3.4
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 39,572 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.
Driving car and it would die. First occurance was under warranty. Car taken to dealer. Dealer said fuel pump was bad and replaced pump. Same problem ocurred out of warranty. Noticed that some of the gages and lights on dash also quit when this happened. I could hit the key and they would come back on, and the car would restart. Dealt with this for about 2 yrs because the cost of a new switch was more than I could afford at the time.finnally dissassembled the ignition switch when problem got too bad. Discovered that GM had not used the normal heavy wiper style contacts that most ignition switches have. They used a plastic cam that pushes pins that operate very light spring style contacts. I found that the contacts had arced and were not making good contact. Used very fine emery cloth to clean contacts, reassembled switch, and problem was solved.car starts and runs fine for now, but as soon as contacts arc enough, problem will return. I have noticed that there are many many people who have the same problem and the dealership is telling them that the problem is in the security system. Well its not. Anyone who has a minor amount of mechanical ability can fix the problem in about an hour. Be sure and consult a repair manual on the proper removal of the ignition switch from the dash. Its not hard, but there is a trck to it.
- Yale, OK, USA
2001 Chevy Malibu's anti theft light comes on sporadically when attempting to turn vehicle on and prevents vehicle from being started. Key must be left in the on position for a minimum of 10 minutes for vehicle to start. There are several instances all over the internet with people having the same problem who have spent a lot of money trying to fix the problem to no avail. My daughter drives this car in austin Texas at pharmacy school. She got caught in rising water once and the car would not start. If for some reason the car was to turn off in traffic and not turn on, I.e. the expressway this would be extremely dangerous.
- Harlingen, TX, USA
Stop at postoffice car would not start, second time at home and the same thing happen, third time while driving home the car stopped and would not start, the first two time I took it to dealer an was told it was the igination prolblem and it was fixed and then it happen again, had the car in the dealer services center for 10 days an was told it was fuel pump and charged $300 to fix, car stalled when the service manage was bring it out to me and would not start for them, keep the the for another 8 days and was told it was an electrical problem and was fixed
- Paisley, FL, USA
While attempting to start vehicle it failed to start. Consumer tried to start the vehicle numerous times before and was able to do so. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the ignition lock sensor needed to be replaced.
- Henagar, AL, USA
While traveling on the highway and without prior warning vehicle will shut down, and will not restart.
- Poway, CA, USA
- Baltimore, MD, USA