*Intermittent electrical problems.
*Intake manifold gasket had to be replaced due to coolant used by manufacturer (common V6 issue from what I hear with this automaker)
*Seat cushioning has completely worn and has no support.
*Forget trying to use A/C while driving!
I shouldn't complain a lot because the car has been somewhat reliable without too many major issues, however, most of its use has been on the highway so the mileage is deceiving.
My wife and I took the payments over from my father-in-law when we got married, so it definitely wasn't my first choice anyway, but now that I am the primary driver of the car due to my commute, I have noticed several issues.
The indicator lights in the dash and LEDs on the radio go on and off whenever they please, and the mechanics thus far have found no lasting solution. At this point it's not worth spending more money trying to figure out.
The intake manifold gasket issue was a major issue for me because it is solely due to the coolant that the maker uses in their V6's. You can't switch to something else, and the mechanic told me the coolant will eat through the replacement gasket within another 50k or so miles. That's just a simple engineering oversight to me, but it costs almost $900 to replace.
If you have the A/C on, you lose virtually all engine power. I have to turn the A/C and the fan off when I am on an entrance ramp just to get up to speed.
Overall, the car feels cheaply made (granted, you get what you pay for), and the fit and finish of the interior leaves a lot to be desired with cheap plastics and rough cloth. The seat cushions are completely shot even though I am very easy-going on my cars and give you no support. You can practically feel the springs right through the upholstery.
In summary, I wish I still had my 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP!!!
The intake gasket is a known issue on the 3.1 engine. As far as the coolant, that's the first I've heard of this issue. They are feeding you a line about not being able to replace Dexcool with standard coolant. Just flush out the old stuff and put in some Prestone or something. It's not going to hurt anything.
Ya to go on with that comment, you can change the coolant to the green two year stuff...there's not problem there with doing that. as for performance troubles, I've never really had any...yet. my electrical runs pretty stellar, I have the stock alternator on, I do have a huge dry cell battery in it, and I run about 3000 watts of audio through it... and the electrical has had no problems. as for the A/C...i have the same problem... no idea whats causing it, I've spent many hours trying to figure that one out... its annoying to say the least!! its never hurt my performance though. however I did open up my intake, and manufactured a performance dual exhaust for this car... so I gained some hp there... i do tend to agree on the most part that I don't think i'd get another malibu.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site