1998 Chevrolet Malibu Reviews - Page 8 of 48

My head gasket blew at 74,000 and I took it to a shop and the cost was $1200 and at 99,000 the front struts went and back to the shop $650.00 and at 101000 the front driver side hub went and the ABS light came on took to shop 250.00 rear break lines and fuel lines leaking at 101456 and sending unit cost 700.00 and at 104000 driver side window broke off the track and window switch don't work on driver side and transmission is slip pin and its hard shifting into the gears. Its I nice car, but built poorly I would not recommend anyone to buy a 99' Chevy Malibu!!!

This car is nice and drives well, but there are to manny problems with this model and I have a 99' Malibu LS!

Trunk gets moisture inside. Still don't know where from. It's not a lot, just some on the deck lid, like you get a fogging effect for windows.

FIXED:

Theft system goes off now and then. The car won't start for 10 minutes. "Cut yellow wire from key switch and put it on a switch". Theft light will be on, but you can start your car, then flip the switch and turn it off.

Blower for the heat and A/C stopped working on the #1 & 2 setting. Need to replace the resistor.

FIXED:

A/C light goes off and on by itself. When it is off, the A/C blows hot. "Took the controls out and apart, cleaned with alcohol and traced the contacts with pencil lead; now it works fine".

The A/C clutch will not disengage fully when the A/C is not running, and makes a lot of noise.

Grinding on the clutch needs replaced, but A/C still works great. I'll fix it when I no longer have cold air in the summer.

P.S. in the winter you will hear it more, because it is cold already, and the clutch will not engage unless it warms up outside above 60 degrees.

FIXED:

CD player didn't work. Just keeps saying ERROR. "Took stereo out and apart. Found the ribbon connector was broke. Soldered a small wire from point A to point B where the ribbon was broke, and now the CD player works fine".

FIXED:

The gas gauge was flipped all the way around to the little tab below "E". Took a small drill bit and drilled a small hole thru the plastic just under the gauge, and used a paperclip to gently pull the needle over the tab, and now the gauge works fine. Just don't disconnect the battery; if you do, it will do it again.

FIXED:

Check engine light came on. Took to Auto Zone. Had them check it. They said the gas cap, so I got a new one; solved the problem.

Great car overall.

GM could have done better with the idiosyncrasies, like the A/C light goes off and on.

Theft system not working properly.

The blower resistor.

Gas gauge flipping around when the battery is replaced.

But I have to say I have seen worse cars, and for the most part, with a little time you can fix most of the issues yourself. All you have to do is know what to ask and where to ask.

Here's the problem with this car. You've GOT to be constantly checking every little thing and doing all the necessary mainteinance. I bought my 98 Malibu about a year and a half ago and I've already dropped $850 to recondition the transmission. It needed to be done, but the true problem, I came to find out, is that the motor mounts are going bad and need to be replaced. Hence, the "chugging" when going up a hill. If you own this car, yes, you're screwed eventually. Your best bet is to save up a couple thousand dollars, clean up the Malibu really nicely. Maybe spring for a wax and an interior shampoo and then... sell it. SELL IT BEFORE IT BREAKS! Until then, change the oil regularly with a good high mileage oil. Check your fluid levels constantly and make sure you do the inexpensive upkeep. (eg. spark plugs, hoses, oil change, air filter, brakes) Oh yea, the brakes have an intermittent design problem and you will have to be changing them every six months or so. My suggestion is, you learn how to do it yourself and buy the lifetime warranty braked from Auto Zone. Even without the warranty, you can get away with changing them for under $30 if you do it yourself. It's not hard. Good luck and hopefully GM will give us all a gift basket or something.