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.
The Malibu my wife and I own have had problem with the left passenger door lock not being actuated when commanded. For example, when the door was commanded to lock, it would stay unlocked. But more seriously, it would stay locked when commanded to unlock. I took it to neuville motors in waupaca, wi, a GM/Chevy dealer, to have it fixed. According to a service manager at the dealership, door lock actuator malfunctions in Malibu from that model year is common and he sees many of them come in with exact same problem as my car's. I believe a door staying locked when commanded to open is a serious safety hazard if a rapid evacuation out of the vehicle becomes necessary. Also, if the vehicle rolls on the side of the opposite side of malfunctioning door, evacuating passengers occupying rear seats can be a challenge as the only door available may stay locked when commanded to unlock. I have contacted GM, but they insisted that they are not responsible as the vehicle is out of warranty and a recall was not issued by your administration. The reference number of my complaint with GM is [xxx]. I believe this is a serious safety issue if children/elderly/pets are occupying the rear seat, or the passenger in the back seat becomes unconscious in case of a crash. Please consider issuing a recall if the problem is a common one. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The cruise control was malfunctioning and after researching the problem I discovered that the brake lights could also be affected. When applying the brake the light in the rear window would actually go completely off. The repair is described in tsb 08-05-22-009C and was completed. The problem appears to be fixed. However it appears there was a previous recall for this type of problem with earlier General Motors models and the problem is still recurring. Chevrolet has not send any kind of notice to owners about this potentially dangerous situation. The computer code C0131 is activated when this occurs.
I had a headlight go out over a year ago, had to pay 300$ to get it replaced (new design.... makes everything complicated, thanks GM!). not even 3 months later, same headlight out again (passenger). My mechanic noticed water in the light compartment (condensation) which he says will cause them to overheat and die. Got the light changed again, hoping avoiding car-washes was the solution. Nope. Out again. And then on again! and now out again for the past 4 months. I haven't had the money to get it fixed and by the grace of god I have not gotten a ticket. The brights both work!!!! I believe it is a wiring problem, and judging from the internet this problem seems frequent enough to warrant a recall. Note: There have been numerous electrical problems on this car, but I would like to Focus on this one getting recalled.
Brake lights malfunction. Thank god, I was driving behind my wife and her Malibu's brake lights were not on when she braked. And then turned on when she didn't have her foot on the brake pedal. Took to dealership, and he said he's been seeing that alot lately. Please recall before someone has major accident! thank you
- Ashburn, VA, USA
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For several months my passenger side door will either lock (and you cannot get out of the car) or, once you are out, the door lock prevents the door from closing. This has occurred only when stopped, at this point.the problem has been intermittent and gives no warning. I am also having issues with the lighting on the instrument panel; when outside lighting is dim, it often will not come on if set in auto mode. Both have been reported to dealer and I am told they "cannot reproduce the problem- bring it back when it is occurring!". both issues raise significant safety concerns for me. I certainly hope GM isn't waiting for some of us or family members to be killed before they act to correct these issues.
Within a one year period, had to have all 4 wheel bearings replaced, a strut, and the front sway bar linkage. 2009 Malibu ltz, 3.6 L V6 with approx. 32,000 miles.
While driving down the road the brake lights turn on. If I touch the breaks they go off. This happens most often when it rains, snows or if driving with the air conditioning on. The cruise control stops working at the same time. I have had this into a local dealership on three occasions where I have been told "we have to experience this in order to correct it." I am aware that many other Malibu vehicles experience this as there have been rumors of this becoming a recall for many months. This has been going on for a couple years for my car and I was under warranty when I had it in and not corrected. I try not to think about it now that it is out of warranty, but because I am expecting my first child and this is a safety concern I am becoming more worried. What will it take to get this corrected" how could they prove that the brake lights didn't come on when someone stopped to turn and then was hit" please help!
Door locks randomly locked and unlocked. I could be driving or the car could be parked and the door locks would go up down up down. If it locked, there was no way to open it, I was stuck in the car. I felt it was such a hazard that I just had to remove the fuse that operated the door locks.
While driving, the car will appear to think that the brakes are being applied. The brake lights will all activate, and cruise control will cease working. When the brake pedal is depressed, the brake lights turn off. The brakes still stop the car, but the lights and cruise control appear to be not calibrated to the brake sensor. Also, sometimes 3 warnings appear in the dash display: ESC off, service ESC, and service traction, though it is not necessary for the problem to occur. This happens very intermittently, but once it starts, it usually doesn't go away. I've had the problem repaired about 6 times, but it keeps coming back. I am out of options, as the repairmen seem to not know what is wrong with the car.
I was in my driveway preparing for windshield installation. Kept on hearing intermittent clicking. Realized it was the power door locks. They were not fully locking or unlocking, only attempting to. It continued for a few days then stopped for a few weeks. Yesterday we were on a 75 mile drive and 75 miles back with the locks incessantly going through their intermittent rapid cycling. I never know for certain if my doors are locked or not. Besides being extremely distracting and irritating while driving, there is the presence of a safety issue. There are a lot of scenarios that could be played out.
I bought this car in June 2010 and the first thing to happen was the battery exploded in 09/2010. A few months later a my car was broken into because I did not realize that when I lock my doors that all locks but 1. the next thing that happend was the front head light shorted out, not the actual head light but the socket that the light goes into and that happend around 03/2012. Around January 2013 I was stopped beside my daughter school and a man pulled over and told me that my brake lights had been on for a few miles. I did not realize this and could not see this unless I was driving at night. I rarely drive at night but when I was driving at night I noticed when you get to a certain speed the brake lights will come on and and then go off if you tap the brake and then come back on and stay on until whenever they decide to go off. Sometimes they will be on when you crank up the car. It concerns me because what if they brake light fail all together. It seems like there is some kind of eletrical malfuntion with this car. I have researched online and find many people have the same issue with lights coming on in the care at sporadic time times as well as the brake light issue. I called GM, they took the info but offered no assistance. I really believe a recall or some type of investigation should be done on this. I know people that have gotten behind the same car I drive and they see they brake lights continously on like my car. This is very dangerous.
Recently, I experienced a failed door locking actuator in my 2009 Chevy Malibu while driving my 2yr old to daycare. I was turning right out of my neighborhood, when my door(driver's door) swung open. I grabbed it and tried shutting, but the locking mechanism was locked, so it wouldn't shut. I pulled over and had to manually unlock the door so my door would shut. I couldn't even imagine if this situation occurred to a door in the backseat with my daughter sitting there in her child seat. Fast forward one week, and now 3 of my 4 locking actuators are failed. I did some research on the internet and noticed that there are numerous complaints from Malibu owners about these failed locking actuators. I then started to wonder if there was a recall on this. I called GM and they said there isn't a recall and that is just normal part failure. Normal part failure"!"! I've had the car for less than 4 years and have only put 45K miles on it. In my opinion, this is a major safety issue.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the doors would sporadically become locked and unlocked independently. Additionally, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection and the contact was awaiting diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 90,000. The current mileage was 100,000.
I had a problem with the brake light function. When driving, the brake lights would be on. When pressing the brake, the lights would turn off. I had to pay to have a switch replaced by the dealership to fix this issue.
Cruise control disengaged. Third brake light came on and brake lights came on. Would not go off. After a period of time ( 30 minutes or so ) the brake light went off. People have told us numerous times we had no brake lights. This has happened a lot of times since then. Dealer said they couldn't find anything wrong.
Heating element of heated seat feature burned a hole completely through the front of the driver's seat back. The hole is centered in the lower lumbar area of the seat back.
Driver side and passenger side automatic door locks have failed. Intermittently, opening any of the four doors at any given time will cause all locks to engage.
My rear driver door lock will not activate. Only manually. Very dangerous. It seems to be a very common thing with these cars. They have bad actuators. This should be a recall by General Motors...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Walnut , IA, USA