2000 Chevrolet Malibu suspension problems

Filed Nov 21, 2015 · Suspension · 214,000 miles · IN

Subframe rusting away on the driver side front. Can't replace due to they discontinued making the part. Even if the part was found it would coast about $900.00 then the tirods would need replacing. In all after new tires and all it would coast $2000.00 to fix.

Filed Oct 5, 2015 · Steering, Suspension · 175,000 miles · IL

When making a turn my steering wheel locked up and could not control my car I had towed to a mechanic that told me that the subframe to rack bracket was rusted out and that the subframe and the rack needed to be replaced and the repair cost will start at about $2000.

Filed May 10, 2014 · Body, Steering · 89,200 miles · OH

While parking I heard a noise in the front end and upon turning the wheel harder the power steering went out. I could barely turn the wheel. Later in the day put in more power steering fluid thinking that was the problem but had the same issue. I thought the power steering was going out as I was hearing a grinding type noise in the front end. The next day I could feel something under the driver floor board and louder noises when turning hard. Took it to my mechanic and was told sub-frame is rusted and needs replaced as well as the rack and pinion; this will start out as a $2000.00 repair and could go up to $4000.00 depending on what else they find when they work on it. This is a safety hazard and should be fixed by gm as they used shoddy materials building this vehicle. My mechanic said I shouldn't drive it as I may loose control of the vehicle. This car was kept in a garage for the first 10 years I have owned it and has only been parked outside for about 5 years. At only 89,000 miles I am disgusted at the way this vehicle was built. I have also replaced the head gasket, not once, but twice!

Filed Oct 19, 2013 · Steering, Suspension · 110,000 miles · IL

The car will not turn left. It makes a metal on metal sound. My mechanic says the engine cradle is completely rusted out, and the rack and pinion steering needs replacing.he said the rust is caused by the hose from the air conditioning dripping on the engine. He said that he sees the engine cradles rusted out all the time on chevy malibus. I have maintained this car and never knew about this rust until now. The car has very low miles for its age. The body of the car is perfect. I would like chevy to repair this. It would be about $2000 or so to get the car repaired with a used engine cradle and a used rack and pinion. I see that other people have told you about the same problem.

Filed Jun 16, 2011 · Suspension · 133,000 miles · OH

Upon making a hard turn with the steering wheel, there was a rubbing noise. After inspection it was found that the engine cradle was completly rusted in two, causing the rack to drop and make contact. Vehicle was always maintained.

Filed Jan 30, 2010 · Suspension · 157,000 miles · ME

1) nothing abnormal 2) left front suspension spring broke, broken spring cut through side wall of tire, causing vehicle to literally drop onto frame, loosing complete control of the vehicle. Luckily, vehicle was only going about 20 MPH at the time the spring broke! I have worked in auto dealerships for 30 years, and although a broken spring isn't all that unusual, this is the third spring that has broken on this vehicle in the past year. I had to replace both passenger side springs last year. 3) I replaced all four springs on this vehicle, and found the epoxy coating (on the springs) in very poor condition. Unfortunately, I don't have the old springs. I have also read on chevy malibu message boards that this is not an uncommon occurrence.

Filed Oct 25, 2006 · Brakes, Engine · 70,000 miles · PA

Lower intake manifold gasket leak; ball joint & fuel pump; brake pads replaced 4 times in less than 3 yrs.

Filed Aug 2, 2006 · Fuel system, Suspension · WA

I bought my 2000 chevy malibu from rod and ty's all star auto in puyallup, wa on 7/5/05. I bought the extended warranty/repair insurance. I have put over $600 of repairs into my car, only to find out that I need a new fuel pump, which is another $756.26 and the warranty people will only pay $425 for a substandard part. I also have some wires I need to have replaced, the A/C has never worked, even though they told me it did, the cd player destroys my cds and sometimes just won't play them at all, and I have a squeaky sound coming from the steering or suspension on the front end of my car. I paid over $13,000 for this car when it was 5 years old and had 74k miles on it (I got screwed) and now all these problems are coming up on it. The even cr*ppier part is, I still owe $9000 on it and it's only worth $2500 on trade in. What the heck am I supposed to do with this lemon piece of cr*p car? I'm super angry and will never buy another american car ever! By the way, I checked carfax and 11 records came up for this car! Should I pay the $19.99 to find out about my car, or is 11 records pretty normal? Should I worry?!

Filed Jan 4, 2005 · Acceleration, Suspension · 27,000 miles · CT

While braking at any speed vehicle surged forward, and the steering wheel jerked. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.

Filed Jul 6, 2004 · Brakes, Electrical · 7,000 miles · TX

Intermittently when the brake pedal was applied, the brakes grabbed so hard that the entire vehicle vibrated severely. When this occurred, the vehicle failed to stop immediately. This resulted in extended stopping distance. The brake rotors warped. On one occasion this failure caused lost of control, in which the consumer almost crashed into an 18 wheeler, but was able to pull over to the medium. The dealership has acknowledged that there was a problem with the braking system, but was unable to correct the problem, and was now refusing to work on the vehicle. *ak there was a rattle under the hood at the firewall area while the vehicle was in motion, the hose assembly was found rubbing under the vehicle, both front rotors had wore thin, the fuel pump sender did not hold the correct amount of fuel pressure, there was an open circuit in the 24x crank sensor, there was a rattle in the front suspension due to weak front lower control arms which were noisy (the right lower control arm was replaced), the coolant level sensor shorted, the water pump assembly leaked coolant, there was a vibration at highway speeds, hardware was bad and was loose in the caliper, rotor pulsation which was replaced per bulletin, the turn signal was inoperative, and the A/C had internal damage and would cut on and off.