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 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated that the yellow plastic cover for the headlights was found burned on both the driver and passenger sides. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that there were no recalls or for the failure. The dealer advised that the front headlight assembly would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 82,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated the headlight wiring harness melted causing the light bulb plastic covering to melt and the light bulb to fail. A local mechanic replaced the passenger headlight assembly, but the driver headlight also failed. The drivers headlight assembly was not replaced. The failure mileage was 86,000 and the current mileage was 92,000. Updated 10/14/11 updated 10/28/11
Driver side day time running light/turn signal bulb socket causes bulb base to melt and cause a shortage. In one year bulb has had to be replaced 4 times. Bulb manufacturer sent me heavy duty replacement bulbs to help solve the problem they suggest that GM is aware of. Two heavy duty bulbs have also gone bad with most recent melting the base within two days. Problem is no day time running light or turn signal. Passenger side bulb was replaced once, likely under normal wear.
Complete and total lock up of power steering; battery light flicks on and then everything locks up until you replace the gas peddle for about 3 seconds. My lights randomly flash and rear bulbs on the driver side blow every 3 days. My turn signals will sporadically blink and the wiper blades go off with out warning or being prompted. Even with no keys near or in the car it will not turn over to start the car until you floor the gas peddle and hold it there for 3-5 seconds. My radio reads at -19* all the time and the cd player has never worked correctly. When going from 0 to 50 getting on the parkway (highway) the whole car locks up and loses power including the steering radio and lights unless you completely release the gas then start to go again. Im so highly frustrated and Chevy refuses to fix it even though these are all recalled problems but my VIN doesn't fall in there "bracket".
The steering has a heavy clunk sound when turning left in reverse, no sound when going to the right. Then at just over 50K miles, the steering on the vehicle started having issues with power while turning to the right under power, to the left was just fine. The head lamps also have gotten severely cloudy which limits visibility during night time driving. Front turn indicator lights also had a problem with loose sockets, causing the lights to short out and eventually fail because of sparking residue on the contacts. Also, for some reason the rear window wiper randomly turns on for no apparent reason. The vehicle also has a starting problem where at times, the vehicle will crank and not start. Looking around, quite a few folks have that problem as well, where some people have had to short out the hood safety switch to make the car work... now that is crazy to have to short out something to start your car. Apparently though, the electrical system is severely sensitive to voltage issues in general, more so then most vehicles on the road.
The drivers side turn signal (inside the harness in the headlight) keeps melting the plastic snap in base of the turn signal light bulb and causes it to become inoperative. Almost causing other vehicles to crash in to me at 4 way stop signs. The harness assembly gets very hot. May one day cause a fire. I have replaced light bulbs 4 times in the last month. Will have to get serviced. This is becoming a real safety issue in the midwest because I have to stick my hand out when it -30 to use as a signal. The dealer charges $267 for replacement. 3 time so far and I am not sure what is next. I believe GM should own to this problem and fix as a recall.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated that the front running lights were overheating and melting the plastic covers. The failure first started on the passenger side but progressed to both lights. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The contact stated the amber cover on the driver side was melting and looked as if it was starting to melt on the passenger side as well. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 73,000. Updated 02/15/12 the consumer stated initially, he noticed the front signal lights were burning out at an alarming rate. Eventually, smoke began emitting from the plastic cover, followed by melting of the light and cover. A mechanic informed the consumer, that the bulbs or sockets were perhaps loose. After the bulb housing melted, both headlight assemblies were replaced. To date, the bulbs continue to function, with no burn outs. However, the lights seemed to bounce while driving. Updated 04/26/12
The drivers side turn signal (inside the harness in the headlight) keeps melting the plastic snap in base of the turn signal light bulb and causes it to become inoperative. Almost causing other vehicles to crash in to me at 4 way stop signs. The harness assembly gets very hot. May one day cause a fire. I have replaced light bulbs 4 times in the last month. Will have to get serviced.
Turn signal on my 2005 Chevy Malibu maxx. Just like several other complaint on this site I have had to replace bulbs monthly if not weekly. I have discoleration on the right front light housing from heat and sometimes smell the smell of something electric burning always coming from the recently burned out bulb. Dealer will do nothing because car is no longer covered under the warranty.
2005 Chevy Malibu maxx front turn signals burned out, but before that, they burned/melted the plastic globe around the bulb. Have replaced bulbs numerous times before, and replaced bulb socket (melted and shorted) this time around too. This melting and shorting is certainly a mfr. Defect and should be replaced or fixed by Chevrolet. Currently I'm trying to find a way to run led bulbs to avoid the heat, but can't find an economical way due to the need for resistors (creating heat) or new flashers in the line in addition to the new bulbs.
The light bulbs number 3057 in 2 of my cars have melted the base and damaged the light sockets. As a result the light will not illuminate properly. One vehicle is a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500. The bulb is used in the brake light. When it fails you get the running lights but not the brake light. There is no way to tell inside the vehicle that the brake light is not lighting. This has a serious risk of being hit from behind. The second vehicle is a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu max. Bulb 3057 is used in the front turn signals which double as the daytime running lights. On this vehicle not only does the base of the bulb melt breaking the electrical contact the plastic lens of the light is melting. Once failure occurs you may or may not get the extra fast turn signal indicator. On the driver side of the vehicle the bulb had to be replaced 4 times in six months. Both the factory bulbs melted and the sylvania replacement long life bulbs failed.
2005 Malibu maxx ls- ticking noise shaft went rod tire electrical problems engine on but nothing is registering car seem to lock up, same brake light goes out, car hesitates, replaced brakes after only 2yr, new tire. I filed a complain with attorney general bill mccollum. I have invoices of how many time my car has gone in to the shop for major problems and ever since it lock up and hesitate I don't feel safe driving it. I did found other consumer with the same complains that I have. They have had to repair tire rods, shaft and most dangerous is the steering column is locking up. I don't feel safe driving long distance or on the highway. Please help me. I wrote to gmac vp timothy lee with out no respond. Mr. Lee passed my complaint to a customer service rep that repeats himself and wont let you speak. Please if you want contact attorney office they have my complaint on file. I don't want to hurt myself or someone else should my car lock up.
2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx (1) front park/turn/drl lamp inoperative and overheating problems. (2) rear stop/turn/tail lamp inoperative problems. This car currently has 41,000 miles. The lamps for the left front (driver side)has been replaced 5 times and right front 3 times. The rear lamps has been replaced 3 times each side. My major concern and cause for this complaint is the overheating of the front lamps (item #1 above). The upper side amber plastic housing for the lamps on both right and left has melted through at this time. When the problem was first detected, the amber housing showed some discoloration, bubbled plastic. This suggested the overheating problem either has intensified and/or the plastic has degradated over time. Visual inspection showed the charred/burnt through areas are adjacent to the lamp socket. This indicates extreme socket temperature and also the rising hot air affect the ceiling of the amber housing. All the burnt out light bulbs showed various degrees of charring/melting/deformation on the plastic base. This could have been caused by the extreme high temperature and electrical arcing. The rear is not as severe as the front but nevertheless, slight arcing can still be observed on the base of the burnt out bulbs. The left front lamp was serviced by a local Chevrolet dealer once on Dec. 16 2009 under technical service bulletin 06-08-42-004. Dealer deemed only the bulb needs to be replaced but not the socket. Prior to this, the problem already existed and both front and back bulbs replaced. The frequency of the bulb replacement and signs of arcing triggered this visit to the dealer. This repair by the dealer has not fixed the problem. Signs of overheating as evidenced by the melting plastic showed the problem has worsened. Fearing the extreme high temp can cause fire, I visited the dealer yesterday for repair under good will repair was denied. They simply said the car was out of warranty and this is not a fire hazard.
Left front signal light keeps burning out. Has been replaced 5 times in 6 months. Bulbs last only 2 weeks at most. Had signal light socket replaced and problems still happened within two weeks. Light bulbs turn black. Took car back again today. Still waiting to hear what they say this time. Last repair 8/28/09 - $92.89 for the light socket, $1.50 bulb, $70 labor. No longer have parts. Afraid I will get in accident - since left signal light and running light do not work. Keep having to go back for new bulbs, and in for repairs again today 9/23/09.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact noticed that the parking light had blown out. She also found that the front parking lights were melted due to the light bulbs. The bulb was replaced with a sylvania bulb. The front passenger side light had a large hole in the orange area of the fixture. The entire front lighting assembly needed to be replaced at the cost of over $100. The failure and current mileages were less than 60,000. The original bulb melted the orange cover inside the headlight assembly for the parking lights. Hot plastic dripped on the bulb and burned a hole in the bulb. Updated 06/22/09.
We own a 2005 malibumax, recently the right front turn signal bulb died so I replaced it in accordance with the owners manual. When I opened the lighting unit to remove the bulb I found the bulb had melted the amber plastic enclosure that surrounds the bulb. I thought this was odd however I thought maybe the bulb has shorted out and burned since the glass was shattered. I than checked the right front turn signal which was functioning, I found that the bulb had melted the amber enclosure as well. This seems like a defective design that could cause a fire.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Avon, IN, USA