Faults:

The brakes on this car are terrible. After getting 4 sets of pads and three sets of rotors, I finally went and had a non dealer mechanic install high quality replacement pads and turn the rotors.

The Firestone tires are terrible. Had to have 2 replaced by 18000 miles the others replaced at about 27000 miles. They are very noisy tires and have a tendency to cup, as well as tread separation. Firestone is not very receptive to paying for replacements, although they will tell you this is a premium tire and should last over 50000 miles. Not!!!

The factory battery went bad with no warning, just quit leaving wife stranded. The car was two years old, and had only 40000 miles. Of course it was out of warranty, and the dealer would not honor replacement as a good will gesture or even give a discount on the battery. Terrible since I bought it there new.

The factory CD player has been a constant problem since the car hit about a year old. It has been replaced 3 times, still not right. I feel somewhere there is a design flaw in the electrical system, since CD players are not that hard to build right. It works fine until you've been driving about 20 minutes, then skips, mis-tracks and quits all together, showing error on the screen.

The alternator went bad at 65000 miles. I've owned many a car, driven them for years, NEVER had to replace this item on any of them. A real disappointment on this car. Dealer wanted $475 to replace. I bought the part somewhere else and had a mechanic install it for about $200 total. What a rip off!

General Comments:

I feel this car is well designed, it really looks good, lots of equipment for the money. But there are problems with the car that Chevrolet can fix, just won't do it. My comments are typical of Malibu owners.

The 2.4 engine is fine, actually accelerates well, although can get noisy.

Handling is pretty good for normal driving.

Great room for 4 passengers.

Faults:

The car had some small rattle issues 2 weeks after I took delivery of the vehicle. Turns out, it was the plastic housing on the seat-belt adjusters.

I would get an ABS/Brake light for a second or two once in a while on the dash, but it usually seemed to happen when my brakes started to wear. GM did not know why, but I think it had to do with the ABS sensors and brake wear because after the pads were replaced, the light never went on again.

Never had any other problems with the car. The pads seemed to wear quicker than normal and I did warp the rotors from time to time. I took the car to my regular mechanic, as opposed to the dealer, and I had higher quality rotors put on the car, along with ceramic brake pads - no premature wear after that. I would suggest this method, rather than going to the dealer. Most GM mechanics I have dealt with are unaware of alternative practices with vehicles, or refuse to discuss them in order to get the most money for sometimes sub-par Delco replacement parts.

General Comments:

This was an excellent car! The 3.1 V6 engine was quick to respond and never let me down. Unlike most GM cars, the interior was laid out very well and was very comfortable.

The ride was smooth and quiet. I liked the car so much that I got a 2002 when my lease was up.