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.
Approximately the week of Feb 14, 2010, my 2005 Chevy Malibu chimed, the power steering felt funny, smelled some burning and a warning sign about my power steering. I pulled over, turned the car off and was not able to see the issue. I started the car backup and the warning was gone. It happened 2 or 3 more times that week. I notified Chevy and there is special coverage service bulletin #07126. I called Chevy and said if you are over 70,000 miles, it will not be covered. I never received this notice from Chevy or the dealership of purchase (they no longer are a Chevy dealer). I was at 72,500. I have not been riding it much and now Chevy is recalling other cars with the same issue, but not the Malibu.
Power steering failure at low speeds and highway speeds, left and right turns. Steering becomes stiff. First happened on Dec 24, 2009; reset itself when turned the engine over. Happened again 2X in January. Happened on 2/18 two times; system reset itself and reappeared after about 15 seconds. Happened a third time on 2/18 on the highway. Pulled over and turned over the engine but would not reset itself.
My son was driving my 2005 Malibu when the power steering went out. A warning light indicated the problem to him. He was able to pull to the side of the road where he restarted the car. The car reset itself but the same problem occurred again. It was at that point I told him to take to a dealer to have the car inspected. Upon inspection it was discovered that the power steering column needed to be replace. In December of 2007 General Motors sent me a letter detailing possible problems with the power steering system. What happened to my car was what was outlined in the letter. The letter said not to take the car in to be inspected if I didn't have any problems at that time. It also said that they would reimburse me if I had any problems with the car but with a deadline date. I had to take the car in by December of 2008 and the car had to have 70,000 or less miles on it. Since I did not have any problems with the car up to that point I did not take the vehicle in to be inspected. The problem with the car occurred in January of 2010. I had the car repaired because it wasn't safe to drive in the condition it was in. I contacted GM with my concerned and asked for reimbursement. I was turned down because the problem came after the deadline outlined in the letter.
Steering column pops when making a left or right turn. Causes the car to shake a little when braking. Occurred before 35,000 miles, but was never fixed by Chevy, even after complaining. Mechanic has diagnosed the problem, but believes Chevy should fix. Worried that if problem is fixed it will reoccur, and also worried it will effect power steering. Have contact Chevy multiple times about problem, but have received no help, other then a runaround.
2005 Malibu ls V6. Power steering failed making the steering very stiff. It was cold, 31 degrees. The power steering warning come on the stereo. I restarted the car and the problem went away. Prior to this, the steering has pulled to the left, even after a realignment. There have long been knocking noises when I turn the wheel.
- Georgetown, SC, USA
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The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering locked and made it difficult to turn the steering wheel. When the vehicle was turned off and back on the power steering failure reset itself. The failure continued to reoccur at slow speeds and when the contact was trying to make a left or right turn. The contact also noticed that when the failure occurred, the rpms were approximately 1500. The failure mileage was 45,000. The VIN was not available. The current mileage was 75,000. Updated 3/16/10 updated 05/06/10.
I was driving on a side street at about 30 mph when the chimes sounded, the power steering light came on, and steering became very difficult. I had to stop, turn the car off and then restart it before I could steer again. I understand that this is an ongoing issue with my model car (2005 Chevy Malibu) and that Chevrolet has a technical service bulletin (#07126) on this issue, but my car is outside the maximum mileage to be covered under this tsb. I also understand that there were some NHTSA defect investigations into this issue (primarily the 2004 model), but they have since been closed because the number of reported failures was within an "acceptable range". I guess my response to that is, how many accidents do there have to be and how many people need to die before this issue is taken seriously? while my personal experience was not life-threatening, if this had occurred in heavy traffic at high speeds it very well could have resulted in a fatal accident. I saw today that federal regulators have opened an investigation into complaints that power steering systems in the Chevrolet cobalt can fail, making it more difficult to control the car. I'm sure this is the same issue that is still occurring on the Malibu. I implore you to reopen the investigation on the Malibu (a simple google of "Malibu power steering problems" will show that it is still a major issue) and do whatever is necessary to have this problem corrected.
I have a 2005 Chevy Malibu. On several occasions the power steering has failed, usually when making a sharp turn. I first noticed this around two years ago and complained to GM, in which they stated that other cars like mines had, the same issues, but my car did not qualify for a fix since I had already had too many miles on it.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated as she is driving the power steering goes out. The contact stated she has to steer the vehicle off the road, turn it on and off and it will reset itself. This happens continuously. The contact call the manufacturer and she was told to take the vehicle to the dealer for them to see what repairs can be done. The manufacturer also stated that the contact may be charged for the repairs. The contact will be taking the vehicle in to the dealer to be repaired. The failure mileage was 92,504.
2005 Chevrolet Malibu steering issue. There is a thumping noise in the steering column when turning. Our daughter's 2006 Malibu was doing the same thing which she took in under the original warranty. They said the column just needed to be lubed which they covered for her. Ours was under the extended warranty which was getting ready to expire with a $200 deductible. The amount they would charge for lubing the column was $90. We have not had it done yet, but after reading the other complaints, I am not sure the lube will ultimately solve the problem, even on our daughter's 2006.
12/2006 I purchased a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. On three occasions in 2007 I experienced a "loud knocking noise" in the steering column of my vehicle and the first two times, it was not completely fixed and finally after the 3rd time they said it was fixed. Until 12/11/2009 when while I was driving, my "power steering" warning flashed across my clock screen and my steering wheel suddenly locked up and I was unable to turn my vehicle. Then on 12/21/2009, I was pulling out of a parking lot and again, the same thing happened 3 times within an hour. I found out from aaa that Chevrolet(GM) had printed a service bulletin regarding this particular problem with the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu and I immediately took my car to steve moore Chevrolet at 9325 South boulevard, charlotte, nc -- at which time they informed me after inspecting the car, that my whole steering column had gone bad. On 1/13/2010, I had to pay $792 to have this repaired and I feel that since this was a problem that GM was aware of, I should be reimbursed for the expense that I've incurred as well as the inconvenience I was caused due to GM not being willing to extend coverage for this repair.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 35 mph the power steering warning light illuminated and the power steering shut off. The contact turned the vehicle off and after restarting the vehicle the power steering began working normally. The dealer informed the contact that the entire power steering system needed to be replaced. The contact is aware of the safety risk and the possibility that a crash could occur and cause serious injuries. The failure mileage was 77,000.
2005 Chevy Malibu. Have told the dealership many times about the "bumping/thumbing" while the car is turning. And found out that there is no place for powering steering fluid...thank god for purchasing extended warranties!!!!!!!!!!!
The steering wheel pops and jerks in an erratic motion to the left and right. Over the past week it has progressively worsened to the point that it will actually cause the wheels to turn and steer with the wheel. And without no particular reason the power steering will cut out and stop working. While I have yet to take it into a mechanic I have an appointment in a week.
Steering column shakes and moves on its own then power steering pulled to the left and power steering went out almost crashing into highway barrier. If it happened to my wife she would not have been able to recover and would have hit the barrier at highway speeds, probably killing her and the kids. Power steering comes and goes at any time I never know when it will go out. Dealership will have to replace the entire steering column for about $2,000. This is an obvious issue since there are several complaints on this year of Malibu and there has been 2 tsbs on this particular issue and they will not extend the mileage more than 70K. This is a safety issue due to the fact that you never know when the power steering is going to go out and what the steering column is going to do. This causes an unsafe condition and the probability if having an accident is great since it is directly related to the steering and steering column.
Loss of power steering in 2005 Chevy Malibu as described in service bulletin #07126 caused a near miss accident on or about12/10/2009. With the unexpected loss of the electrical assist system vehicle becomes extremely difficult to control. Service bulletin covers vehicles to 70,000 miles of which this vehicle is at 79986 outside of the service bulletin coverage. Steering loss is now an intermittent problem, of which we will schedule to have parts replaced as per bulletin at our cost. I have had conversations with GM on coverage due to the extreme safety hazard this issue causes and the ownership of this issue that GM has conceded by the issuance of said bulletin. Facts of my conversations with GM have been documented in case file #71-783921469. It is my opinion that this steering failure condition should be reviewed for full recall due to the extreme hazard this causes no matter the mileage or age of vehicles covered in the original service bulletin.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 30 mph the steering column locked without prior warnings. The vehicle was towed to the dealership and the steering column needed to be replaced. She called and sent a letter to the manufacturer, but no assistance was provided. The current and failure mileages were approximately 108,000. Updated 03/04/10 the consumer stated the right tie rod failed, the front struts were leaking, the steering rack failed and the transmission was leaking. Updated 10/05/10
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 20 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel. And there was lose of power steering. She restarted the vehicle to resume normal vehicle operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. The technician stated that the steering column assembly needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 89,500.
I have had several problems with my power steering. It just went out all of a sudden this morning. I almost had an accident. There was an error message on the dash stating "power steering" and the steering column got really tight and was very hard to turn. I investigated and noticed that there have been several complaints for the 2005 Chevy Malibu power steering issues. I called the GM dealership and also had a diagnostic done and the problem was the power steering module. I'm really upset because this is the second time this has happened. I'm very afraid to even drive the car because this could occur at any time which can cause and huge accident. The dealership informed me that they would not be able to assist me because I have more than 100, 000 miles on my car. This is totally not fair. I asked the representation (peter) what if I have an accident. He stated that there is really nothing he could do. Out of all of the reports on the power steering issues it's about time something gets done.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. While exiting a parking space, the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then the power steering failed. The vehicle was able to be restarted and resumed normal operation. A technician from the dealer stated that the coil and the roller in the steering column needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 74,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- New Milford, CT, USA