Print this page

9.3

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
80,750 miles
Total Complaints:
3 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (3 reports)
2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx steering problems

steering problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Owner Comments

problem #3

May 042020

Malibu Maxx LT 3.5L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles

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

I found my car on the internet, called the dealer in North Carolina, liked what I heard and proceeded to have the car transported to my home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The car was owned by a women who in 14 years put low mileage on it. I received a car fax that showed no major repairs or problems. Not long after me putting my own miles on the car, a bell sound would go off when going into first or second gear. If you started out a little faster from the start, the steering would lockup for a few seconds, which I found very scary. I love to do highway drives and go the top speed, and no way was I ever going to do that now in this car for fear of a accident or possibly death.

A second symptom started which made the steering wheel shake and then came the bell sound again and total loss of steering which is extremely hard to make turns to the point where in order to drive, you need to go faster just to be able to make turns, very dangerous. I have already had to go to a doctor due to destroying the muscle in my right arm, very painful. I have already called Chevy, but they will not do anything. I also filled a compliant with NHTSA,1-15-2022, but have not heard anything. I will proceed with any and all ways to have chevy pay all repair costs, I am a senior on social security and there's no way could I afford that bill.

I must add that I was told by Chevy the car was repaired due to the recall 11-2014 at mileage 34,861. The car had 44,577 miles when I purchased it, but that repair did not last too long, with not even 10,000 miles on their recall parts. I do have a service order from the dealership I use stating that something could be wrong with the steering due to me at my first time taking the car for oil change. I hope someone will be able to help me with this ongoing problem, the car was recalled around 8 years ago and I am sure Chevy will be jerks. They were not very helpful already, and it makes me not want to ever buy a Chevy product again.

- Maura T., Las Vegas, US

problem #2

Apr 112021

Malibu Maxx LT 3.5L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 120,150 miles

Power steering was replaced under warranty by Parks Chevrolet in Charlotte, NC some time around mid/late January 2020. I only experienced very mild power steering loss in December 2019 (around 108k miles), and noticed there were a few open recalls.

Since Jan 2020, there hasn't been any issues with the power steering until March and April of 2021 (119k-120k miles). It failed while driving in the city and required a lot of force to move the wheel. It happened while parallel parking and felt like I had the front wheels stuck on a curb or something, I got out to check and there wasn't anything blocking the wheels. Issue went away when I was leaving, but came back on the highway doing 70mph for a brief moment.

Issue happened again April 11 while doing a U-turn, the wheel jerked HARD left twice in a 1-second time frame.

Unfortunately it may be time for a new car because I don't feel like going through the headache of getting this POS fixed. It's just not worth it.

- Corey S., Charlotte, NC, US

problem #1

Jan 032011

Malibu Maxx LTZ V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 77,050 miles

I hear chimes, then temporary loss of power steering ( it's like it looks up and goes to the left for a couple of seconds). No warning sign on the dash or lights go off. Seems to happen almost every time you merge into a lane on the road or highway, when passing another car.

Took it to dealership because I got a Safety Special Coverage 12221 said it's an electrical input signal that causes it so they replaced the steering column torque sensor.

Now it is even worse then before, going to call dealership but they don't how to fix it or they would have done it the first time.

- Will B., Toronto, ON, Canada

Not what you are looking for?