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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
74,066 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.

2008 Chevrolet Malibu drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2008 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 2 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #53

Dec 312015

Malibu

  • 131,000 miles

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

Check engine light comes on.engine power reduced 99 %.sometimes engine dies while driving 40-55 mph.engine code P2135 is displayed on my code reader. The problem goes away after cycling the ignition switch several times.car is un-reliable.this problem can cause you to crash the car.I was driving on the highway and city street when this happened.

- Brentwood, CA, USA

problem #52

Dec 072013

Malibu

  • 159,734 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the ignition key was turned to the start position, the vehicle failed to start intermittently. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. While driving at various speeds, when the brake pedal was depressed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the front of the vehicle and the brake pedal vibrated and hesitated to respond without warning. On a separate occasion, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked forward independently without warning. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred several times intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure was unable to be determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 159,734. The VIN was unavailable.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #51

Nov 222015

Malibu

  • 62,000 miles
Timing chain on V-6 Malibu ltz had to be replaced after only 62,000 miles and cost $1,700. Traveling when engine light cam on and onstar said powertrain issue and get to shop immediately. Oil changed at dealer and GM verified records. Only used 89 octane gas. GM should bump up powertrain warranty to 10 years and 120,000 miles. Timing chain defect is a very dangerous problem.

- Owensboro, KY, USA

problem #50

Oct 172015

Malibu

  • 60,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle stopped accelerating without warning. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal with no response. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 60,000.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #49

Feb 232015

Malibu

  • miles
Dropped the car off at 12:00 noon on 07/23/15 for safety recalls (13036) and (14152) mickey said the car was ready my son and I picked it up, he drove home, loaded up, and made it to waco, tx. My son called me and said he could not put it in park or get the key out. I borrowed my neighbors trailer drove to waco it was dark so I just loaded up the car strapped it down and drove home mickey had called and said that the technician thought he: At first he started to say misplaced but then changed it to, left a clip out and to bring the car back but not to worry it would be safe to drive when I opened the hood in the morning to my surprise I found the clip tool that the technician left on top of the trans-axle wedged tightly between the shift cam and transaxle assembly I can tolerate ineptness but I can't tolerate being lied to if the clip was a problem that is the part that affects the recall in the first place, unsafe! if mickey was covering up for the technician's mistake of leaving the tool he used under the hood, at my son's expense that won't be tolerated I will take the car to capital Chevrolet Tuesday morning to check for any damage. Also the under panel was not secured correctly and a nut left out. I won't be answering the phone please make all correspondence by E-mail. On 07/28/15 at 9:00 I took the car over to capitol Chevrolet 6200 ih 35 austin, tx 78745 to inspect and check for damage after the tool left in the engine compartment was removed from the transaxle assembly the technician terry hamilton said there was no apparent damage but that the cable should of been connected by a clip not a worm gear clamp due to the chance of over tighten that could damage the cable assembly if the clip was truly forgotten did the gear clamp install itself? I sent an E-mail to chance covert (general manager) informing him of my experience

- Austin, TX, USA

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problem #48

Jul 312015

Malibu

  • 85,000 miles
Many bulletin's posted #09-07-30-012. My 2008 Chevy Malibu had about 85K miles on it. I had only owned it for about 2 years and bought it used as a college student and had an outstanding loan on it. I was driving to work one morning and started to notice when accelerating getting on the highway that it was taking more time for my car to shift into gear. As I continued to drive my car was it taking even longer to shift from 3rd to 5th gear then it would abruptly shift into gear delayed. I figured maybe it need transmission fluid since it only had 85K on it, and then when I would reverse it was very loose feeling. Brought in to the shop and they said I needed a new transmission and the car was unsafe to drive. Quoted me 2200 for a used transmission. Looked online and saw several people with the same problem. I am just out of college so don't have that kind of money up front yet and I had a loan on the car still. Chevy said I wasn't under 100K mile warranty bc car was more than 5 years old. I live on my own and need a safe vehicle to get to work everyday and did not have the money for a used transmission up front so had no choice to go lease a car and trade this now worthless car with this transmission issue in that I had a loan on. So car was worth a lot less now than my loan so I went into a new deal with negative equity resulting me taking on huge car payment to get out of this mess. Chevy or GM need to recall this defect and take care of the customers affected and compensate those who were affected and took a huge loss in $ due this problem. I believe GM should be compensating me something for how much money I just lost unless they want to be known as a company who doesn't care about their customers and sells cars that transmissions go way before 100K miles....I will never buy or recommend them to anyone ever again if they do not rectify with good paying customers.

- Kenmore , NY, USA

problem #47

Aug 122015

Malibu

  • 122,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate, made and abnormal sound, and stalled. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the wave plate in the transmission fractured due to high temperatures. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 122,000.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #46

Aug 042015

Malibu

  • 116,767 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at 10 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was related to the transmission but the details were not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,767.

- Glendale, AZ, USA

problem #45

May 022015

Malibu

  • 136,530 miles
Vehical was at a complete stop, placed in the park postion, and key removed from igniation, without incident. As driver exited the vehical, the vehical proceeded to roll away. Driver re-entered the vehical to try and start the vehical, but would not start. Car appeared to be in the park position as per the indication of the gear shifter. To prevent the vehical from continue to be mobil, driver had to apply the emergancy break.

- Durham, NC, USA

problem #44

Apr 102015

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 88,000 miles
My 08 Malibu ltz is having trouble shifting gears. I have to let off accelerator for it to shift gears.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #43

Mar 102015

Malibu

  • 90,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 50 mph, there was extreme hesitation without warning. The vehicle eventually stalled. The vehicle restarted and resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #42

Jan 082015

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 77,200 miles
The automatic transmission would not shift correctly and would slip and not engage when I would step on the accelerator. General Motors has a service safety bulletin out on the wave plate replacement but will not cover the cost of my repair. The document id 2294206 and also another number of 09-07-30-012. They have identified that the following list of vehicles have a problem 2008-2009 Buick enclave,2008-2009chevrolet equinox, Malibu, 2009 Chevrolet traverse, 2007-2009 GMC acadia, 2007-2009 Pontiac G6, 2008-2009 Pontiac torrent, 2007-2009 Saturn aura, outlook, 2008-2009 Saturn vue. I can only hope that my complaint will cause a safety recall of the listed automobiles.

- Racine, WI, USA

problem #41

Jan 012014

Malibu

  • 74,460 miles
Started car and service traction ESC lights came on. Upon driving car would not accelerate as it normally does, and seemed to loose power. The engine vibrated an unusual amount, much more than normal. The next day we took the vehicle to the dealer for recall no. 13036, the htsa campaign id no. For this recall is 14V252. The dealer only replaced what was outlined in the recall, which was clip, retainer, strap, retainer. However, this had no effect on the problem. They would not further diagnose or fix the problem.

- Pittsford, NY, USA

problem #40

Dec 252014

Malibu

  • 50,500 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while making a U-turn at approximately 10 mph, the gear shift failed to switch gears and the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, the contact stated that the steering wheel seized without warning. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred after the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control) and 14V153000 (steering). The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the shift cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V224000 (power train) and 14E044000 (steering). The failure mileage was 50,500.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #39

Dec 012014

Malibu

  • miles
2008 Chevrolet Malibu power steering just went out. The consumer also experienced problems with the shifter and the brakes.

- Semmes, AL, USA

problem #38

Nov 032014

Malibu

  • miles
Gear shift indicator failed again. It was fixed under a previous recall back in July 2014. Also there is an airbag light that has began to display, but Chevy states that the recall covers 2008 Impala, not the Malibu models.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

problem #37

Nov 032014

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 112,000 miles
Shifting cable is shredded won't go in park, backed into my garage thought is was in park but wasn't.can't get car in reverse now. There is 3 recall's on vehicle one which is this shift cable. Can't get answer when this fix is going to be available.going on 6 months.is any one there going to get this company moving or not.

- Canastota, NY, USA

problem #36

Oct 012014

Malibu 4-cyl

  • miles
2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Consumer writes in regards to GM recall #13036 and repair reimbursement. *

- Theodore, AL, USA

problem #35

Oct 012014

Malibu 4-cyl

  • miles
2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Consumer states he received 2 recall notices and has been experiencing problems with his vehicle that are outlined in the recall notice.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #34

Jul 012014

Malibu 4-cyl

  • miles
On or about July 1, 2014 I received a recall notice from GM, safety recall 14152, but was informed the part was not available to perform the recall service. Since that time I have called the local dealership, apple Chevrolet in tinley park, Illinois (708) 336-3163, where I purchased the vehicle, on two occasions and was informed the part is still not available. Today, during my call to the dealership to again check on the status of the part, after being informed the part is still not available, I was directed to call General Motors directly and was given the number 1-800-222-1020. After speaking to the representative at General Motors, [xxx], and giving the last eight digits of my vehicle identification number, I was informed that the part is available. GM is saying the part is available and my local dealership is saying the part is not available. Can someone please help me? information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Tinley Park, IL, USA

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