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

Chevrolet Malibu Brakes

2»

Comments

  • jjllsheajjllshea Member Posts: 2
    We have a 2006 Malibu we bought used in '08. Brakes became very touchy sporadically in Jan. '09 and dealer couldn't duplicate problem so sent us home. At times it felt like the e-brake was on. This happened a few times and only when we had been driving the car for a while and it was hot. After much persistance, the dealer decided the brake fluid was contaminated with a petroleum product that of course our extended warranty didn't cover. Were told to go through our auto insurance - vandalism??? Has anyone else had this problem and what was the outcome. We think it is something else and not contamination of the brake fluid because it happens sporadically and we were told that if your brake fluid/system is contaminated with a petroleum product that the problem with occur all the time...we're just not buying it.
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    used the std OEM NAPA rotors....havent had a problem with them at all
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    Do you ever leave your car unlocked?
    Has it ever been anywhere else for service?
    If the answer to both is no, then you know who did it!
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    It is extremely important! Impact wrenches should be banned.
    That excess pressure from over tightening not only causes the warping of rotors, but other problems just in the area of braking. And other places as well.
    Once a nut is overtightened beyond a point, it is the equivalent of hitting the back of the hub and the nut location of the wheel with a big hammer. Only a small amount of that deformation will go away when the nut is loosened.
    That deformation will spread through the entire piece, more rapidly with repeated heating and cooling such as braking. The face of the hub will eventually not be perfectly flat to mate with a new rotor and the same with the wheel. So even with a new rotor and properly torqued nuts you are starting the problem anew with mismatched surfaces.
    Further that deformed hub also houses the bearing and such forces will shorten the life of the bearing.
    Demand torque wrench only!
    Catch them in the act with a camera and make them replace all the parts with new.
    4 new alloy wheels with dismounting, remounting, and balancing of tires, over $1000.
    4 new hubs and bearings + labor, easily another $1000.
    They get hit with that a few times and those impact wrenches will disappear.
    And customers will have far fewer problems.
  • maddmaxx2maddmaxx2 Member Posts: 1
    Inconsistent brakes on my 2006 malibu maxx. Sometimes when I start driving I have no brake pedal free play and the brakes may drag (ebrake not on), enough to heat up the rotors to a warping condition. I will stop the auto before they get too hot and do permenant damage, I can stop the car without stepping on the brake pedal at that time.

    This car is an automatic!

    Shut the car off from the earlier condition and restart the car and brakes are fine (sometimes). Other times if it sets for a while 6- 12 hrs I may get in it, start it up and pedal goes almost to the floor. Still other times the condition remains the same.

    Brake abs work like normal with either of these conditions and brake pedal feel is normal when I finally reach the point when the brakes engage.

    When the brakes go nearly to the floor at startup, after a few miles the brakes return gradually to normal.

    I can also be driving with a normal to very little free play pedal and the next time I apply the brakes the pedal will go down approximately 1 1/2" lower than it was the previous time ( this fortunately happens less frequently.

    It throws no fault codes and no trouble lights ever come on. It does not act like air in the brakes (ever).

    It is becoming more frequent.

    It can make a situation that it can't go 35 mph without downshifting the trans trying to maintain speed on a flat and level rd.

    It happens with no consistancy..

    I was trained as a master mechanic back in 1972 and have a remained active in auto racing and restoration ever since but have never been employed as a full time mechanic.

    The car has 19,000 miles and was purchased new.

    The car has been to the dealer three times and no problems were found. The fourth time they acknowledged the problem but had no solution other than start replacing parts starting with the calipers. At my expense since the warranty has expired. There were no TSBs regarding this issue and they've never heard of anything like this before.

    As you can see this is an unusual problem and I need some help.

    Thanks
  • peachy84peachy84 Member Posts: 2
    i have an 06 malibu ss and i bought it brand new... i had issues with my brakes. but mine just got ate up fast. primarily the rear... i was told the brake calibrations were off thats why the rear were killed 1st. i replaced all of them and these brakes werent cheap but ive been dealing with crazy annoying squealing. when i talked to a shop they said to get ceramic brakes. he said they should be better. but theyre expensive. good stuff huh?! :mad:
  • sean74sean74 Member Posts: 18
    I had to change my rear brake pads twice during the past two years. My 2005 Malibu had 46k miles when rear pads were changed last year. Chevy dealer can't find the problem or they knew it just don't tell. Couple weeks ago I changed front pads at 55k miles.
  • ChevyMaxChevyMax Member Posts: 8
    We finally took our 04 Malibu Maxx to another Chevy dealer, he want's $2,000 to replace the master cyliner, put on new rotors and brake pads and something to do with the drainig something and replaceing fluid. in other words redo the whole brake system. we're not even sure this will fix it. We can feel when the brakes lock up and we just pull over as quick as possible and wait for the brakes to release. We have not decided what to do, the car is ony worth $5-6,000 on a trade in, and only has 53K miles on it. We've been back and forth with GM they had no idea what was happening. If you are interested I'll find out exactly what they plan to do, we strongly feel at this time we are going to trade it in on a Honda. EP
  • jjllsheajjllshea Member Posts: 2
    We took our '06 Malibu to another dealer and they replaced the master cylinder - thankfully under warranty. We haven't had a single problem since that day, almost a year ago.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Hello,
    I am from GM Customer Service. I apologize for the concern on your vehicle. Can you please email me with more information about your situation, so I can look into your situation further? You can find my email by clicking on my name. Thank you,
    Mariah GM Customer Service
  • ChevyMaxChevyMax Member Posts: 8
    We have all ready been around with GM, we have a case number and were given 2,000 toward a purchase and another GM car. (which won't happen) They were not able to help with the problem since we could not recreate the problem. They spoke with engineers and still had no answer. What makes me mad is I had this problem when the car was under warranty, no one knew what was happening. One time I took the car to the dealer and when they put the car on the lift all four tires were locked, he didn't know how I was able to drive it to the dealership, the next morning if was find, they couldn't find anything wrong with the car.
  • mgariesmgaries Member Posts: 1
    Just replaced the front pads on my 2006 Maxx, I thought it was the rotors heating up causing the shudder at high speeds, so I replaced the pads first. I am attempting to do the rear pads, but the rear calipers won't compress. anybody have any ideas how?
  • gonogogonogo Member Posts: 879
    Rear pistons need to be screwed in, you can buy a tool to make it easier.
  • beffybeansbeffybeans Member Posts: 2
    Hey Madd Maxx,

    Have you had any luck on this since your original post? I am having the exact same problem with my 2006 Chevy Malibu, and have had it to the local shop almost a dozen times in less than 3 months. I've had the rotors, pads and calipers replaced TWICE, as well as the brake fluid flushed... all to no avail.

    I am ready to pull my hair out as I still have 2.5 years left on my loan for this car but feel it's trying to kill me!

    Any help you can provide would be MUCH appreciated!

    Thank you!
  • ChevyMaxChevyMax Member Posts: 8
    Yes, we took it to another chey dealer, and explained the problem, they replaced the master brake cylinder, flushed the all the brake lines, and replace the brakes on the front wheels, if you can get this done under warranty that would be fantastic, it cost about 2,000 but was worth it. They said when the brakes get hot they will grab and not let go, so when we were in traffic or come home for a short time then try to leave the house they would grab. Try going to another Chevy dealer; take the car to them when the brakes are warm. It’s so hard to recreate the problem. We had it done about 3 months ago and the brakes have been fine since.
  • beedublubeedublu Member Posts: 236
    I had my pads and rotors replaced at around 80000 miles. (No, that's not a typo -- I actually went that far on the original brakes). Now, about 4000 miles later, I have a squeal from the brakes just before the car comes to a complete stop. It started doing this just a month or so ago when the subfreezing temps arrived here in upstate NY. During a brief period when the temps went above 32 the problem stopped -- briefly. Now it's back. What gives? Everything else about the brakes is fine...nice smooth pedal feel, stopping distances about the same as before, no vibration.

    Anyone else with this experience? Thanks.
  • atxmalibu41atxmalibu41 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu and when i got home i pressed down on my parking brake and I heard a loud pop. The parking brake pedal now has no tension to it, when i press down, it'll just stay all the way down and no kinda back spring like normal, what could it be, and also is the car still safe to drive?
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    my bet is you broke the parking brake cable....the car should be safe...just no parking brakes.....
  • maddog0324maddog0324 Member Posts: 55
    The noise is from the rapid (but slight) movement of the brake pad backing plates when you apply your brakes. Whoever did your brake job didn't use "brake quiet" material (available where auto parts are sold) on the back-side of the pad's backing plates.
  • jasonctempjasonctemp Member Posts: 3
    I'm having the exact same problem. What was the fix? Thanks so much for any help you can give!
  • jasonctempjasonctemp Member Posts: 3
    What was the fix for this? I am having the exact same issue. Any help is greatly appreciated!
  • beffybeansbeffybeans Member Posts: 2
    For my car, it was the Master Cylinder that needed to be replaced. I took it for a few estimates, and it was right around $1200 to be fixed. Each mechanic said that they see this problem all the time on Malibus. In fact, there was one in the shop getting that same problem fixed at the last place I went to! Anyway, I ended up taking that $1200 and put it towards the down payment on a new car. I was fed up with putting money into something that seemed to continue to have problems. Good luck with your situation. Maybe it will turn out better for you then it did for me!
  • ChevyMaxChevyMax Member Posts: 8
    We had the master cylinder replaced, and hoses flushed, we took it to a reputable Chevy dealer to have the work done. This was done over one year ago and since then, no problems. It was well worth having it done; now I love my car.
  • cdownes1cdownes1 Member Posts: 3
    hey josephus just wondering if you got an answer to this problem because i've got the same problem and can't get any answers.
  • jasonctempjasonctemp Member Posts: 3
    I had trouble finding this thread again! Thanks for replying! I am still dealing with the issue! I just took it to a chevy dealer against my better judgement today! They are saying the brake fluid is contaminated and I need a new master cylinder ABS module and brake flush. Sounds like what you had done minus the ABS. I was only taking my car to one shop so I am investigating how the fluid was contaminated before going forward.
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    sounds like an ABS issue with knocking thru the floorboard ......
  • gwildmangwildman Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2005 Malibu and the brakes have locked up to some extent (To attain 30 miles per hour, it was at 4000 RPM). This has happened more than once, but after sitting a while it returns to normal. A couple dyas ago, my wife went to use it and the brake pedal went right to the floor. She backed the vehicle out of the garage, and after, it was normal again. I took it to a Gm dealership in Calgary, AB, however, they could find nothing wrong. They did a brake job in January. I refused to drive it home, as I felt if the brakes failed and I was the cause of an accident, I would definitely be in the wrong. Can you advise as to what procedure I should now follow. Could it have something to do with the self-adjust? Possibly air in the system? Thank you, Garth
  • ChevyMaxChevyMax Member Posts: 8
    This is the same problem we had, they can't replicate the problem, they can't fix it. I would recommend go back to the dealer, have them call Fitzgerald Auto-mall in Frederick Maryland, and ask for Tom Dawson. He's the one who fixed ours. Have the dealer talk to Tom and tell them about the "Powell" car with the brake problems. They performed a complete brake fluid exchange service, flush out all lines, replaced the master cylinder, bleed the hydraulic system. Since they fixed it 3 years ago we have had no more problems and the car runs great. We had gone as far as called GM, they had no clue, But Tom fixed it.
    Best of luck, Elizabeth Powell
    PS invoice number CVCS752808
  • sgr5516sgr5516 Member Posts: 163
    edited July 2013
    I have a 2006 Malibu Maxx and have had problems with rear calipers serveral times. The first time the left side locked up and burned up the brake pads. Had to run at higher RPM to get car to move. When I stopped, you could smell the brakes burning and the rotor got so hot you could feel the heat holding your hand by the rim. The dealer had to replace the caliper. After that parking brake would not hold. I jacked up car applied parking brake put trans in neutral (engine not running) and I could turn the right wheel. The right caliper was locked up in released position. That caliper had to be replaced too. Had same problem again after about a year and one of the rear calipers had to be replaced again. Luckily I had an extended warranty and and all work was covered.
Sign In or Register to comment.