1998 Chevrolet Malibu LS from North America - Comments

The alternator bearing became noisy (faulty part) at about 5000 miles. The dealer replaced the whole alternator the same day and gave me a rental car for the repair time.

Recently the CD player started skipping on some disks. I used the lense cleaner disk, and it fixed the problem.

As an engineer, and having over 25 years of driving record, I evaluate any car primarily from the mechanical point of view.

I am sure, the most important units in a vehicle are the engine, the transmission and the chassis. And it is my strong opinion, which is confirmed by the Consumer Review's statistics, that Malibu LS has one of the industry's best engines, transmission and suspension. Though the pushrod is not the latest technical breakthrough, it has proved its reliability, low fuel consumption, abd high torque starting at low rpm.

The car accelerates beautifully for a family sedan: 8.5 sec 0-60. As an engineer (sorry to appear un-modest) I think, the two-valve per cylinder engine is more suitable for a family sedan, than a four-valve one. The former has a better torque curve at low rpm which is important for city driving. And at highway speeds Malibu's engine makes only 2000 rpm, hence a long potential trouble-free life.

And it has an excellent fuel economy: on my recent trip for 600 miles with an average speed 55 mph (taking into account stops at gas stations and cafes, with long city rides) I made 33.75 mpg.

The fully independent suspension provides responsive and accurate handling, the seats are really comfortable even for a whole day trip.

The trunk is big enough.

I own a 98 Malibu! There I admitted it. Trouble is I don't feel any better about the fact. The car has inherent brake, tire, gasket, piston, rattle, ignition, etc. problems. To drive one of these beauties 60,000 Km without noticing any of these problems makes you a very fortunate individual. Maybe you can take your analytical engineering mind to the alldata.com site and read about these problems that occur in the course of most drivers experience with this lemon. G.M. admits the problem to dealers but only pay for warranty repairs to those who go back and complain about the problem. They have only issued one recall, passenger wiper bracket, yet if you complain they will change a multiply of parts to get you past the warranty period.

I don't know what Consumer Reports you read, but the one I read said the Malibu is a maintenance nightmare, especially when compared with Toyotas or Hondas. The engine specs may look good on paper, but my repair bills say otherwise! Brakes, coolant system, A/C, gaskets, electrical, are chronic problems with this junkyard reject. I'd get rid of it, but I can't get any re-sale value. That's because it's junk, and everyone else knows that, too.

So, I'm stuck with it until it completely quits running, which I fully expect to be around 80K miles.

Typical engineer. Looks at everything on paper and draws a conclusion from that rather than real world experience. I own a 2001 Malibu and I am appalled at the cheap, inadequate design the GM engineers (I use the term loosely) dreamed up. They probably said the same thing, "It looks good on paper, go with it."

My mother owns a 1998 Malibu LS and the car now has 85K miles on it, I drive it every-once and a while and find the car to be an enjoyable ride (not as much fun as the impala though :) ) as for all these insane problems that people have, we have never had them. Other than the general mainteance Eg. oil changes and brake replacements the car has had no major work done on it. The only major problem with the car was a situation with the A/C which was quickly fixed.

I own a 98 Malibu and I have had my fair share of problems such as pulley's going out, and my serpentine belt getting eaten up every 20,000 miles. It's these little things that really get to you. Also, the whole electrical system is beginning to work intermittently. Combine all this with a very noisy ride and a cheap interior and I think that the Malibu sells itself short of being a practical family car. I think that Chevy missed the boat on this one.

We too purchased a 1998 Malibu and have an annoying amount of repairs done on it. Before the warranty was up we took it to a Chevrolet dealer to fix a pulsating brake problem. they gave it back and the problem came back in a short amount of time again before the warranty was up. they said they replaced the rotors. a few months later after the warranty had run out, same problem again. We finnaly took it to Les Schwab who informed us the rotors had not been changed, they were still the originals. We ended up having to replace them, the calipers (which we think were the original problem) and I think the brakes too. We have had no trouble since with that prolem. We have also had to have the starter replaced twice, a pulley replaced on the serpetine belt, the head gasket replaced and have had an ongoing problem with the AC. I do like the cars as far as the ride goes and the roominess inside along with the fold down seats in back. We do believe we were pacified to get us through the warranty period which has made us loose confidence in GM and their dealers.

We to bought a 98 Malibu and every one is right about the problems. Our engine light came on and we were told it was the fuel cap. Wrong once again. Then the engine light started flashing and well when that happens you are suppose to shut them down and let it cool off. Know it comes on when the a/c is running and when you come to a stop and take off it sputters and spits and then it starts to run fine, but the stupid engine light stays on and nobody can figure it out. So I am lost on it and also stuck with it. For the a/c working only on one speed or two the problem lays in the blower motor resistor. Replace that and it will work fine.