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2000-2011 Chevrolet Malibu
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2. empty all contents
3. there are two plastic pegs; one on each side of the lower back side of the box allowing the box to pivot. Squeeze (VERY HARD ) the sides of the lower box inward to allow the pegs to exit the side holes. I wiggle the glove box back and forth violently while pushing in. Don't worry about breaking the the pegs; I have done mine 5 times now, and each time I have to push as hard as I can to get the box to push inward and release the pegs.
4. once inside, you will see the black plastic snap to enter the cabin filter door. Lift the snap upwards
5. slide in your 8 x 10 inch (one inch thick) cardboard high efficience furnace filter cutting.
6. close your glove box (the plastic pegs slide easily back into place)
Enjoy the savings and the fresh air! :shades:
I recently bought the subject vehicle with some 16K miles. I would like to know what items to tell the service advisor about better fuel economy when I return the vehicle for servicing and warranty work. Also, I would like to learn from other 2004 Chevy Malibu Classic owners the problems they have had with this car.
Thanks,
fourls
I was wondering if anybody uses the parking pass holder on the windshields of the 2004-2005 malibus? I have been using mine for my hang tag for the lot I park in at work. I prefer to use the holder rather than hanging the tag from my rearview mirror. Recently I started to get tickets for "not displaying a valid decal" :mad:
Has anyone else had problems with getting tickets when using the parking pass holder for a hang tag instead of hanging it from the rear view mirror?
Thanks a lot!
I think the problem is the Malibu was pretty bad before the 2002 model year. I've been giving updates on our 02 LS. It has about 25K miles now, and everything is still working as new although the brakes have been kind of weak from day one. One has to apply a lot of pressure to make a stop, and I THINK I can detect a little shimmy. Also the brake pedal is a bit squeaky sometimes. Other than that, we're quite satisfied with this car. A basic, reliable, comfortable and bland transportation sums up our Malibu, which isn't bad at all considering the price we paid for it. Good luck with it.
I'm either an optimistic person or just a stupid one (probably depends a lot on who you talk to :P ) because I bought my wife a 2004 Malibu LT. At this point most of the problems (yes, there have been some) have been minor, but I'd really like to see GM produce a 99% trouble free car that is also roomy, comfortable, feature laden, and powerful, with good quality, and affordability. The new car seems to be all but the former so far.
The others included 2 Saturns, and 7 imports.
Here's the article if you're interested.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7710760/
I am surprised it will not get the 2.4L. Perhaps supply will be limited given it's going into G6, Aura, some Cobalts and Solstice.
PASSLOCK Reset
.
30 Minute Procedure
1- Ensure that the battery is fully charged.
2-Use a scan tool in order to clear the PassLock DTCs.
3-Turn the ignition switch from the OFF position to the CRANK position, and then to the RUN position.
4-The vehicle will start and then stall.
5-Leave the ignition ON until the security telltale turns OFF in 10 minutes.
Repeat steps 3-5 for 2 more times [3 times total]
Clear all Passlock DTCs.
The transmission operates the same in Manual Third as in Overdrive range with the exception that Fourth gear is prevented. The transmission will upshift and downshift between First, Second, and Third gears as in Overdrive range. However, engine compression braking is not available in Manual Third - First and Second gears, and the vehicle will coast when you release the throttle.
I can't believe we've racked up over 30K miles already. The car has endured scorching summer heat and brutal wintry weather in the midwest. We've taken it on numerous road trips including an 800-mile round trip in the winter and a 1200 mile one way trip in the summer (both trips lots of mountain driving). Overall it's been a very pleasant experience. We've had zero problem with the car, except for weak brakes which have been that way since day one. It still runs like new, getting very respectable mileage, 19 mpg for pure city driving, between 25-28 in mixed driving and low 30s in highway driving. I change the oil myself, so it's cost us close to nothing to maintain it. One really can't ask for much more than that for a basic transportation. I hope you all have the same good fortune with your new Malibus :shades:
Great news, another score for this fine Chevy!!
http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-bzcar064292822jun06,0,5889145.story?coll=n- y-business-print
My wife was rear ended by a city dump truck while waiting at a stop light. It was a low speed impact (10 mph tops), but due to the huge momentum of the heavy truck the rear end of our Malibu completely caved in, also causing damage to the structural integrity of the middle section of the car. Of course the dump truck didn't even register a scratch. The insurance company's repair estimate is $10K, because the whole rear section of the car would have to be cut off. So they totaled it and will write us a check for the amount of $12,765, plus the $200 for car seat replacement. We will get back $12965. Considering that we paid $16200 for it, it worked out just fine for us. Ironically, this is a much better outcome than if we'd try to sell it on our own.
As I have recently posted in my update, it's been a perfect and reliable vehecle. We've grown to love it. And now we hate to see it go to the junk yard. It's like losing a friend. Just in case you're wondering, we could buy it back for $528.63. But don't think we'll do that.
<img src="C:\chart.jpg"
The following is 3rd party data comparing a Chevrolet Malibu LS Sedan V6 Automatic against a Toyota Camry LE Sedan V6 Automatic. The first number in each line is for the Malibu, and the second number is for the Camry.
City MPG - 22 vs. 20...Winner: Malibu
Highway MPG - 32 vs. 28...Winner: Malibu
Frontal Crash - 5*/5* vs. 5*/5*...Winner: Tie
Side Crash w/ Side Airbags - 5*/4* vs. Not Available...Winner: ?
Side Crash w/o Side Airbags - 4*/5* vs. 4*/3*...Winner: Malibu
Rollover Rating - 4* vs. 4*...Winner: Tie
40 MPH Frontal Offset Crash - Good vs. Good...Winner: Tie
Side Crash w/ Side Airbags - Best Pick vs. Good...Winner: Malibu
Rear Crash Protection - Acceptable vs. Marginal...Winner: Malibu
0 to 60 MPH (sec) - 8.1 vs. 8.3...Winner: Malibu
60 to 0 MPH (feet) - 146 vs. 147...Winner: Malibu
JDP Initial Quality (PPH) - 97 vs. 99...Winner: Malibu
JDP APEAL - 872 vs. 853...Winner: Malibu
Price (MSRP) - $21,890 vs. $22,530...Winner: Malibu
Current Cash Incentive - $2,500 vs. $500...Winner: Malibu
Net Price - $19,390 vs. $22,030...Winner: Malibu
Items 1-2 are from EPA. Items 3-6 are from NHTSA. Items 7-9 are from IIHS. Items 10-11 are from Consumer Reports. Items 12-13 are from JD Power.
Seems like this generation offers the same things (and much more) that made the original Malibus such big sellers.
My father-in-law then asked the service department to take a look at the other spring, and they said it was fine. Earlier this week, my mother-in-law went to get into the car, and the car was lying on the ground again, but this time, it was the driver's side suspension spring that was broken! My in-laws live in Georgetown, Massachusetts, and my mother-in-law had driven out to Shrewsbury (a little over an hour drive) with my wife and kids. My mother-in-law had planned to drive back home that morning when she noticed the front of the car on the ground. I keep thinking of what would have happened to the passengers of the car if the either spring had failed while it was moving on the highway. My father-in-law called the dealership in anger and demanded them to tow the car back to the dealership in order to fix the spring that they said was fine. But they said no, so since my in-laws need their car, they had it towed to a local dealership in Shrewsbury to have it fixed.
My concern at this moment is that GM received a set of defective springs, and that they're on the verge of failure with 99 Malibus hitting the 100,000 mile mark. Both of the broken suspension springs have been saved so that someone could make an analysis of why they broke. My in-laws have also saved the bills from both repairs. At this point, what is their best course of action in order to receive compensation from GM and/or the dealership since I believe a catastrophic failure of such an essential component to a car, with only a little over 100,000 miles on it (mostly highway), is simply unacceptable and dangerous.
It's sad since my in-laws loved their Malibu when they first purchased it (my father-in-law has been a Chevy man his whole life), but between the brake problems with the car, other repair issues, and now the double suspension spring failure, they're ready to make their next car a Toyota.
100,000 miles is alot of miles-regardless. So-how long should a car maker be liable for a car it produces? I can't believe so many people can't accept the fact cars need repairs when you start to chalk up the miles. After 60,000 miles it is not unheard of to have the following happen; strut replacement, water pump, timing belt, (if applicable), brake calipers, etc. It's very unreasonable to ask for compensation on a car that has 100,000 miles on it. Maybe car makers should be responsible for the life of the car? GIVE ME A BREAK!!!
Thanks...some people would make the case that at 100,000 miles this cars useful life is 50% over. Some would even say that it has only another 50,000 miles left. I can't possibly see how a car maker could be held liable. You could make a case that EVERYTHING on a car is safety related. Heck, if your mirrors crack or somebody knocks them off in a parking lot four years down the road, you can't change lanes safely. Or if a tail light bulb goes out, how will they see your intent to change lanes? While I believe both of those parts going out is suspect, just pay for the repair and forget about it. Also, take those old parts and throw them out...they will just collect dust in garage!
The computer will measure how many times you start the car, how warmed up the car is, how many times you floor it to pass and all sorts of other sophisticated stuff. The old adage was that a single start up at zero degrees puts much more wear on an engine than a 500 mile trip in the summer.
I'm using Pennzoil dino which is a group II+ basestock along with a ST filter. I suspect pushing the ST passed the 7000 mark might be stretching things a bit, although my engine has the bypass in the block. If I was using a low end Fram I'd be afraid to push things passed 4K, if I had a higher end Purolator along with synthetic I'd run things right to the end of the oil change cycle. The ST filter is Champion about like half of the AC Delco branded units but with a little less filtering area-- so far it's non-E-Core but that's coming and I have no problems with that.
I've had about 30 cars and only a handful died of engine problems and those were because of overheating. Usually it's other things that make me ditch the car, that's why Quaker State and Pennzoil put 250K guarantees on oil related engine failures with 4K changes.