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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 1
Average Mileage:
106,645 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2001 Chevrolet Malibu engine problems

engine problem

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2001 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #26

Nov 092020

Malibu

  • 135,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The blinkers randomly work; most likely needs a new hazard switch. The car's temperature gauge would rise when sitting in idle; needed a new water pump and thermostat as of 11/2020.

- Wentzville, MO, USA

problem #25

Jun 012018

Malibu

  • 160,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving various speeds, unknown warning indicators illuminated. When the vehicle was started, the ignition had to be turned to the on position and the contact had to wait for the instrument panel to light up completely for the vehicle to start. The process worked intermittently. The vehicle failed to start every time the contact would attempt to start the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who replaced the ignition switch; however, the failure continued. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #24

Nov 202017

Malibu

  • 184,598 miles
In Nov 2017 my 2001 Malibu was starting to over heat do I reached the thermostat I am still having issues with the car getting to hot I have to always put my heater on defrost hot and on and the fan on which only goes up to number 3 and there are higher settings. I don't know what I'm going to do if I have to replace the manifold gasket. And I've been during dexcool coolant. Is there a recall yet" if not why" I have read numerous complaints about this.

- Yelm, WA, USA

problem #23

Aug 172017

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2nd cylinder is misfiring and something seems to be leaking antifreeze, causing my engine to overheat, which I see is a large issue in Chevy Malibu. My turn signal/hazards also don't work 85% of the time, which is a recall for my make, model, and year (Chevrolet, Malibu, 2001) but not my VIN number. Another issue I see is my left headlight shines out from the side, which I also saw to be an issue in several of the same models of my car. Keep in mind I bought it recently, used, so the date I noticed the issues was fairly recent.

- Selden, NY, USA

problem #22

May 172017

Malibu

  • 81,000 miles
I backed up my car, put it in drive and the anti theft system disabled the motor. I started rolling backwards and lost my perspective. I rolled backwards into a telephone pole causing a huge dent on my rear drivers side quarter panel. Thank god the pole was there or I might not have realized what was happening. Behind me was a rout iron fence and beyond that was a 20 ft drop (driveway has a retainer wall that it is built on top of. I had filed another complaint. The car had disabled itself on a bridge that has no slow lane to stop in. I can take pictures of the damage in the daylight if needed

- Nanuet, NY, USA

problem #21

May 192017

Malibu

  • 81,000 miles
The anti theft system disabled the car on the tappan zee bridge, with no place to stop and 18 wheelers going by me at 60+mph. I had to shut the ignition off, turn it back on and wait 10 minutes for the anti-theft to disable, so I could turn the ignition off and reset the anti-theft and start the car. Talking about scared to death. Happy I am still alive to report this. It was in motion 55mph and stopped running, anti theft started to blink

- Nanuet, NY, USA

problem #20

Jul 152016

Malibu

  • 95,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. When the vehicle was stopped, the engine continued to rev. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The repairs were made, but the failure recurred on numerous occasions. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 95,000.

- Belvidere, IL, USA

problem #19

Aug 012013

Malibu

  • 151,249 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but the repairs were unknown. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 151,249.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #18

Aug 192015

Malibu 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 143,911 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle shut off without warning. In addition, the vehicle would accelerate at high speeds without warning. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 143,911. Updated 11/09/15 updated 4/3/18

- Bernville , PA, USA

problem #17

Jul 052015

Malibu

  • 147,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 30 mph, the engine stalled and the anti-theft warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the engine after a wait period. The failure recurred and the contact was unable to restart the engine. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 147,000.

- Johnson City, NY, USA

problem #16

Mar 052013

Malibu

  • 135,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Turning the car on and the engine revs with high RPM. Car continues to accelerate on own. This can also happen randomly without any warning when driving, you can take your foot off the accelerator and the speed will increase from 20 mph up to 55 or 60 mph riding the brakes and getting to a place where you can turn the car off helps, sometimes. This is frightening and dangerous.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #15

Dec 142011

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 211,329 miles
Approached intersection in turning lane to make left turn. Upon making such turn, vehicle did not accelerate as fast as it should. Was told second driver ran red light and collided with my vehicle in a head on collision. I was informed that my vehicle was struck on front passenger side. I remember hearing the crash and the car spinning out of control. Both airbags did deploy, as I was floating over the gear shift. Was told at the scene left leg was broken at the ankle per paramedic. Right leg was confirmed broken at the ankle at the hospital. I was wearing my seat belt, I had a burn mark that lasted almost six months. I spent 22 days in the hospital, I started as ortho-trauma, went to surgery the next day to repair my left leg with 1 plate and 8 screws. Three days later, I had complications from my injuries. I went to pulmonary icu (picu). Two days after being stabilized, I went back to surgery to repair my right leg with 2 plates and 10 screws. It took 10 months to be able to walk again, with a cane and a limp... right leg is noticeably shorter than my left it took a year to have feeling to the top of my right foot at my big toe. I have lost my nursing career due to not being able to do my job. Walking and standing, lifting, bending or pushing a medicine cart for long periods of time is impossible. I have been declared dis-abled.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #14

Oct 042010

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 43,000 miles
Car was forced off road then rolled over into on coming traffic.

- Burt, MI, USA

problem #13

Aug 152008

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 68,000 miles
Anti-theft system prevents car from starting. Falsely detects that ignition key is not the correct key for this automobile, even thou this key has been used to start the car thousands of times. To overcome the problem driver must turn off ignition, turn key to on position and wait approximately 10 minutes for the computer to register the key as being correct, turn the ignition key to off and then turn it to start to get the car started. This has happened to us at least 100 times during the past 6 years. GM service says the remedy is to replace the ignition switch at a cost of $400. This problem has been frequently reported by hundreds of thousands of GM 1998 thru 2006 automobile owners. I believe this is an engineering defect and should be repaired for free by GM. This is a safety issue with these cars and trucks.

- The Villages, FL, USA

problem #12

Jun 232014

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 145,000 miles
One day out of nowhere while in park and idling car just died, restarted fine, then a couple days later at a stoplight died again, was able to restart and drive on, but this continued from then on everytime it was stopped and running would just die could restart when ready to drive off and it would go fine, until the last time it died while going 35 mph in traffic and I was barely able to steer out of traffic and almost couldn't stop, but wouldn't restart anymore, and still won't start. Took to a mechanic who informed me that the ignition caused the anti theft to engage and turn off components in motor, I've read I others having same problem in this same year make and model just wondering why it hasn't been recalled along with all the rest of Chevy' scars having this problem, obviously it's a bigger problem than just a couple and the last time it died on me I was lucky to not get hit.

- Twin Falls, ID, USA

problem #11

Feb 172014

Malibu 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,700 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle failed to restart and the failure continued to occur over a period of five months. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,700. Updated 08/28/14 updated 09/4/2014

- Crosby, TX, USA

problem #10

May 012014

Malibu

  • 160,000 miles
Driving car at various speeds, will accelerate by itself while driving RPM >2000 when put in park RPM >2500. When brake for light and take foot off brake car will accelerate by it self I let it go up to 45 mph this problem is intermittent, I turn engine off and turn back on it will idle normally 1000 or less. No panel warning lights pop up.

- Edgewater, FL, USA

problem #9

May 132008

Malibu

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that there was a visible antifreeze leak. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.

- Bridgeview, IL, USA

problem #8

Nov 052013

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 66,237 miles
Hi, it's me.... again. Imagine that with my Chevy Malibu. I went to start the car this morning. However, it wouldn't. I could hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds then turn off. The engine would fire briefly, and then stop. The starter is working great. So I turned to google. I found, like so many of the complaints on here that the anti-theft system is to blame. It likes to random turn on, preventing the car from starting. I called the dealer to ask what Chevy was going to do to fix Chevy's busted anti-theft system. I was told to turn the key to the "on" position for 10 min. The anti-theft would reset, and then I could start me car. They forgot to tell me that it would continue to do this until I spend $500 of my own money to fix a problem Chevy knows about. Why should I have to pay to fix something that is due to poor engineering and manufacturing on Chevy's part? oh what.... corporate America says so. They are bigger than me, and therefore are more important than putting out a reliable product to consumers. Chevy is a great example of a corporate greed manager. Just man up and fix your crappy cars.

- Muncie, IN, USA

problem #7

Sep 162013

Malibu

  • 98,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The failure continued to occur intermittently at low speeds. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.

- North Braddock, PA, USA

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