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.
I was in my driveway preparing for windshield installation. Kept on hearing intermittent clicking. Realized it was the power door locks. They were not fully locking or unlocking, only attempting to. It continued for a few days then stopped for a few weeks. Yesterday we were on a 75 mile drive and 75 miles back with the locks incessantly going through their intermittent rapid cycling. I never know for certain if my doors are locked or not. Besides being extremely distracting and irritating while driving, there is the presence of a safety issue. There are a lot of scenarios that could be played out.
Recently, I experienced a failed door locking actuator in my 2009 Chevy Malibu while driving my 2yr old to daycare. I was turning right out of my neighborhood, when my door(driver's door) swung open. I grabbed it and tried shutting, but the locking mechanism was locked, so it wouldn't shut. I pulled over and had to manually unlock the door so my door would shut. I couldn't even imagine if this situation occurred to a door in the backseat with my daughter sitting there in her child seat. Fast forward one week, and now 3 of my 4 locking actuators are failed. I did some research on the internet and noticed that there are numerous complaints from Malibu owners about these failed locking actuators. I then started to wonder if there was a recall on this. I called GM and they said there isn't a recall and that is just normal part failure. Normal part failure"!"! I've had the car for less than 4 years and have only put 45K miles on it. In my opinion, this is a major safety issue.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the doors would sporadically become locked and unlocked independently. Additionally, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection and the contact was awaiting diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 90,000. The current mileage was 100,000.
Driver side and passenger side automatic door locks have failed. Intermittently, opening any of the four doors at any given time will cause all locks to engage.
My rear driver door lock will not activate. Only manually. Very dangerous. It seems to be a very common thing with these cars. They have bad actuators. This should be a recall by General Motors...
- Royal Oak, MI, USA
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Both passenger side doors locks only stopped working electrically and only work manually, I began to notice this about two weeks ago, they were only working about half the time. I took it to the dealer and they told me the car is out of warranty, and even its a common problem they want me to pay roughly $500 dollars for the repair. I think this is a safety concern because in the event of a traffic collision I will not be able to get my kids out of the vehicle quickly since you cannot unlock the rear doors through the outside of the vehicle manually with a key. I contacted GM customer service and addressed my concern to no avail. I don't think it is right for a 3 year old car to be having such problems, I also own a 1996 Honda civic whose doors still work properly"? thank you.. there are a lot of unsatisfied customers on this forum....www.chevymalibuforum.com/foru...ead.php"T=7950.
The power locks on the car would not unlock the doors, leaving the passengers trapped inside. We were unable to open the doors manually, electrically or even with inserting the key into the door. Passengers had to crawl out of the windows. After trying the key and remote numerous times the driver side door unlocked but would not relatch when the door was closed or even after starting the engine and placing the transmission in gear. The locks sound like they engage and disengage leaving one to think every thing is okay but, it is not. This a serious safety hazard and one that could be life threatening.
The car door locks cycle on and off at any given time. Mostly stays unlocked, although the other day it did lock me in the car this was just as frightening as them not being locked. I can be stopped a stop light or driving 70 mph and the locks are cycling on and off. The unlock/lock bottom in the door panel does not work. I feel very unsafe with my door locks cycling on/off. I work downtown by the county jail and I feel very unsafe driving anywhere down there with my doors unlocked. I park in a parking garage that has had some theft, I hope my car does not get robbed. I also have small children that ride in the car and feel unsafe driving around the city or highways with the doors unlocked. I hope the doors don't fly open or if in a wreck there would be nothing preventing the doors from opening. I need to take this car on a five hour road trip next weekend, with kids in the car, the sound of the locks cycling on/off will be a distraction while driving. I hope this problem can be repaired soon. I have read many Chevy Malibu's with this same problem and when I called GM regarding this issue they know of this problem, unsure if the are going to help me at this point. I take my car to the dealership on Monday. I sure hope GM and the car dealership sees this as a safety issue. A well known GM lock malfunction and repairs this problem at their cost.
In March, 2011, I began having problems with the doors not opening from the inside. I unhooked the battery terminal to reset the computer then the windows started working again. In April my driver's window would not go up. I replaced the 30A fuse and got the window to go up. Once I tried to use one of the other windows, the fuse blew again. Now my windows will not go up or down without blowing a fuse. The switch in the driver's door was replaced and the relay was replaced with no resolution. My windows will not work at all and yesterday, July 19, my doors began acting up again and will not open from the inside. I feel like I'm going to get trapped inside this vehicle.
I have a 2009 Chevy Malibu the power locks has been locking and unlocking while the vehicle is in motion causing safety issues for me and my young children that are passengers in my vehicle.
My new 2009 Chevrolet Malibu does not provide for disabling the auto door locking feature. Having worked in law enforcement and been involved in accident investigations, I know that rescuers have a more difficult time of removing someone from a vehicle involved in an accident if the doors are locked especially if that person is a good samititan with no heavy tools. Both the dealer and GM have refused to acknowledge this problem or do anything to remediate it. I would like to see this changed before an accident occurs where the occupants cannot be removed from the vehicle.
My Malibu 2009 has locks opening and closing often when driving. Remaining open is a big safety concern. My dealer and GM pretend not to help unless they are in car when they see and hear it happening. My son also has the same problem on his new Malibu 2009. Desperate for help. We have little children often in car and the locks are open., when this happens.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Saint Michael, MN, USA