1997 Chevrolet Malibu LS 3.1 from North America

Summary:

Junk

Faults:

When I first purchased this car new, the front end squeaked loudly. It took months and 4 trips to the dealer until it was repaired.

Several items have gone out which I consider normal until this past year. First we started losing anti-freeze thru a bad intake manifold gasket costing $650 for repair (there is a law suit over GM's anti-freeze causing this problem). Then just a few weeks ago the cam shaft broke spinning the bearing in the block destroying the engine. The mechanic tells me the cam shaft is hollow and is the weak link in the engine block.

General Comments:

Don't buy this car with high miles (>100,000), it's a ticking time bomb waiting to blow!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th September, 2004

17th Nov 2004, 21:51

From what I have been reading it appears that the manifold gasket is a big problem on this car.

I have had mine blow twice; less than 2years apart.

I am fed up with this vehicle.

1997 Chevrolet Malibu 3.1 from North America

Summary:

I love my car; it is comfortable, reliable, easy to handle, and small

Faults:

When I received my vehicle it was a birthday gift. One month after I received it, there was a recall on it. It was for the front end.

After the recall, my engine light came on; when I went to have it checked they said it was a loose hose for the exhaust.

After it was fixed I continued to not have problems.

9 months later I had a blow out on my rear passenger side tire. It handled great considering the tire completely blew off the side rubber.

3 months later or 1 year from the time I have received the car, I now have an alternator and battery that has given up, which I have found will not cost that much to fix.

General Comments:

When I received this vehicle, my driver's seat was not able to adjust to a lay back position; but it does move back and forth. Which is at times an inconvenience due to all the driving I do.

I have to move to the passenger's side to lay down and rest.

I get great gas miles.

It runs and handles great.

I have done a lot of driving in the past year, and have gotten great gas miles. Not just locally, but long distance.

It does damage easy, I have found, lots of dents, I would not want an accident in this vehicle; but all dents pop back into place when you go to fix them.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th August, 2004

1997 Chevrolet Malibu 2.4 from North America

Faults:

I have more problems with my 1997 malibu than I can count I have replaced the brakes too many times I've lost track. The first couple of months I had it was in the dealership everyweek (headlights repeatedly had moisture in them, the speedometer and all the gauges would just drop, speaker replaced, brakes brakes and more brakes, AC goes on and off, oil leak and who knows what else. It was so bad to the point where the dealership purchased half and I paid the other half of an extended warranty. I just replaced the brakes, (rotors, pads, calipers) only after having them done a year ago. Now I have coolant leaking and they can't find out where it is coming from. The low coolant light came on yesterday! I have one more payment on this beast! I love the size and room of the malibu, but I will never buy another one again.! I'm buying foreign next time. I wish GM would recall these lemons!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st July, 2004

23rd Jul 2004, 10:19

Get the coolant leak fixed ASAP or you'll blow the engine. My '97 had the same exact problem. You have a leaking intake manifold and the coolant is slowly seeping into your engine. It's very, VERY common problem with the Malibu... as are a tone of other things. Due to the costly, mounting problems I had with my Malibu, I opted to trade it in. A couple dealerships weren't even interested in taking the car. They said they were 'lemons'... to put it mildly.

30th Jun 2014, 06:36

I am always amazed when people comment on how they need to keep replacing the brakes.

Number one, it's how you drive, not the car's fault.

Secondly almost everyone who buys brake pads gets the cheapest ones they can find. In many cases there are up to four grades of quality when it comes to purchasing brake pads. If you buy a $19 set of brake pads, then do NOT complain when they need to be replaced after 20,000 miles.