the 2005 chevy malibu is a waste of a car. the anti theft system is a pain in the ass. ive had the car since 2006. after two years the anti theft system keeps activating. it activates at anytime of the day. or night. i got word that if the anti theft system triggers, turn the key to the on position and let it sit in that position for seven minutes. it should turn itself off. it has worked so far, but today it triggered in the middle of an intersection. i had to push my car to the side of the road. then, start the de-activate procedure. i haven't had any luck how to turn it off. ive asked mechanics, servicemen and friends about how to fix it. nobody knows. this will be the last chevy i buy. good ole american craftmanship. what a joke.

A well documented problem if you look at everything on the internet. This is a common problem from 1999 on with Chevrolet Malibus, but Chevrolet/GM do NOTHING to correct it. Have called Chevrolet and they must have idiots for district reps. Zero help. Suggested I take it back to the dealership to be put on the computer YET AGAIN. If they didn't get it right the first 2 times, why would putting it on the computer work the 3rd time, especially since I'm not having the problem this very second. We've had the car in 3 times total (2 to the dealership) in the last 60 days. Freakin' ridiculous. Forget complaining to GM, go straight to the government.

This crappy auto theft system locked on one of the most important days of my wifes life. She and some ladies from church had planned a Mother Daughters seminar for months and guess what? The morning of the seminar this freaking car would not even start. She was scheduled to open with a prayer and speech. This is the second time this has happened. The first time we had no idea what was wrong with this car, had it towed at 2:00am (cost more because it was late) we were about 17 miles from home. The repair shop reset the system, told us about the ten minute reset solution, but this time it didnt even work.

I am furious. Now some more expensive procedure has got to be done. Not to mention the brakes are squeaking again after replacing the pads about 2 months ago, and several cosmetic things that are constantly falling apart. This was a very cheaply made automobile that I would NEVER BUY AGAIN. I think a Swhinn bicycle would last longer.

I was at work (26 miles away from home) and had to run around the campus several times which meant I was started the engine and cutting the engine off a lot. At one point we had an emergency and I had to pull my car off the road and onto a gravel parking lot at which time it would not start again. I had the mechanics at work take a look at it and they tried everything they could think of to get it restarted but couldn't. We ran the battery down trying to start it.

I had to let it sit at work for 5 weeks until I thought I saved enough money to get it worked on. I then had it towed and the auto shop said they charged the battery and it started right up for them. I told him I was not picking up the car until he could tell me why it kept doing this. He said the only thing he could think of what the Auto-Theft system and that I should unhook the positive post for 15 minutes and then try starting it. It should fix it OR I should bring it to a shop and have it hooked up to a diagnostic machine and the machine will reset it. Other than that, he had no idea. It has done it to me twice since then and is currently sitting in my driveway right now. I wasn't aware of the reset option so my husband is going to try it and see if it works.

I stopped at Wal-Mart to get an oil change and when I tried to start the car to pull my car up, it wouldn't start. The mechanics came out and tried to check fuses, etc. but to no avail. I eventually called my husband because I was thinking it may be the key. He brought his key up there and we tried again and it still wouldn't start. I had to call a tow truck to tow it to a nearby shop. The mechanics came out and was going to push it into the stall but decided to try and start it and it started right up. They checked everything on the car (battery, fuel pump, fuses, etc) and couldn't not find a single thing wrong with my car. Was off work for 1/2 day due to this issue.

The alarm system started going off at my wifes' work, she had to constantly be excused to go turn it off, It started going off all night long and killing the battery everywhere we would go. I had to carry a different battery and jumper cables around with me. The dealership said we had a dead cell in our battery, so we got a new one and it made no difference. The dealership then said they might could fix it but GM didn't give them any information about how the alarm system was wired, so it would cost a fortune. They weren't allowed to disable the alarm by law. I finally went to the auto parts store and got a book, it didn't have the alarm system wiring in it either. I did find that one of the power sources for the alarm comes from the door lock control. I managed to find the right wire and cut it. The alarm works now and doesn't go off all the time.

For the last year, my car will loose all power when parked. When attempting to restart, the cd changer keeps clicking. One time the horn wouldn't stop honking, the lights on the dash were blinking, the cd changer kept clicking. We had to disconnect the battery to have everything stop. We had it towed to the dealer, the car started right up and they couldn't find anything wrong. It happens, of course, at the most inopportune times. It has happened at least 5 times in the last year. Everything goes dead: doorlocks, trunk, etc. everything is inoperable. After a period of time, the car will start as if nothing happened. This should be a recall as others are experiencing the same problem. Any Fixes?

I originally ran into this problem while trying to fix the Electronic Range Control on my shifter (known to some as the Manual part of this Automatic tranny). Anyway.. I tripped the anti theft system which then wouldn't let it start about 80% of the time or after a time range of 10mins to 2 hours later. This became very annoying. And it would also randomly shut-down with no cause. I finally was able to get it home tonight and assembled the car gods known as My uncle. Budweiser fleet manager for Utah. And my grandfather who was in that position previously till he retired last year. We put our heads together and just decided to disconnect the battery and give the anti theft system a kick in the ass. Let it sit for 5 minutes after disconnecting the battery. note Make sure your car is unlock and not lock armed otherwise you'll set off the car alarm getting some unwanted attn. Anyways after connecting the battery again. I was able to start it 3 times by key. And after we close the hood I was able to remote start it as well. I will wait about another hour and try it again. And then the real test will be the drive to work tomorrow.

Trying to do my part for the US economy by buying domestic cars. Had driven Mazdas, Honda, etc. for a few years and decided to give the General a try. Gotta say, not too impressed so far with only 30K on the clock. Replaced the intermediate steering shaft, resurfaced the warped rotors at 12K and they're warped again at 30K (if my other cars did this I'd say it's because of my driving, but out of the 20 or so cars I've owned in my life, this is the first one that warps rotors every 15K). Anti-theft system locked the car down tight at 9 pm after leaving a movie with the kids - called roadside assistance, but even their advice failed to get the car started. Had to have it flat-bedded to the dealer...and it fired right up for them the next day. Front seat heater comes on by itself....

Each problem on its own is not a big deal, but add it up and draw your own conclusions about the quality behind the "American Revolution".

I'm joining in with all of the other people out there that have been having issues with the anti theft system. What a real pain in the ass this is!!!!! I was unaware the problem even existed until this past weekend when leaving Walmart the damn thing just wouldn't start... so I had to wait 2 hours for a wrecker come tow then go another day without a car until my mechanic could look at it. After looking through the owner's manual I discovered this could be the problem called my mechanic and sure enough it started right up. Now I have to wonder if it's going to happen again every damn time I start my car!! It's cold here in Maine and having to sit in a cold car for ten minutes waiting for the thing to reset is a bitch! As much as we think Cheverolet should recall and fix this we know they won't because it isn't what they consider a "safety" issue. When someone gets hurt or dies and sues then and only then will they sob's do anything.

I have had this problem when I first got my car and the dealership could not figure anything out. They had my car for two weeks. It has happened almost everyday now for the last week or so, even while I am driving. The power, lights, everything just shuts down completely. It it getting very dangerous because it is happening while I am driving. It may just sit a few minutes, then start back up, or it may sit for an hour. My husband the other day just let it sit for about an hour, went out and honked the horn and it powered back up. What is with that? Of course my car is now out of the manufacturer's warranty, but I do have an extended warranty that I hope will cover.

The first time it shut down while driving it messed up the CD changer. Now I cannot get my cds out of the changer and it does not work at all. It acts like it is trying to shuffle but nothing is happening and I get the message "CD Changer Error". DUH!

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I am so frustrated with this car.

the anti-theft system keeps activating, almost every other tiime I get in car, at this point - I don't always have 10 minutes extra to reset

Update from Jul 27, 2014: Car has been triggering anti-theft system, off and on, sine I bought it in '06 or '07. Also, would occassionally lock me out of car while I was pumping gas, or even while running, Now has well over 100,000 miles, and has lately stated triggering anti-theft multiple times per week - sometimes 2 or 3 times in one day. Is causung my daughter problems at work, because she has run 10 to 15 min late, due to car! Chevy has never admitted to finding a problem, in several attempts (early on) to solve problem. Now, they tell me that the problem is not covered by a recall, and it will cost me $97/hr for diagnostic, and upwards of $375 for repair. I can't agfford it. Car'sw been screwy since I got it, and Chevy never admitted anything!