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2000-2011 Chevrolet Malibu
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Comments
Hope this helps somebody from making a big mistake. John
After driving all those cars I would say, without question, the imports are far superior to the domestics. I remember driving the Chevy Mailbu and then going to the Toyota dealer, driving the Camry and being shocked at how much smoother, more refined and better designed and engineered it is than the Malibu or any of the domestics.
My favorite out of all cars I drove? It was the Passat. I thought it provided the best driving experience. There really is something to that German heritage. The car I actually bought? My second favorite. A 2002 V6 Honda Accord. Why? I keep my cars a long time and I just didn't trust VW's long term reliability. I know with a Honda or Toyota product one is virtually assured bullet proof quality and reliability for years and years, and hundreds of thousands of miles. In the final analysis that still can't be said for American or German cars.
My '98 Malibu LS is holding up very strong in South Carolina. I have over 94000 miles on it and the only problems I've had were an alternator at 53,000 and the lower intake manifold gasket leak that was repaired at 78,000 miles. I had the A/C flicker but replaced the control unit in the dash and haven't had trouble with it since. Here the summer heat is harsh 90's and 100's occurring easily and this car takes it without breaking a sweat and the last few winters here, we had some pretty big winter storms by SC standards with 6 inches of snow this year and many past years ice storms. This car handled them with no problems. Sorry for people with Malibu's with troubles, but mine is a joy. I still get 30 mpg on the highway and 24 in city driving. I had the transmission fluid changed in May at 90,000 miles and I'm still on the original spark plugs. I hope this is some encouragement for some Malibu owners. The problems that did occur were IMO normal. Brake rotor problems were not a serious issue for me. My car's build day was Jan. 15, 1998, with the 155hp engine, not the 150hp engine as stated by the car's manual.
The Chevy customer complaint line said I was out of luck and the dealer will not help again. Haven't these people ever heard of Hanta Virus? All the time I am in the car, I am breathing rodent nest debris.
So, I would love to hear from anybody who has had this problem in the 2000, 2001, or 2002 models. If I can get enough juice I might be able to sway Chevy to cover this potentially fatal design flaw and clean that "crap" out of the air I breathe..
Thanks ahead of time for any help you can offer.
Terry
Do you leave your windows open at night?
I began smelling burnt oil coming in through the vents a few months ago and the dealer responded by "gooping" every engine seam with high temp sealant. This of course didn't stop it all together and can still smell the odor, but to a lesser degree. I noticed some moisture on the firewall side of the engine, just under the head. Has anyone experienced this? I only have 2K left on the standard warranty and am looking to confront the dealer with some good/hard info. I imagine that with the 1/8th inch thick gaskets sealing every engine component, a leak is bound to turn up anywhere.
Boy, I can go on and on about this car and the time it's spent in the shop. If GM would install some ceramic rotors and pads on this car and replace the Isuzu engine, they might just have a car worth it's salt.
Thanks everyone!!
Dave
I reset the switch to RECIRC, but it continues to switch back to FRESH.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Should I bring it to the dealer or is this normal?
I also notice that one of my plastic headlight assemblies is taking on moisture, is something that the delaer will repair under warranty?
Thanks for your insight, this board is very insightful.
Thanks!!!!
Lance
It's not the Impala... but with the price tag I'll have a good piece of change left when I replace the tires. Other then the road noise seems like a fine mid size riding car ,at good value, providing of course the 3.1 does the job. I also laid on the 5 yr 100000 ,no deductible just in case. Time will tell and I still have my Lumina to boot, other then brakes its it's been a great car, well worth keeping. Cheers
The tire issue is a problem and you might want to replace them. Saturn uses those crappy Firestones on their L-series also and people complain about the noise all the time. Our new Alero has BF Goodrich T/A tires and they are excellent.
As my son says drive the car and enjoy, after 3 years trade it in , it well still have 2 years warranty , undercoated, wax sealed so it should be a good trade in. He's right again.
9v will hold the radio & I understand computer settings also.
Thats the beauty of it if you short out something nothing happens.
I would think if you shorted out something for a long time you would lose the radio,but a momentary short would be ok.
I changed the oil without changing the filter yesterday because there simply wasn't a big enough gap underneath the car or from underneath the hood to get the filter in or out. Any idea? Thank!
BTW, does anyone agree with me that the current Malibu looks very fine, except that from behind it's quite unappealing. Hondas look much better from behind, and so does every other car, except, maybe, the Cavalier, would you not say?
Honda Civic hatchbacks turned so ugly from behind (from previously being pretty nice) their last generation they stopped making them because of low sales (until the current Si came out).
Pontiac Aztec/Buick Rendezvous have odd proportions in the rear. The Buick's tailights seem way too high.
I did the usual oil-lube-filter at a GM dealership today (BTW they got H2 in the showroom, mama mia, what a sweet car!!!), and the service guy was trying to sell me more stuff (as usual), and he said I needed a transmission fluid flush and a rear drum brake service, because, as he said, there's a need to remove the dust which has nowhere to go and would corrode the brakes. Is any of that true? How often should the transmission fluid be flushed and rear brakes serviced? Thanks!
However, I believe that this is a long stretch. I serviced the transmission at 40k miles, and nevertheless the transmission failed and was replaced at about 48k miles.
Probably, 30k miles is reasonable. Depending on driving style and conditions.
I dunno, I am somewhat paranoid about these service people. I am afraid they might intentionally damage something in hopes you would come to them to get it fixed. It's an authorized dealership, but I don't trust anyone in this business, and it's a shame
I too am paranoid about others messing with my car so I do most things such as this myself
It works for me.
For the warranty work:
1. The gas mileage (on my car anyway) is pitiful. It is suppose to give 24/29? The best my car has done is about 24 on the highway and about 20 city (the worst being around 17). No ideas on that one.
2. The left front break locks up.
3. There is a rattling sound coming from the right drivers side. I can't tell if it is the shock or strut.
4. The A/C turns on and off. If you turn it off then back on it sometimes fixes itself.
5. Both back windows make a gear-like whining sound when they go up.
6. I think we all know about the tires. They only have about 25k on them and they already have a dry rot crack all the way around.
Anybody know of any good dealerships in the Hershey/Harrisburg to get the work done?
p.s. On the good side, I do like the engine. It has a good amount of kick to it and it handles the hills around here (some are quite steep) very well.
customer's cash incentive. During the 2002 model year, wasn't there a $2002 cash incentive offered as well? My negotiating skills aren't up to what they were the last time I purchased a new car. I want to take advantage of the $3000. incentive, but if I can't get the price I'm looking for, I'll wait another year. Does anyone know how these incentives progress during a model year? I'm trying to find out the approximate months the "$2003." and the $3000. cash incentives will be offered for the 2003 Malibu.