This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
This has been a good car for the most part great on gas but last week the brakes felt real hard to push so I replace with new brakes front and rear the old brakes looked almost new now the brake tail light come when you start the car and don't go off unless you depress them. Drivers think your stopping when your driving and when braking they cant tell because lights go out.also for the past 3 years the power steering light comes on and you lose your steering control I wonder if and when someone has to die before GM recalls and fix the problems.
Randomly while driving at higher speeds or accelerating the battery light will flicker on and off on the dashboard. This time while accelerating on a entrance ramp to the highway the battery light along with all the idiot lights on the dashboard flashed and I temporarily lost power steering. This happened twice within a period of two minutes. Normally whenever the battery lights or other idiot lights flicker a chime is heard. This is kind of scary since it seems like this is a common problem and tends to happen at higher speeds.
2006 Malibu lt power steering assist fails then resumes intermittently. Mechanic's diagnostic computer cannot communicate with vehicle computer during failure, resumes communication when assist resumes. Cannot detect faulty switches, wiring, fuses. No recall notices or service bulletins.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the odometer failed. While driving 39 mph the mileage increased from 76,000 to 107,700. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated they would run a diagnostic test but the contact does not want to pay the repair cost of $112. The vehicle also suddenly accelerated while driving. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 123,700. The consumer stated there was also a fuel system problem. Updated 06/14/11
I have a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu with defective brake lights. When you are traveling down the road the brake lights are on as if you are "riding your brakes" and then when you do apply your brakes the brake lights go off! this is very dangerous when people don't know you are slowing down and almost rear end you! I have had my car in the shop for almost a week and the Chevrolet dealership cannot locate the problem to fix it. Something needs to be done before it is too late and someone gets hurt!
- Hogansville, GA, USA
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The brake lights on my 2006 Chevrolet Malibu ltz sometimes work the opposite from how they should (I.e. when the brake pedal is applied the brake lights go out, when the brake pedal is released the brake lights come on). This problem is intermittent; sometimes the brake lights work normally. The issue was first noticed about a year ago and I took the car to the dealer. They thought it was a brake light indicator switch so they replaced it. The problem reappeared within a month. I have also noticed that the cruise control is affected by whatever is causing this problem. When the brake lights work normally, the cruise control also works. When the brake lights are opposite from normal the cruise control will not work.
I was staying at a friend's house in san antonio because I had a court setting there. The morning of the incident, I turned on my vehicle and was headed to the courthouse. I was about two blocks from my friend's home when I heard a ding and a power steering message popped up on the radio. My power steering immediately went out, and I pulled myself into an apartment complex and turned off the vehicle. I called a friend for a ride and was about to call aaa when I realized I was in the way of a school bus picking up college students from the complex. I turned the vehicle back on to inch up a bit, but I noticed that the power steering was working again. I returned to my friend's home, got a ride to the courthouse, and researched the issue online. I found several other reports of this kind of thing happening and that it was most likely a computer glitch that could and would occur again unexpectedly. I took my chances driving back home to austin that same day and did not touch my vehicle over the weekend. Now that it is Monday, I will be calling GM customer support.
When driving car power steering across radio comes on steering wheel locks car been doing this ever since I got it and when it replaced it goes out every couple months last one was replaced 5 days ago from recall N went out 4 days later.
I have a 2006 Chevy Malibu that my daughter drives to work 5 days a week. It has approx. 76,000 miles. I went and drive the car on this date and notice the steering fluid display was on the radio display. I asked my daughter how long is was on there, she said approx. A week. I called the GMC dealer and got an appointment on the third of May. They told me that I need a new steering column and a shaft which would be about $1000. They said we could still drive the car that I would actually would lose just the power steering. On May 10, I took the car in and got it fixed. $850 later it is fixed. I have never had to replaced a steering column on any of my other cars, which had over 95,000 miles, the transmission went out on that one. Plus I tried to refill the steering fluid, and who know that my car had an electric power steering. Someone should inform the consumer on this. My main concern was for my daughter who drives this car in rush hour traffic. What if it locked up? it is a thought I would not wish to think of!
I was driving about 5 miles from my home and the steering went out on my 2006 Chevy Malibu, as I was attempting to make a turn. I had my grandchild with me I could have caused an accident I turned the car off for 1 0 min. And started it back up. The steering light went off but the car did the same thing twice before getting home unhurt. I need my car fixed. I cannot afford it.
Incident: Failure of power steering on 2006 Chevrolet Malibu 1) a week leading up the event, I returned from vacation to find "check power steering" lit up on my message center, however, power steering was still available. This occurred on a particularly cold morning, after a cold few weeks. The Chevrolet dealership told me nothing was wrong (by phone). I continued driving the vehicle without recurrence of the warning message. 2) on another particularly cold morning, I drove the vehicle to a local gas station, filled up, and drove approximately two car lengths when the power steering failed, the steering wheel became difficult to move, and the "check power steering" message displayed. I applied the breaks, stopping the vehicle. 3) I had read about the failure online, and the fix seemed to be a restart of the electrical system. I turned off the vehicle, and restarted the engine. The power steering was restored, and I have driven it since without incident.
Over the last few months my car has had a hard time starting every once in a while. Today when I got home from work I turned it to the acc position while I was on the phone, about 2 minutes later I noticed the anti theft light come on and my lights went dim. I tried to turn it back on but it would not start. The anti theft light started blinking and my locks on the doors were locking and unlocking repeatedly. I could hear clicking in my door, under the hood, and in the back of my car somewhere. I read online and found a disturbing number of people who have also had this problem, they seemed to have a fix of keeping it on the acc position until the light went off, turn it off and leave it off for a few minutes and then it should work! I tried it.... it didn't work. It just went crazy again with the flashing light and clicking noises. Its been 5 hours and I still can not turn on my car. The window is stuck open and I can not go to work!!!
Steering wheel locks up while driving - happens at random - at all different times. Dealer acted like it was no big deal and of course they want me to pay for it when I have now found out that I am not the only one complaining about this problem. It is dangerous, and it could cause fatality. Some kind of new steering system - GM better idea - probably because it is cheaper!!!
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. While at a complete stop, the contact was informed by another motorist that her brake lights were illuminating even when she was not braking. In addition, the brake lights would not illuminate when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that a computer chip was failing, which caused the malfunction. The vehicle was repaired at the cost of $250. A year later, the failure recurred. The contact is in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 35,900 and current mileage was 72,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving less than 60 mph, the contact noticed that the radio was making unknown squeaking noises. She smelled something burning and noticed in her rearview mirror that flames were present in the rear interior speakers. She pulled off the road and called the police and fire departments. The fire was extinguished, but the fire department could not determine the cause of the failure. The insurance company stated that the paper used to make the speaker grew too hot and caused the fire. No modifications had been made to the manufacturer's speakers. The insurance company attempted to have the repairs performed on the vehicle, but to no avail. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was 59,301.
Initially sometimes my car would crank up then die out seconds later now its happening quite often and most times won't crank up now. This has caused me to be late and docked from work. I've brought the car in 5 to 6 times the last time in 2/2009 they said they put in a new fuel pump cylinder but two days later I'd the same problem again.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 15 mph on black ice, the vehicle struck a guard rail head-on. There were no injuries. The body shop repaired the vehicle and, a week later, the contact noticed that the engine remains on even when the key is not in the ignition. The dealer stated that the issue was due to the body control module, which was located underneath the dashboard. The insurance company and manufacturer stated that the failure would not be covered. The contact believes that the failure was due to a manufacturer defect, not the crash. The vehicle has not yet been repaired for the ignition failure. The current and failure mileages were 91,000.
2006 Chevrolet Malibu power steering illuminates on dash(radio), 2005 models were a recall and it keeps coming on and sometimes lose of steering when started. It has 43,000 miles and not on warranty because steering column is not covered, its a problem nationwide as I researched. I could potentially be dangerous when driving around turns if loss of power. I bought it used but was fine until 2 months after.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. While attempting to start the vehicle. The dealer performed an oil change and stated that a fuel injection throttle body, fuel injector kit, and double clean were needed; however, this had been done a month ago. The contact was also informed that the calibration was outdated. When entering the vehicle, the clock sometimes needs to be reset. The failure mileage was 5,000 and current mileage was 48,000. Updated 09/10/08. Updated 09/12/08
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Picayune, MS, USA