14th Jan 2003, 14:05

I've had my 1998 Malibu for two years now with little problems. I've enjoyed the way it drives, its gas mileage and comfort. I'm about to take it in for what appears to be an antifreeze leak and was looking for similar experiences/suggestions.

I also have the A/C switching on/off at will though. It has been easy enough to live with, but has anyone had luck fixing this? Suggestions are welcome.

20th Jan 2003, 09:57

How funny. I thought that I had been the only one with a 1998 Chevy Malibu Lemon Model in the driveway!!! I too have experienced the constantly worn brakes, bad rotors, bad bearings, A/C switching on & off at it's leisure, fan switch #1 & #2 not working.

This weekend on a 30 degree day, the car wouldn't start. It was 24 hours before it would run. The motor would turn over, but wouldn't start & none of the lights on the dash would work. Anyone had this happen. It seems to be running OK now (knock on a lot of wood). I am sure that will change soon.

I would love to try to do something about this. Any class action lawsuits out there? I'd love to find a Malibu Haters group. I would rather spend money on dues for the group than the next brake job!!!

If anyone has any advice on the previous weekend trouble (simply wouldn't turn over & no electronics worked for 24 hours), please email me at ccampbell@greshammillwork.com.

12th Feb 2003, 14:01

My husband works for Terminix (pest control) and has to drive the 1998 Malibu (company car), he also had the switching of the a/c buttons, he took it to the dealer and they fixed it after four days and $850.00 was the cost. They added and updated switch, of course Fleet paid for this, but I wanted to let you know the cost for this problem. I drive a 1991 Ford Probe and that has less problems than his Malibu. He's had it a year and Fleet has serviced the brakes twice because of it sitting so low to the ground and hitting ice,the break lines broke because of this. Its been in the shop at least nine times. The other Malibu Terminix owned the engine went at 110,000 miles. They are about to do away with this Malibu as well.

22nd Mar 2003, 17:56

We bought a 99 Malibu in January of 2003, and haven't been able to drive it more than 20 km from home. If we drive it any further I am afraid that we wouldn't make it back. The front brakes seem to stay on and heat up until the rotors warp and make the whole car shake and vibrate. It is going in for it's third brake job to fix this problem. I am very seriously thinking of selling this car unless I can find some aftermarket parts to fix the brakes.

24th Mar 2003, 11:47

I purchased a used 1998 Chevy Malibu in January of 2003. After using the vehicle for short drives here in the city the rear brakes, motor mounts, and front speakers need to be replaced. I am not very happy with the Chevy Malibu, but it is interesting to see so many of them on the street.

24th Mar 2003, 14:29

I own a 1998 Malibu LS too that I have been having problems with. I did have the a/c switch changed because numbers one and two didn't work, but now it is fine. However, I have not ever had problems with my brakes. I guess I am lucky in that aspect. But I have a totally different problem. Here it is.

My Malibu has 66,000 on and I've had it in the shop about 4 times now for misfire problems. I changed plugs, wires, ignition coil, and fuel filter. I also had the motor cleaned with a special vaccum by a GM Dealer. The misfire has gone away somewhat, but still does it. It could be a fuel injector that is bad, but the mechanic says they all test good.

But now I notice that my car starts hard. It's like not all the cylinders fire right. It turns over and kicks a few extra times, it just isn't normal. Has anybody else experienced this or heard of any of this at all?

3rd Apr 2003, 09:27

I must be one of the lucky ones. I bought a 1998 Malibu back in Oct of 1997 and have not had any problems with it. The only problem I have encountered is the fan stopped working on 1 & 2 which is how I found this site. That just happened a couple of weeks ago. I have not had any brake problems. I wonder if all these bad reviews is the norm or if it is only the unhappy people who have had problems that we hear from. It's kind of like the nightly news which only reports the bad things in the world not the good.

3rd Apr 2003, 12:38

I bought a used 1998 Malibu in January 2000. It only had 19,000 miles on it. At the time, I thought it was a great bargain. Boy, was I wrong. Within months of my purchase, every time it rained, the carpet became saturated with water. I had a cracked manifold (I believe that is what they said). Luckily, I had a warranty and it was repaired. Next my brakes had to be replaced, then the alternator died on me in the dead of winter, my a/c started turning off and on, my electric windows quit working (turned out to be a loose wire), my fan control won't work on 1 & 2 and now I have an antifreeze leak. I took my car in the shop over the leak and it turns out it is the water pump, which will cost over $600 to repair!!! Seeing as I'm a poor working stiff, I just don't know how I'm going to be able to repair this latest problem.

14th Apr 2003, 13:08

I have owned my Chevy Malibu since October of 2000 and within 3 months started having problems with it. I too thought it was just me until I found this site. It is actually pretty frightening that so many people have the exact same problems.

Anyway, short list of my problems. Not even 3 months after I bought the car, I had to replace the brakes and calipers (??) My brake lights were stuck on. The would not shut off. My windshield wipers were stuck on. Then, the passenger side stopped working completely. So now, I have to take the fuse in and out when it rains. (This is very dangerous when there is unexpected rain) My ABS light started coming on and while it was on, I could not roll my windows up or down. Also, while it was on, my air conditioner/heater would not blow at all. When the light went off everything would work again. I have had the problem with settings 1 and 2 not working since the day I bought the car. I just failed my emissions test because the EVAP cannister failed. (Chevy told me that this is most likely just a loose gas cap, but could potentially cost 600 to replace the EVAP system) And finally, my ABS light has stopped coming on altogether, but now the windows will not roll up or down and the air conditioner will not blow at all... not at the highest setting. I think it was 150 degrees in my car at lunch today. To top it all off, I have 2 more years on my loan.