Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||||
| 060235019 | 09/01/2006 | 10020731 | Revised tilt steering wheel and column fastener tightening specifications. *kb | 01/04/2007 | |
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 030232049 | 11/01/2003 | 10004765 | Release of new outer tie rod ends for service. *tt | 01/06/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 09/12/2008 | 184000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 1999 chevrolet malibu. while driving approximately 35 mph, the contact lost control of the steering wheel. no matter which way he turned the steering wheel, the vehicle would head in the opposite direction. the vehicle was towed to a repair shop. the mechanic stated that the frame that holds the rack and pinion had completely rusted away. he further stated that it was very rare for that to occur to a vehicle. the contact has not notified general motors; however, the dealer stated that nothing could be done. the vehicle has not yet been repaired and is currently using a used frame. the current and failure mileages were 184,000. | |||
| 02/07/2002 | 12/04/2001 | ||
| My 1999 chevy mailbu has had many problems. i will start with the 2 fuel injecters replaced 2 months after purchasing. the car begin to run rough then would have problems starting. then there was the altanator, the thermostat, the head and intake gaskets and the numurous electical problems. the electrical problems still cannot be solved after numrous tripsto the repair shop. most of the problems have been corrected on more than one occasion. as a consumer i hope you will help us malibu owners who are in destress. i know the auto companies are in financial trouble but that still does not excuse making an unsafe auto. i am afraid enough not to drive my car. i feel i put my family and myself in danger taking thsi car on the road. i hope you will help correct this problem. i feel my only next option is to contact a lawyer over my legal rights. | |||
| 06/10/2005 | 50 | 05/25/2005 | |
| Car fails to start more than frequently. was told to replace ignition switch, a cost of $254.00. don't think car should already need ignition replaced. car has died completely while driving on the interstate numerous times. also has something to do with if dash lights come on or just theft deterrent lights. day running lights are equal to reg headlights, all system lights turn on when car is started, no need to even turn switch on, could this be normal? mechanic installed a switch under hood that connets directlyto my starter so when car fails to start i push switch and she starts right up, he said something in column but he not able to pinpoint. steering column doesnot lock, ever! *jb | |||
| 1 | |||
| When the consumer made a left turn, the steering wheel locked up. *jb | |||
| 08/31/2001 | 33625 | 4 | 09/14/1999 |
| While turning the steering wheel became hard to turn. *nlm the service dealer found a leak in the rack and pinion. the dealer stated that there was no leak and had given the vehicle back to the consumer. (the rack and pinion was replaced) the ac was found inoperative due to the suction and discharge hose leaked, the engine raced but didn't move due to low transmission fluid, and the left rear tail lamp seal had fallen apart. *scc | |||
| 03/15/2003 | 1 | ||
| When a turn was made, the vehicle made noise, and the steering was difficult to turn. *jb | |||
| 11/20/2002 | 28000 | 2 | 01/01/2002 |
| While making a left turn the steering wheel locked up. the dealer was contacted but the cause of this problem was unknown. *ts *nlm | |||
| 11/02/2002 | |||
| While making a left turn the vehicles steering wheel locked up. cause is unknown. dealer has been contacted. please provide any further information. ts | |||
| 07/25/2000 | 6 | ||
| The consumer states that when applying the brakes, the vehicle will vibrate. the consumer takes the vehicle to the dealer every 4000 miles for the same vibration/squeaking and they just replaced the brake pads, and trimmed the rotors. the problem still occurs every 3,000 to 4,000 miles. *jb the consumer states that the vibration immediately caused the alignment to go bad and gets very hard to control the vehicle if driving at highway speed. *jb *scc | |||
| 04/26/2000 | 3 | 03/13/1999 | |
| Front wheel started to squeak. this was the fourth set of front wheel bearing contacted dealer ,and dealer stated just keep changing wheel bearings . *akglove box door does not close, headlight brigher than other, fog lamp fell off while driving, foglamp assembly was replaced, passenger rear door queeks when opened / closed, automatic transmission fluid leaks, brakes noisy / squeeking when braking, vehicle squeeks when sterring right, consumer also states failures with struts and strut caps. *tt consumer complains that all four tires worn out too fast, whirring noise from fl tires. no tire information given. *tt | |||
| 03/17/1999 | 1 | 03/01/1999 | |
| While operating the vehicle the rpm gauge started to show max rpm readings to 0 and changing rapidly. the car was being driven to the repair shop to have this checked when at a intersection the vehicle just cut off. the engine did not stop but the car could only be moved very slowly until a minute or two past then the speed went up a bit. the repair facility found a crankshaft sensor and the computer to be the fault. currently the vehicle runs good, but the gas mileage is only about 17-18 mpg. will turn it back into the german dealer to have this checked. *ak | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 1 | |||
| While turning in either direction vehicle made a loud noise. consumer suspected there was a problem in the steering column. *ak | |||
| 03/02/2000 | 07/01/1999 | ||
| The brakes have been resurfaced once. the pads have been replaced 3 times and the rotors replaced twice. i have had the car in for the final repair attempt on the brakes. they say there is nothing wrong with them. while the car was in the shop for this, the driver's power window went out. three people in the service dept. tried to get it to work. i had to leave the car another day. when i went to pick it up, i was told there was nothing wrong with the window and it is now working. the power locks lock and unlock themselves periodically. i hear air coming in the driver's door. the cd player face gets to hot to touch and i smell burning. i was told this was normal. the steering column wouldn't tilt down because of plastic debris on the assembly. the brake light circuit board melted. the air conditioner control head shorted out. the evap system vapor pressure sensor had to be replaced. the rear doors stuck and had to be lubricated. the glove compartment latch had to be adjusted to stop rattle. the transmission had to be replaced. *ak | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN LOCKING - ANTI-THEFT DEVICE | |||
| 12/22/2006 | 119676 | 15 | 10/24/2003 |
| I purchased a 1999 chevy malibu in november 2003. i have replaced the brake pads at least 10 times ($20 each time), the rotors have been replaced 3 times ($70 each time). the brakes give you no warning they just quit suddenly which has almost caused several accidents. the abs light always comes on and when this happens you can guarantee the ignition switch is about to lock up on you. the rear windows quit working, i hear a weird popping noise coming from the rear of the vehicle while driving down the highway. the anti theft system has came on 6 or 7 times and will not allow me to crank the car(once it happened while my child was having an asthma attack and i was attempting to take him to the er). if you hit a bump in the road sometimes it sounds like a small explosion in the front end and causes the steering wheel to jerk uncontrollably for several miles. i have taken this vehicle to several mechanics who absolutely refuse to work on it because of the general fact that it is a 1999 malibu, now my ignition has completely quit, actually it hung in the start position and was making my starter grind and almost catch fire, this has happened several about 15 times, but usually after jiggling the key a few times it comes undone, but not this time. my dad had to take my battery off in order to make the engine die. so now my employer got so fed up with me being late or calling in because of my car problems that i was terminated. i am a single mom with 2 children, both have chronic asthma and have to be rushed to the er with severe asthma attacks all the time, and now i have no way to take them should the need arise. the parts are going to cost me $200 and the cost of labor and now i have no job. if you call chevrolet all they tell you is to take it to a dealer and let the mechanic look at it for a fee, and then they want to charge you more than i make in 2 months, and they never even ask you any personal info so there are no documented claims on your calls. *nm | |||
| 11/04/2003 | 70000 | 10 | 07/25/2001 |
| This 1999 chevrolet malibu was purchased in july 2001 in had a water leaking problem took 3 tries before they found it needed thermostat gasket didn't even have one in it they sold it to me .this way with a promise it had been fixed. within the first year i had the car they had to replace both front wheel bearings & strut bushings. then the alternator went out & it cause my battery to go bad overcharged it they replaced alternator but refused to re-emburse me for the battery. then ignition switch caused problem with anti-theft system would not start. had that replaced in march 2002. then anti-lock brake system went out had to have it replaced window switch very slow had to be cleaned another one not working at all now, not covered under warranty, at this time also had to have anti theft system fixed again light on all the time another bad ignition switch. also had blower motor & relay switch for heater to go out over the summer most of the interior lights have long ago burnt out & had to be replaced lock out for trunk lid also broke not covered on warranty. hub caps have lug nuts made in them that screw onto your lug bolts stripped out when took for repairs by dealer refused to replace them because they cost $500.00 for a new set. so i purchased the lug nut part & repalced it myself at a dealership for $10.00 set of 5. november of 2002 brakes & rotors were replaced in jan. 2003 brake pads replaced again in march 2003 pads replaced again in july 2003 pads replaced once again then in sept. 2003 master cylinder replaced in oct. 2003 master cylinder replaced again now it's nov 2003 & master cylinder being replaced again tomorrow.these cars have a real brake problem that needs to be fixed it's costing a fortune.*ak | |||
| 09/22/2001 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle will stall at any speed. *ak anti theft system light comes on at 70 mph. this anti theft system shuts the vehicle down with out notice. *yd | |||
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 10/10/2005 | 5 | ||
| Steering wheel locks up upon vehicle start and while driving, in relation to belts or steering fluid pump. results in inability to turn car during slow speeds. usually corrects itself after a minute or so. *jb | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX - SHAFT PITMAN | |||
| 03/10/2000 | 4 | 07/01/1999 | |
| The tires are wearing inthe center, while rest of tire show no wear , and because its wears in the center , owner will not notice excessive wear until tire failure. tire air pressure has not been found to be a contributing factor to this problem, as first thought by local firestone dealers. *ak( dot number: w2mwaaa039 tire size: 21560r15 ) | |||
| 11/24/1999 | 1 | 09/01/1999 | |
| At less than 3000 miles car started to lose power in acceleration. and transmission started shifting roughly. has now been to dealership 5 times for the same problem. my children and i have almost gotten ran over by other automobiles numerous times, simply because the car would not go. while the car was in for the 2nd repair of the clock spring they broke the tilt lever and scratched trim on steering column. tires are wearing unevenly dealer stated this was normal for a malibu. this car has been nothing but problems since the first day. i have driven more loaner cars than i have my own that i continue to make payments on. most of the miles on my car has been due to repeated visits to the shop. i am very unhappy with this car, the dealership, the service dept., and the way gm has handled the case. *ak( dot number: 93t m + s tire size: p2155or15 ) | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS | |||
| 05/09/2002 | 3 | 05/01/2002 | |
| Chevrolet malibu ls 1999, front end loose, replaced 2 bolts. *bf while driving the entire steering rack cracked for no reason. less than a year later, the engine cradle rack came apart from the frame of the vehicle. the front brakes, lower intake gasket and water pump were all replaced. the abs and power steering pressure hose was replaced. the brake light bulbs had burned out. *jb | |||
| 10/16/2000 | 1 | 08/01/1999 | |
| Our car suddenly loss all power steering while driving the smokie mt. parkway in n. carolina. the car was towed to pine crest chev. and they found that the fluid line to the power steering unit had been incorrectly installed by the factory. the fluid line was against the exhaust pipe and it had burned and worn through causing all the fluid to rapidly spray out onto the hot exhaust pipe. this incident could have easily resulted in a severe or fatal accident due to the sudden and unexpected loss of steering control along with an added threat of a possible fire in the engine compartment from the fluid. | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP | |||
| 06/15/2000 | 2 | ||
| Dealer replaced power steering pumps on two occasions, and problem was reoccurring. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| 01/01/2000 | 3 | ||
| Power steering pump is making a grinding sound at any time, any speed. dealer has replaced pump 3 times, remedies the problem only for a while, then the grinding sound comes back.*jb | |||
| Front end shakes due to defective front rotors. also, steering wheel locks up due to defective power steering pump. | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 03/01/2000 | 1 | 07/01/2099 | |
| The steering wheel is hard to steer, consumer states vehicle is equipped with power steering, but believes that there is a fluid leak that would leak inside the engine.*jb | |||
| 12/21/2000 | |||
| Whenever road is wet vehicle will spin uncontrollably. minor accident and injuries. *ak | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 01/02/2004 | 1 | ||
| Since i've had the car, the brakes have been replaced twice, rotors replaced (also cleaned and other things-to the point they asked me to see if there was a recall on brakes and rotors). the right front passenger window will not work from the driver side to roll down but can still roll it up from there. the air conditioner button(resistor) needed replacing and then the vent button(resistor) needed replacing. also, had to replace tie rod end and wheel bearing . not to mention a water pump. we bought the car used from sawyer chevrolet with 38,000 miles on it. it now has 76,000. but within a year and a half of owning it, this is all the work we had to put into it. i've never had a car that needed all that repairing done before it reached 100,000 miles. plus we had to get new tires because they had firestone tires on them that were warping, etc. but sawyers refused to replace them and firestone did not get back to us in time before our vacation. so we put new tires on ourselves. | |||
| 03/01/2000 | |||
| Rotors replaced 3 times in one year, worn down. when applying brakes they pulsate, and there is increased braking distance. also tie rod had to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Rack and pinion steering failed which could cause loss of steering, steering is very loose. consumer has already replaced tie rods and tires.*ak | |||
| 01/19/1999 | 1 | 01/18/1999 | |
| Nut work itself loose on the tie rod causing loss of steering ability. | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION | |||
| 06/18/2004 | 48454 | 3 | 10/15/1999 |
| Lost of control of vehicle three separate occasions. vehicle pulls to the left into oncomming traffic. on three separate occasions my chevy malibu has lost control while changing lanes from the right lane to the left lane. the back end has swung out and caused the car to wooble from right to left out of contol. the first time was at 40 miles per hour and i was able to regain conrol over the vehicle. the second time was on the highway at 55 miles per hour and i hit a guard rail with only small damage to the bumper. the last time was a week ago and was the most serious. i was changing lanes from the middle to fast lane of a three lane highway going about 65. the vehicle back end broke loose again and skidded back and forth 3 or 4 times before i lost all control of the vehicle. i hit a truck and caused unknown amount of damage to the truck and $3000.00 of damage to my car. i was very lucky that no one was hurt. i have replaced the tires four times at chevy dealerships recomendation. each set has produced the same effect, pull to the left. i have had four aliment jobs. each time the repair shop has acknowledged the pull was still there. rotated tires eight times. no effect at all. i have even had a professional body shop look at the vehicle to check for previous acident damage even though the car was purchased new. they found no accident damage, but said the engine cradle might not be in the vehicle straight and could not fix it. at this point i am ready to sell the car and buy a safer vehicle. *jb | |||
| 1 | |||
| Rack and pinion steering failed which could cause loss of steering, steering is very loose. consumer has already replaced tie rods and tires.*ak | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION - RACK | |||
| 05/09/2002 | 3 | 05/01/2002 | |
| Chevrolet malibu ls 1999, front end loose, replaced 2 bolts. *bf while driving the entire steering rack cracked for no reason. less than a year later, the engine cradle rack came apart from the frame of the vehicle. the front brakes, lower intake gasket and water pump were all replaced. the abs and power steering pressure hose was replaced. the brake light bulbs had burned out. *jb | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| Ignition switch and electrical system kept failing while driving, causing steering wheel to lock up,which almost resulted in crash. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| 06/01/2000 | 2 | 03/17/2000 | |
| Holes were too big around the rotors & lugs: nuts came through. upon applying brakes front end will shimmy. also, conusmer had to grip steering wheel tightly to keep control of vehicle. when traveling 55mph or higher vehicle moved right to left. dealer didn't seem to think it was a major concern. *ak *ml | |||
| 04/22/2000 | 1 | ||
| Consumer was traveling 40-45 mph and steering wheel locked up. consumer couldn't straighten out wheel & vehicle spun around & hit concrete wall. also, airbag didn't deploy until about a minute after vehicle had hit concrete wall. *ak | |||
| 11/24/1999 | 1 | 09/01/1999 | |
| At less than 3000 miles car started to lose power in acceleration. and transmission started shifting roughly. has now been to dealership 5 times for the same problem. my children and i have almost gotten ran over by other automobiles numerous times, simply because the car would not go. while the car was in for the 2nd repair of the clock spring they broke the tilt lever and scratched trim on steering column. tires are wearing unevenly dealer stated this was normal for a malibu. this car has been nothing but problems since the first day. i have driven more loaner cars than i have my own that i continue to make payments on. most of the miles on my car has been due to repeated visits to the shop. i am very unhappy with this car, the dealership, the service dept., and the way gm has handled the case. *ak( dot number: 93t m + s tire size: p2155or15 ) | |||
| 12/05/1998 | 11/01/1998 | ||
| This is an intermittant problem. upon light acceleration from a stop, the steering wheel turns sharply to the left. the service department calls this normal. *ak | |||