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2000-2011 Chevrolet Malibu
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Malibu II topic. Those of you joining us from that
topic are welcome to continue your discussion.
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follow the above link for additional archived
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L8_Apex
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picked up the car in a rain storm drove it home and put it the garage Im sure if it hadnt been pouring when we picked up the car we would have noticed these at the dealship.We contacted the dealership , they had NO Comment on the dings! So we figured we were stuck, then a a month ago we started to notice little rust marks in the paint 1/4 the size of a dime, if you get a wet paper towel and rub they come off almost. Were taking the car in in 2 weeks for the 3,000 oil change be interesting to see if they say NO comment on the rust spots I had read earlier posts in spring about paint problems but figured they were just isolated incidences but now I wonder? Today we took the car on a little trip 200 miles We live in Wisconsin its very flat were we live the place we went to had some small hills, now these are hills NOT MOUNTAINS!We were traveling 65Mph as we climbed up the hills we lost power FAST I gave it more gas but it just kept slowing down cars and trucks passed us as I tried to accelerate. By the top of the hill the car was floored and were going only going 50mph!! As soon as we came over the top of the hill the car climbed back to 65 in a few seconds. Has anyone else noticed this LOSS of POWER problem on hills , I have a 93 chevy 4 cyl that takes these Same hills at 65 with NO loss of power!
The car is very nice other then the paint problems and Now the loss of Power. Oh by the way I got out the booklet that came with the firestone tires wanted to see what the recommend for tire pressure
THE 800 numbers DISCONNECTED with no further information! The booklet was printed 12/99 so its should be a current number! The tires are Ok except on wet pavement were they sometimes slip for a second , we'll see how they are in winter if they are bad we'll replace them.We'd appreciate hearing from anyone else with paint or power problems. We've read this board since last April but this is our first post!
Thanks For Reading
As for our 2000 Malibu, 4600 miles since March, only problem was two trips in for a creaking in the rear end. Was fixed each time, temporarily, made an appointment for a third trip and the noise went away. I guess the service guy who said "it just needs to wear in" was right. Anyhow, made a trip to Atlantic City yesterday, 120 miles each way down the Parkway. 5 adults, AC running, made 70-75mph the whole way, still had power to pass. 28mpg for the trip!
GO MALIBU!!!
www.autonews.com/html/main/stories/gmfutureproductsb2814.htm
Go to www.autonews.com and click on FUTURE PRODUCTS ( or outlook can't remeber since I'm going back and forth between sites) and scrooll down to GM, all the goodies for the new platform are there. What do you think? I think it's worth waiting for. I'm holding on to my 99 until the 2004 comes out so I'm extending my lease until late 2003. By then my fiance will have the re designed Cavalier and I will wait to see if I should keep my 99 until it dies or trade for the new one. So far the 99 is flawless and unless the new one is radically redesigned I'm keeping it. Let' s see....
Thanks
You mentioned something about a "creaking" in the back end...did you (or the dealer) ever figure out what it was? My 2000 model is doing the exact same thing, but only does it when I make a turn. Other than that, it's doing great.
It may be due to drive link assemblies with excessive lnk to link variation. This causes a non-uniform rotation of the output sprocket which then produces a vibration, chugging throuout the vehicle driveline. A Chevrolet dealer should be able to get you on line.
My problem is that the car will start up in the morning without any problems and then the engine will just quit within the first 3 miles. There has not been any hesitation problems as referenced in earlier postings. Once the engine stalls and I try to restart the engine it will only turn over but will not start. The dealer did not find anything on the first visit, on the second visit they replaced the fuel pump. They said the fuel pump was working but was not pumping an fuel. Now six days later the car was towed back to the dealer because it died again 3 miles from my house this morning for exactly the same problem.
Has anybody experienced similar problems and do you know of a potential fix?
At least on one of the trips back to the dealer they replaced my rotors and pads to stop the vibration.
They replaced the things twice, and like I said I was gonna take it in a third time and the noise has been gone since (June).
PS.///Anybody experience air flow through their speakers when the window is open? Noticed it while driving last week on the highway (65 mph). I'm only in the thing about twice a month, and never on the highway, never noticed it before.
Anybody knows what to use to effectively remove spots left by damn sprinkler on the body and windows? One more thing anybody has extended warranty through 1source or warranty gold? if yes then howz the experience with them? or any other suggestion on extended warranty company would be appreciated...
(1) Is there any hope that the 2001 will have any better side-impact crash safety than the abysmal 2-star rating of the 2000 model? Has the safety cage been redesigned in any substantial way for 2001?
(2) Has the suspension "retuning" for 2001 significanly improved the handling or road noise of the 2001 vs. the 2000 model?
(3) I'm drawn to black as an exterior color, but have been warned that black tends to show dirt and scratches much more prominently than the lighter colors. Can anyone comment whether they regret having chosen black or any of the other "dark" colors?
(4) I'm considering buying an extended warranty because of the Malibu's checkered reliability history. Are there sources other than the GM Buyer's protection plan (cost = $750 for 5yr/75K mi.) that provide better value coverage?
TIA.
I am worried now that with autumn approaching that the falling leaves will scratch it all up! I'm afraid to even wash the car cause of the scratches that result. Take my advice and avoid the dark colors. Is there any wax that will protect against this?
:-)
I am also considering about extended warranty and I am looking at warrantygold and 1source. 1Source seems to be better with $0 deductible but if you talk to those people both say words against each other's companies. They have like 7yr or 84K or 100K miles waranty $0 deductible $799 and $879 respectively(1source)plus some other benefits too.Thats for the diamond coverage means close to bumper to bumper.
If anybody has any experience with these guys let me know too. But why should I buy now I mean I have 3 yr warranty anyway.
http://www.autopedia.com/html/Warr4.html
It doesn't always turn them on when I want them and at other times, I wish I could shut them off. I think I can handle turning the lights on all by myself.
I've had my Malibu since last December and haven't had to go back to the dealer for any warranty work yet! Great car. I get 28 mpg going to work and 32 on the road. I broke the brakes in slowly and have no problems associated with the earlier models.
I did dump the cheap Firestone Affinity's and put on good Michelins. Much better 'feel' on the road. I have the old tires in storage and can put them on later when I resale.
Great car!
Have following questions and would appreciate your inputs.
1. In Owner's Manual, it states "Don't drive at any one speed -- fast or slow -- for the first 500 miles." Does anyone know the technical reasons for this?
2. The car comes with standard 3-yr/36,000-mile warranty. The dealer also offers 6-yr/60,000-mile extended warranty from GM, which costs considerably higher than others available from credit union or the Internet. Does anyone have any recommendations on this?
I haven't had experiences with other warranties but I did have experience with GMPP. It was ok since I only had to use it twice ( hood cable, solenoid) for my Beretta.
Good luck!
If they refuse to negotiate, consider one of the other options. Read the fine print carefully. Your credit union's deal may be more credible than some of the internet deals. Stay with known companies.
Good luck!
We currently own a 1991 Honda Accord with 199,860 miles on it!! AND I still love it!! I have heard that this Malibu is comparable to the Accord. Is this true? I still have alot of miles left on my Accord, but need something newer, with less miles.
Anyone with any info, please pass it on...
Thanks
Our friends have an 4-cylinders Accord of about the same age, so I probably can compare.
The Malibu is more powerful, have better acceleration. Especially at slower speed, as in city. Not bad at highways too: passing and takes hills better than any 4 bangers, and than most of older v-6 cars, but not competitive with v-6 Accords or Camry of the same age.
The Malibu is larger, especially inside. Have a huge trunk, were we load all our beach stuff at spring and are carrying it till late fall. A lot of legroom at rear - very important with teenager kids and, again, can easy load and carry a lot of belonging.
The Accord is substantially quieter. At least comparing with the base Malibu: I have read somewhere than the LS Malibu have more noise-suppressing materials.
I'd said that the Accord's dash is a bit more convenient. Mostly it is just matter of time to became accustomed, but the Malibu dash has one substantial drawback: the air condition ducts cannot be adjusted to aim high enough, away from both driver and the front passenger.
There was only one substantial design problem with Malibu: the front brake rotors were prone to warp. Currently GM changed the design or material, and the problem is all but disappear. But the replacement at Chevrolet dealership may cost $300 to $500. There are some aftermarket brakes with even better reputation, and they are also cheaper. But be prepared to spend this money, if you are buying the Malibu.
Concerning the build quality: our friends had no problems with their Accord. With we could to say the same about our car. Nothing major, but we had smaller problems to solve every time when we visited our dealer to change oil. Some sticky sensor at the door (simply need lube), failed speaker, noise from the strut (again, simply lube), the plastic cord holding the fuel tank plug was broken at 34k, a fun resistor need to be replaced...
Summary: Malibu have better powertrain and the general design, Accord have better attention to detail both in design and build quality. Probably Accord will be more reliable and serve longer, but it is much more expensive, especially with used cars.
I guess you can have too much fun in a Malibu?
ok last time, I promise. :~)