Chevrolet Malibu: Problems & Solutions

redmaxx · February 2006

I haven't been keeping up...When I turn my steering wheel I hear clunking. Is this the steering rack?

ypsistub · February 2006

Help...I need help replacing our fuel pump on our 2003 Malibu. We can not find an access panel. Does anyone know if we have to drop the tank to replace the pump?

gonogo · February 2006

Yes you need to drop the tank, this applies to most GM vehicles.

kurtamaxxguy · February 2006

wrt steering, yes, it could be the rack (mine clanked and rattled until it was recently replaced).

also, my Auto nation Chevy dealer apparently cleaned house and fired the manager, many sales staff and the entire service department last year. The new sales staff is the usual persian bazaar hustler model (sigh). But The new service guys seem helpful and knowledgeable, and fixed several long term issues with my maxx including the rear shade latches.

wrt the lumbar support, they are going to fix it, but they do it in an odd way; they order the internal mechanism, then send the car to a seat specialist who takes the seat apart, replaces the lumbar mechanism, and then sews the seat back together. while under warranty, my fingers are X'ed this will work!

beedublu · February 2006

Last month I had my '04 Maxx LS into the dealer for the malfunctioning cruise control, plus an oil change and tire rotation. Having tried everything else, they replaced the Body Control Module. This seems to have done the trick...I haven't taken any real long trips, but from the limited time I've spent on local expressways the cruise appears to work reliably now.

The only problem: Now, the Fuel Economy readout on the Driver Info Center reads much differently from before. Whereas it used to change gradually in .6 MPG increments it now fluctuates constantly. That's not a big concern, but what I'm wondering is why it indicates so much lower than before. With the old BCM I used to have an indication of 30 to 32 MPG on the highway at a steady 60 MPH. Now, it barely breaks the 25 MPG mark!

I've checked the mileage on the three fillups that I've made since the BCM change and they're in the 23 MPG range, a couple of MPG less than before but it's hard to judge with the colder weather.

I'm just wondering if this is anything to be concerned about. e2helper, or anyone else familiar with this car's electronics -- your input will be appreciated. Thanks.

e2helper · February 2006

As you mention with the colder weather your actual economy is lower. The new BCM they put in your vehicle would have had updated software which made some changes to the fuel economy calculations. So the new display should be more accurate.

lfarkash · February 2006

I had the same driver seat problem with my 04 Maxx. I have a very early build and the replacement parts they got did not work right. They had to order a new frame. After much frustration and 4 or 5 trips back to service, the seat is as good as new (hopefully better).

I have had my roof liner replaced to fix the rear shade issues, had the steering column replaced on recall, had the rack replaced, and just had the fuel pump and battery replaced. All under the original warranty.

I know it's crazy, but I still really like the car. It handles well, and is very comfortable and fun to drive. I just hope to have all the rotten stuff replaced by the end of the third year.

e2helper · February 2006

Oh - One other thing you might notice - If you use remote starter much - is that the rear window defogger will be turned on during a remote start at a much higher temperature than originally. It used to only come on if temperature was in mid-30s F or lower.

04bu · February 2006

It's been a while since my directionals went away and came back quickly. Yesterday I had been driving about twenty minutes and my parking brake light came on. Then it went off, and came on and off a couple more times. I use the parking brake all the time (16 years of manual transmissions does that to you) But, the brake was fully released. I pulled over the first time to work the pedal and again later at a light. No problems on the way home.

I'd like to bring this up with the dealer but nothing like chasing an intermittant electrical thing for wasting time. But it would be worth having them look into the clunking sound with my steering. I'd also like to drive a new one to see how much clunking that makes.

04bu · February 2006

A good thing to say about my car. The remote start works reliably. It's nice to get ready leave work at about 10 minutes to 11pm, stand by the door and watch the lights of the car respond to the lock and start buttons of the remote and have the lights stay on to confirm the engine is running.

It was a few degrees below zero a few nights ago and it was good to see the car still cranked and started with the remote. Yes, I think GM got that feature correct.

beedublu · February 2006

Hmm. I hadn't noticed that, actually, but thanks for pointing it out. A couple of things I did notice: The DIC no longer warns me to "PUSH PARK PEDAL" when the parking brake is engaged.

Also, the miles-to-empty display seems much more paranoid when I'm in the bottom 1/4 of the tank, sometimes dropping from 95 miles-to-empty down to 82 in just 1 or 2 miles of actual driving.

Mr_Shiftright · February 2006

e2helper---please e-mail me your current e-mail address and if it's not the one in your profile, please correct it.

thanks

(no you're not in trouble :P )

kurtamaxxxguy · February 2006

E2 should get some kind of special appreciation or something!! :shades:

e2helper · February 2006

Yes, I thought there were a couple other things that changed - that was another.

You will still get that message but only if you start moving the vehicle above a few KPH. It just doesn't come on any more when stationary - I have no idea why they changed it. :confuse:

maxx4me · February 2006

....me either. This is the first car I have owned since the 70's that has the emergency brake down below. The message board is a wonderful reminder that I'm not going anywhere until I've released the pedal. 22k on my OEM Bridgestones and still going strong. I figure I'll rotate them one more time, and likely get through the entire summer before puting new g009 Potenzas on the Maxx.

pao · February 2006

only 22K.....my..I just rolled thru 62K on mine this weekend....have over 32K on the OEMS..rotated them once....and will probably get another 20K out of them....will put my custom rims back on in April probably after winter salt is gone.......no problems to report on my 04 Maxx LT....probably need brakes soon.....

josephus · February 2006

Speaking of the DIC...I know this was brought up a year ago, and E2 said he was going to look into it, but i'm not sure anything was ever said.

I've noticed that sometimes when I start the car with the remote, when I open the doors and sit down, before I put the key in the DIC reads "LOCKED" and shows the temperature.

Other times, under the same conditions, it shows nothing at all until I put the key in. Any thoughts what that's about?

e2helper · February 2006

Yes, we discussed that previously. This only happens occassionally during remote start, correct? If you want to have it addressed the dealer will likely have to replace BCM to get updated software.

I don't remember if I posted more of the details on what is occurring before or not. Basically the radio is getting woken up when it isn't supposed to during a remote start and because theft security infomation wasn't transmitted it is displaying LOCKED. That security information doesn't get transmitted until you put key in ignition and turn ignition on.

billb · February 2006

I have a '05 Maxx LT with 20K that is not quite 9 months old. I believe the build date is Feb '05. I have had 2 "shaking" incidents while driving recently.

On Friday March 10 I was driving about 60 mph when the car began to shake like it had 4 square tires. I was running late for an appt and was nearby so I continued until I reached my destination. The problem was worse at high speeds but continued at 25 mph and below. I got out checked all 4 tires and they were fine. I left 2 hours later and there was no problem............until tonight.

10 miles into a 45 mile drive on I-95 the same thing happened. I was going about 70 mph. I pulled to the right lane and continued to drive. No warning lights, no smoke, just a lot of shaking like I had 4 square tires. It got progressively worse and made noise. My hands were shaking on the wheel. A couple miles later I pulled onto the shoulder and shut the car off. I waited 30 seconds or so merged into traffic and the problem continued. I pulled off at the next exit and stopped at a gas station. All tires were fine. I raised the hood. I thought I smelled the faint smell of something burning on the front right but it was a very busy station and it was tough to really tell. I waited another minute, started the car up and drove the next 30 miles with no problem.

Any ideas? I have a service appt tomorrow night.

Other than warped rotors the car has had no other problems.

e2helper · February 2006

Sorry - I have no suggestions - that is out of my area of knowledge. I am glad you have service appt!

imidazol97 · February 2006

Could it be from dragging brakes causing the rotors to heat and drag more? You could coast to the side when it happens again and see if the rotors are hot. Don't touch them, just hold finger close to feel if heat is radiating from one that's super hot. That could have been the smell you noticed at the gas station.

billb · February 2006

Thanks. That is exactly what I was thinking. It may explain the premature rotor wear. The 20K is mostly highway miles. They have been noticeable since 6 months and 14K miles.

kurtamaxxxguy · February 2006

Is there a TSB for this, E2, as my '04 Maxx does exactly the same thing. Would like to get this fixed before the warranty expires.

redmaxx · February 2006

I highly doubt that you need new brakes at 22k. What most likely is the problem is the brake pad glide grooves need to be lubed. Easy job use Permatex Brake Lube. With that few miles 99% of the time all you need is some Permatex.

Are you sure? When I hold constant pressure I hear them screeching as I come down around 10 MPH to stop. If I'm holding constant pressure, nothing is sliding, right?

redmaxx · February 2006

I have seen some cases however where just being confusing didn't explain what was being seen. I am not sure if this is the case with your vehicle however. First of all do you use both key fobs with vehicle or only one? Other thing I wanted to mention is that the system remembers the key fob used to UNLOCK the vehicle - LOCK button on fob doesn't mean anything to personalization feature. You can't erase setting but you could program them to be the same (for at least the radio presets). That wouldn't help with remembering last CD track or Band though.

I will check into this a little further

Were you able to find anything? I couldn't find anything in my manual about it. It makes no sense whatsoever that hitting the lock button doesn't store your settings and unlock restores them. If I drive around and customize the radio, then driver 2 comes up to drive it and unlock the car, bam, all their settings are overwritten. What were the designers thinking? Why didn't they just fix it for '05 rather than doing away with it?

beedublu · February 2006

FWIW...mine did this occasionally with its original BCM and it's still doing it every now and then with the new one!

matches1978 · February 2006

ok i have a 99 malibu ls, car was dieing for no apparent reason , replaced computer ( did not have programmed at the dealer first) now the theft system comes on whenever i try to just start it. any ideas ?

n0rseman · February 2006

Yes there is still sliding. Even with constant pressure there is still movement. This movement is more of a vibration and if the glide groves are not properly lubed you will have metal to metal contact causing the screeching sound you are hearing. Just put the Permatex on and the problem will be gone. Just try it. If I'm wrong you can say I don't know what I'm talkin' about, but if I'm right your noise will be gone. DO IT!!

e2helper · February 2006

2nd printing of 2004 manual contained a brief description of on operation in a few sections. I am not sure if that version is the one available at www.mygmlink or not.

pwd666 · February 2006

Ok I'm starting to hate this car... I changed that hazard/turn signal relay beside the AC vents and still I get that pain in the [non-permissible content removed] clicking noise when I'm not turning. I hope it's not the actual turn signal arm or something. Does anyone have this problem? Can the turn signal arm be rebuild?

Also in terms of the E-brake indicator I did look up but the car's computer is in the way. It has two screws that say do not over torque. If I removed those two screws would that take out the wires from the computer? I also noticed that the computer was hanging out there. I tried to push it back into the clip but it doesn't hold.

This is what's I thinking... I need to take apart that computer to get that the E-brake switch. Secondly the plastic from around the computer needs to be replaced because the plastic clip on the other side that I can't see is broken.

Any suggestions?

redmaxx · February 2006

Yes there is still sliding. Even with constant pressure there is still movement. This movement is more of a vibration and if the glide groves are not properly lubed you will have metal to metal contact causing the screeching sound you are hearing. Just put the Permatex on and the problem will be gone. Just try it. If I'm wrong you can say I don't know what I'm talkin' about, but if I'm right your noise will be gone. DO IT!!

I thought about your description and it makes sense. The rotor can't be perfectly round after all. The car goes in on Tuesday and I'll ask them to check into it and also tell me how much life is left on the pads.

hogan035 · February 2006

I just purchased a Malibu Maxx 06 on Dec 23 05 and everything has been working well on the car , i only have 1700 miles on it so far. I found the other day on the passenger side that the plastic visor cover lifted up and when i went to shut it up it completly fell in my passenger seat to my surprise, i checked it out and found the right side little plastic peg where it snaps in was broken and still in there. Today Feb 27th 06 i opened up my passenger side mirror and the plastic cover would not open all the way so i tried to open it up again and it broke, same right peg as the passenger side is broke also.. I was very upset with this, i think how cheap a product can this be to have both plastic visor parts to break on a car only about 1 and a half months old? so i went into my dealership and talked to a dealer and he said that it is a problem with the Malibu's and they were aware of the problem and had me go to the parts dept and they ordered me two new visors... but i wonder if it is the same as the one's on there, i believe it will break again and i will be in there ordering another one or two of these again... they better come up with a better solution besides just replacing it with the same that they put in at the factory... :mad:

mjr15197 · February 2006

The happened on our 04 the first week we had it. It was before the TSB came out on that issue so I'm not sure if they just replaced the mirror part or the whole sunshade. But whatever they did worked and we have had no futher problems with it.

pao · February 2006

well first problem...seems the third brake light has stopped working on my 04 Maxx LT...looked in the owners manual..and doesnt seem to be tied to a fuse.....since its an LED light on a circuit board...wondering what would cause the failure..any ideas.....Im past warranty on mileage..so this will be on my dime....any TSBs out there on this issue?

kurtamaxxxguy · March 2006

and am trying to get dealer to fix remaining issues in my '04 Maxx. Biggest worry is transmission.

E2, can you please refresh me on the BCM issue with early '04's? Apparently when using remote start, you can get inconsistant infomration from the DIC (Dashboard information console) because of this.

As for lumbar support, the operation appears to be successful (the dealer had a seat specialist in on subcontract, who unstitched seatback bottom, replaced lumbar (welds were broken), and stitched seat back up (did a good job!).

e2helper · March 2006

The only think I am aware of is that you could potentially see "LOCKED" in the radio display when in remote start. Have you seeen this?

maxx4me · March 2006

I know you were asking Kurt, but I have e2helper. I use my remote starter frequently. Is "Locked" a bad thing to see?

kurtamaxxxguy · March 2006

Hi, E2.
I sometimes, but not always, see LOCKED in the radio display after a remote start. Behavour is inconsistant here.

redmaxx · March 2006

As for lumbar support, the operation appears to be successful (the dealer had a seat specialist in on subcontract, who unstitched seatback bottom, replaced lumbar (welds were broken), and stitched seat back up (did a good job!).

I'm concerned about the long-term longevity of these seats. The weld on the lift mechanism is shot in my car at only around 23k. :sick:

redmaxx · March 2006

Hi, E2.
I sometimes, but not always, see LOCKED in the radio display after a remote start. Behavour is inconsistant here.

I get the same thing, but it is so intermittent and inconsistent that there is nothing I can do. Almost guaranteed that the dealer won't see it, so no point in mentioning it. Its only a minor irritation anyway, the radio works when I key in.

kurtamaxxxguy · March 2006

redmaxx, do you have power seats? what kind of symptom does the broken weld create (lift doesn't work? rattles?)

04cad · March 2006

I noticed your comment about warped brake rotors and wondered if they happened to show up soon after you had your car in for service where they may have had your wheels off of the car? Like maybe for a tire rotation or service where they check your brake pads for wear? I have had a similar problem and it seems to occur after service at our local dealership. I have a theory that the techs aren't properly following the torque sequence and procedure which warps the rotors. Our 1994 Cadillac had the rotors warped by a tire shop when they rotated the tires prior to a vacation and since then I have noticed problems on our 2004 Cadillac after a recent tire rotation. I am wondering if the techs are getting in a hurry with the air wrenches and running one or two of the lug nuts up tight before they get them all snugged up? Anyway that's my conspiracy theory....

kurtamaxxxguy · March 2006

this is --exactly-- what happened to my Maxx. Bad tire torqueing bent the roters! The service rep I talked to told me that can happen with typical impact wrenches, and that they __now__ use special torque tools to prevent this from happening.

In my case (not sure how), properly retorquing the tires made most of the shake go away about 1K miles later.

kurtamaxxxguy · March 2006

Well, I hope E2 or someone can advise me of any TSBs related to these things so they can at least be looked at.

I'm concerned that so many major things have happened to this car in its warranty period. CU claims Malibus in general have a bad reliability record (the '04+ is no better). Only the Maxx managed to get an "average" rating, and mine is hardly average.

imidazol97 · March 2006

Whenever I had my tires rotated and rebalanced I retorque the wheels at home that same day. I jack up each wheel and check by loosening and then properly retightening. Even with that the local Sears store got me by stripping a stud and not wanting to fix what they broke (I bought the tires from NTB since I hated the local Sears stores-Sears owned part of NTB by that time and then closed all the local ones but Sears honored the balance warranty.)

I just have new tires put on the front and the local tire store uses the "magic" torque sticks that won't overtighten. One lug was at 80 and the others were 95-100.

redmaxx · March 2006

redmaxx, do you have power seats? what kind of symptom does the broken weld create (lift doesn't work? rattles?)

Yep power driver's seat. What happens is that I'm trying to move the rear of the seat bottom up. Instead of the entire seat moving, only one side is moving. While this is happening there is lots of clanking and popping as it tries to go up.

redmaxx · March 2006

CU claims Malibus in general have a bad reliability record (the '04+ is no better). Only the Maxx managed to get an "average" rating, and mine is hardly average.

This is why I dislike CU more and more. Brand new model from the ground up and they give it a bad reliability rating (it had it from the start). So far my Maxx has been reliable powertrain and basic stuff-wise, but the nice featurs have been experiencing more problems than they should. This is better than the 03 I had. :lemon:

n0rseman · March 2006

CU is nothing more than a advertising magazine for Japanese brands. I put more stock in reports from companies like JD Power. At least with JD Power I get reports based on info from actual owners, not some arbitrary opinion from some so-called "expert."

ericw55 · March 2006

I have a 2004 Maxx, that occasionally shows "locked" on the DIC, when I use the remote starter. The car runs well. Do I need a new BCM?

billb · March 2006

I noticed your comment about warped brake rotors and wondered if they happened to show up soon after you had your car in for service where they may have had your wheels off of the car?

Could be. I have noticed the problem since at least 14K. It could have been a little sooner. I rotated the tires at 10K and 20K and have 22K now. The problem didn't go away after the last rotation so maybe they are still on wrong. Either way this is not right on a 9 month old car. Again, I got 78K and 71K out of my first 2 sets of brakes on my Subaru covering the same territory. They warped before replacing them but it was closer to 50K than 10K.

Chevrolet Malibu: Problems & Solutions

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