10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 287 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.
Doors on my 2005 Malibu will not shut in freezing or close to freezing weather. Door will actually fly open when car is in motion. Very dangerous!
- Marquette, MI, USA
2005 Chevrolet Malibu. Door stop mechanism does not work. Doors swing closed with little or no resistance causing leg injuries and fall risk. Dealer and manufacturer have no solutions. Problem is continuous since we have had the car.
- Moorpark, CA, USA
There has been a continuous grinding noise when turning the wheel of my car even if turning only slightly. My girlfriend has the same car and has had to bring her vehicle to the manufacture three times in the past 5 months to be fixed. The problem is that it is wearing down the brakes. My car is only 6 months old and the brakes are already squeeking. Also the rear door latch gets stuck and will not allow the door to close until a screwdriver is taken to it. This is for a 2005 Chevy Malibu.
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
At approx 5 mph, and our back seat passenger rested his arm against the rear drivers side door, the door swung open (latch failure). The door would not re-latch despite approximately 50 attempts to close the door. We rotated the latch assembly trying to see what was wrong and it would still not latch. If this was a child or if I was traveling at a higher speed this could have been catastrophic and could have resulted in injury or death. Finally we were able to get the door to stick closed halfway, the whole drive home it rattled and door ajar was listed. It was 9 degrees F according to the onboard computer at the time. The next morning, at 22 degrees, we opened it and it latched properly on the first attempt. On Jan 21, also at 9 degrees, I opened the rear door and attempted to close it. This would not latch at all, and after 30 minutes of trying, I drove 5 miles to the dealership with my hand extended to the back seat, holding the door closed manually so that it would not swing out and cause an accident or property damage. The service manager looked at this, and duplicated the problem for approx 5 minutes, at which time the car was warmed up slightly due to it being indoors, and it closed properly. The dealer asked if I had any children and when I said no, they released the vehicle to me and said they'd be in contact with GM about this and my suspension issue and call me Monday.
- Erie, PA, USA
Driver side rear door did not latch properly when closed. No door ajar light was indicated and door swung open upon turning a corner even with doors locked. We were experiencing a cold snap at the time but this has happened another time when there was cold weather. No one was injured but an unbuckled child or passenger could have been thrown from the vehicle. I am not sure if this is a defect with the latch mechanism. I took the vehicle to the dealer and they advised that it was caused by a frozen lock. They treated it with silicon spray and lube. Hopefully this will solve the problem but I am now worried the door will open again. This is a 2005 car with only 700 miles.
- Commack, NY, USA
- Atlanta, GA, USA