Chevy Malibu Maxx

cakelady

Hi, this is my 1st post. I got a 2007 Maroon M. Maxx LT on 3/31/07. I was tricked (I turned out to be a moron at buying a car) into getting a Maxx when I really wanted a car that would get the most gas mileage because I drive 100mi a day and gas is eating up most of my paycheck. I have tried so hard to be a lightfoot but all I can get is 24.7 mpg. I bought it used with 25k mi on it. I drove several Chev. Astro vans for the last 14 yrs and it is a big adjustment. (I love my van) Other than not too high mpg, I haven't had any trouble with it. I hated it at first; it's growing on me. The back will hold several cakes at one time. They are not making any more next year and I guess that will bring down the trade-in value even more. No one in the car world knows much about Maxx's or gives them any credit.

lne216

Are those highway miles or city? I get over 30 highway miles with my 2005 Maxx. Maybe a new air cleaner, etc.

blumaxx

hi. We get an average of over 30 miles because we have a new air filter, use synthetic oil, use premium gas...that will all help! Robin

pao

would suggest using prem gas in a Maxx is a waste of $$ as the engine does not call for it...use of a quality top tier regula gas should be fine........the other items yes....as well as proper tire pressure and good tune.......

blumaxx

Hi, we have found first hand that when we put regular gas in our car, no only does the fuel economy go down, but the engine just does not prefer it, it starts running rough.
There are reasons why there are various grades of gas and at various prices. You get what you pay for.

csandste

GM strongly encourages Top Tier Gas and Top Tier gas cannot be dependent on grade (although Shell's new campaign is getting dangerously close to the line). Putting premium gas in a car not requiring it is essentially a waste of money.

QuikTrip was the first certified TopTier brand and sums it up nicely:

http://www.quiktrip.com/gasoline/myth.asp

"The word premium doesn't have anything to do with the quality of gasoline. It has more to do with the price.

Premium gasoline costs more for two reasons. It costs more to make. And, there's more profit added to premium by refiners and retailers. But, premium gasoline doesn't cost more because it is better.

Premium gasoline has a higher octane rating. Higher octane is only one thing: an index which indicates the gasoline's ability to overcome knocking or pinging in engines. That's all. If your car doesn't knock or ping on lower octane gasoline, paying for higher octane is a waste of your money."

There are brands, most notably BP that put high detergency only in premium grades. That's why they can't meet Top Tier certification.

Top Tier gasoline brands (note no BP, no Exxon/Mobil):

http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html

QuikTrip
Chevron
Conoco
Phillips
76
Shell
Entec Stations
MFA Oil Company
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Chevron-Canada
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Company
Shell-Canada
Texaco
Petro-Canada
Sunoco-Canada

If your car runs better on premium and you're running a top tier gas there's something wrong with your timing, or (unlikely) you have deposit build up that's effectively increasing your compression ratio.

pao

what brand of gasoline do you use consistently..and what part of the country are you in..what is your ethanol content??

blumaxx

Hi, we always fill up at Costco and use the premium which is very reasonable, usually the price of regular everywhere else....we live in WA state. With premium we average 36 mpg.

bluedevils

blumaxx, please put some parameters around your "we average 36 mpg."

What year is your Maxx, what engine, what are the details of your driving -- e.g. 90% highway at 55mph average speed, most of our miles are driven at altitudes above 10,000 feet sea level, A/C never on, etc. I find it very hard to believe you are getting 36 mpg average. Is that based on your own math, or the Maxx's trip computer which seems to indicate 2-3 mpg too high/optimistic as I've heard from most Maxx owners, including me.

When not driving with the winter fuel blend, we can get a legit 30 mpg highway with speeds somewhere between 70 and 75 mph. If it was 100% highway driving at 70 mph, we might hit 32 mpg. To get 36 mpg in our Maxx, I think we'd need to set the cruise at 50 or 60 mph and even then I'm not sure if we could get 36.

In the past couple months, our Maxx is averaging around 28 mpg with a mix of 70% or so highway driving (70-75mph) and lots of country road cruising plus a little bit of city driving.

rferd43

I own a 2004 MAXX LT with 66,000 miles on it. When I drive from PA to TN on US 81 on cruise control and at speeds between 60 and 70 I get from 30 to 34 mpg depending on the load in the car. Thirty six miles to a gallon is incredible. I would also be very interested in finding how he does it since I believe that there is no much difference between a 4 and a 6 on the Maxx.

pao

if Im not mistaken..the Maxx is only available as a V-6...the 4 banger is only available in the sedan....correct?

I agree the best I get is 30 MPG...and that is highway, 75MPH, no A/C...Im sure it would increase at 55-60 MPH..but that isnt my driving habit...always use shell/BP/exxon 87 octane regular...I have an 04 Maxx LT..with 98K on it

heidrun

My van is dying and I am in the market for a newer car. I saw a fully loaded Malibu MAXX and thought is was a smart looking car. I have my eye on a 2004 and wanted more info from drivers with experience. My brother-in-law is a mechanic (better than a doctor in the family here in Canada), but I need to know if there are any red flags I should look for. I have driven Ford, GM and Chryslers. GM has been the most reliable of these three. What MUST I know before I take the car out for another test drive?

Thanks!

pao

the most prevalent issues have been the clunk in the front suspension..low speeds.......and the electronic steering failures.....requiring replacement of the entire steering column.....

04 Maxx Lt here is almost 98k on it...have the minor clunk..I live with it...and had no problems with the steering column.....also some complaints of rotor warping causing the brakes to pulse...

bluedevils

You might find one that has had few or none of the key problems. Our 2004 Maxx LT has 73k miles and never had any steering issues or clunks or...

You might, instead, find one that previously had, or still has, some problems in these key areas.

Which boat are you most likely to find yourself in if buying a 2004? I really don't know what the percentages are. We have been very happy with our 2004 Maxx LT.

legalsec

Hi, I just bought a 2006 Malibu Maxx fully loaded with options and 30,840 miles for $13,900 (under the Edmunds TMV for my area). We've been driving it for 2 weeks and had no problems. Took a roadtrip (about 300 miles total) last weekend and loved it.

I think that Maxxs are a good buy even if resale value later is not great (no American cars have great resale values), but I personally avoided the 1st and 2nd model years due to problems that had to be fixed, e.g., front end rattling, etc. I believe 2004 and 2005 are the first two model years. I also went with GM-certified cars and a competitive Chevy dealer (no-nonsense, no price bickering) for an added sense of security.

This was my first used car purchase, and I learned that the "due bill" and inspection before taking delivery are very important even if the car is otherwise pristine. After taking delivery we noticed that an accessory drawer was missing ($50) and the rear power outlet doesn't work (who knows how much that will cost).

I apologize if I'm rambling, but I hope my sharing of my experience helps some.

07maxx

Nice to find this forum on the Maxx. Thank you to Edmunds.

Bought my '06 LT last August and have 28K+ trouble-free miles on it thus far (two trips from NJ to CO add about 10K to the normal total). 30+ on the highway at 70-75mph. Does everything I want compared to the competition. Now if it will only keep doing so for another 200K+ miles.

blumaxx

Welcome. We bought our Maxx (its an LTZ) in September and have 19,000 or so miles because we live in the Puget Sound area where one must travel alot to get around this area.
We love our Maxx! Great fuel economy and is like a sporty race car at times!! I agree, I pray we are part of the 200K+ mile club. Hey, we bought it new, so no one is to blame but us!!
We keep it running on Royal Purple oil too...it loves it!

kurtamaxxxguy

Wrt 2004, it's a good idea to check build date as a lot of fixes went into that car around March-April time frame, including a revised transmission, door trim (safety), and several other things I no longer remember clearly.

Problems you may run into include:

rattles (dome light, head rests, various interior trim)
steering column failure
steering rack failure (suspension clunks, binding, etc.)
turn signal failure (bad contacts, especially in front)
hard starting when warm (hot soak problem)
loud squeaks from rear hatch (steel fasteners rubbing on aluminum hatch)
rear shades unlatching (insufficient reinforcement of surround).
brakes pulsing (warped rotors, usually due to overtightened wheel nuts)
head rest discomfort (a running change was made)
rear seat handle breakage
front seat lumbar support breakage.

Still, Consumers Union gave the Maxx higher reliability ratings than the Malibu sedan.

There are fixes for these, though getting some done under warranty can be a challenge.

bluedevils

Our 2004 Maxx has 77,xxx miles. Been a pretty good reliability/repair experience so far. Over the years, the "Check DAB" has appeared on the display screen a handful of times, including once or twice last week.

Search of this Maxx topic indicates DAB = Digital Audio Band and e2helper has said that "Check DAB" means the main radio unit thinks it has lost communication with the XM module -- or something like that.

We've got a $0 deductible Major Guard warranty still in effect on our Maxx...is a "Check DAB" anything we should bother with having the dealer look at our car?

bluedevils

Sorry, too lazy to search about this one...

2004 Maxx LT. We have 2 fobs but only one of them will control the car. The other one doesn't do anything. Assuming it isn't a dead battery in the 2nd fob...is this a programming issue that the dealer can fix, or are we stuck having only 1 fob work at any 1 time -- i.e., the car's electronics can handle/store only 1 fob's info.

stone25

My local dealer has a 06 maxx LT with side airbags. I Asked for 16K (include NY tax 8.6%)and got approved by dealer. Don't know if it is a goodbuy to get a almost 2 year old malibu. It's not a demo car-only 15 mileage on it. Would somebody give me some advice? 1st time to get a new car. Thank you all.

pao

since you dont subscribe to XM..not a problem...I too have had the message appear as well a few times...but it went away..and my XM has never failed.....04 Maxx LT with 102K on mine

ktc

I have a 2005 Maxx, both of my two Fobs went dead within a months. I opened it up, the battery holder (also power connection) soldering was broke. I guess they go to silver soldering due to the ROHS (lead free) requirement, and the silver soldering is more brittle, and if you dropped your fob a few times, this could happen. I re-soldered the connection and the problem was fix without going back to dealer (mine still under warranty)

fasilid

The same thing recently happened to one of my two fobs. I opened it to change the battery and I saw that one of the battery holder prongs is sticking up where it should be connected to the board. The fob works only intermittently and not all the buttons.

Did you use a tiny soldering iron? Unfortunately I don't have a small enough soldering iron for that job. I may just get one as I'm already having dealer issues over a transmission.

ktc

For the fob battery connection, I did use a small soldering iron, it is relative easy to solder it back (and I used lead soldering. It is just strange that both fobs went bad after 2.5 years within a month, I knew I droped the key several times.

csandste

I paid 16K for an '05 IN '05. This is almost two model years old and I think the cost is a mite too high. Haven't bothered to check but what would running Edmunds used car calculator come up with if you put in the correct mileage. I've found Edmunds to be pretty good with used prices but a bit high on TMV estimates for new iron.

bluedevils

That was my 'high water mark' for miles driven on 1 tank. Worked out to a shade below 29 mpg (14.91 gallons used) which is pretty decent...approx 60-70% highway @ 72 mph average, plus some in-town and country driving. 50% AC usage.

The combined trip odometer + fuel range was well over 500 miles for a while on this tank! I knew I'd never get 500 miles out the tank, but it was fun to see.

fasilid

Thanks for the info, ktc. I may try to do that myself. Just will need a precision soldering iron. I haven't had this issue before with a fob. Switch to more brittle metal was cited here. Can't rule out workmanship issues though. . .

maxxliberty

It's a surprise that the '08 Malibu gets a 6-speed automatic transmission with the 3.6-liter, 252-hp engine.

Unfortunately, with no Maxx/hatchback available, I'll hang in there with my '04 Maxx.

blumaxx

Wow, sorry it took so long to get back to you.
Well, here's some info, its a 2006 LTZ Maxx with V6 and we average the low 30's to 36 when we are on the highway.
Around town its about 28 or better. We use royal purple oil, we buy premium fuel and have a KN filter which all helps in the configuration.
30 mpg with speeds of 70 is pretty awesome!
Yeah sometimes that trip computer does seem a bit overzealous...I just figure out the raw math of how many gallons we had to refill and how many miles that took.

csandste

Maybe everyone else knew about this. I read about it on a Kia forum, tried it on my Maxx and my Optima and it works.

Lock your keys in your car? Use your cell phone to call your wife or someone with access to the other key. Have them push the unlock button into their phone and your car will unlock. Seems to work with your cell phone at a normal fob distance from the car as well.

It's been years since I've locked my car with the key in the ignition and the last time I almost did (01 Elantra) you couldn't get the thing to lock anyway, but you could always lock the door and have the key slip out and fall on the floor, so this might come in handy.

csandste

I stand corrected!

I tried this on five occasions with three different cars. In every case using a cell phone resulted in opening the door when it wouldn't work with the fob alone. However I tried it again more than a mile away and nothing.

The signal from the cell phone must goose up the signal from the fob a bit, but it doesn't seem to go through the phone system.

The short range (successful) tries were with a Sebring, Optima and Malibu Maxx. At least with the Optima, it didn't work at a mile.

eroni

I would like to compare my observations with other people and exchange ideas about this problem. I have a 06 Maxx and it presents this problem ONLY under certain conditions. Obviously, in my case, the disk's warping is NOT PERMANENT, since it does not happen when driving at night or when temperatures are mild. It becomes very pronounced in heavy traffic at high noon here in Florida. It takes a good while to cool to the point of a smooth breaking feeling again. One has to drive a few miles at a good speed for that to happen; apparently the disks become straight again when cooled off. The differences in ambient temperatures here in Fl., between night and day, are not that great, so it does not take much to correct the problem. The dissipation of heat into the wheel, in my case, is minimal because I have steel stamped rims and their contact with the disk (hub) is very small. I have re-torqued the wheels nuts to 100 Lb ft as per the specifications table on page 107 of the owner's manual; it seemed to improve some but did not correct it. Since not everybody complains about this, I wonder if the magnesium/aluminum wheels, with a greater contact with the disks would dissipate enough heat, so that people with these rims don't experience the problem.
Any comment on this subject will be greatly appreciated. Eroni.

kurtamaxxxguy

Although only being in a California climate, I discovered today that a big chunk of black paint had peeled off the rear door window support, leaving the dark gray undercoat.

a bit worrysome... Hopefully no other part of the black paint decides to leave the Maxx's body.

maxx4me

I hope the body panels don't fall off, revealing that we've been driving a Pinto all these years!!

drej

Hi
Of course now with many miles out of warranty and my Maxx starts to act up. "When turning the key to start" if I dont hold it a few seconds it tries to start....sputters...jogs... then quits. Don't get me wrong - I can force it to start just fine if I turn the key , hold it and count to two (usually fine then)
Any experience of a fix out there? TSB'? ANYONE with this? and does it get worse? Mine seems to be getting worse. D~

maxx4me

Yep, there was a hard start reflash of the computer. The TSB number is out there somewhere; as I recall, it was coupled with three other items. Doing a search for "Maxx" "TSB" and "start" on these boards might come up with the answer for you.

And here it is, I believe: #05-06-04-076B

maddmaxx

Just curious if anyone has installed a performance chip or MAF sensor or other goodies that have truly improved MPG? I average around 27-28 at best, almost never see 30 and that's babying it.

drej

Hi, Of course 3K miles out of warranty and the 05 maxx has another issue. The steering column left hand side "radio seek" selector (the button 1-6) is not responding. is this another problem others have seen? ANY FIX known?
THX A~

ddelise

Hello -

I just turned 30k miles on my 2005 Maxx. I took my car into the shop for warranty service, and one of the items I complained about was a groaning noise from the rear.

Turns out the rear brake pads were down to 0 - metal rubbing on metal.

The Chevy dealer performed the service - replace rear pads - for $230 ($111 for the pads, $85 for labor, tax, shop fees).

Does this sound about right? Just curious what others paid.

They also said I need to have the rotors rotated, but I am not going to do this as this is a lease with only 5 months to go.

Thanks - Damon

williams8888

I had the same problem but luckly my car was under warranty. They had to replace all the buttons on the left side by taking apart the steering wheel.

ddelise

I have had this issue too. I need to get the buttons replaced under warranty.

I also had the rear sunshades replaced, the taillight bulb replaced a couple times, the trim around the radio/HVAC replaced, and the steering column replaced. All under warranty.

Damon

pao

my 04 LT Maxx got 64K out of the first set of brakes on both axles......BTW you cant rotated the rotors as they are two different sizes front to back I beleive...you simply turn them to eliminate any warpage in them...I paid $400 out the door for both axles...pads and turning the rotors.... $111 for rear pads seems expensive to me....should be between $30-$40 a set.....

ddelise

Thanks for the info.

Was this done at your Chevy dealer, or somewhere else?

Damon

pao

done by a local mechanic..not dealership.....was about $150 less than the dealership and other "brake shops" here in the northern va area

drej

Thanks for the repy Damon, I see these column buttons which control the radio select are working fine part time... but more often not. Did you get yours done? D~

ddelise

Good Morning.

Yes, I did get them repaired under warranty. It has worked fine since. I also just today had the trim piece around the HVAC and radio replaced. It was slowly peeling away. The dealer had it done in about 1 hour.

Damon

maddmaxx

My rear brakes finally need replacing at 121k. Does anyone know if the brakes are ceramic from the factory?

pao

I used semi metallic when I replaced my all around at 63K....wow....great at 121k....seems you and I are doing the long term reliability test.....104K on my 04 Maxx

maddmaxx

After doing some research, it does appear the Maxx comes with ceramic brake pads from the factory and the factory rear pads retail around $90 a set. It seems alot higher than the older organic and semi-metallic ones. My Maxx is still running great. I put some T rated tires on it and my mileage did drop, but the feel and responsiveness seems much more like it should have been from the factory. I wonder if the S rated tires are just a little too lightweight anymore.