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changing oil is a personal choice...I always change the first after 1000 miles..since the car already has 1600 on it and past the break in period...doesnt hurt....to go ahead and change....I have then used the Oil Life Monitor....and changed every 6000 miles or so.....I switched to full synthetic at 30K in my 04 Malibu Maxx.....and average changes around 6500 miles...now have over 124K on the car...without a problem....
I would set your tire pressures to the recommendation on the label on the inside of the drivers door frame....
Did you go thru a car buying service for that $500 over dealer invoice or did you just worked out a "Deal"
My employer has a GM discount service BUT the price is only $500 off the sticker based upon the GM Supplier Discount website
I may try using the Costco auto buying service to see what the difference is .
You should probably check before you jump to change the first oil way early.
I am a little disappointed in my mpg.......did not realize that my average speed was only 30 mph........
Still love the car! Golden Pewter, LS.........I think I got the best car for the money spent.
The "change the oil at 500 or 1000 miles to get metal shavings out" thing is usually not needed on modern cars.
Some car manufacturers expressly say "Don't do that!" because not allowing the factory break-in oil to do what it was designed to do is harmful.
First oil change comming up and I know what to expect - small metal "chips" in the filter and oil - still that's probably the case with any new car you're breaking in...
Wondering if the 2009s will integrate XM with OnStar....
I did see where a poster somewhere in these Malibu forums paid $200 over dealer invoice for an '08 2LT that was swapped in from another dealer, IIRC. I remember the person's forum handle as beach???; I believe he's in the Virginia Beach, VA area.
I ordered my car on March 21 as I wanted everything but the sunroof and the 6-cylinder engine. Could not find one anywhere on the east coast in my preferred color combo, as most 2LTs had the sunroof and the 6-cylinder engine. I was in no hurry for the car, and my order did not count against their regular Malibu allocation. Since the order, GM instituted a $1000 loyalty bonus for those of us who own a '99 or later model GM. Um, I have four right now! Wonder if I can get the rebate quadrupled??? Anyway, that bonus was a nice surprise.
Good luck and let us know what you end up buying.
The service manager was extremely pleasant. I asked him about the small metal chips often found in the oil and filter during the break-in period. He said that was a thing of the past that is why it is unnecessary to change the oil after the first 500-mile break-in. By the way, he said the original oil is the same as the replacement oil with so special engine additives.
One more thing, he said they have had zero issues with the new Malibu so far. That is indeed encouraging news.
You know your tolls! About $35 round trip.
I think there are plenty of travel web sites that discuss route planning.
I wonder if they will ever get the Malibu to ship in high numbers?
Ever time you turn around, there is another problem holding up shipments.
I wonder if they will even get 50,000 of the first model year out the factory doors?
Management stupidity plus labor stupidity does not equal intelligence!
Go ahead...send those jobs out of the country, then whine and complain about how you have been mistreated!
IDIOTS!
A lot of the Malibus I see are painted dark grey metallic and I have to say that is a very unattractive color on this car -- actually, it is a very unattrative color period, unlike some of GMs other gray metallics. Meanwhile I have yet to see one painted white, which I think would look good on this car.
Curiously, the engine didn't behave like the AC was engaged. In other words none of the traditional "strain" of the signs of a harder working engine when the compressor is on. I will take it to the dealer tomorrow to hear their verdict.
This is the first reportable I’ve had so far in an otherwise flawless car.
I slightly preferred the way the Malibu LS drove. It was slightly smoother and quieter, yet at the same time, it still handled better around the curves.
Here is a 6 minute Malibu LS video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=781RajEcM4E
A variety of efficient powertrain combinations gives Malibu customers choices that all return excellent fuel economy, including a new four-cylinder/six-speed automatic transmission combination that was recently added to the lineup. It uses the powerful 2.4L Ecotec engine paired with a specially calibrated six-speed automatic to deliver EPA-estimated mileage of 22 in the city and 32 on the highway. That’s better highway mileage than Accord or Camry.
If a very large dealershop sells 3 week now when they only sold 1 a week the year before, that's a 200% increase in sales.
It's the same 32 mpg highway mileage as the 2009 Sonata with their new engine and new 5-speed automatic, but at least it's still the best available.
It is only available for the very few 2008 LTZ 4 cylinders they will have time to manufacture between now and June. After that, the 6-speed will be optional on the 2009 4 cylinder LTs and standard on the LTZs that will be built when the factory switches over to 2009 production later in June.
There is no reason guess that about the armrest and door handles. Those things are not going to be added for 2009.
One would think since there will be a 6 speed autobox available for the 4 cylinder model, people would more likely buy that then the 4 speed automatic. For people that have bought the 4 speed automatic's, they will have to compete against the 6 speed automatic 4 cylinder models when they try to sell their malibu's in the future.
What do you all think?
After singing the praises of the Malibu for two months I am beginning to wonder about its reliability. I am also nervous about their mechanics who might not necessarily do a good replacing the defective compressor. Wish me luck folks.
I honestly dont think the transmission 4 vs 6 on a 4 cyl will make that much difference if any on resale value..between an 08 and 09 MY Malibu
Just like our dealer swap 2LT (what I like to call an "instant order", hah), which was swapped in a matter of a day, and I was able to print the window sticker off the site that same night--the anticipation is the best part. Hope it's perfect! Ours has been, for 3 months and 4k miles.
Nonetheless, the ride was extremely pleasant. The ride was firm, yet supple and compliant. The handling was confident and purposeful. In short, the car went where it was pointed.
Moreover, there was absolutely no wind noise and the cabin was cathedral quiet. As a matter of fact we had a three-way phone conversation (on the OnStar hands-free phone) with our daughters in Hawaii and Atlanta which was as clear as a bell.
The driver’s bucket seat was a real surprise. It felt as comfortable as a tailored suit. (By the way one of the best decisions we ever made was to put in after-market leather on the LS---that leather is Oh so soft and supple.) On such a long drive, we felt absolutely no fatigue. The steering was true and on center and visibility was very good from the driver’s side mirror but not so from the rearview mirror. The high back end obscures visibility a bit. There were no rattles or squeaks of any kind and OnStar and the XM radio performed flawlessly except in tunnels.
In the final analysis we drove 928.3 highway miles and averaged 27.7 mpg at an average speed of 53 mph. Although most of our driving was between 70 and 80 mph that mileage suffered considerably upon entering the George Washington Bridge in New York. If there is someone out there trying to decide on a midsize sedan I would highly recommend the Malibu.
I just hope Japanese car owners will give it a shot, far to many people who won't walk into a Chevy dealer and that's just wrong.
Usually, the increased wheel size is offset by a lower ratio tire, giving the outside diameter the same dimension. If that is the case, then technically there is no difference, and assuming the same weight between the 2 wheel types, there shouldn't be a noticable difference in MPG or speedo accuracy.
Hope that helps...
That's a potential issue...The 225 is the width of the tire in Millimeters, and the 50 is the % ratio of width to height. So, with no other modofications, expect the speedo to be off a bit.
Now, do this 4 or 5 times to have several samples.
Now you have enough information to tell you how "off" the odometer actually is, as well as calculate the speed differential between actual speed at, say 60 mph .vs. what is shown on the spedometer.
Be aware, though, that it isn't unusual for new cars with everything original to have a variance. The last GM vehicle I had (2005 Aveo) was actually 5-6 mph off at 60 mph. I read several comments about that on the Aveo, but I have no idea how widespread it is on other vehicles, other than I do know it is fairly common.
To answer your original question, you can take this information with you to the dealer to help substantiate your complaint, assuming you find a significant difference between actual and reported mileage. I don't think there is an accurate way to estimate the mpg difference, other than trying the same vehicle, driver, and location using both sets of wheels/tires .
That said...yes...your speedo, odometer, etc. are all going to be off. Using this calculator:
http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp
There's an overall jump in diameter from the 225/50/17 to 225/50/18 (of course, as the wheel size is larger but the tire width & aspect ratio are the same), going from 25.85in to 26.85in, and effectively throwing off the speedo/odo to be 3.872% slow (or read 57.7 when going 60).
The way around this is to reprogram the main computer for the new, larger tire size, but that would require the dealer and their Tech 2 tool. Given that they offer 17" and 18" accessory wheels for the Malibu, regardless of model, the dealer should have the capacity to do this in the case that someone did want 18's on their LT. The difference is relatively big and needs to be taken care of, if they didn't already once the 18's were swapped on.