2001 Chevrolet Malibu LS from North America - Comments

I have a 2001 Malibu LS. I bought it with 24,000 km on it. Within a couple of months the piston slap problem referred to by others became very noticable, and has got steadily worse.

A District Rep from GM has listened to the car twice, each time noting it was "OK at this time".

The truth is that it is not OK. That's why I brought it in.

Can anyone who has managed to get their car piston slap problem repaired tell me how they managed it? How do I get a copy of the Service Bulletin?

Mine now has 52,000 km on it. Today the rep said "OK at this time." How best to proceed?

My 99 Malibu was exactly what I THOUGHT I was looking for. We bought it used from a dealership and the vehicle was a "Buy Back" from Chevy. Which means Chevy bought it back from the owner because the vehicle had an unresolved problem with the brakes. That should have been our first indication that there would be problems. We were told by the dealership that Chevy had corrected the problem with the brakes, so we bought it, the car had 25K on it, within 10K we had it back to the garage for the rotors to be turned,

and the alternator replaced, (luckily it was still under warranty) It also needed new pads which we had to pay for, (normal wear and tear!) Now it is another 10K and the

inspection is up. The car did not pass inspection, it needed NEW rotors. We also have a problem with our blower not working on #1 and #2. I will never buy another Malibu... BUYERS BEWARE...Chevy, shame on you for putting your emblem on this poor workmanship.

Jennifer.

My car have 63000 km and I need to change the pistons. of course the warranty finish 60000 km.i called the company at Oshawa to see if can get warranty.they said NO. so next time if you want a bye a new car, think twice before to by a MALIBU.

I bought a 1998 malibu with 27000 miles. It has been in the shop 4 times to have the a/c powerhead replaced (a/c cutting on and off), twice to have the rotors replaced, the passlock theft system has left us stranded multiple times. That is a $300 dollar repair that is not covered under warranty. The blower will not work on 1 and 2. I was told by the dealer that this is a problem with a resistor. The ignition cylinder has had to be replaced. I also had a coolant leak and discovered it was the intake manifold leaking. If you notice low coolant, check that first!!! The car now has 75000 miles on it and one year left on the notes. It will be traded in as soon as its paid off, and I will not buy another Chevrolet!

The Techinical Service Bulletin for the piston is 01-06-01-005 JAN 01 Engine - Ticking Noise on Cold Start.

I unfortunately am still paying for the 1999 Malibu LS that I purchased last November. It was a GM certified car with 27,000 miles. About two months after I settled for this car, it started cutting out when trying to accelerate. Also at about the same time I had the shutting off problem start; one morning I was stuck in traffic due to an accident and as I was making my way past my car would not accelerate or do anything - it just coasted along. It didn't shut completely off; after stomping the gas frantically for about a quarter mile it came back on. It gave no check engine light or anything. Mind you this was still under warranty. I was told in both instances that the car didn't do either of things when the garage drove it (after taking it back three times) and was accused of running it out of gas - it had a quarter of a tank when it shut off!!! Needless to say it didn't do the shutting off thing again until it was out of warranty. It only does it when it is hot out or the car has sat idling for more than a few minutes. The cutting out was due to cracked spark plugs, which in my opinion should have been an easy find to have fixed; instead they said that maybe there was some carbon in the EGR valve and did nothing. I also, like many others, have bad brakes. The rotors were shot after only a few miles - the car shakes like crazy when applied and the brakes squeak when applied. I don't know if the squeak is from the pedal or what - not sure I want to know.

I bought this car because it was supposed to have a good quality/cost ratio, but beg to differ!!! Never again - the price on this car wasn't worth all of the hassles. I'm still driving a car that occasionally shuts down - haven't been towed yet. Someone else will have to get this car towed - not me! It's got to go!

Like all others my malibu has caused a lot of problems. I bought a 2000 malibu in feb 2003 within 2 months the brakes need changing the car is a gas hog the check engine light is now on along with the ABS light. I love my car, but I should of got the alero that was there!All of these problems will be fixed, but if this happens again soon, I will have to let it go.

We purchased our 2001 Malibu in July of that year. We had it in the shop in August, which was the beginning of our relationship with service departments. We have had the rotors replaced twice, turned several times, work done twice to our steering system, speakers replaced three times, drums replaced, brakes replaced more time than I remember, but the worst thing is we can get no help from GM to resolve our problems. We bought American to support our country, but didn't know American made cars don't support Americans. We will trade ours in as soon as we can get it worthy of trade. It needs new rotors again and new tires due to all the front end problems.

The Malibu are junk and they are the only piece of junk that Chevrolet make that I know of. You should trade it in and get either a used/new Impala or Cavalier. These cars are wonderful!! I have owned several of them and I have had no serious problems with them. I love my Cavalier the most. Of course I also like Hondas too. My GM cars have lasted a long time and I do a lot of driving too.

I purchased a 2001 Malibu LS brand new. I have had the controller, pcm/vcm replaced at 9,709 miles, and 4 of the 6 pistons replaced at 24,446 last month (there is a bulletin on the pistons). I have moisture collecting in my front headlights (they say it is normal), my radio/cd player when playing for an extended period of time, the cd's are so hot they burn your hand to remove them (told this is normal), the car was getting close to 400 miles to a tank, now it is only barely over 200 and I am taking it back to the shop this morning. The car is shaking terribly since the motor was rebuilt and I also had tires rotated/balanced at the same time. There is also a problem with the hazard switches (had mine replaced when the pistons were replaced). I love my car and the dealership is wonderful at taking care of the problems. This is the 3rd vehicle that I have purchased from this dealership and the first time I have had any problems. GM needs to have better engineers to fix the problems, but in the meantime make sure to choose a reputable dependable dealer when purchasing any vehicle.

This is to Steven - you are only putting the bad things about Malibu's - huh. I know - I have written a good review and have not seen it on your webpage!!

This website is maintained by hundreds of raters, perhaps your reviews were offensive. Try again or e-mail steven at steven@carsurvey.org..

Hello, I have a 1999 MalibuI also must agree that there needs to be a recall. I brought my Malibu brand new with 14 miles on the odometer. Within the first 6 months of ownership I had to replace the motor in my driver window and having other electrical problems. Also having to change brake and rotors often. Now I'm have problem with engine overheating. The thermostat was missing when the hose connected to engine was remove. I only buy Chevrolet cars (used and new) and this is the first time I've had so many problems.

My Malibu is a 2001 with less than 24,000 miles on it. I started having problems with the brakes with less than 10,000 miles on it. I am retired and drive mostly highway miles. At 13,000 miles they checked my brakes and said they have to turn down the rotors. They wanted to charge me for this because the brakes are warranted for only 12,000 miles. They did give me a break and GM took care of it. Now they said I need new rotors and pads. I talked to GM customer service and they said that this is normal wear and they won't help me with the cost, which is around $400.00. GM doesn't want to admit that the Malibu has brake problems.

I have had a lot of other problems with the car. They did take care of it under warranty. I also like the Malibu, but I will probably never get another Chevy.

I would hate to have this car after it has 50 or 60 thousand miles on it. It would be better to buy a new Honda or Toyota and just have car payments with out the aggravation of all the repairs that the Malibu will need.

I purchased a 1999 Chevy Malibu LS last year. My car is now in the shop because my ABS brake lights are on again, for the third time. The dealer states it is the right wheel sensor. Um, that was the same problem the last two times. When I asked the dealer if it was under warranty he told me he did not know because the wires looked like somebody pulled it out or I hit a major bump. I am not car savvy, but what kind of bump could I hit to make the wires come out.

I got my brakes done February 13, 2003. The dealer got the car on February 27, 2003. He insisted I need brakes. I said I just replaced my brakes. I went back to the place that replaced my brakes. He adjusted the back breaks and cleaned out the drums. He told me I did not need rotors and my brakes are fine. They worked fine until the ABS light came on, again. Now the dealer is telling my rotors are so bad that he cannot cut it, I need new ones. Once again, I am not car savvy, but when you need rotors so bad don't you usually hear a grinding sound?

I am so disappointed in this car. I cannot begin to tell you.