Faults:

Malibu's are maintenance nightmares.

I've had to replace brakes, rotors early. Fuel pumps, alternator, coils, water pumps, power steering pump. Power window motors.

The inside driver door panel is falling off. The radio has lights which no longer work. The trunk leaks. Fuel injectors clog up frequently. The front end is junk and needs rebuilt.

All on a car driven gently for 80,000 mostly freeway miles. Squeaks, rattles are everywhere. Make believe lug nuts on hubcaps are broken. The headlights get water inside.

General Comments:

This car is poorly designed and built and needs constant maintenance.

Faults:

Something went wrong with the ignition, cost me 700 dollers because the warranty did not cover it Leather is cracking, and hot or really cold.

General Comments:

Handles real well This car is very comfortable and really dependable Added 18 inch rims and still rides very nice, not to say it looks very nice.

Faults:

Had the intake manifold gasket replaced because there was a slight leek of coolant on the transaxle. Heard about the problems of other owners of the engine, might as well.

ABS light does come on, took it to the dealer, $60 to find out that I'm using the wrong brake lights (LED).

AC does cycle off and on at inconvenient times (hottest part of the day).

Had the blower motor resistor replaced so I could get speed 1 and 2 working.

It should of had a locking gas cap on it, in this day and age.

Accidentally took the key out of the ignition while the car was running, and broke it. It hasn't given me any problems with not starting though.

General Comments:

I really like this car. It has treated me good. I get the same gas mileage flooring it or babying it (18/24).

It's pretty comfortable, never had any complaints.

Doesn't leek or burn oil, or any fluids for that matter.

Faults:

The ABS light comes on all the time. Sometimes it will just randomly not start!

General Comments:

But for an 8 year old car with over 200,000 miles on it... it runs great and I love it!

Faults:

The air conditioner keeps cycling off and on. I have noticed that if I set it on fan speed 2 and the air conditioner on recirculate, it will stay on.

There is a problem with the Malibu stalling. When I am at traffic lights, if I idle it too long and I accelerate, the car will act like it wants to shut off. We have changed the fuel filter, spark plugs, and cleaned the fuel injectors. It drives great when it doesn't do that.

The Malibu seems to overheat when I idle too long in traffic. So far, we replaced the belt, the radiator cap, the thermostat, the hoses, and had the system flushed and refilled with new coolant. Our most trusted mechanic told us that it could be the water pump since the pump is driven by the timing chain. We trust him, he has been truthful to us for almost 20 years now.

As mentioned earlier, there is a problem with the timing chain. When the engine runs, there is like a rattling sound that seems to come out from the timing chain area. We will look into this further as this may be why our car overheats while it idles.

We have not had any brake and rotor problems with our Malibu. My older brother and I change our brakes on all our vehicles, and we only use high quality brakes and rotors.

We have also not had any problems with our intake gasket. No coolant leaks whatsoever. I have a friend who has the V6 Malibu, and he had to have had his engine replaced due to the coolant leaking into his engine seizing it in the process. I think that the intake gasket problems are more common with the 3.1 and 3.4 V6 engines than with the four cylinder one.

Although we have problems with our Malibu, we do not take it to the dealership. We either try to solve these problems ourselves or take it to our mechanic who is very nice, honest, and trustworthy.

General Comments:

This car has great acceleration and very good fuel economy for a 4 cylinder engine.

The stock sound system is very nice! The tape player and radio are in good, proper working condition. I do recommend that Malibu owners with the tape player use a cassette that will clean the tape heads as they get dirty within time and hinder sound performance.

The seats are very comfortable. My best friend and I went to the movies one time, and she commented on how comfortable the seats in the Malibu are. Being a college student, I go to school in the Malibu, and I don't feel any back discomfort at all.

A lot of people comment on how beautiful my Malibu looks on the inside and outside. I wash it once a month and wax it, and the paint still looks good as the day I got it. The interior still looks brand new, nothing has fallen out of place.

The cup holders are a big plus from GM!

The trunk is very spacious! We can put a lot in it whenever we shop!