5.3
fairly significant- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 17,443 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The front left, driver side, spring broke while driving at approximately 5 miles per hour on a smooth paved road. This was the 2nd time this has happened on the same car. The first time was the right front side. I was driving slower so the tire did not blow from the sharp broken spring end rubbing on it. The spring was replaced with no other damage. After reading about many others having the same problem I decided to sumit complaints hoping we can prevent any injuries or deaths. I can not understand why GM has not recalled these cars and how many accidents go unreported with this the cause.
- Salem, WI, USA
Driving at approximately 10 mph on a smooth dry road suddenly the front right side spring broke damaging the strut and tire. Thankfully, this was at a slow speed or someone could have been killed. The tire, spring and strut were replaced.
- Salem, WI, USA
The coil spring on the passenger side strut snapped into causing a large gouge in the tire deflating it immediately. Luckily, I had pulled off interstate I-77 and was in a large level parking space. My wife got in the car to pull up and pick me up. As the car went less than a foot forward a large bang was heard and journey began to get help. To avoid random details of 88 degree heat and hardship events, the result was a new tire, a new spare tire (donut), an overnight stay and expenses and a repair bill. The strut was replaced with a used one due to the fact that we were stranded away from home and had no time to wait for a new one to be ordered. What really drew my attention to the possible severity of the problem was that in a small repair shop with only 4 bays (shepard's repair, parkersburg, wv) there sat another Malibu of possibly the exact model waiting for a new strut to be shipped in. The odds are rather staggering that this event could be so random as to not in some way point to a much larger scaled problem with these coils. Both snapped in approximately the same place (except his was the driver's side) and neither of the struts themselves were leaking or weak. Now how do I trust the car for fear the other strut will break or even the replacement for which I know not what model car it was disassembled from.
- Morgantown, WV, USA
Consumer states that while driving the vehicle and no warning the front suspension collapsed. Dealer notified.
- Plaistow, NH, USA
Right front coil sprint broke. A broken end gouged the inside sidewall of the tire, making a potentially dangerous situation.
- Rochester, NY, USA
Bushings on both lower front control arms on front suspension wor out at 16K miles, causing thumping and banging noise that gets increasing worst with more miles put on the car--dealer says it is safe to drive the car.
- Lacona, IA, USA
Any small bump or acceleration at about 55mph produces loud clunking noises from front.
- Bayonet Point, FL, USA
Firestone said allignment problem. It was alligned at 23,139 miles. First noticed irragular wear on both rear tires on 9/29/2000 when rotating tires. The vehicle has also been towed about 24,000 miles. (dot number: W2mwaaa168 tiresize: P215/60R15)
- Emery, SD, USA
The strut and shocks damaged, and vehicle nocks and wobbles cause of looseness in front right drive shaft.
- Copperas Cove, TX, USA
Front end was defective. All of parts had to be replaced by the dealership.
- Dayton, OH, USA
Bushings on control arms defective and battery accid leaks
- Yonkers, NY, USA
The car was delivered with a noisy brake pedal, improper steering wheel, alignemtn, and very poor wheel alignment. The dealer was unable to resolve the noisy pedal without dismantling the entire braking system, which I declined. The steering wheel and front wheels were aligned, however, the rear wheels were not aligned. I ony learned of this because of a twitchiness when driving and premature rear tire failure, even though the tires were rotated regularly. The front brake rotors have been almost constantly warped, and most importantly, front caliper retaining pins have flown completely out while driving at about seventy (70) miles per hour on the interstate. In the first instance, the car was able to be driven to the dealership, where they replaced the pin and re-tourqed all other pins. About a month later, another pin flew out, this time resulting in an undrivable car, leaving my wife and infant child stranded on the side of the interstate at night. The car was towed in, and the dealer's fix was to replace all of the caliper pins, ignoring the fact that there is certainly another problem, such as component design causing the pins to fly out. This is a major safety issue. After reviewing the complaint log at the NHTSA web site and through personal contact with other Malibu owners with similar problems, it is quite apparent that my problems are not isolated events. Please take some action on behalf of Malibu owners everywhere. The primary issue of serious and constant brake problems should certainly be viewed as a national safety issue. I have filed a complaint with the BBB auto line and am in the process of attempting to rsolve my problems with GM.
- Lafayette, LA, USA
When I press the brake pedal to slow down on the highway the sterring wheel shakes, like it is going out of control
- Columbia, SC, USA
Front suspension has excessive noise.
- Ventura, CA, USA
Had nothing but front end problems, seems like dealer is not beleiving, may think its the operator.
- Delano, CA, USA
When applying brakes entire front end shakes excessively. Also, dealer has seen vehicle twice, and replaced rotors once and has turned them once. Problem still exists.
- Baytown, TX, USA
Malibu suspension is unsafe. Front control arms, rear struts, brake lights, rear turn signal, rear tires worn because of struts, headlamps failures make it obvious Chevy is marketing unsafe Malibu's. Chevy should buy back these defective cars especially mine it's an unsafe piece of junk!( dot number: Tire size: 215-60R15 )
- Lodi, NY, USA
The front end is loose.
- Louann, AR, USA
This car has a directional stability problem on the highway. It wanders back and forth across the driving lane and you constantly have to correct the steering wheel. If you relax or look away for a moment, such as at a highway sign, you never know where the car will be in the lane. On long trips it fatigues you terribly. The dealer has tried to remedy the situation with a new tire, new alignment, tire rotation, tire pressure, etc., but nothing works. I noticed this problem driving the car home after picking it up new. The dealer had me drive another Malibu with approx the same mileage, and it drove the same. The local Chevy dealer service mgr. Says his drives the same way. I have contacted Chevrolet and they noted the problem, but offered no solutions. I retired from the auto collision business where I specialized in heavy collision repair and driveability. I have worked for every GM car line at a dealership. I know what I am talking about, when I say this car has a design problem. It is the worst driving GM car I have ever driven. It is my wifes car and I worry about her on the highway. People should be warned about this problem. It is the perfect commuter car around town, but I am afraid this problem will contribute to highway crashes and deaths. For my wifes safety, I think I will be forced to get rid of this car.
- Lansing, KS, USA
- Mason City , IA, USA