2005 Chevrolet Malibu Base 2.2 from North America

Summary:

Great getup and go car

Faults:

Battery died recently, but I do not think it is a problem because my wife has drained it 3 times before.

Nothing else.

General Comments:

Frankly its reliability surprised me. We heard bad things about domestic cars when we were buying our first new cars, but not on this one. There is no single defect on this car for a 5-year ownership. It is still on its original tires and brakes.

Handles well. Comfortable on short trips, but not on long ones. Acceleration is acceptable because of the 2.2L engine.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th January, 2010

2005 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx LT 3.5L from North America

Summary:

Great family car, fun to drive and reliable

Faults:

This car has been great. We have had to replace the front disc rotors 3 times, but not sure if this is to do with the car, or the fact that we drive in the mountains everyday. The MPG reading on the computer could be more accurate. It is usually off by 1-2mpg compared to my calculated MPG.

General Comments:

We use this car for everything, hauling the two dogs and kiddo, camping, road trips, daily driving, etc. We have the Malibu Maxx and the hatchback is great (they should never have discontinued it), I have been very impressed with the amount of storage it has. Easy to use with the car seats.

Good on gas, have gotten as good as 34 MPG on highway and average closer to 27-31 MPG. Also is surprisingly quick and fun to drive, not a sports car, but can go up the mountains no problem.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th November, 2009

2005 Chevrolet Malibu LT from North America

Faults:

I was in a roll over at 55 mph. Air bags didn't go off. Lucky I've always used my seat belt. I've found that I'm not the only person who has had this problem. Approx 48 head on no-deployment of air bags and 75 roll over at high speed - 55 mph with no deployment.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 20th August, 2009

20th Aug 2009, 11:25

Oh my god! No air-bags in head-on collisions and roll-overs?! This is ridiculous! I always knew Chevy built crap cars, but this is insane!

20th Aug 2009, 11:51

For your rating of 1 unreliability, was it because of the no air bags or over time repairs?

23rd Oct 2010, 15:47

I have a transmission problem with my Malibu 2005.

8th Feb 2011, 17:54

My girlfriend just bought a Malibu... God help her.

8th May 2017, 14:44

The air bag impact sensors are in the front of the vehicle. If you roll the car, there is no impact to the front end, so air bags don't deploy. Some cars have very sensitive deployment. I saw a Ford Escort that hit a pheasant; only the grille was broken, but both bags deployed and the vehicle was junk because of the cost of replacement.

2005 Chevrolet Malibu LS 3.5L V6 from North America

Summary:

2005 Chevy Malibu, good car if not for the electric steering

Faults:

No serious failures mechanically or otherwise on this Malibu. Cruise control has failed to work for more than 4 months at a time since I have owned it.

General Comments:

Ergonomically I have no complaints behind the wheel. Controls for everything are just where they belong.

One thing I should point out: Trying to eliminate blind-spots with side-view mirrors is well-nigh impossible in the 2004-2007 Malibu!

One weekend I lost an entire 6-wheel BOX TRUCK in my blind-spot, but was able to accelerate ahead of it to merge. The mirrors I feel are too far "back" from the front of the car. I feel like I have to turn my head too far to see them, taking my focus off the road ahead and my rear-view mirror.

The hands down best mirrors I ever had on a car were in my 96 Ford Contour. I saw everything seamlessly in there!

The steering. Ahh yes. Variable-assist electric power steering. The worst automotive invention of the last 10 years! The best description of the electric power steering on this Malibu is "mushy". The wheel doesn't feel nearly tight enough and it's sometimes hard to know if the wheel is centered. This form of power steering is replacing good old hydraulic big time in many Asian and European cars. Instead of trying to save fuel by re-inventing power steering, auto builders should look elsewhere to improve fuel economy.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th December, 2008

6th Dec 2008, 20:31

You will have a blind spot on any car. I guarantee you.

28th Dec 2008, 18:57

GM's electric power steering has a checkered record. There are apparently two failure modes, and yours may have the first: excessive play in the steering column. The second involves grease contamination of the steering sensors. See the answer at

http://www.justanswer.com/chevy/17qp6-bought-2005-chevy-malibu-months-ago.html for more on this. Repair consists of replacing the steering column with a new version (same reference).

7th Oct 2009, 01:17

My daughter has a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. She just had her first failure of her power steering. The steering started making a bump or thump noise whenever she went around a corner.

Last night here idiot light came on, and there was a light on the dash that said power steering with a figure of a wrench in it. She didn't go very far and she lost her steering so the car was no longer under her control. She is a cop for the county we live in, so it isn't cuz she doesn't know how to drive.

I checked another site called Auto Beef and found 48 people who have had the same thing happen to them. The dealers don't seem to know what's wrong either. All they can think of is to put in a new rack & pinon steering assembly for $1000.00. And from what I've read, that doesn't fix the problem.

I can't see how GM can get out of a law-suit if some-one gets killed or crippled for life on account of their junk electric power steering. I suppose they would file bankruptcy again.

Mad in Wisconsin.