Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76-90, 91-105, 106-120, 121-135, 136-144
I own a 2001 Malibu and I have had nothing but problems since I purchased it, new. The brakes are the first source of major maintenance expense. I have a little over 50,000 miles and I have replaced the rotors once and the inner and outer brakes twice a piece. Usually when you hear a scrubbing noise when applying the brakes, its the inner brakes on the Malibu. Many dealerships don't know how to repair these or refuse to acknowledge there is something wrong with the brakes because the outer pads look fine. They will even show you the outer pads and say they don't need replacing, ask to see the inner brakes if you're under warranty, they should be covered.
I too own a 1999 Malibu. I have had nothing, but problems since day one. I have replaced everything imaginable. I've taken the car several times to the dealer, but they cannot figure out the problem. Chevy mechanics have called GM directly for advise and were told that they didn't know what to do. This was after 1 month of having my car in the shop. Finally, they gave me the car back and said sorry, there is nothing more we can do. This for a car with acceleration problems! Oddly enough, it seemed to have fixed itself. In replacing the engine, I've had several problems. It took 3 to get it drivable. Again, when the mechanics sought advise from GM they were told they did not know what more they could do to make the motor work correctly and that these were just difficult cars. There suggestion was that I trade it in. How does one trade in a car, that runs so poorly? Today, I have a new problem. My speedometer is jumping all over the place, which of course means that the transmission is now acting accordingly. I could only thank God, I didn't have my kids in the car today. I am so very disappointed in GM and their belief that it is OK to sell a car that is so poorly made. We work hard for our money, and I for one, cannot afford to continue to make a payment and repairs at the same time, month over month over month. I am tired of having to tell my kids they cannot have something because the car needs to be fixed again. This week it looks like my daughter will not go to the dentist with her toothache because the car needs to be fixed again. I wonder, will a representative from GM come and explain it to her? This was my first American car, and I'm sorry to say, it will be my last.
My 2003 Chevrolet Malibu 3.1 V6 is going to its fourth Brake Pads and Rotors... is this normal for a car with only one year of ownership???
Maybe for GM it is...
I've owned previously, for two years a 1992 SAAB 900 Turbo that was about 11 years older than this car, but it was 11 times more reliable than this piece of junk.
Though the SAAB was a better built car, but being older and imported; It was complicated to repair when the things started to go wrong. So I decided, to buy a brand new American car and the Malibu seemed a great purchase.
Did I get a lemon?
Who knows... the fact is: I'm really concerned, once I'm not the only one who is desperate about the brake problems.
And General Motors seems does not care about this issue.
Guess what?
I never buy a Chevy again. It sucks!
IN FACT: I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER AMERICAN CAR AGAIN!
AMERICAN CARS ARE GARBAGE!
I'm from Mexico and I Have owned two Malibus.
A 2001 Standard 3.1 V6 and then a 2002 LS 3.1 V6.
All unreliable; specially about the brakes.
The first (dark red color), I had to replace the brake pads and rotors about six times, during a period of one year and the second one (dark blue),I have owned until July of last year, I had to replace the Brake Rotors and Brake Pads about three times during the same period.
Although I had another problems with them; In fact they gradually worse. Apart of the brake issues, I had several problems with them. The first, usually to suffer of constant overheating and stalling problems. The second one also suffered of stalling problems, rattles and overheating.
Now I own a 2003 Volkswagen Passat GLX Sedan VR6 and I never want ot look at back.
I Will never buy a Chevrolet again.
My advice is: Stay Away from the Chevrolet Malibu!
I have a 2001 Chevy Malibu and it has been to the repair shop on too may occasions. After it rains noticed a leak inside of vehicle on passengers side floor panel. Taken to dealer several times, cannot find out where the leak is coming from. Water inside of taillight causing bulbs to blow. Has a shaking in the front end at different speeds, problem cannot be determined. Replaced driver side window motor. Rotors had to be turned on several occasions. This car was bought new and should not experience this many problems.
I guess I've been lucky, because I have had an absolutely incredible experience with my 2001 Malibu. In fact, I put more than 90,000 miles on it in less than two and a half years, and with the exception of one sensor which had to be replaced at about the 25,000-mile mark (which was not cheap, I acknowledge), I'm comfortable saying that this car is reliable and durable. I am truly shocked that the majority of comments on this page are negative. I would like to add, however, that some "little" things are starting to give me problems, such as one of the electronic door locks malfunctioning and the fact that the AC/heat blower does not work at levels 1 and 2. Other than that, I'm quite pleased and have had safe, long-distance trips up and down the East Coast with my wife and children without encountering any major problems. I can only hope that continues, though.
I own a 2001 Malibu LS and am now on the fourth time having repairs done on the rotors. I took the car in at 15,500 and had the rotors machined and turned, had them replaced (with the brake pads!!!) at 27,000, had them again turned at 36,500 miles and am now dealing with the service warranty with the dealership AGAIN at just under 41,000 miles. They want to put a third set of new rotors on. I am reading a lot about the parts overheating... is this true?
For the record - the blower not working at speeds 1 & 2 is a common Malibu problem that can be fixed under warranty. I had this problem as well. And the engine overheating is a common problem at about 35,000. A common Malibu problem is that the coolant leaks into the transmission. This can be fixed with one can of Prestone Stop Leak and some extra coolant (a total of $10).
I have a problem with the computer causing the car to "spike" RPMs while on the highway driving at 70 - 75 mph (2100 RPMs jumping to 2500 RPMs). This is causing the cruise control not to work properly. By the way, GM won't fix that problem even under warranty because it's apparently "normal" for the car to do that (yeah, sure it is).
The hazards/turn signals are on recall by the way and will be repaired for free at any GM Goodwrench.
Other than that I like the car a lot... it drives and handles well. But suffice to say, I will also be purchasing something else next time I buy a car, maybe another Toyota.
And to the guy that posted the comment about SAABs... they are a GM owned and manufactured car now.
WOW! I wish I had read these comments over two years ago when I bought a used 2001 Malibu with about 25K miles on it. I traded my old 1993 Lumina in for the newer, more "reliable" 2001 Malibu. I never really had much problem with my Lumina. It was a good little car and quite pretty, though not fancy. The Malibu looked good for the money, but in fact, these comments are really scaring me and I plan to check out the ads tonight before more goes wrong. Last week, I thought I was almost out of gas, bell rang twice while driving on interstate; started to pull to exit and overshot and got back on with a sharp turn to highway and immediately started losing power. I thought I had run out of gas. Who knows? After some problems with getting car to start with gas, finally turned my gas tank lid and it started? Any connection with that sensor? Then following week, same sort of sound, engine wouldn't turn over, like it was out of gas, but I had half tank.. towed to dealer who said there was no connection to my running out of gas previous week (Check engine light has always been on and salesman told me it was a small problem that just required adjusting the cap. Then dealer charged me 439.00 for repair, 208.00 was labor to replace ignition anti-theft device (158.) Two days later I sit here pouring over internet for answers because while my car idled for a few minutes today, my gas gauge fell before my eyes all the way to 0, also felt slight loss of power. Called dealer and said sounds like we have another problem, drive it a few days and bring it back in, but may be several more hundred dollars. I am a single parent with a child about to go to college. This is devastating to my budget! Class action, count me in! I am afraid what is beyond the corner now! Maybe even a lease of a foreign made car would be a better deal for me! Comments? Help please!
I'm the author of the comment, that have owned a SAAB 900.
Well...I Know this fact, that SAAB is part of the General Motors Group since the eighties I think. But the difference of the built quality in both cars are quite impressive. The SAAB was 11 year old, but still was a solid car. While this 1 year old Malibu is already breaking down to pieces.
About the American Cars are garbage. Well, Look around this site and you will agree with me, that unfortunately the Imports are more reliable.
This is very said because overall (apart of the reliability) the Malibu is better than any stupid Honda.
Pity about the reliability.
2000 Chevy Malibu V-6.
I've had several issues with my Malibu. The first thing to go wrong the second day I had it the power steering line came off and had to be towed to the dealer. Next the intake manifold gasket and water pump went out. That was $854 to fix. This car only had 50,000 miles on it. No one would admit there was a problem with the gaskets used at the dealer level. The shop had difficulty finding the gasket because they are on national back order due to demand. To me that sounds like there is a problem. I was very lucky because my starting leaking on the outside. I've heard of some leaking on the inside and ruining the engine because it went undetected. The stock rotors are not a very high quality and they warp very soon and will cause pulsating on the petal. I replaced my rotors with a quality after market and it corrected the problem for now. This car goes through brakes faster than any car I've ever seen. I used to be a die hard GM fan. I have choosen to never purchase a vehicle produced from GM. If you need a reliable vehicle don't get a malibu unless you like to work on your car or pay a lot to have it fixed. This malibu was purchased in 2001 for 14,000 and is now worth about 4600. If I could sell it for what I owed it would be gone tomorrow. Please don't buy a Malibu.
I have a 2000 Malibu and it has been a love/hate relationship with my car. I love it when it works and hate it when it doesn't; I doing more hating than loving these days.
I have the a/c problems. The a/c continues to do a count up, works on speeds 3,4, & 5; now I am at speed 6, I know.
The passenger side brake light does work and the police officers just seem to know it a Chevy Malibu thing and I have notice too all the one tail-light Malibus.
I have blown a head due to the belt coming lose. I have repair the driving belt 3 times. If you have one you know the if it can go wrong it will go wrong. Is there any class action lawsuits going on over this car email and let me know and some of the fixes to this problems. Because I am still paying for this car and gas has gone up!!! eldriqueg@hotmail.com.
My husband and I bought a Certified Malibu 2001 a yr ago this past March. We purchased the "extended" warranty. A few months after buying it my husband calls me at work... the car broke down... have it towed to the Chevy dealer where we bought it... it is out of gas... the gauge showed half a tank, warranty covered the sensor, but I had to pay for the new fuel filter and labor plus a deductable, because it was our fault it ran out of gas... what do I need to do climb into the tank once a month to be sure the sensor is working? The car had at that time about 30,000 miles. This past April in the span of 2 days our signal lights stopped working, next day I noticed it was running a little hotter than usual.. checked the antifreeze and it was low... got antifreeze/coolant to put in the anti freeze that was in there and the antifreeze I put in were both the greenish color... the gauge went to normal... drove home 20 miles, it starts to heat up again, I stop add more coolant it is after 6 so my car dealer service center is closed. The gauge goes to normal, I drive the 2 miles home. Next morning I check the coolant again...none...in the car or on the ground. I call my service center take it in... a gasket is leaking... did you see where it was leaking from? Ummm.. no because there was none on the ground at my home... also blinkers only work when they feel like it, this was a Friday, get a rental car my car MAY be ready by Tuesday. They call me my car is ready...1400.00, warranty will cover all, but about 300.00 because I PUT THE WRONG COOLANT IN IT... the coolant should of been orange not green.. I am like well what was in it was GREEN!! Oh, but it says use only Dex whatever.. I say again there was not ORANGE in it... oh well someone made a "booboo" was them, but I still had to pay for it. Yesterday beginning of the long holiday weekend... leave work...drive maybe a block, horrible NOISE!! I pull off into a small store... ALternator belt is breaking, but not broken the noise coming from the engine is coming from the other side not where the alternator is!! It is 4:45pm...I call the Chevy dealer... well ma'm we close at 6 and cannot get to it until Tuesday... OK fine, so what do you want me to do spend the weekend at the Diamond Shamrock? I live 25 miles from where I work! I get to the dealer thank heavens they get me a rental car. All the time saying the warranty may not cover this. well that warranty has cost me 2000.00!! So big deal!! I do not recommend anyone buying a Malibu!! Count me in the Class action suit... I plan on writting whoever will listen! The makers of the Chevy Malibu should be ashamed of themselves for not sticking by the product they sell! Rhyannon38@aol.com.
I got a 2001 Malibu two days ago. I have the engine noise when first started. My main problem- getting it started! There is only 34,000 miles on this car. Of course it did not do it when I drove it home. I am afraid to tell my significant other about the postings of fuel pump, computer module, and starter. He bought me a 2000 Nissan Sentra only six months ago. It was only at 44,000 miles and the computer went out and the tranny was going bad. So to the postings of buying Nissan beware of the Sentra. My mechanic for that car said his wife had the same car and one computer and four transmissions later they took it back to the dealer. He bought me this one two days ago and I feel really bad saying anything negative, but have become afraid of what is next with this car. I think maybe I should take it back now while I still can.
I have a Chev Malibu 2001 - Let me tell you my problems.
Sept 27/02 Front brake pads replaced and rotors machined (appeared only iboard pads wearing)
Sept /03 Front brake pads replaced and rotors machined (ceramic pads)
Mar 17/04 Front rotors replaced.
Sept 27/02 Erratic readings on Fuel Gauge - reading full when it was not - Fuel gauge sensor replaced.
Sept 27/02 Radio switching stations - lights going on and off (radio was shot - was replaced)
Sept 27/02 Signal lights stopped working - hazard warning switch replaced.
Sept 27/02 Cruise control speeds up automatically (doesn't matter whether it is on the flat or hill) Dealership couldn't duplicate - it still happens.
Sept 27/02 Car wouldn't start - theft light on - called Roadside Assstance - dealership couldn't find codes.
Mar 6/04 Car wouldn't start - theft light on - turned key on waited ten minutes, turned it off and when I turned on on again it started.
Mar 21/04 Car couldn't start - no theft light - did same thing as above and car started - IGNITION CYLINDER replaced and FT system relearned.
Sept 27/02 Car smelled like rotten eggs especially when gas applied -Dealership found no fault - still happens - it is probably catalytic converter.
Feb /03 Wipers not spraying - Wiper arm replaced.
Mar 17/04 Blower motor not working on speed 1 and 2 Blower motor replaced.
Now 11/04 Tires severly cracked between treads - head to be replaced (50,000 km)
If this is not enough I am just waiting for the other known faults going wrong - Alternator, battery, serpenting belt squeeks, lifters and the big one intake manifold gasket I am so angry that this company can get away with such a dreadful product. What on earth is wrong with society?
2001 Malibu(Mali-lemon) ls... about 98000 miles on it...
Things that have gone wrong...
1-fuel pump went south...$460.
2-brake changed three times...$80 a shot...
3-check engine light has been on since 10 miles on odometer.
4-does not want to start on certain occasions...
5-when hot out car starts running very jumpy...
6-changed intake gasket...$600.
7-car horn beeps whenever it feels...
If I didn't know better I think this car is possessed...
For as much as we hard working people pay for these things
they should act and operate a 100 times better, for we
entrust our families to them...law-suit?...
COUNT ME IN........daterrierrulz@hotmail.com