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 went to move the Lever to the driver side seat to adjust the back of the seat for support. And I went to go pull the level and the seat assembly snapped and broke off causing the seat to move backwards and forwards(up and down) and won't sit still. the seat can move at almost all angles. It does not slide just moves side to sides. It was a perfectly fine and I never used that level before until the first time ever and it just complete fell apart. It still looks like it's intact but I took it to the dealership and they said part of the assembly snapped.
Driver seats horizontal bar has snapped it now leans to the left. Comes up off of floor when breaking and accelerating. Concerned that the seat will become detached if ever in a rear or front end collision sending me out of the vehicle
Question: What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Answer: The drivers seat frame failed via a broken weld. The weld is located on the front and right hand side of the seat (assuming you are sitting in the seat). The seat became very unstable and I do not believe the seat is safe if a crash would occur. The seat is available for inspection. I am an average sized adult in terms of weight (<200 lbs). Question: How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk" Answer: The seat is no longer rigid and thus in the event of a crash I cannot believe the seat is safe. Question: Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Answer: It is clear the seat failed - see the picture. Searching online I found many people with the same problem and the pictures online of the failure matched what happened with my seat. Question: Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Answer: No, reading online people with the same problem were not happy with GM's lack of response so I did not bother to consult with GM on this broken seat. Question: Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" Answer: No. The failure occurred this year. Picture: I am uploading a picture of the broken weld which I temporarily repaired using a hose clamp (I do not have a picture before I installed the hose clamp). In the picture you can clearly see the broken weld.
In 2014, the heater in the seat malfunctioned and burned through the seat on the driver's side and through the coat I was wearing while driving. Now, the seat heater on neither side works. I reported the incident to GM and they say that the car was not on recall and it was nothing they could do.
- Detroit, MI, USA
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Weld on seat frame is broken. In a crash driver could be ejected, along with seat. Seatbelt is attached to seat so becomes less useful and more unsafe. 1000's of complaints online already.
Drivers power seat on my 2009 chev Malibu 52000 miles is lower on right side and rubs on console when you try and move, there is bar under seat with broken weld seat moves while driving when I checked online there were a number of complaints from people with the same problem
When driving my car, it felt and sounded like the seat popped out of its track. The seat now leans in towards the center of the vehicle. You can pull around on it and feel it moving. The seat is not tightened down to the body of the car.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the bar under the driver's seat detached from the seat and the seat was moving without warning. The contact called a local dealer (ron craft Chevrolet, 4114 I-10, baytown, tx 77521) and was informed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the driver's seat moved independently as though the seat frame integrity was compromised. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to feldman Chevrolet (2801 E Michigan ave, lansing, mi), but was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that they work in conjunction with NHTSA and would need additional complaints in order to issue a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. While the vehicle was stationary, the driver's seat made a popping noise and became loose from the frame. The vehicle was diagnosed as needing a new seat frame. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,915.
The driver's seat is a power seat and, while I keep the seat in the lowest position, my wife needs the seat up higher. When raising the seat, she noticed that the seat was going up crooked and was not supporting properly on the side nearest the center of the vehicle. Upon further investigation, I noticed that the seat frame had broken near a weld, but not on the weld. Instead, a piece of the structural tubing that was welded between both sides of the framework had actually ripped, like a stress failure. I pulled the seat out of the car and took pictures of the failure on the front. I then noticed that the rear tubing was also split/cracked near the weld. The seat no longer feels solidly mounted, especially when in the raised position. The bar actually separates when raising the seat and moves around when weight is applied. After researching this on the internet, I could find no safety recall for this problem, which surprised me very much, given the nature of the failure. I believe, in an accident, that the driver seat would not be held in it's normal position properly and could injure someone more severely than the accident might cause on its own. I did find numerous other reports on various forums about people with the same type of failure. In fact, one of those people posted pictures and the tubing failed almost identically to mine, with a large piece still attached to the bracket by the weld. I do not know exactly when the break started, but it has most certainly gotten worse over time. My wife has been the primary driver of this vehicle for the last year or so, but I drove it for several years before that. The seat hardly ever got moved when I was the only driver. My wife and daughter noticed the seat leaning when in the raised position, which prompted my investigation. It appears to be a poorly engineered framework assembly and should be recalled.
The sensor that determines if the passenger airbag turns on does not work properly. I weigh 100 pounds (which is above the threshold for what should trigger the airbag to be on) and about half the time the airbag is disabled when I am sitting in the seat properly with my feet on the ground and the chair upright. I contacted Chevrolet to have them reimburse the cost of fixing this issue because it is a safety issue and has caused recalls in other Chevrolet cars, but they have refused to investigate. The sensor malfunction doesn't seem to be correlated with whether the vehicle is stationary, in motion, on a street or highway, etc. It happens about half of the time and can sometimes go on and off during the same car trip even if I stay in the same position the whole time. This issue has reported for Chevrolet Malibu on several online forums so I know it isn't an isolated issue with my car. We are concerned about what could happen if we were in a crash and the airbag didn't go off or went off late when the passenger's body was too close to the airbag.
Seat frame integrity is compromised. Seat is not secured to the running boards. Joints where the tubes are welded are compromised and separated. Appears to be a fatigue failure. In January 2013, with much argument with GM about replacing the seat frame, they finally agreed to replace it for a deposit of $300. This before GM had to go to congress to explain their lack of action for ignoring the design defect of the ignition switch. It's about 4 years later and I'm having the exact same failure of the compromise of the welds on the replaced 2013 frame. This time GM refuses to do anything about it as they say they already replaced it once! this is the same problem! I have pictures from the original seat showing the fatigued tube breakage. I have now had 2 seat frames on the same car and both failed. In engineering we call this statistically significant. GM needs to take responsibility for this poor design. It's just a mater of time until someone is killed in an accident cause the seat doesn't secure the driver. I've notice that my hips hurt from the seat slowing moving out of proper alignment.
While driving on a city street, I heard a "pop" or "bang" and then the back right side of the driver's seat collapsed. Seat is now unstable and moves while making turns. I'm concerned about the stability if involved in an accident.
Back of drivers seat broke at hinge area or mounting bracket. The seat is now loose and unstable as it tilts to center console and is unstable both in accelleration and decelleration and feels like it will seperate from the seat mounting apparatus.
A little over a year ago we noticed the drivers side power seat seemed to be moving at times. It has since broken loose from part of the frame. As long as the seat is in the down position it sits kinda steady. Any attempt to move it up or down causes it to become dislodged. It happens regardless of the motion of the car. About the same time frame, the rear door locks started acting up. Depends on their attitude of the day, they either will not lock or unlock by remote or switch. Only way to access the rear seat area is to roll the window down and reach in from outside to unlock since the lock button is not located in a handy spot. Could see a large problem in an accident with children in the backseat needing to exit quickly. Have not reported to dealer as the blogs have numerous complaints and stories that are being ignored by the manufacturer. Seat malfunction is a huge safety concern if any other bracing fails and car is in motion
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Erie, PA, USA