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.
2005 Chevrolet Malibu. Consumer writes in regards to ignition lock cylinder recall. The consumer stated the vehicle stalled, as she was arriving at a busy intersection. The vehicle had to be towed, because the she was unable to re-start the vehicle. According to the invoice, the ignition cylinder was replaced.
Door locks go up and down continuously while driving the car. When the car is parked and not locked (inside a secure garage), the factory alarm goes off when opening the doors. The electric lock switch on the driver door will not always unlock the other car doors. The key-in-ignition chime has started chiming even when the keys are not in the ignition. This all started Sunday, March 30th, 2014. It has continued daily from then until now (Wednesday April 2nd) and is still happening.
Like the current GM cobalt problems, car stalled while traveling on interstate. Luckily we were able to pull to side of the road and get towed. It was in the garage for a week and they could not find problem even with driving it 50 miles a day. Local dealer said they had not had problems, but I could bring it in. Lots of complaints on internet about this, but no service bulletins or recalls. Car has 35K miles on it, but my wife will no longer drive it.
I consider us lucky. We were in a wal-mart parking lot 25 miles from home, and the car wouldn't start. I played with the ignition off and on for half an hour, and a connection was made, and the car started. I was careful to keep it running, and made it home. The next day, the same problem. The electrical connection to the fuel pump was missing. I had it towed to my repair shop, and they replaced the ignition switch. Cost $620.54. On 2/7/2013 the fuel pump was replaced. I feel that the incidents are connected. I think the loss of electrical feed to the fuel pump harmed the pump, and caused it to fail. Cost of fuel pump replacement was $635.11.this adds up to $1255.65 repair bills which should have been unnecessary. I feel there are more cars out there that GM should be made to recall and repair with better parts. I was lucky! others were not, and we don't need more unnecessary deaths on our highways.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact indicated that the engine and all of the electronics in the vehicle suddenly shut off. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer and the contact was informed that the ignition switch was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified and no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 40,600. Updated 4/4/14 the consumer stated the problem continued but the dealer found that the PCM (power control module) failed, PCM was replaced.
- Covington, KY, USA
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Power steering quit working. Here in 2013, with 175000 miles, GM will not honor their "service policy", due to miles! it only covered up to 150000 miles! absurd!
I was driving my vehicle down I-680 in northern ca's bay area. While I was on the freeway in the slow lane and my power steering warning popped up on my car stereo display and a split second later I lost the ability to steer my car. I slowed the vehicle as fast as I could without slamming on the brakes. All of the cars behind me slammed on the brakes and I thought I was going to cause a pile-up. A nice man behind got out of his truck and helped me force the steering wheel to the right so I could pull the car off of the road. I then called my brother and he came and towed the car home. There has never been a warning to this issue. It never acted up and I have never been instructed to do a safety check on the power steering.
The vehicle would not start after work in the parking lot. Arranged a ride home and did some research. Went back to the vehicle and got it started with suggestions on how to reset the passlock system (security light on dash was on). The next day the vehicle won't start even after going through the reset procedure several times. This problem can leave one stranded anyplace at anytime. We live in mininesota and that can be a real problem at -20 deg. After reading about many people with the same issue, I was motivated to share this in hopes of initiating a recall for this problem.
We bought this car 4 yrs ago in Aug 2008 at only a few yrs old we were very optimistic that the $ we were spending on it would be worth the less upkeep than that of the 1994 crown vic that we traded in (& my husbands 78 olds that has always required more work than it put out since he purchased it when we met back in 06). Since it was a few yrs old we thought that even though there was no warranty on our new "used" car, we would be ok. We were wrong. The first problem we noticed was the alignment which makes the car shake/vibrate at speeds 60+ & our first vacation we took it on which we only drove 4-5 hrs there & we ended up with 2 flat tires on the way. Then the headlights & blinkers had to be replaced (full units) bc both of them kept giving out & the bulbs weren't the problems & I kept getting traffic tickets bc I wasn't always aware when one would go out. Our 2 biggest problems to date have been our fuel sensor/electrical problems which quit working after 1 yr & I have run out of gas 10 times bc it isn't easy to keep up with miles/dates & I have kids so filling up every day isn't easy either as well as the locks/buttons on the drivers door that do not work & I have to open my trunk with a key & had to pay $ to get auto lock so that I don't have to manually lock the doors w/ the keys & the transmission/motor we had to pay $2750 to replace bc the last one completely gave out resulting in the car not being able to run whatsoever & my husband having to literally push my neutral car with his bc we didn't have the $ at the time to fix it.. besides these problems there are the seats (plastic panels) falling/cracking apart, we had to replace the windshield bc anytime it rained our seats would be completely soaked.. & many other problems I still deal with. Keep in mind for the 4 yrs I have owned this car I haven't wrecked it & my husband keeps it up (changes oil, brakes, etc).
I was at a stop sign went to press gas pedal to turn onto road and the car just shut off no warning lights came on nor did it show any codes. Got out of car popped trunk pulled relay fuse out put it back in and it cranked up, then on my way home from work, going about 25 mph and it just shut down again, I repeated pulling out relay fuse and put it back in then waited a minute then it cranked and I drove straight home.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering failed, fuel would not pump properly into the vehicle, the fuel gauge displayed improper readings, and the speedometer was inoperative. The local mechanic repaired the fuel system. Neither the dealer, nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000 and the current mileage was unavailable.
Car lost power, steering intact & I steered it to the shoulder of the interstate highway. Anti-theft light was flashing. On Jun 4th, all attempts to reset the the system failed (I was waiting ten minutes with key in on position). The car began to flash all lights & a buzzing alarm sounded. By July, the anti theft device was preventing starting or causing the engine to stop on a daily basis. A code indicated a problem with the fuel supply to the injectors & possibly the fuel pump. (the anti theft device works by cutting off the fuel to the injectors). Replaced 2 fuel pumps (all working), had electrical system checked, replaced a defective fuse box, bent plug. The problem occurred intermittently, & was documented by the shop. Today car was disabled by the anti theft device as I turned onto the state highway.. when I picked my husband up from work at night the car displayed the anti theft light and buzzed & quit in the middle of a four lane road. We managed to get almost home, & turned into our driveway when the light began flashing & the buzzer again went off. A car almost hit us, but the guy pulled over & helped push our car. The local Chevrolet dealer offered to do a diagnostic for $98, but says there are no bulletins or recalls it appears that a great many incidents of this sort have occurred without any response by the NHTSA to initiate a recall or have Chevrolet fix or disable the device on affected vehicles, even though there is a span of over seven years or more during which Chevy continued to manufacture vehicles with full knowledge that the part was defective & causing life threatening events. Please direct Chevrolet to notify owners & ameliorate the danger created by their defective product at their expense.
Vehicle has failed to start after driving and then parking. First time had vehicle towed to S repair shop. They replaced fuel pump and installed a new fuel filter. Vehicle still did not start. I researched the problem on the web. I found several complaints. I found that the problem was the vehicle anti- theft device. It malfunctions and shuts the fuel injectors down. I found a fix on the web, you have to turn the key on for 10 to 15 minutes until the vehicle theft light quits blinking turn key to the off position remove the key wait 1 to 2 minutes and then start vehicle it works. This is a temporary fix it will happen again. It has happened to me two more times. I called the local Chevrolet dealership and inquired to see if they had heard or have seen this problem I was told that the problem has been around since 2002 and there has not been a re-call for the problem. I called Chevrolet and informed them of the problem. Their response was that they were not aware of the problem. According to the dealership GM has been aware of the problem for years. And they have not done a thing to correct the problem. According it will cost $500 to replace the defective parts. This in my opinion is totally unacceptable. This is a potential safety hazard putting people in danger.
I purchased this 2005 Chevy Malibu used. Shortly after had the right turn signal bulb blow, then left turn and both headlights at the same time. While replacing the bulbs, I noticed that the plastic surrounding the turn signal bulb had a large hole in it from melting. The other assembly had the same hole burnt in the turn signal light bulb cover. I have replaced the bulbs at least 2 more times this year. The problems with bulbs failing seems to happen in wet weather more frequently than dry weather. So I believe water is getting into the headlamps through these holes. The extreme heat is causing the headlight to become extremely cloudy. Replacing the headlight assembly does not fix the problem because others have said it soon starts to melt again. Please NHTSA these lighting systems that are failing are vital for nighttime driving, please get Chevy to do the right thing and fix this dangerous issue.
I had my first problem when I purchased the car. It would jerk & felt it was moving on it's own. Then the lamps would go out and I was replacing the bulbs every month. Then my key starter has failed two times after replacing them. The driver seat has calapsed on the left hand side. The rear seat handle to raise the seats up and down has broken on both passenger side. My lights have burned out on the front driver's side you can see the residue on the cover. The chairs was not scotch guard protected as stated they are very stained even when I tried to was them. In ready some of the others it appear as though mu care had all the defects of my counter parts.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the bulb for the driver side turn signal burned out. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where failure diagnostic testing indicated possible bad wiring in the driver side turn signal and there was hole burned into the bulb. The manufacturer was contacted and the contact was advised to bring vehicle to a local dealer so they could perform a failure diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 85,000.
I own a 2005 Malibu with 160,000 miles on it. On June 16, 2011 I took my car to the dealer's service center because a week prior my car doors unlocked and my engine shut down as I was driving down the street. This happened twice about four days apart. They replaced the oxygen sensor. Aweek later it started doing the same thing but about every two to four days. I took it back on July 16, 2011 and they could not find anything wrong and told me to bring it back when I could leave the car there. Now this has become a daily occurrence, even happening two to ten times a day doing it 6 times within driving less that a mile at times. Luckily it starts right back up and that I still have control of the steering and brakes.
My 21 yr old son was driving his car on a city street when he started to smell a bad odor, possibly melting plastic. Within 15 seconds, flames shot up the front seat center console on the passenger side. He quickly pulled over and tried to put out the flames. Burning his hand in the process and realizing very quickly this wouldn't work, he quickly and urgently left the vehicle and called 911. Within 30 seconds of leaving the vehicle, the flames spread and completely consumed the vehicle. This vehicle was in excellent condition, nothing changed/tailored from the factory (ie. Stock parts including the radio), and no recent maintenance. If there had been a small child in a car seat, etc., this situation could have resulted in serious injury, even a death.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Holland Patent, NY, USA