I bought my 2010 Malibu because I really like the style of it! Initially, the air bag light would come on all the time, and there's a harness under the driver's seat you have to wiggle and get in the right spot for that sensor to turn off. GM did recall this problem. HOWEVER, another problem presented itself about two weeks after buying the car. The passenger side low beam would begin flickering, I didn't think much of it initially. Then, the drivers side light began to follow suit and then I was concerned. So upon start, the car would flicker both light between the nice bright it's supposed to have, to the dim, almost unusable lighting.
My dad took it for a drive and THE LOW BEAMS DIED ON HIM COMPLETELY WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY, they came back on with their same flicker after the car was restarted. After this problem held out for about a week, the passenger light went completely out, followed by the drivers light.
It doesn't stop there though. NOW, my drivers side taillight is also completely dead, blinker and all. GM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Judging by this forum, it's a huge issue. FIX THIS HARNESS. I love to support local shops, as I've only worked for smaller shops and always shop local where I can, and I continue this courtesy to our nation's automotive manufacturers. I would've never considered a foreign car but judging by road longevity, that might be the answer. SO many forums are filled with people spending hundreds or thousands to fix this problem just to have it come back, with NO kind of hint to GM doing anything to help customers they've burdened with this issue.
Long story short, the lights are dying one by one... This is unsafe and I do not feel safe driving the car in this condition. Where's the customer service... So disappointing.
Passenger bulb went out unexpectedly. To change the bulb, it requires removing the entire front clip. I had a shop do the work for $307, paying for both bulbs to be replaced. It ended up that the new bulb wouldn't power on and we had to replace the headlight assembly wiring harness. That was October 2018.
A year later, the driver's side bulb went out. Found out the shop didn't change the driver's side bulb. I replaced both bulbs myself this time, taking the front clip mostly off to remove the headlight assembly. I found bad wiring on the driver's side and had to replace the wiring harness on that side as well. The driver's side light will randomly stop working now, and to get it working I have to smack the headlamp hard. It will then come on, as if the wiring is bad. Again. However, every time I pull it apart, the wiring is good and the problem cannot be duplicated.
I’m not the first, and judging from similar threads on the internet, my Malibu will not be the last. The passenger side low beam bulb socket has melted. This will be the 4th time in three years I have to take the bumper off and replace the pigtail. This time I will turn off the automatic headlight function during daylight hours...
Hopefully, the bulb will last long enough to unload this vehicle. Otherwise, this been a great car... I bought it off the showroom floor...
Replaced low beam on passenger side 3 times in two years. Nobody knows why, but it cost over $100 to replace the bulb, due to having to remove the cowling to get to the bulb. Due to the high cost, we opted to replace all bulbs while the cowling was off. Could find no recall on this problem.
The driver side low beam light keeps going out every couple months if that... With how much of a pain it is to change the headlights, this is definitely a pain in the butt and it's very dangerous driving with only 1 headlight...
- Misti H.,
Sioux Falls, US
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The passenger side headlight bulb went out for the first time in July 2014, no problem had it replaced for $129.56. On Nov. 2015 headlight bulb went out on the drivers side, $113.73 cost to replace. On Feb. 2016 headlight bulb went out on the passenger side, cost $112.61. At this time we heard that the front end of the car had to be removed to replace the bulb. I complained with the receipts of previous replacements the mechanic said that the labor to remove the front bumper alone was $120.00. In Jun. 2016 the headlight bulb on the passenger side went out again, I complained what kind of warranty do I get for previous payments? Again the labor alone involved to remove the front bumper is $120.00. They did say that it was the "connector" this time. So they replaced several bulbs in the front grill of the Malibu this time, cost $207.00 (I know I should have woke up by this time). Now the new problem is with the new headlight bulbs while driving at night in the dark the light from the headlights only illuminates/reaches out about 20-23 feet, so I have to use the high-beams to see better. And pray that a deer is not in the road when the low-beams are on. There is no way that I could avoid hitting it. Our Malibu is a 4 cyl. with no pick-up power and the AC blows out only slightly cool air. When driving the car during daylight hours our headlights stay on, I am going to turn them off during the day and hope the headlight bulbs last longer. Going to get rid of the car as soon as we can, the wife bought it new without my knowledge. Should probably start going to a new garage/mechanic also.
This is the 3rd light that I had to replace in my headlights of my car. There is a shortage somewhere. The lights may only last up to 6 months. We are talking about the headlights. To play it safe right now, I am using my high beams. One minute the right headlights goes out the next minute the left headlights go out. The dealership states that it is not a recall problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I bought my 2010 Malibu because I really like the style of it! Initially, the air bag light would come on all the time, and there's a harness under the driver's seat you have to wiggle and get in the right spot for that sensor to turn off. GM did recall this problem. HOWEVER, another problem presented itself about two weeks after buying the car. The passenger side low beam would begin flickering, I didn't think much of it initially. Then, the drivers side light began to follow suit and then I was concerned. So upon start, the car would flicker both light between the nice bright it's supposed to have, to the dim, almost unusable lighting.
My dad took it for a drive and THE LOW BEAMS DIED ON HIM COMPLETELY WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY, they came back on with their same flicker after the car was restarted. After this problem held out for about a week, the passenger light went completely out, followed by the drivers light.
It doesn't stop there though. NOW, my drivers side taillight is also completely dead, blinker and all. GM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Judging by this forum, it's a huge issue. FIX THIS HARNESS. I love to support local shops, as I've only worked for smaller shops and always shop local where I can, and I continue this courtesy to our nation's automotive manufacturers. I would've never considered a foreign car but judging by road longevity, that might be the answer. SO many forums are filled with people spending hundreds or thousands to fix this problem just to have it come back, with NO kind of hint to GM doing anything to help customers they've burdened with this issue.
Long story short, the lights are dying one by one... This is unsafe and I do not feel safe driving the car in this condition. Where's the customer service... So disappointing.
- Aidan S., Fenton, US