This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I own a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu with 47000 miles every couple of days the anti theft system light comes on while im driving. I called the dealers and explained what happened, and they stated that they have to put it on the machine and it was going to cost me $105 just to put it on the machine. I wa S upset because I bought this car brand new, and I only have 47,000 miles on it. Vehicle should not be having this problem this early. I have read complaits on this vehicle, and there should be a recall for the 2003 Malibu because this should not be happening. Also, sometimes the car will not start. So I read in the owners manual that you have to wait 10 minutes to try to restart the car. This did not make any sense. There should be a recall on this vehicle.
Car failed to start on random occasions. Became more frequent. Anti-theft system was causing it not to start. Would have to wait for ten minutes to start - in places like at a gas pump with others waiting to use it. Theft system light would occasionally stay on even when it started. It became like playing russian roulette hoping the car would start and hoping against hope that the car would never stall in traffic and then not re-start. Dealer finally had to replace the ignition switch, ignition cylinder and lock cylinder to the tune of $682. This was done at 71,190 miles. The ignition switch and ignition cylinder were already replaced at 46,000 miles. Others I have spoken to have had the same problem with this year's model of the Malibu but they never recalled it. The theft system is obviously defective.
No events occurred prior to this problem. Theft system activated on its own while I was driving. Since having no knowledge of this problem I had work done that was unnecessary. The theft system and key cylinder were supposedely be replaced back in 10/06. I paid over $700. It has started to activate again as of May 1st. The orginal dealer nor manufacturer nor Chevy dealer repair center I paid the $700 to have any helpful of underline knowledge of why it suddenly activated by itself. This was a reckeless safety hazard waiting to happen.
I am the owner of a 2003 Malibu. I have only had it for 6 months. The car has cut off on me 3 times with my 3 year old in the car. I have read many complaints about the same problem. I took my car to the dealership, and they said that it was the ignition switch, and it was going to cost me $400 to fix it. I don't have that kind of money to put into a car when there should be a recall on it. I am highly upset with GM because they won't do anything about it. Also, I have heard that they won't do a recall on this problem because they don't consider it to be a safety issue. I don't see how a company can put off a recall like this when someone can get seriously hurt or even killed. I don't know what else to do, and another of course the extended warranty that I bought doesn't cover it. Why do they even have an extended warranty when it doesn't cover a blasted thing.
Car would not start at work Wednesday morning, approximately 9:30 am. My husband came to look at it after work, approximately 5:45 pm. Called Chevrolet to have them tow it under warranty. Tow truck showed up around 8:30 pm and towed to dominion Chevrolet. Dominion did not return any phone calls on the 6th until a little after 5:00 pm. They informed us that the anti-theft / ignition switch had gone bad and it would be replaced the next day. Did not receive key or paperwork when picked up, just 10+ scratches all over my car.
- Richmond, VA, USA
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I have a 2003 Chevy Malibu. It won't start due to a flaw in the theft detection system. This has caused me many problems!! as I understand, this is pretty costly to repair. Due to finances, I have not had the problem repaired. A mechanic gave me an alternative way to start the car which involves getting under the car and bypassing the ignition. Chevy is fully aware of the problem and it should be recalled!!!!
: the contact stated the vehicle starts intermittently. It was taken to the dealer, upon inspection the ignition needed to replaced due to the anti theft device. The manufacturer has not been alerted.
I have a 2003 Chevy Malibu. One day after work, I could not get my car to start. It sounded like it wanted to crank, but would not. Myself and a few of my coworkers continued to play with it and finally, about 10 minutes later, it started. I took it to a mechanic near my work place. I was informed by the mechanic that he had a Chevy that did the same thing. He informed me that Chevy is aware of the problem but does not know what causes it. He showed me that if I turn the ignition on without starting the car and all the dash lights appear, it will start. If I turn the ignition on and only the theft system light appears, it will not start and I would have to continue to play with it until all the dash lights appear. It did okay for the next couple of days but starting again and does it frequently now. A little over a week ago, I was driving home and was approaching a railroad track. As I neared that track I heard my doors unlock (which does not happen unless I manually unlock them or the ignition is turned off). I realized that my car had cut off while I was driving. Thankfully, it had enough momentum to cruise across the railroad track and I was able to steer it off the main road until I could start it again. The local dealership has been notified.
I have a 2003 Chevy mailibu and learned that my anit-theft system will not allow me to start my car even with the key in the ignition. From what I have learn is that I have to wait 10 minutes when I am "locked out" from driving my car before the anti-theft system light goes out then I can start the car and drive. I researched the problem on the internet and found out that I am not the only owner of a Chevy mailbu who experience this issue. I learned that other owners had to pay large amounts of money to get the ignition lock cylinder replaced, but this did not always solve the problem. The same owners had to go back to the dealership and pay even more money to get other parts replace. The replacement of all the parts did not always fix the issue completely. Also, found out that GM does know about the issue but won't recall the cars because it is not consider a safety issue. But I will like to disagree with that, because it is a safety issue to me. I may have an emergency and be in a need to go to the hospital but my car may not start and I would have to call 911 for help all the time. Some people can't not always afford the ambulance ride to the hospital. Also, I may be traveling through some unfamiliar places and I don't think that I can sit in my car for 10 minutes while someone may want to do harm to me. This is a big safety issue to me. I also fear that one day my car may cut off on me while I am driving due to my anti-theft system and I may get into an accident. From researching the issue, I read about some owners who are parents and they fear that the car will one day not work due to the anti-theft system and they may need to get medical attention for their child, but are unable to do so due to their car not working. I know that other car owners have complaint about the same issue. I also believe that GM should be responsible for fixing this issue since it is a "known" issue. And are the new 2006 Chevy mailbu " cured" of this issue?
Twice now, my car has not started due to the anti-theft system. I have only had the car a year and half and it is about to do it a third time. I know this because each time the theft system light comes on and off for about three weeks before the car won't start. I cannot get the car to a dealership right away, I have to remedy the situation myself by resetting the computer which erases any code that was stored, and therefore the car cannot get fixed.
The cherolet Malibu we own thinks it is being stolen as the key has a computer chip in it and at times won't communicate with the computer in the car.today I had to have it towed for the third time because there is no other way to solve the problem other than getting it to the dealer.my husband and I are in poor health and need a reliable car.it has only 49000 miles on it.
The anti-theft system check light has turned on a total of four times and has caused the fuel supply to cut off and not start the vehicle. Manufacturer has been contacted by consumer.
Regarding my previous complaint about my 2003 Chevrolet Malibu that wouldn't start, doors were locking themselves, and warranty was up... I carried the car to the dealership where I purchased it new and upon checking the car and finding a code for a problem that showed up with my body control module while they had it on thier computer, the service man informed me that he was ordering a new body control module and was going to cover it for me under warranty.
I drove my 2003 Malibu to a friends house and parked it for about 10 minutes. Could not restart the car. It would turn over and sound like it wanted to crank, but wouldn't start. Had to have it towed. Mechanic said that it was some sort of body computer problem and the anti theft system wasn't letting the car start. Said that it had shorted out internally. The mechanic reset the thing but after cranking the car 4 times, the problem recurred. Mechanic said computer would have to be replaced at a cost of about $500. At just over 41,000 miles, the warranty is no good on my car anymore. However, I told the service men at the dealership where I purchased my car months ago that the doors were locking by themselves after I'd exited the car and walked about 12 feet away. Told them that it had happened several times and asked if they'd had any other similar complaints. He just looked at me, laughed and said that he'd not heard anything like that before. If a short in the body computer is causing the anti theft to activate so the car won't start, then it seems likely to me that the same short could have been causing my doors to lock. Instead of checking that problem out at the dealer when I first told them about it, and my warranty was still good, the service man just told me that I was probably hitting the button on my remote keyless entry. I don't even have keyless entry on my car and I told him that. Still all I got then was a laugh and a shoulder shrug. If the problem with the door locks had of been checked out, then the problem that I'm having now may have already been detected while my warranty was still good. Bought this car new and feel like the dealer or the manufacturer should cover costs of parts and repair. Would like to know if there are similar complaints and how they've been handled.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chicago, IL, USA