2001 Chevrolet Malibu LS from North America - Comments

Omitted is the small stuff and a warranty repair of the fuel pump.

The ignition switch went at 39928 miles. After towing in, the Chevy dealer replaced the ignition switch (at our cost) but didn't notice the horn was also not functioning. We accepted it (far from home and on vacation).

The car had to be towed in again for its 2nd replacement ignition switch at 52565. This dealer couldn't say what was wrong with the horn, but offered to poke around at $80 per hour. We didn't have him do that considering we had asked GM customer service to investigate and were hoping they'd want to look into it, and had already run up a $625 bill for this 2nd ignition switch replacement.

It took GM 75 days to come to the decision that they would offer nothing towards the replacement ignition switch nor the 2nd replacement ignition switch, nor investigate a possible short, despite the non functioning horn. Out of warranty was out of warranty.

Today, day 79, the car had to be towed in for the 4th time for it's 3rd replacement ignition switch. This $625 ignition switch is apparently being treated as a disposable fuse as long as it's us paying the bill. As for the horn, no one but a Chevy dealer can fix it, and they won't except at $80/hour T&M against no estimate --but now it's time to write that blank check or junk it because it due for state inspection :-)

If a company stands behind their cars you're okay. When they don't, it's a roll of the dice. We rolled lemons; maybe you'll be luckier. But when a car only has a 36,000 mile warranty there may be a very good reason!

The rest of my opinions of the Malibu just aren't important because the car isn't reliable, affordable, or salable if you have scruples (it still has a hidden defect). It's a car purchased brand new, with 55,000 miles, that we're still making payments on, that needs to go to the junkyard.

Last night my daughter picked up a 2001 Chevy Malibu from the dealership, with approximately 80,000. This morning the car would not turn over. They got it started and off they went only to have the problem reoccur. The dealership after having th opportunity to diagnose the problem, stated that it the ignition switch. We are taking the car back. Thank you for your time in sharing your experience, as they quoted a far steeper price to repair than you paid, although the dealership was incurring the cost.

Thanks for warning me about the chevy Malibu. I was about to purchase a 2002 LS model with no money down with 68,000 miles on it. The total cost was $11,000 dollars,After reading a few of these reviews. I will not purchase this car. I have never heard of so many problems occuring on a pratically new car with less than 100,000 miles! I purchased a 1987 Nissan Maxima with 160,000 miles on it and never had any of these problems some people had on here. Looks like I will be visiting the Nissan Dealership again. THanks a lot!

Easily the worst built new car I have ever seen. The heater switch doesn't work, the hazard switch was recalled, the AC turns itself on and off at will, as does the fresh/recycle air option.

The car has been maintained exactly to schedule, but is tired, loud, and has engine knocks. I will never buy another Chevy, and maybe not another American car.

I puchased a 2001 malibu new it has 52,ooo currently the AC does cut on and off. I figure it'll quit all together soon. However its been more often lately, but it started just after the warranty ran out @ 40,000. Other than replacing the master cylinder and brake pads I've had no other problems.

If the AC continually cycles on and off it's probably low on freon.

I bought a 2001 Chev Malibu LS. Ather only 1 year, the engine is broken. The mechanic told me to change the engine... but the car has only 70,000 miles.