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.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. While driving at any speed, the power steering fails. The dealer advised the contact to bring in the vehicle for a diagnosis. The vehicle will be repaired at the owner's expense and is becoming very difficult to drive. The failure mileage was 65,000 and current mileage was 77,000.
Usually while turning the power steering goes out on the Malibu maxx. There are several complaints on it and the dealership has a bulletin regarding it. They want over $500 to fix their mistake. It happened 4 times on a 94 mile trip just last weekend. It usually happens a couple times a week. There is no warning as to when it will occur and you have no control over the car. The dealership told me to shut the car off and restart and the power would reset. That works most of the time but not a good idea if you are in heavy traffic. There will be a serious accident from this problem as it is reported more and more. People don't have the money to spend on repairs while the motor companies get "bail out" money. I want a recall.
While driving my 2006 Chevrolet Malibu maxx, I was backing out of my driveway when I lost power steering. I parked the car, shut it off, turned it back on and the power steering was working properly. A few days later I was driving down the road and again lost power steering. I pulled over and shut the car off and restarted and gained power steering back. It happened again nearly right away after doing the last restart. I again pulled over, shut the car off and turned it back on and power steering was back. This has happened 6 to 10 times in the last 1 to 2 months and there is no rhyme or reason to when the power steering gives out. This makes every trip in the car a potential hazard.
Bump sound in front end when starting from a stop or braking and turning. Dealer says it is a power steering shaft. They lubricated it and tightened it before warranty expired. Within 1,000 miles problems returned. Now warranty has expired and it's my problem although GM has a replacement steering shaft that will correct the problem.
Chevrolet Malibu and other makes have a problem with the steering rack and pinion. Mine has been replaced about a year ago. It had a bumping noise that you could hear even standing outside of the car while someone else is driving. GM needs to do a recall before somebody looses their steering and has a major accident. This problem is very common on these cars and needs to be addressed. I am an ase certified technician and have been for many years.
- Evergreen, AL, USA
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I have a 2006 Malibu maxx 3.5 V6. My wife was parallel parking when the power steering locked up on her. It was very difficult to park and maneuver the vehicle. No damage was done. I went online to find out about why it just shut off and found the link to this web-site. I sure don't want to see this go out when turning around a corner. This is a safety hazard not for us but anyone else on the road as well.
The electric steering assist system continues to fail on a regular basis. It will lock up and the steering wheel will not turn. So far, this has only happened at low speeds and has not caused a crash. I have had it into dealerships 4 times so far. Although dealership personnel have experiences the failure, no code is generated therefore Chevrolet will not pay for repair. The car is under warranty and only has 25,000 mile on it.
I started the car and thought it had stalled because the power steering had failed. I restarted the car and found it was the power steering. The car sat for about 4 hours and when restarted the power steering had returned. While driving down the road it failed again and almost caused an accident. It has not been repaired yet.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. While driving 55 mph, the steering became loose. The contact overcorrected her turn. In addition, the steering wheel locks intermittently. The dealer stated that they have not had any other complaints related to the steering; therefore, they referred the contact to NHTSA to file a safety complaint. The failure mileage was 48,000 and current mileage was 48,050.
The gear box on the steering column makes a popping sound when you turn also the steering wheel jolts when it does this it has been replaced every month since then and it still does it. It will not do it for about a week when I have it replaced but then it starts to do it again.
My wife was driving our daughter to school and was getting on the freeway and all of a sudden the electronic power steering went out making it very hard to steer the car. It happened twice that trip and the only way to correct it is to turn the car off and restart it. Took it in to the shop and found that the power steering control module needs replaced. Notice that there have been similar complaints like mine and wonder if it is going to take an injury or death to get it noticed? I hope not.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. While driving 60 mph, the steering column locked. As soon as the contact removed his foot from the accelerator pedal, he regained control of the steering. The failure has occurred approximately four times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and they could not find any failure. The current mileage was 21,000 and failure mileage was approximately 16,000. Updated 04-07-08
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chicago, IL, USA