2000 Chevrolet Malibu from North America - Comments

There is no tranny fluid to check, or so the original manual says.

When my father-in-law went into the nursing home, my wife and I bought his 2000 Malibu from the estate. It had 28k on it! It has been a good car. Two years later, at 42k:

I replaced the serpentine belt because everyone recommended it.

I asked Grease Monkey to flush the radiator and they said it was not called for until 60k. whatever.

I replaced the front pads.

A new fuel pump. $900 (ouch to a guy with no job.)

But just in the last few months the electrical system is acting weird. Service engine and/or check engine comes on and then goes away for a few days.

There are problems with the indicator lights and gas gauge that are only predictable in their unpredictability. Sometimes the whole panel lights up and then the problems go away. The gas gauge is usually part of the problem. The "auto theft" light comes on. What is that anyway?

This is freaking me out, but the car continues to run great.

I go the source of all knowledge, the internet, and find out that my car is a lemon. I will keep my fingers crossed regarding my good luck.

I am inclined to try to ignore the problems with the dashboard lights. John.

I had the surge problem on my 2000 Malibu V6 auto transmission. I tried a lot of things; replaced O2 sensor, replaced MAP sensor, checked for vacuum leaks, etc with no luck. Finally found the problem. Dirty mass air flow sensor. Easy cheap fix too.

The mass air flow sensor is located between the air cleaner and throttle body. Very easy to remove with a couple screw drivers and a T-20 TORX security bit. Buy a can of MAF sensor cleaner available at any auto parts store. Spray the sensor and allow to dry. Caution: DO NOT TOUCH the sensor. Very delicate and it will cost $120 or so to replace.

We have a 2000 Malibu since new now has 143k on it.

Have had all the problems listed.

The surging has never been resolved. The brakes are every 8 mos for us. The rapping has never stopped even though we went the "replace the pistons route". The hazard switch was a recall by GM. (will fix your turn signal problems) Not only are the radio numbers worn off but half don't light up. The shifter also doesn't light up. I go to work at 2am any idea how annoying that is. Leaking coolant yes its the manifold. The latest is a valve tap, that is only there sometimes. Not the same as the one when you first start it. I will however say the car has never "died" on me and left me sit anywhere.

I have a 2000 Chevy Malibu, and it has stopped right in the middle of driving on the interstate twice, and on the street twice. It just stops having power and cuts off. It does not jerk, shake or anything like that, it just dies out. It will start back up after a few minutes, and go for a while and then cut off again.

I am at my wits end as to what is wrong. Has anyone experienced this with their Chevy Malibu year 2000? I have had it towed home simply because I was afraid to drive it. Help me please anyone, who may have this same problem. On occasion an orange light that says ABS has come on, but not when it has stopped.

Had been wondering for a long time why my coolant had been disappearing with no traces under the car. For those who don't know there is a class action suit that has been filed against GM Canada for their faulty Intake Manifold Gasket (IMG). You can read more on it here. http://www.classproceedings.ca/present%20cases%20gm.htm

I went by a dealer this past Friday and found out the my piston slap, which has grown excessively louder since around 90,000km (now just over 94,000) has now turned into a piston replacement/engine job for around $3,400.00 (with taxes). The good news is the IMG will be repaired when the work is done!

Here are reasons how and why it happens plus a link to a GM technical service bulletin stating that to fix it the pistons need to be replaced, but it won't effect the life of the engine (or 1/4 life in my case). http://www.pistonslap.com/whatisit.htm

I will be going after GM to cover some of these costs (which I think is only fair since the car is at 90 plus K).

The alternative would be to end up paying for it all and never buying another GM vehicle again.

How's them apples GM?

****************

IMPORTANT.

Lawsuit has now been settled. Court condemning GM to reimburse customers. Get your receipts and claim GM. GM reimburses up to 2,000.00 $.ALL MALIBU OWNERS HAVING A SERIAL # WITH A J CAN CLAIM.

I have had a 2000 Malibu since 2004. Currently has 105,000 miles.

The problems I have had are:

- Replaced starter

- Coolant 'disappears'

- Turn signals worked intermittently for several months, then stopped working

- Taillights malfunctioned twice

- Cruise control stopped working (coincided with taillight malfunction)

- I have had the engine surge. It only happened once.

- 'ABS' and 'theft' lights occasionally come on while driving. They usually don't come back on if I restart the car.

- Stock CD player will only play if CDs are flawless (not even minor scratches), and won't work on very hot or cold days.

I had a similar problem with the car (2000 Malibu) just cutting off, and after a while (anywhere between 10 min. to a couple days) it would start again. I finally took it in and they found the fuel pump was going bad. If it dies and you turn the key to off and then to ON you should hear the fuel pump priming the system, if there is no noise I would look into replacing the pump. Also my fuel filter was clogged up. I hope it helps.

"24th Oct 2008, 14:37

I have a 2000 Chevy Malibu, and it has stopped right in the middle of driving on the interstate twice, and on the street twice. It just stops having power and cuts off. It does not jerk, shake or anything like that, it just dies out. It will start back up after a few minutes, and go for a while and then cut off again.

I am at my wits end as to what is wrong. Has anyone experienced this with their Chevy Malibu year 2000? I have had it towed home simply because I was afraid to drive it. Help me please anyone, who may have this same problem. On occasion an orange light that says ABS has come on, but not when it has stopped."

I have a 2002 Malibu and have had the brake, auto theft and lower manifold gasket problems and taken care of them myself. Think I have the piston knocking issue too. The car also has a surging problem while getting up to highway speed. Hard acceleration will stop the surging. Have had a code a couple times something about a transmission something or the other (can't remember exactly). Looking for a fix for the surging. I have always owned GM products and although I like it I am a bit disappointed with this car and GM.

My check engine light just popped on tonight while a family member borrowed my car, and I drove it after it was returned to me. According to her, the car was making like a forward jerking motion while she was at a stop light. I experienced the jerking while I was pulling into the drive way, and it felt like someone was pushing my car forward from the back while I was on the brakes. For a second I thought it would cut off and I noticed my lights kinda dimmed before I put it in park and cut it off. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

My 2000 Malibu also gave me the "ghost pushing" experience. Very weird - at at stop sign, also when coming in the driveway. Hasn't happened again.

Brakes seem to be the re-curring problem with this car. That and signal lights. Otherwise, it's been pretty solid.

I'm currently selling, but unsure what price point to put it at. 137, 000 km, manual windows/locks.

$3700 too much? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

I was given my parents 2000 Chevy Malibu two years ago, and they take excellent care of their vehicles, have all records and stay on top of maintenance and repairs.

So far the intake manifold gasket has been replaced twice, I just found out there was a class action suit last year and I missed the deadline... bummer. I've also had some electrical work done as well, and still notice a few minor electrical glitches.

At one point a few months ago the gas mileage dropped significantly, I'm not sure why, I used some STP and it worked for awhile, but the problem seems to be returning.

Since I've had the car it seems to be having shifting issues, like the transmission is going out or something, there just seems to be a lack of power. It struggles to shift going over small hills and mountains alike. I've taken it into different mechanics, and they can't seem to find anything wrong. There is also tapping coming from somewhere in the engine... I'm not sure if its piston slap, valves, lifters, etc. I'm trying to find out if perhaps the shifting problems are related to the knocking... inconclusive so far.

Has anyone had any of these problems? What were they and what was the cost? I'm really tired of putting money into this car.

I acquired a 2000 Malibu through the estate of my father-in-law. It has 44K miles on.

The track record has been okay except for one thing: the electrical system was giving multiple, inconsistent and seemingly unrelated problems: gas gauge, lights, heater fan, indicator lights, rear window defroster, check engine, service engine etc. The problems would then go away and then come back in a different form.

But the truth is that the car runs great. There was never any problem beyond the psychological. (the heater fan could have been an issue and the headlights have a lawsuit potential.)

I learned to ignore the dashlights and drove the car for almost a year like this.

I am an instrumentation technician. One trick is to simply clean the boards. Using this thinking I bought a manual. The PowerControlModule is under the steering wheel. It was pretty scary, but took only a few minutes to get it out.

The PCM is a wimpy looking circuit boar, but it is enclosed in a very strong and heavy metal box. It is big! there are two very large plugs, typical of computers, but four times bigger.

I took the cover off this steel box and took out the board. I blew it off with bottled air and let it sit on the dining room table overnight.

I put it back together and put it back in. The symptoms are gone.! john.

I have a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu with over 140,000 miles on it. I bought it six years ago when it only had 36,000 miles on it. After reading some of the complaints, I can see that having taken care of my car has paid off well. The only problem I've had with mine is that the turn signals no longer work. I have had to replace the brake pads on my car a couple of times, which several people have complained about as being a problem. I guess these people don't realize that brake pads on ALL cars wear out eventually, it's just the way they're made.

I bought a 2000 Chevy Malibu on February of 2009 from a friend of the family's auto shop.

The next time I took the car to get an oil change, the mechanic told me to stop driving the car. It was not drivable as it had a blown head gasket and the dealer had to know that. So the dealer had the car towed and got another engine put in and charged me 650.00 dollars.

I got my car back in June 2009, and 4 days later when I went to put gas in the car, my fuel tube had been cut. Someone was trying to steal the gas. I was charged 35.00 dollars to get that fixed.

2 days later when leaving work, my car shuts off in the middle of I 95 and will not crank. Could some one please help me with dealing with this problem? I am a single parent just trying to make it. What could it be that my car cuts off after a period of time and will not crank back up until about a week later?