10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 88,541 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 contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact shifted the vehicle into park and reinserted the key into the ignition in order to restart the vehicle. Also, the contact mentioned that while driving at 30 mph, the turn signal lights and hazard lights failed to work intermittently and the ABS warning light illuminated. A day later, while driving 20 mph, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact had to apply excessive force to the brake pedal in order to stop the vehicle. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the master brake cylinder and turn signal relay switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V400000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was 125,000.
- Gwynn Oak, MD, USA
TL-the contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while approaching a stop light, the the brake pedal was depressed but failed to operate causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of the another vehicle. The air bags failed to deployed. The police report was filed. The passenger from the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries which required medical attention. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the ignition switch caused the brakes to fail. The vehicle was repaired. However, the failure recurred and the contact mentioned that the key would fail to release from the ignition.the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V400000 (electrical system). However, the part to do the repairs was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
- Goose Creek, SC, USA
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the ABS sensor illuminated and a loud noise was heard each time the brake pedal was applied. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 14V400000 (electrical system); however, the part needed to repair the vehicle was not available. The dealer was unable to provide a specific date for when the part would become available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was not available.
- Petersburg, VA, USA
When we would just start the car it would rev up to between 3000 to 4000 RPM and it would stay that way. This was only one way that it would act up. The other ways were when you were just driving along and the car would start to accelerate on it's own. Both ways you had to ride the brake and ride it hard in order not to hit the person in front of us. We had it in to one dealer twice with nothing getting fixed. We took it to a different dealer three times, they randomly replaced different things (guessing) at our cost, but problem still persisted. We even took it in when it was revving up to 3000 RPM, while they were under the hood it even went higher! we were told to turn it off because they were afraid it would blow, but when we came back to pick it up they said that it didn't happen again and they couldn't fix it if it didn't do it for them again. They told us that the best thing for us to do was to trade the car in on a different vehicle, we told him that this thing is a problem that should be taken care of and not just traded in. We contacted GM and told them that this is a problem that can cause serious harm not only to my wife and myself but to others. GM did nothing to assist with the problem. They said that if the dealer couldn't fix it that they couldn't help us. They wouldn't even contact the dealers to see what the problems were. We have approx. 116,000 miles and it now has additional problems with the acceleration. We still have the car because we can't afford another at this time, but I feel like I'm driving a time bomb.
- Greenfield, WI, USA
On Wednesday, July 11 our daughter was driving our 2001 Malibu on I-75 at 70 mph in the rain. The left front brake seized and she went into a 180 degree spin, hit the guard rail and rested facing oncoming traffic. About one year ago the identical thing happened on I-275, also in the rain. The only difference was that she spun to the right after the brake seized. We took the car to a mechanic one year ago and he said the problem was the heat shrink connector on one of the power wires going to the caliper. He was certain he had repaired the problem. We have not been able to have someone look at the brakes since the accident 2 days ago, but the car acted the same way. We want to be sure someone does not get killed from similar problems. It was a miracle that our daughter only received a serious fright both times.
- Knoxville, TN, USA
- Laneville, TX, USA