Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Chevrolet Malibu: Problems & Solutions

1…5758606263…71

Comments

  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    Sorry for giving you too much detail. :P
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    it's hard enough to learn how these cars are supposed to work. thanks for info! ;)
  • merrymaxxmerrymaxx Member Posts: 5
    Hey, e2.. dealer gave me that same service bulletin you were talking about. Talk about over-engineering a thermometer.. wow.
    can never have too much detail.. :)
  • emunsonemunson Member Posts: 5
    My 2005 Maxx has started getting a clunking coming through the steering on even mildly rough roads. It is a rough jarring feeling, and when coming to a stop on a rough patch of pavement it feels like the whole frontend is coming apart. My dealer service department has looked into it, and said that it is a problem that GM is aware of, but has no fix for at this time. Besides this problem, I have had; irritatingly loud creaks from liftgate (two adjustments, but noise continues); out of round brake rotors; repeated front end noises (popping, squeeking); replacement of primary drive belt and harmonic balancer seal; passenger side rear door was out of alignment so bad that the body shop had to grind down metal to get the door sill to seat properly so door could be aligned; whining from transmission (though only slight) on acceleration; fuel tank filler tube came loose from fuel tank; and car pulls to the left (dealer states that warranty for Missouri is only good for 7500 miles on alignments due to road conditions). And, this car has had numerous cheap plastic interior pieces break and need replacement. I finally had enough, and contacted Krohn & Moss to see about getting my car replaced under the lemon law, or the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (essentially, it says that repeated attempts to fix numerous problems can lead to "enough is enough"). This car was wonderful when I bought it, but very quickly turned into a rattling, squeeking, bumpy, ill handling turd. If GM wants to sell more cars, then they simply need to build BETTER cars, and stand behind them with a longer warranty.
  • mjr15197mjr15197 Member Posts: 13
    In case anyone had a similar problem with the increased steering effort on start-up, the issue has been resolved on our car. The dealer also had to replace the steering rack in addition to the work described in the TSB.
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    A number of posters here, including me, have commented about the Maxx's rattly front end. If GM does have a fix (I've had the rack and columm replaced - didn't help that much), that would be great to hear about.

    The liftgate creaks are most likely due to squeaky fasteners. Try this...with liftgate open, push the bottommost plastic trim inward towards the liftgate. If you hear a loud squeak or grinding sound as the plastic flexes inward, then you have the same fastener problem I had. This is fixable.

    Was the car damaged during shipping to dealer? I cannot imagine a new car leaving the factory with a door so badly out of alignment it would need grinding of the body to get it to fit!

    I too am worried about long term reliability of this car, and its resale once it's discontinued.
  • bc60bc60 Member Posts: 17
    My wife's '01 Malibu LS has displayed the TheftLock light on the dashboard a couple times over the past month. When it has happened, she has pulled over and turned the car off and back on and everything seems fine after that. The owners manual just says its a theft protection thing. What could be the cause of this and is it something that I should have the dealer look into? I'd hate for the car to cut off while she is driving it and not restart because the car is thinking that it is being stolen. Do you think its the chip in the key going bad or possibly something in the ignition?
  • maxx4memaxx4me Member Posts: 1,340
    I could not agree more Kurt. Let's all band together to keep one another informed about any solution to the front suspension rattle issue. I too have had the column and the left strut replaced. Neither one had an impact on the "sounds like the front end is about to fall off" noises. I'm glad to know that replacing the rack and pinion also solves nothing. I won't waste my dealer's time with that one then.
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    While my Maxx's rack and columm replacement did little to fix the __rattles__, it __did__ fix some significant popping when turning the wheel as well as improving overall road feel and response from the steering.

    Before my warranty croaks, I'll discuss this again with the local newly revamped service department and see if they have any answers. If not, I'll have to give serious thought to replacing the Maxx next year as I am __not__ waiting for it to self destruct (like all too many GM cars seem to do).
  • redmaxxredmaxx Member Posts: 627
    There has to be some fix, since mine doesn't rattle at all, just pops. Now if I could just get the whine to go away on acceleration (mine was built in 2/04). The dealer applied some bulletin about the shifter cable but it didn't help.

    Another question: If I'm first in line at a light and I take off quickly, smoothly but quickly applying the gas, I get a feeling like the front-end is falling apart. The whole front end shakes like the tires are slipping and catching very quickly, but the traction control never comes on and I don't hear any squealing. OTOH, if I nail the throttle, I do hear the tires and the traction light comes on. Any idea what this is? :confuse:
  • charlesm1charlesm1 Member Posts: 3
    The light on my Driver Information Center is so dull that I can not read it in bright sun light. I turn the knob on the left side of the steering wheel all the way up, but I still can not read the panel in bright day light. I brought it back to the dealership and they acknowledge the problem but they said there is nothing they can do to make the display brighter. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions. My Malibu is a 2004 and I love it, except for this problem.
  • maxx4memaxx4me Member Posts: 1,340
    Redmaxx: your car's build date falls within the TSB for tranny sprocket/chain replacement. You can do a search on this website to come up with the exact TSB number, but your dealer should find it in seconds. My howl was 85% fixed by the parts replacement. There still is a small howl at certain times.
    As for this popping, I have not experience this. It happens during turns, correct? My front end (in city driving) simply sounds like a car with 200,000 miles on it, that has never had the struts or ball joints replaced. I do hope the engineers at GM come up with a solution.
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    Yes, and there is no fix I know of for it (my dealer claimed to have adjusted something but whatever it was did not help). Very annoying. If there is a fix I would love to know it.

    That knob to left of steer wheel only controls brightness when the headlights are on.

    The Chevy HHR fixed the problem by mounting the display in the instrument panel, right ahead of the driver.
  • emunsonemunson Member Posts: 5
    The liftgate noises definitely seem to be from ill fitting panel, but the dealer was unable to attain any repair that deals with it. They simply adjusted the gate so that it would exert more pressure on the lower panel, which stopped the noise going around corners, and made it worse going over bumps. This winter, anytime it got below 30, nearly every piece of interior trim popped loose at one time or another (thankfully we had a mild winter). The front end pulling they said they will take care of with alignment when the rack is replaced/repaired (they are unsure at this point what GM's fix will be), and this should be within a few weeks. Meanwhile, the vibration gets worse by the day. I have decided that I am no longer going to worry about getting this problem fixed, as I have been assured by attorney that my car is a definite buy back candidate (and I pay no attorney fees, they collect from GM, so they must be confident). If I get GM to replace my car with a new one, I am going to immediately take it down the street to the Honda dealership and trade it in on an Accord.
  • mybooomybooo Member Posts: 92
    I have been told by both my Chevy dealers service manager and Chevy directly that the fix for the steering pop is due out 2nd quarte 06. Originally they said 1st quarter. I wish they would hurry up, I am tired of having a new car that has unresolved problems. By the way our Maxx is an 05 LS. They told me that there is no problem with the warranty expiring since this is an unresolved issue.

    Larry :-)
  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    This isn't going to help you but on the 01 Malibu there isn't a chip in the key. The "chip" is in the ignition lock cylinder.

    I don't know much on specifics of that vehicle however to provide any more details.
  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    If you turn the knob and the intensity of display changes then you are in nighttime mode with automatic light control system.

    Do you notice this occur more often at any specific time of the day?
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    guess Im feeling pretty good about my Maxx after reading yoru comments....04 LT here..Feb build date.....and my only issues have been the rear window shades...never had them fixed...and my CHMSL went out sometime this month....and will replace it this weekend....62k on my Maxx..and still running strong....solid ride...no creaks or rattles....no interior problems....orginial transmission and steering column....aligned once at Merchants Tire when I struck a big pothole and bent a custom rim.....averaging 26-31 MPG with my V-6......I dont notice any popping sounds....do notice a rough suspension every now and then....but it doesnt bother me......almost 40K on the OEM tires..and should get another 20K out of them or may switch back to my custom rims now that we are thru snow...(Hopefully).....

    I know we always hear about the bad side of a car in these forums.....and seldom the success story.....so far.....mine is a success story....not concerned about resale...as I usually put over 100K on my cars..if not more...so resale goes out the window....so far just regular maintenance and synthetic oil changes every 7k miles......knock on wood the success continues....
  • charlesm1charlesm1 Member Posts: 3
    It happens all day, especially in bright sun light.
  • redmaxxredmaxx Member Posts: 627
    Redmaxx: your car's build date falls within the TSB for tranny sprocket/chain replacement. You can do a search on this website to come up with the exact TSB number, but your dealer should find it in seconds. My howl was 85% fixed by the parts replacement. There still is a small howl at certain times.
    As for this popping, I have not experience this. It happens during turns, correct? My front end (in city driving) simply sounds like a car with 200,000 miles on it, that has never had the struts or ball joints replaced. I do hope the engineers at GM come up with a solution.

    I've been following that issue with the tranny you mentioned. I'm just not sure if my car is making it or not. I can hear it faintly with the A/C and radio on, but it is very noticeable (to me) with them off. I'll try to make an audio clip of that and the popping and see if anyone else can say "Yes, that is the sound mine was making." I would like to avoid the typical dealer "Can't reproduce" for the whine sound.
  • redmaxxredmaxx Member Posts: 627
    I have been told by both my Chevy dealers service manager and Chevy directly that the fix for the steering pop is due out 2nd quarte 06. Originally they said 1st quarter. I wish they would hurry up, I am tired of having a new car that has unresolved problems. By the way our Maxx is an 05 LS. They told me that there is no problem with the warranty expiring since this is an unresolved issue.

    I hope they put a TSB out on this. Sometimes the only way to get my dealer to solve something is to knock them over the head with the TSB. Unfortunately, it seems like GM quits issuing TSBs on cars about a year after production for that model year stops.
  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    So your headlights are on automatically as well? Or do you drive around with headlamps, park lamps or fog lamps manually turned on?
  • beedublubeedublu Member Posts: 236
    I just did a search for "rattles", and man was I snowed under!

    Yet it seems that most people's rattles are from the roof or dash...not from the passenger side B-pillar, which is my annoyance of late.

    I've noticed that if I reach over and grab the shoulder belt and pull it slightly out of the retractor, the rattles seems to go away. And for some reason, it is most noticeable when the car is cold. After everything has warmed up a bit, the rattle goes away.

    Anyone else experience this, and if so, is it hard to correct? This is an 04 Maxx LS with just over 19000 miles of mostly local driving (on lousy potholed roads, so yeah, what do I expect?) ;)
  • kmaurerkmaurer Member Posts: 48
    I just wanted to join pao and say that my 04 Malibu LS (April 2004 build date) has been trouble free. Just turned 31,000 miles. No suspension or power steering issues, but I do have the transmission howl (decided not to fix it). Estimate that I have at least another 25K on the OEM Bridgestones. It's a great car, but GM dealer service leaves much to be desired. For 16K, I can't find a better car on the market!
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    ConSum Union showed that Chevrolet had the widest "quality curve" of any brand (Subrau and Infinity were narrowest). At the top end, Chevy was almost as good as Toyota. At bottom end, they were as bad as many lower rated brands, and actually surpassed Mercedes Bends (the bottom rated model), Cadillac and VW (both near the bottom)

    That's what worries me. Why this brands' spread is so huge is a mystery.
  • charlesm1charlesm1 Member Posts: 3
    The head lights come on automatically. I don't turn them on manually.
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    ...actually an adjustment for the overall DIC brightness?

    My dealer claimed there was and supposedly adjusted it, but I saw no difference in daylight after they had done so.
  • skyhawkskyhawk Member Posts: 126
    My 04 was an early Feb build. Other than a thermostat the car has been trouble free for 25k. I took delivery 03/08/04. It has only been driven 16 months as it is stored for 4 months every winter. It has or had the tranny howl. I opted not to fix it and I no longer notice the howl. Other than the first service appointment, the dealer service has been very good. I have no rattles, and my rims are always hand torqued by my local service station while I watch.
  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    Well if you are really in daylight (and you aren't covering up the light sensor on your dash with something) then you should have dealer check why your vehicle is always in nighttime mode.
  • meandmymaxxmeandmymaxx Member Posts: 134
    Got a new message on the DIC today, "Check RKE" any ideas on what it means??
  • hhmaxhhmax Member Posts: 44
    My Maxx LT have a rattle sound while turning left. It sounds it's coming from the trunk and/or the back seat. Any ideas?
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    several possibilities depending on what the rattle sounds like:

    1. brake/accelerator pedal assembly can clunk and rattle metalicy over some bumps as it is not tightly held by the adjustment screws.

    2. if rattle is high pitched/plastic sounding, it can be either the dome light or headrest holders in the front seats. these drove me nuts for months until I tracked them down.

    3. The seat belt adjusters on the B-pillar can rattle with a plasticky sound. This can be due to belt cover not being properly secured (sometimes putting small piece of foam in side the cover will quiet it down).

    4. Airbags in roof can rattle and clunk under some conditions.

    5. The back seats can bounce against the shock towers if positioned in certain ways. That makes a kinda knock-thunk sound.

    6. Hatch trim may be squeaking over some bumps. When hatch lid is open, press against the trim and if you hear a grinding/squeaking noise, the trim fasteners need to be replaced or at least covered with tape before being re-inserted.

    Hope all this is some help!
  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    RKE is Remote Keyless Entry. However I was not aware there was a message that said "Check RKE".

    Are you sure it didn't say "Security:RKE"?
  • starpop1starpop1 Member Posts: 10
    The right hand hatch strut on my MAXX LS was replaced last week. There was always noise when I turned to the right and usually when I turned to the left. However, the sound was like two surfaces rubbing together such as a hand rubbing a balloon. In addition, there was a rattle going over large bumps that sounded like it was coming from the rear wiper assembly area. I was surprised a worn hatch strut could cause such a commotion when the hatch was closed and latched.
  • redmaxxredmaxx Member Posts: 627
    ...actually an adjustment for the overall DIC brightness?

    My dealer claimed there was and supposedly adjusted it, but I saw no difference in daylight after they had done so.

    There isn't any dust on your display is there? Even a fine coating of dust will keep me from being able to read the display. After wiping it off, it is still washed out, but better and somewhat readable. There may well be an adjustment, but not one your dealer can apply. I recall an issue with the Silverados where the highbeam indicator on the dash (and only that indicator) was extremetely bright. It was very distracting and was fixed by the dealer applying a software update to the IPC.
  • meandmymaxxmeandmymaxx Member Posts: 134
    Ya, pretty sure that's what it said, it was only on for a second or two.
  • dtownfbdtownfb Member Posts: 2,918
    It sounds like you could have trouble with the igniton module. Very common problem with the previous generation Malibu.
  • indychick73indychick73 Member Posts: 25
    Every time I switch the button to circulate air within the car versus from outside, the air conditioning snowflake button lights up. This is happening with my heat on. Is this supposed to happen?
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    Unfortunately, if the HVAC is set to recirculate, defog or defrost, the AC goes on no matter what your settings are.

    I say unfortunately as it seems an oxymoron to have AC running when the temperature is 40 degrees outside.
  • redmaxxredmaxx Member Posts: 627
    4. Airbags in roof can rattle and clunk under some conditions.

    How did you fix that one?
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    never did. taking the headliner out is a major job and often causes more problems, such as stained fabric or worse rattles than before.

    At this point I'm trying to get the major stuff fixed and live with the rest of the Maxx problems until it's traded in next year on (current plan) an AWD RAVE4.
  • seadootomseadootom Member Posts: 2
    Help! Everytime we get a fairly good rain my 1999 Malibu somehow takes in water. It ends up in the spare tire well.The car was never in an accident and the trunk seal looks fine. When I run a hose over it nothing comes in.Any ideas out there? Thank You
  • redmaxxredmaxx Member Posts: 627
    never did. taking the headliner out is a major job and often causes more problems, such as stained fabric or worse rattles than before.

    My dealer had to replace my headliner because the plastic around the rear sunshades was so warped they couldn't fix it. Incidently, the warping was caused because it took them several times to get the support for the rear shades installed (and they never got it right until the factory added them on the new headliner).
  • redmaxxredmaxx Member Posts: 627
    Help! Everytime we get a fairly good rain my 1999 Malibu somehow takes in water. It ends up in the spare tire well.The car was never in an accident and the trunk seal looks fine. When I run a hose over it nothing comes in.Any ideas out there? Thank You

    While its raining, open the trunk and look in with a flashlight and see if you can tell where its coming in. Better yet, line the trunk with towels and then set a garden hose sprayer for shower mode, stand about 10 ft back and just cover the whole back of the car for 5-10 mins. Then open the trunk and see which towels are wet to get an idea of where its coming in.
  • gonogogonogo Member Posts: 879
    e2helper our large local Chevy dealer is advertising all 06 Chevy vehicles except Malibu, it’s been going on for 3 weeks now. Is there a production problem or just a good seller.
  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    Sorry - no idea on that. Kind of weird though if on everything but.

    Off topic but I keep waiting for a little official mention about what is new for 2007 model year.
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    a little new info on '07 would be nice to know.

    The Audi A3 guys love to point out that the Maxx is no match , particularly for their favored 3.2 S version. Would be nice to see Chevy or somebody take the Maxx platform and give Audi a real run for their money.

    Actually, ConsumersDigest rated the Maxx well __above__ the A3 (a big surprise).
  • e2helpere2helper Member Posts: 1,002
    A nice vehicle but the 3.2S starts around $34K doesn't it?
  • mr_botsmr_bots Member Posts: 236
    Called the service department 3 hours away and my car is done. Problem 1: Squeky belt, they replaced the belt. Problem 2: Rattly, Clunky Steering column, replace the steering column (now on my 3rd) will have more detail when I pick it up tomorrow. Problem 3: Sticks in 3rd in cruise will remain unfixed as they couldn't replicate the problem :mad: this is gonna be a tough one to fix, no one will do anything about it unless they can replicate it and there's no TSB out for it...even though I figure the fix is just the newest version of software for the PCM. Maybe I'll just start traveling with a video camera so they don't think I'm some idiot imagining things. Is there anywhere it specifically says "shift stabilization 3-4 in cruise control" as all I can find is that it just says "Shift Stabilization affecting 3-4 upshift" and how long does it take to actually update the software in the PCM? Enough time to plug the TechII in and go through a few menus so 10-15 minutes?
  • kurtamaxxxguykurtamaxxxguy Member Posts: 1,798
    Yes, e2, and that's stripped. $40K gets you one similar featured to the LZW maxx, minus AWD, sports suspension and +120 hp.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles