Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 08089-B | 11/01/2008 | 08089-C | 10027804 | General motors corp: special coverage adjustment; analog onstar deactivation. *pe updated 2/17/09. *pe | 02/09/2009 |
| 3261B | 10018551 | (retained accessory power) rap deactivates from drivers door only. *tt | 01/05/2006 | ||
| 3170 | 12/01/2007 | 3170C | 10010552 | Service engine soon light on and or various electrical concerns. *eh updated 1/29/08. *nj | 12/01/2004 |
| 3159C | 3159E | 10010287 | Sir light on with codes b0012.0e and b0013.0e. *tt | 11/09/2004 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| 3349A | 10018552 | Battery draw additional info. *tt | 01/05/2006 | ||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||||
| 3385A | 10016549 | Repeated park lps fuse open (additional information). *tt | 09/21/2005 | ||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - SOFTWARE | |||||
| 08089-B | 11/01/2008 | 08089-C | 10027804 | General motors corp: special coverage adjustment; analog onstar deactivation. *pe updated 2/17/09. *pe | 02/09/2009 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 3649 | 3649A | 10016547 | Intermittent long crank but will not start or intermittent no crank. *tt | 09/20/2005 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 03/01/2013 | |||
| I purchased my chevy malibu maxxx january of just last year and i had to replace my front left head light thinking nothing of just normal maintenance and this was right around august of last year and it is now march of 2013 and i just had to do it again but this go round it seemed more like a short because it stopped working one night driving home from work which i drive a very busy highway at night and that next morning it was working just fine so me being the normal american person i think nothing of it but the following day it goes out fully and when i went to go change the light this time i noticed it had actually burned through the amber color cover of the bulb and also burned the socket up in the vehical. but now get this about the same time last year my aux fuse began to blow over and over not thinking anything about it but now after reading all of these different situations i kinda wonder if the two situations could have anything to do with one another. | |||
| 03/01/2012 | 65000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated that while parked, he noticed that a hole was melted into the amber turn signal headlight lens, exposing the housing unit. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 65,000. kmj | |||
| 03/01/2013 | |||
| I purchased my chevy malibu maxxx january of just last year and i had to replace my front left head light thinking nothing of just normal maintenance and this was right around august of last year and it is now march of 2013 and i just had to do it again but this go round it seemed more like a short because it stopped working one night driving home from work which i drive a very busy highway at night and that next morning it was working just fine so me being the normal american person i think nothing of it but the following day it goes out fully and when i went to go change the light this time i noticed it had actually burned through the amber color cover of the bulb and also burned the socket up in the vehical. but now get this about the same time last year my aux fuse began to blow over and over not thinking anything about it but now after reading all of these different situations i kinda wonder if the two situations could have anything to do with one another. | |||
| 03/01/2012 | 65000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated that while parked he noticed a hole melted into the headlights amber turn signal lens exposing the housing. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 65,000. da | |||
| 01/22/2013 | 162000 | ||
| Turn signals burning so hot they explode, and melt not only housing for bulb, but also the socket in order to replace bulb is melted too. there needs to be a recall on this as i have found over 200 other complaints of people having the same issue! | |||
| 11/02/2012 | 80038 | 1 | |
| My cars headlights are dim at night and take a while to get brighter even though i have had the bulb replaced and the lighting components checked out. the windows won't roll down from any side of the car, a recurrence from two years ago. also my doors won't unlock from the auto-unlock button that sits on the drivers side, this has been an issue for the past 2 years of my chevrolet car ownership. *tr | |||
| 11/02/2012 | 80038 | ||
| My cars headlights are dim at night and take a while to get brighter even though i have had the bulb replaced and the lighting components checked out. the windows won't roll down from any side of the car, a reoccurrence from two years ago. also my doors won't unlock from the auto-unlock button that sits on the drivers side, this has been an issue for the past 2 years of my chevrolet car ownership. | |||
| 09/17/2011 | 95000 | ||
| I have owned my 2005 malibu maxx for just over a year and have had to replace the front turn signal sockets, both driver and passenger sides, three times now due to melted sockets and amber covers melting down to the bulbs. even though they are vented they do not stay cool enough to prevent severe electrical damage to the components. in replacing these components i have to wait a week until the parts are shipped out and am forced to drive with faulty equipment. i am unable to just replace the bulbs and have to constantly change the bulbs out before they melt to the sockets. this is a huge hazard as they can go out on me in the middle of driving in rush hour traffic putting me at a greater risk of injury. please force gm to issue an actual recall on this issue and not just skate free on the service bulletin that has been issued. thank you, | |||
| 07/29/2011 | 72000 | ||
| I have a 2005 malibu maxx. approximately 2 1/2 weeks ago, i was pulling into a parking space -very, very slowly, there were a series of red pole about 3 feet high, i saw them. i was turning right and my car jerked to the left accelerated and i hit a pole damaging my front end. car was towed and repaired by state farm insurance for about $2500.00. i got my car back and drove it for about two weeks, i was again pulling into a parking space only i was completely in and parked, i was braking and shutting off my car when this happened. the brake went completely loose, the steering wheel started to spin and the car surged, it surged and flew over the curb about 6 feet into an ice machine at a speedway gas station on 15 mile and dodge park in sterling heights. this was about 8:15 - 8:30 a..m. . that car surged and flew at about 60 mph my foot never left the brake. this car was towed to buff whelan chevrolet on 18 and van dyke in sterling heights michigan and they are fixing the bumper. i have reported this problem to general motors, to the president of buff whelan and to keith armstrong in the uk who wrote an article about cars that surge in 2010 for the usa today. i received after contacting the sterling heights police a ticket for reckless driving, which i have requested a hearing over. i am going to be picking up my car on tuesday 8/9/2011 fixed but i wil have it towed somewhere, probably home. it will not be driven, this car scared me to death. you would have to experience a surge to be able to comprehend what could happen during one. this car must never be driven, i don't think gm knows what to do or how to identify this, they haven't responded. | |||
| 08/02/2007 | 65000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu maxi. the contact stated that the turn signals over heated, which caused the sockets to melt. the dealer and manufacturer denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. the failure was not remedied. the failure mileage 65,000 and the current mileage was 140,000. the vine was unavailable. rvk | |||
| 07/29/2011 | 72000 | ||
| I have a 2005 malibu maxx. approximately 2 1/2 weeks ago, i was pulling into a parking space -very, very slowly, there were a series of red pole about 3 feet high, i saw them. i was turning right and my car jerked to the left accelerated and i hit a pole damaging my front end. car was towed and repaired by state farm insurance for about $2500.00. i got my car back and drove it for about two weeks, i was again pulling into a parking space only i was completely in and parked, i was braking and shutting off my car when this happened. the brake went completely loose, the steering wheel started to spin and the car surged, it surged and flew over the curb about 6 feet into an ice machine at a speedway gas station on 15 mile and dodge park in sterling heights. this was about 8:15 - 8:30 a..m. . that car surged and flew at about 60 mph my foot never left the brake. this car was towed to buff whelan chevrolet on 18 and van dyke in sterling heights michigan and they are fixing the bumper. i have reported this problem to general motors, to the president of buff whelan and to keith armstrong in the uk who wrote an article about cars that surge in 2010 for the usa today. i received after contacting the sterling heights police a ticket for reckless driving, which i have requested a hearing over. i am going to be picking up my car on tuesday 8/9/2011 fixed but i wil have it towed somewhere, probably home. it will not be driven, this car scared me to death. you would have to experience a surge to be able to comprehend what could happen during one. this car must never be driven, i don't think gm knows what to do or how to identify this, they haven't responded. | |||
| 08/02/2007 | 65000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated that the turn signals over heated, which caused the sockets to melt. the dealer and manufacturer denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. the failure was not remedied. the failure mileage 65,000 and the current mileage was 140,000. the vin was unavailable. nw | |||
| 06/02/2011 | 142225 | ||
| Complete and total lock up of power setaring; battery light flicks on and then everything locks up until you relace 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 spraticaly 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 raido 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 stearing radio and lights unless you completely relese the gas then start to go again. im so highly frustraited and chevy refuses to fix it even though these are all recalled problems but my vin doesnt fall in there bracket | |||
| 05/12/2008 | 24547 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 01/01/2011 | 2 | ||
| 2005 mailbu maxx. consumer states intermittent problems with brake lights *tgw the consumer stated the brake lights would illuminate when the brake wasn't applied and would not illuminate when the brake was applied. the dealer replaced the brake lamp, but the problem continued. *jb | |||
| 10/02/2010 | 43447 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 07/01/2010 | |||
| Electrical issues with my 05 malibu maxx.the power steering keeps going out-chevy is aware of this problem.the engine has trouble starting.the rear wiper goes by itself without anyone touching the control-most recent event, happens every few days 1 or 2 times.i have had issues with the starting from the beginning of ownership.the power steering issue has been over the past month.sometimes the warning light comes on first, usually not.i have not paid to have any work done, but have contacted chevy's customer service and was told, that they would make a record of it.restarting the car usually fixes the power steering temporarily.i have to change the brakes once a month, so they don't destroy my rotors.power steering seems to go out more often when it is hot outside. | |||
| 09/28/2005 | 6500 | 1 | |
| 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. *tr | |||
| 07/10/2006 | 30100 | 1 | |
| 2005 malibu maxx, starter assembly: sometimes difficult to start, especially after running the air conditioner.problem started about 3 years ago, occurred since then about 40 to 50 times. i retired 18 months ago and do not drive as much now than i di while working. the problem persists despite new battery and not running concurrently the following:air conditioner disk player, windshield wipers,lights. all the systems always checked out ok, no problem was detected. *tr | |||
| 03/14/2009 | 50000 | 1 | |
| I have had numerous problems with the starter turning over even when the car starts and sometimes it still wont start. the dealer says it normal and after it gets miles on it then it will stop... it now has 52,000 miles on it and still does it. i also have had to have it in the shop every couple of months to have it lubed in the front axle which i have talked to other mechanics and they stated that it should not be needing it ever few months, if i don't do it then everytime i turn left or right there is this horrible popping sound from the front end. i also am having wiring trouble with the car, the front blinker wont work no matter how many light bulbs i put in it, it wont work and even keeps melting the plastic on the bulb itself. *tr | |||
| 12/11/2008 | 39100 | 1 | |
| Turn signal & 4-way flasher operation, complete failure, intermittent. hot, cold, key/engine/headlamps on/off. drl remains functional. *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 11/26/2005 | 10 | 09/14/2005 | |
| Ignition tends to stick and causes the solenoid to grind w/flywheel. i just received a copy of a service bulletin from g.m. stating they are aware of a problem. however, at this time the engineers will continue to wok on a solution. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - ANTI-THEFT CONTROLLER | |||
| 12/07/2008 | 45000 | 1 | |
| My 2005 malibu maxx lt has had a recurring problem besides the electric power steering failure which has so far not failed again (did twice once when brand new, and again at about 20,000 km. vehicle has only 45,000 km on it now! we live in winnipeg where winter temperatures often are below freezing from mid november to mid april. today it is -25 c with windchill of -44 c. every winter we have the same problem.....the ignition key will not come out of its slot...try wiggling it and at the same time wiggling the shift lever in park....sometimes it works sometimes not. the gm dealer (vickars community chevrolet) where we go for service has tried to fix it twice, but it always recurs when it is very cold. we have had to remove the remote door unlock and leave the key in the ignition at times. this is not a good thing in the canadian city with the highest car theft rate! we think it has something to do with the anti-theft pass lock system. by the way all cars in manitoba must have an approved anti-theft system to be insured or registered. the manitoba public insurance corp. does approve the factory system on the malibu maxx. it is just too finicky and inconvenient. but at least we were not forced to put in a third party fob which many people have found causes all kinds of other problems especially with command start systems (malibu has a factory command start.) wonder if others have similar problem?? *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 08/30/2007 | 50000 | 5 | 08/03/2007 |
| I just purchased a 2005 chevy malibu maxx ls and im having intermittent starting problems. it appears to happen more when i've been driving with the air conditioner on and i stop the vehicle. the car will crank for a long period of time like its going to start but will not start initially. after a while it does start and then appears to be normal. i've checked the starter, alternator, and the battery all checks out good. *jb | |||
| 09/25/2006 | 10 | ||
| My vehicle is a 2005 chevy malibu maxx. the vehicle doesn't always turn over. i have had my vehicle in the shop a couple of times to determine the problem and the chevy dealer can't figure it out. i will try to start my vehicle but it doesn't always crank over. it will chug a lot and then stall out. other times it will chug and act like it will stall and then turn over. sometimes it takes 2-3 times for me to try and get the vehicle to start. i called my service department at the chevy dealer every time it happened and the only common factor was that it was happening every 800-1000 miles approximately. it didn't matter how cold or hot it was, wet or dry. it has been awful! nothing has been replaced on the vehicle to try and fix the problem with it starting. my can has just over 32500 miles and is still under warranty. the most recent time was late september 2006. i am not sure on the exact date that i called my car dealer. i also took my vehicle in on 9-12-06 for a popping sound in the steering when turning. we found out that the center steering shaft was broke. it was replaced. there was a problem with the interior front blinker not working but the exterior did. then shortly after the left front blinker blew. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 02/01/2006 | 6700 | 1 | 09/27/2005 |
| Upon starting the car, the instrument panel was completely down except for the low fuel warning light however the car had a full tank. power would return to the instrument panel intermittently when the turn signal was engaged. the fault cleared after shutting the vehicle off for a few minutes. *nm | |||