2008 Chevrolet Malibu Reviews

Minor annoyances:

Left rear passenger door lock actuator (solenoid) failed July '09 (a year and 5 months after purchase); door lock wouldn't function remotely - had to lock & unlock it manually.

Dealership replaced actuator the next day, no charge. They even provided quick curbside shuttle service to my house & back.

Driver door lock also acted up, but only for a couple days. It seems to have resolved itself - am watching it.

Parking brake pedal (foot-actuated) is kind of "iffy". It seems to be mounted too close to the left wall of the footwell (maybe the pedal itself is canted in a bit towards the left wall?), so when applying pressure, my foot slips off very easily, causing the pedal to snap back up loudly and violently with a tremendous "WHACK!", after having gone about 2/3 of the way down. The pedal always feels like it's veering off course when being set.

After that, the parking brake alternates between a "mushy" feel, and then it will present normal pressure while being set. It "free-wheels" over the ratchet mechanism, then it fully engages it, with each cycle. It's quite odd.

Excellent, trouble-free 6 speed automatic transmission, with steering wheel-mounted manual shift paddles. Only problem with the tranny in automatic mode is the soft shifts, both up and down. Somewhat hesitant and balky, so the car needs to be prodded. Needs a new shifting program.

In manual mode, the car really comes alive and feels quite sprightly, especially in turns.

One other minor annoyance, which is really irrelevant: this car's top speed is electronically governed to a paltry 117 mph. Why? Most sedans for the American market are governed to 130, and I'm not sure I grasp even that rationale. Sedans = more potential passengers = more potential deaths than coupes?

With 252 bhp on tap, and with a low drag coefficient, I'm quite certain this car can easily top 145 mph.

In all, I love this car. Beautiful design, inside and out. Great lines. I've had owners of new Audis, Jags & BMWs buttonhole me at gas stations, asking things like: "how do you like it?" and "wanna trade?" It gets looks wherever I go. I just notice. It's a handsome car.

I picked my '08 LTZ 'Bu off the dealer lot in Feb. 2008, 1.6 miles on the odometer. Color is "Red Jewel Tintcoat". It came off the Kansas City assembly line as part of a second, early 2008 improved production batch (the late '07 batch apparently had some issues).

Well-appointed interior, excellent, powerful, eight speaker Bose audio with sub, 6 disk CD changer, iPod/mp3 input, Sirius-XM.

Love the heated, 6-way adjustable leather seats (I have the brown/mocha two-tone interior theme). Love the blue lagoon interior accent lighting.

It's very comfortable, very fast (0-60 in 6.5 seconds), and gets reasonable fuel economy, around 16/25 mpg city/hwy. I wouldn't trade the 3.6L V6 engine for the world.

Last September '09 I drove three friends from Bethesda, MD to midtown Manhattan in just under 3 hours and 45 minutes. We left Bethesda on a Monday morning at 4:30 AM and we pulled into Times Square at 8:12 AM on the nose. I used the manual paddle shift mode most of the way. We literally blasted up there. My friends call it "The Fun Car".

Warped brake rotors - dealer fixed under warranty.

Door seals rubbing paint off pillar - dealer says it is normal. I call B.S. I filed a complaint with GM, but it has gone no where. This is a common problem, check the Chevy Malibu message forum and you will see.

My Malibu LS with the 2.4 liter is a nice car for the money. It's not fancy, not that fast or all that great in handling, but for $18,500 it's the best car you can buy.

I bought this car to haul the family around, and it does that very well. Two car seats fit fine in the back, even those space robbing rear facing infant seats.

My 2yr old son sits behind me with plenty of room for him, and plenty of room for me in the drivers seat.

Being 6-1, I had a hard time finding a car that could do this.

BTW, a Colt 1911 will fit in the dash clam shell storage compartment.