14th May 2007, 13:36

I have a 1997 Malibu LS I bought it With 94,000 miles on it, now has 144,000 on it. I drive 40 to 70 miles a day with it. Never had any of these problems. The car runs great! So maybe the comments on this page are from people who think a car should be perfect. Maybe they need to take better care of there car! I love the car, and I'm looking for another one, it is a poor mans dream...

15th Sep 2007, 22:50

I have a 2001 Malibu LS. I bought it as a one year old used car with 29,000 miles on it (program car). I always skip the first year's depreciation. It now has over 242,000 miles on it and I'm finally ready to get a new car. The number of times I've taken it to mechanic: One! It turned out to be something I could have done myself (fuel filter).

Yes, perhaps the brakes needed to be replaced slightly more often than average, but that's cheap if you do it yourself, and it's quite easy with disc brakes.

So, that's 213,000 miles (that I drove) for $12,000...I'd call that a bargain.

17th Sep 2007, 18:12

This is an update to 17th Feb 2007, 07:14.

Gas mileage has actually gotten slightly better. I average around 19 mpgs all city driving, 24 mpg mixed, and about 30 mpg all highway. I now have about 125,000 and still no major engine problems. I do have a piston slap when the car first cranks, but it's harmless and will go away after the car warms up. I asked my mechanic about the intake gasket, and mine are fine. He also went on to say that while it is common, it isn't as widespread as people will have you believe. There are a few electrical glitches (like the dash flickering randomly), but they're so minor it isn't worth fixing. I have no problems with the interior except it's bland and boring (just the way I like it).

One major thing. The brakes? Yep, they suck, and that is an understatement! They do not last very long, and you do have to get rotor work done. I'm looking at alternatives to get them fixed. The car looks fine, the paint is still good looking and I look foward to keeping this car for a very long time. In fact when the engine becomes ancient, I'll have it restored I like this car that much!

24th Dec 2007, 21:50

The Malibu is basically a piece of junk. Save the money that you would have put into repairs and use it on a more expensive used Japanese car. My family has owned Ford and Chevy most of my childhood. As an adult, I made the switch to Nissan and Honda. The difference is astonishing. Sure, you pay a little more upfront. But I have yet to be stranded by a Japanese car, nor am I taking the car into the shop every two months. I hate to seem anti-American, because I definitely am not, but when I comes to automobiles my experience has shown to steer clear of Ford and Chevy.

25th Jan 2008, 07:32

I own a 2001 Malibu 3.1, Brakes are a huge problem with this car, My husband is a Mechanic THANK GOD! He has had to change the rotors/pads almost yearly, He said he has NEVER seen a problem like this. Another BIG problem with this car is the anti-theft system. I never know if my car will start. I have had it to the dealer and they replaced the ignition switch and that worked for about a month, then problem resurfaced. I have read on the internet this is a HUGE defect in the anti-theft system, but GM refuses to fix the problem. The only thing you can do is turn the ignition to ON for 10min or until the anti-theft light goes out, turn ignition to OFF for 5 sec then the car will start. This is not only a pain, but it could be LIFE THREATENING in an emergency situation. I read in a previous post about people rushing to sue, When GM refuses to fix an obvious problem sometimes that is the ONLY solution to get things right.

3rd Feb 2008, 13:16

I own a 2001 Chevy Malibu LS and didn't have any problems with it until recently. All of the sudden it's one problem after another. The blow does not work on setting 1 & 2. I don't think it's fair that there are so many people with this problem and yet Chevy refuses to recall this. My check engine light has been on for about a month now. My temperature gauge has now just stopped working. The mechanics say they haven't really seen a problem like this. I like my car, but it's now becoming a headache more than anything. Looking to trade off.

5th Feb 2008, 00:24

Well uh my Malibu LS 2001 has some problems with the battery; not sure if is the alternator or battery itself, but the ignition was replaced and I HAVE NO REVERSE! My transmisson is crap.

Today I went to gas up, and went in and came out and my car did not start, so I called for a boost. Yeah, this car causes a lot of trouble, and also I have the engine light on and park light.

I don't know if I should even fix it any more. I was thinking of putting gas on it and blowing it up (joke). No, but it was a idea.

13th Mar 2008, 01:46

My cousin bought a used 2001 Chevy Malibu, 3.1 V6.

He has had the intake manifold gasket replaced, he has had trouble with the coolant temperature, and he has had a new computer installed and programmed.

After installing a new battery, the keyless entry no longer works, and the latest problem - while driving down the road 55-60 mph, the rpm (randomly) sticks between 1800 to 2300, and does not return to normal idle. I disconnected the cruise control cable from the throttle, but the problem still remained.

The rpm stuck again at 2300rpm, we pulled off the road and pop the hood, and to my amazement, the throttle was fully closed and slack in the accelerator cable, with engine still running at 2300rpm. Computer or Electronic Advanced Timing??? The only way we could get the rpm to drop back to normal idle, each time after rpm would stick, was to switch car off and restart the engine. I told him I believe he had purchased a LEMON!