10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 89,057 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The driver's power seat is broken. It's been slowly starting to tilt back and to the right and finally snapped. In researching this issue, it appears it is very common with the Chevy Malibu and also very expensive. This is a huge safety concern as a broken drivers seat will not work as intended in a crash. The seat tilts to the right now and bounces when going over bumps, so being a safety concern it's also very uncomfortable. I think this should be recall situation for the Malibu seat and the dealer should not be profiting off a design flaw.
- Madison, WI, USA
Front driver seat weld broke, seat leans to right and wobbles.
- Westland, MI, USA
Something broke under the driver seat. It now leans to the right. It rocks back and forth when you hit a bump. It causes strain on my back to drive. I have to lean all the way to the door for the seat to be utilized. I took it to a mechanic and he said the metal bracket snapped and needed to be welded together or the seat replaced. I found a list of folks with the same problem at this site:
- Dallas, TX, USA
Left front (driver's seat) is broken, it rocks side to side, slides fore and aft slightly, and no longer holds height position. The seat is a 6 way power seat. Vehicle is currently at the local dealership (puyallup, wa) waiting for a new seat track to be installed. Estimated repair cost is $800. Dealers stated that the seat track was broken in several places (failed weld points). I feel that this is a major manufacturer's safety defect and should be a recall item.
- Tacoma, WA, USA
At approx 76,000 miles the power drivers seat started to lean to the right. A weld broke loose from the seat frame underneath. The repair requires seat replacement for over $1000. The vehicle is out of warranty. I don't understand since it clearly is a manufacturer defect. Its unfair.
- Arlington, VA, USA
The power to the driver seat of our '05 Malibu maxx, is maulfunctioning/broken/not working correctly. It appears that the right side of the frame has given up. The power to the seat goes up but the right side stays down; leaving the driver leaning to the right. We contacted the dealer, who claims that he's heard about this before, but as far as we know, there is no recall for this malfunction.
- Carmel, IN, USA
My wife went to drive the car on Sunday, 5/15/2011. The seat broke. The seat cross member failed. The seat now rocks back and forth. It is going to the dealer on 5/24/2011 for repair. Fortunately, it did not happen at highway speed. We have to lower the seat all the way down to get any stability. I did some research on the internet and apparently, this is a common problem with the maibu maxx
- Havertown, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated that the driver seat frame was fractured and leaning to the right. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed her that repairs to the seat would estimate $800 at the contacts expense. There were no recalls for the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 77,000.
- Chester, PA, USA
2005 Malibu maxx, about 88,000 miles. Drivers seat frame broke underneath, causing the seat to lean to the right. Dangerous. Just happened, took to repair shop and they said that entire seat would need to be replaced for over $1000. Extended warranty would not cover. Not sure how I'm getting it fixed yet.
- Mesa, AZ, USA
2005 Malibu maxx, 84,000 miles. Power driver's seat frame is broken, causing the seat to lean to the right. Dangerous, and uncomfortable to drive.
- Amboy, IN, USA
While driving my 2005 Chevy Malibu, I made a turn and the drivers seat broke on the right rear. The welds broke off the frame rail causing me to swerve in to the side of the road. The car needs a new seat rail to repair the car. The cost is about $800, GM will not assist in the repair of a defective seat weld.
- Tacoma, WA, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated that the driver side seat wells were fractured and causing the seat to abnormally lean to the right. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer who confirmed that the wells had fractured from the track assembly. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 75,500 and the current mileage was 75,600.
- Fredrick, MD, USA
Frame under the drivers power seat is broken in multiple places. It has broken on weld points and the bar itself is broken. This leads to a rocking motion of the seat when driving.
- Edmond, OK, USA
A weld broke for a cross bar (driver seat). I request GM fix this free of charge.
- Rochester, NY, USA
My driverseat is loose and rocks from broken welds in the foundation/support bars.
- Windsor Mill, MD, USA
Corrosion on bottom of driver seat, has allowed a crossmember to break, compromising the integrity of the seat. May be very dangerous in a crash. Vehicle is not subjected to adverse/flood conditions and driver is of average weight.
- Pontiac, MI, USA
The connecting foundation for the power drivers seat broke loose at the weld point. The drivers seat is not properly grounded to the vehicle and it moves up and down while I am driving. I wrote the manufacturer but they declined my request to provide financial assistance for the repair.
- Windsor Mill, MD, USA
2005 Malibu maxx hydraulic seat malfunctioned and the back seat unlocked. ***** the drivers seat would not stay in the upright position. Due to the misalignment of the seat, the consumer experienced recurring right knee joint pain and inflammation, which required emergency medial care and ultimately surgery. The consumer believed the malfunction of the seat is what caused her knee injury. The intermediate steering shaft was replaced.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
- Fairfax, VA, USA