12th May 2009, 12:36
"If anyone reading this knows what the random sunroof noise could be, will you leave a comment? Thanks!"
I had a friend who had a similar problem with the sunroof on his Pontiac Grand Am. It WAS a rock (a very small one) that had somehow managed to get inside the cavity containing the sunroof. I can only assume that it somehow bounced in there wile the sunroof was in a partially-open position. The noise was amplified inside the car and it was louder than you'd expect from a little rock.
The bad news is, the dealer had to fix it and it cost a lot. It's a real hassle getting into the workings of the sunroof. You might just want to turn up your stereo and live with it.
21st Apr 2010, 14:35
Original owner, here for another update.
My Maxx is now sitting at 134,000, and is starting to go down hill. It seems to be misfiring constantly, when sitting at an idle, and the gas mileage has gone WAY down hill. This is after having the manifold gasket, and both axle seals replaced in January.
Fortunately, we purchased a 2010 Toyota Prius the day we took the Malibu into the shop. The Prius is our main car, now. The Malibu pretty much only is driven for me to go to work. I'm hoping that it lasts a while longer, but I'm thinking it may be time for the car to go bye-bye...
16th Oct 2012, 15:17
I have a 2005 Malibu and it's had its share of electrical problems. One of the worst is not being able to shift the car into gear after the car has been parked. I've had it in to the shop on 3 different occasions, and they can't seem to get it right either. It's something in the panel box near the passenger side. If you take the panel off and push on things, it seems to correct the problem. My guess is something is working its way loose. Very frustrating. Wouldn't recommend buying this vehicle to anyone.
11th May 2009, 21:26
Update: I have now had the car for almost ten months, and am sitting at 117800 miles (I've now put about 22,000 miles on it) and am still loving the car.
The only issues that I can find is that one of my remotes no longer works at all, and on the other I cannot use the remote start, as for some reason that button sets off the alarm! Other than the problems with the remote, there is a rather odd noise coming from the general vicinity of the sunroof, whether open or closed, that sounds like a rock is smashing into the side of my car.
I've done a complete tune up on the car since I got it last July, and let me tell you, it is a royal pain to find spark plug wires for this car. Not a single parts store in town had them (including the dealership) and I had to drive an hour to Portland to get them. The car is still handling well.
If anyone reading this knows what the random sunroof noise could be, will you leave a comment? Thanks!