My car has had the brakes replaced twice already and the rotors as well. This car was just in for repair work last week and the dealer said that the brakes were 60% worn again already. They were just replaced about 6 months ago. The car pulsates when stopping. I believe that chevrolet had a problem with these brakes and needs to correct the issue. I am going to have to replace these brakes again very shortly.
1998 Chevrolet Malibu brakes complaints
Page 4 of 14: complaints 71 to 100 of 376, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Multiple rotor failures. Bad vibration. Braking problems.
Consumer states while applying brakes at 20-25 MPH, the ABS engaged and caused vehicle to rear end another vehicle, dealer and the manufacturer were not notified at this time. Nlm
Front rotors were grounded at 8000 miles, when braking vehicle shimmied and brakes squealed. Rotors have since been replaced and grounded again 4 times. Dealer stated rotors needed to be grounded every 6000 miles.
Used four set of brakes. Sensor had internal electrical failure, j4355 sensor ,crankshaft position replaced. Radio has never worked right despite radio supposely sent off for repair. Two positive battery bolt and cable replacement and on another occasion discovered post broken off in battery.
We are a salvage yard in central west texas (no salt used here). We have noticed that on all late model gm vehicles with ABS, if the pump is mounted below the battery their is a high rate of brake line failer due to corrosion from battery acid. We sell a lot of gm steel brake lines for this reason.
My ABS failure light comes on a lot signifying that my ABS is not functioning. Once I turn off the car and restart it, the light is off, but this is happening more frequently lately. My car is no longer under warranty, and given the "great" service I have had in the past with chevy dealers and the brakes on this malibu, I will not take it to them.
Same problem that many hundreds of others have reported to the federal safety agency in the past (including myself on a previous occasion). Just out of curiousity, how many reports do you have to get before some action is taken? There is a design defect in the brakes on the vehicles from 1997-2001 (at least -- search your db). After having any service work done that requires removal of the tires, the rotors will warp after about 6 or 10k miles and both rotors and pads need to be replaced. The vehicle experiences excessive brake pulsation and shaking (vibration) in the front end. Maintaining control of the vehicle when trying to stop from a higher rate of speed (at or above 45mph) with this vibration is challenging at best. My car is out of warranty now, so chevrolet will not do anything. The last time I took it in for this, the dealer blamed it on my tires, turned the rotors and that was it. I got new tires as he said, and I still have the problem. His reason for not replacing the rotors and pads at that time was because I was almost out of warrenty and he knew the problem would occur again and he would be responsible for it. If the federal safety agency cannot do anything about this problem, please direct me to someone who can. Thank you.
I lost all braking and had to stop the vehicle by shifting into lower gears and then park. Had this happened at highway speeds, I am sure a collision would have occurred. Fortunately, it occurred while I was driving on surface streets at slower speeds. I had the vehicle towed to a chevrolet dealer and found out that the brake line running from the left side of the vehicle to the right front brake had been rubbing on the engine, and the engine had rubbed a hole in the line. This should not have happened. I am concerned that it will happen again to me, or to someone else who may be driving at higher rates of speed. Someone could be seriously injured or killed if this problem occurs on other malibu's.
Since I have owned this car I have had to change the brakes 10 times. I have had to replace the rotors twice. I have had to replace the calipers on both sides in the front and the wheel bearing on the passengers side once I have had repeated problems with the brakes since I purchased this car. In august of 2001 I had to replace the head gaskets as anti-freeze was leaking into my oil. My anti-lock brake light will come on out of the blue while traveling at speeds of 50 MPH I am becoming very concerned about this matter. I have spoke to about 35 malibu owners and they are all having the same problems. One owner had only 10k miles one her car at the time her brakes failed.
Brake pads are warped on left front side of vehicle. Also, engine check light comes on and off. Dealership is aware of problem.
My 1998 chevrolet malibu has just over 40,000 miles on it and I just had to replace the brake pads and rotors for the third time (the first time was in september,1999 and the second was in april, 2000). This feels excessive to me, but chevy says it's normal wear and tear (strange that in having cars for the last 18 years I've never replaced them). I've tried to approach this throught the dealer and gm as well, but I get the blow off each time. It took 3 phone calls to chevy to find out about your website. They keep saying there's no problem with the model, but your somewhat "secret" website lists 123 people with the same complaint. If I call to have the car serviced for brake problems, the service rep has even guessed before me saying, "let me guess...a 1998 malibu?" obviously the problems with the brakes are widespread if they can guess the make of my car. Although nobody in my family has been hurt yet, I hope something is done before that point is reached. Kris fitz.
Faulty rear brake shoes causing front rotors to warp.
When applying brakes pedal goes all the way down to the floor. Also, ABS braking light comes on dashboard. Also, air conditioner is blowing out hot air. Dealership is aware of problems.
Brake caliper module malfunctioned and locked up. Consumer's had to have to caliper replaced twice. Contacted dealer, and dealer stated gmc put 12000 miles and 12 month warranty on parts, and consumer was outside of warranty.
Anti-lock braking system is defective, consumer is unable to keep brakes or rotors on vehicle. Dealer has yet to be contacted. *ak
I bought the extended warranty and I feel my car is a lemon. Every single person with a malibu has had problems and we really need help since chevrolet wants to ignore the problems. With all the problems I will have paid for this car twice after all of the repais I have incorred.
Although my chevorlet malibu is only 2 years old. My transmission is shot. I have reported brake problems to the dealer three times. They checked it twice, told me there was nothing wrong. I can hardly stop my car. The rear [r] brake light has been fixed twice in two months due to a leak and wire shorts. However there is still a problem.
Brake pads/rotors and calipers are prematurely wearing out, cause unknown. *jg
I have spent over $700.00 on my brakes this year and it is always the same problem. I understand from several mechanics, including my own, that my malibu is not the only one continuously having problems with the brakes. It is getting ridiculous. Nobody should have this many problems and not be able to drive the car they are paying for more than a couple of times a week. The last time my brakes got fixed 10/08/2001 I drove the car two days before the brakes quit working again. I think gm should do something about this before they get sued. My children are very important to me and I have to worry about their safety every time I put them in my car.
The ABS system has been a major problem since we purchased the car. All we want is for someone to fix the problem & explain to us why the ABS & brake light keep coming on.
Severe brake pulsation at highway speeds, difficult to control car. Rotors replaced at 18000 mi, rotors turned at 33000 mi, need to replace again at 46000 mi. Rear stop lights keep burning out due to problems with printed circuit. Replaced light assembly twice, replace bulbs every 5-6 months.
Brake rotors warped causing vehicle to jerk whenever brakes were applied. Would be very hard to maintain control when it happened. Took to dealership and had rotors replaced under warranty 1st time. At 38,000 miles the same problem of warped rotors. Dealership will not replace. Claimed rotors were too thin to be turned.*akdealer turned rotors on follow-up visit, oem front brake pads were also replaced, both at customers expense.
The coolant was leaking into my engine. I was told the engine block was cracked, after being without my car for 4 days, they told me it was just a gasket leaking. They then "as good citizens" repaired my car under warrenty and charged me $73.95 for an oil change and fuel filter because these things had to be done while they were investigating the leak. I had just recently had my oil changed. Within the first few months of having my car I noticed serveral problems that I reported to the dealer and was waved off several times. I even rode with a service manager who explained that the ticking in the engine, the whinning my window made when rolling it up or down, the squeeking in the front and back of car were all normal because my car was settling like a house does. These noises and squeeks are normal!!! Shortly there after, my wheel bearings were replaced, my window failed to roll up while on my way to work when it began pouring rain. The ticking noise was explained three years later, since the coolant was leaking into my engine. I have replaced break pads, and my rotars and am on my way to replacing both again at 36,000 miles. The ticking noise in my car is still present and now the air conditioner goes out intermittently while driving. I replaced the lamps in my break lights twice before another malibu owner told me it was a problem in the circuit board. I am not happy with this vehicle and can't wait until I can afford to get rid of it. I will never buy another chevy unless the choose to rectify this situation. After reading the other compliants I now see I am not the only person to ever report the leaking of the coolant and am frustrated since I was told this was never seen before!!!
Warped front rotors replaced for third time at 35000 miles. Chevy has covered the repairs but will not provide extended warranty coverage. They state that this is the expected life for rotors (approximately 12000 miles) based on local driving conditions. Rotors on my previous cars have lasted 40000 miles or more. I found dozens of similar complaints in the database. There seems to be a general problem with the brake system that chevy should recognize and correct before the faulty brakes cause accidents. I should not have to pay for new rotors every 12000 miles.
The invalid VIN is the correct one on the car. We have checked it several times. The stalling started the first time when the car had less than 12000 miles on it , as did the brakes. I do not have the exact dates of the other stallings. The last time for example, was in april 2001, my sister was going the speed limit, with her granddaughter in the back, and the car stalled in heavy traffic. No way to get out of the road. She narrowly missed getting hit by a transfer truck. Also, the brakes have never worked right. She has had them worked on several times. This is not covered under warranty and is not cheap.
Abs system does not work properly, and there is extended stopping when applying brakes. *ak consumer states the brakes give, causing the extended stopping distance.
Vehicle is slipping or giving when brakes are applied. When starting up ABS light flashes on and off. Brake pedal goes further to the floor than normal. Also, pads were replaced 6 months ago. Problem has been intermittent for 1year.
The front brake rotors have warped and had to be replaced for the second time now. The first occurrence was approximately 20,000 miles. The second occurrence was at 37,500 miles. The warped rotors cause extreme difficulty in maintaining control of this vehicle under all braking conditions, especially on rough roads. I also wonder what problems may arise with the ABS reading the wheel speed/position under braking with a pulsing condition.
Have taken vehicle to dealership due to problems with brakes. Mechanic indicated brakes were wearing excessively due to warped rotors. This was second set of rotors. They, too cannot be turned, had worn too thin to be used.
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