First off, I have since sold my Malibu (for this and other reasons), and am now a happy owner of a Honda CR-V. I purchased the Malibu used in September 2011 with only 26,000km on it (I know, that's nothing!). No need to use the A/C until the following July (2012/29,000km) when the weather finally warmed up. Nearly every time I used A/C (not very often in Vancouver), it would work for a few minutes, then the little green "AC" light would turn off, and the air would blow warm. This happened increasingly often for the duration of the summer, which was a royal pain in the ass! The solution I found, without throwing money at it, was that every time the compresser would kick off, I would hold the AC button and crank the fan speed dial to "5" (full speed). If I left it on full speed for 2 or 3 minutes, then turned it back down to speed 1 or 2, the air would blow cold for about half an hour until I had to repeat the whole production again. Ugh!
The fact that my car was babied by its original owner, always kept underground, and rarely driven in extreme heat (over 30ºc), makes me really wonder about the quality of Chevrolet parts and build. I have no idea if this was an issue before I bought the car, but it was frustrating enough to add to the list of reasons why I sold it ASAP!
For anyone considering buying this generation Malibu, I recommend against it. To me, it looks pretty good, has nice pickup, and can be loaded up pretty will with bells and whistles. But the horrible cheapness of the interior, poor crash test results, and ho-hum gas milage (add to the list, "unreliable interior accessories"), and I would steer clear. I have a friend with a Malibu, 165,000km, and he's experiencing all of the problems listed on this website (including mine, and others that are far worse). Steer clear!
The air compressors on these cars are no good. I have only had this car a month and am now in need of an air compressor. My friend has the same kind of car and she had had to purchase two of them. Malibus are not good cars. They should be recalled for a variety of issues.
- sarah6913us,
Laurel, MS, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
First off, I have since sold my Malibu (for this and other reasons), and am now a happy owner of a Honda CR-V. I purchased the Malibu used in September 2011 with only 26,000km on it (I know, that's nothing!). No need to use the A/C until the following July (2012/29,000km) when the weather finally warmed up. Nearly every time I used A/C (not very often in Vancouver), it would work for a few minutes, then the little green "AC" light would turn off, and the air would blow warm. This happened increasingly often for the duration of the summer, which was a royal pain in the ass! The solution I found, without throwing money at it, was that every time the compresser would kick off, I would hold the AC button and crank the fan speed dial to "5" (full speed). If I left it on full speed for 2 or 3 minutes, then turned it back down to speed 1 or 2, the air would blow cold for about half an hour until I had to repeat the whole production again. Ugh!
The fact that my car was babied by its original owner, always kept underground, and rarely driven in extreme heat (over 30ºc), makes me really wonder about the quality of Chevrolet parts and build. I have no idea if this was an issue before I bought the car, but it was frustrating enough to add to the list of reasons why I sold it ASAP!
For anyone considering buying this generation Malibu, I recommend against it. To me, it looks pretty good, has nice pickup, and can be loaded up pretty will with bells and whistles. But the horrible cheapness of the interior, poor crash test results, and ho-hum gas milage (add to the list, "unreliable interior accessories"), and I would steer clear. I have a friend with a Malibu, 165,000km, and he's experiencing all of the problems listed on this website (including mine, and others that are far worse). Steer clear!
- Cam Z., North Vancouver, BC, canada