Turning the car on and the engine revs with high RPM. Car continues to accelerate on own. This can also happen randomly without any warning when driving, you can take your foot off the accelerator and the speed will increase from 20 MPH up to 55 or 60 MPH riding the brakes and getting to a place where you can turn the car off helps, sometimes. This is frightening and dangerous.
2001 Chevrolet Malibu engine complaints
Page 2 of 7: complaints 11 to 40 of 175, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Approached intersection in turning lane to make left turn. Upon making such turn, vehicle did not accelerate as fast as it should. Was told second driver ran red light and collided with my vehicle in a head on collision. I was informed that my vehicle was struck on front passenger side. I remember hearing the crash and the car spinning out of control. Both airbags did deploy, as I was floating over the gear shift. Was told at the scene left leg was broken at the ankle per paramedic. Right leg was confirmed broken at the ankle at the hospital. I was wearing my seat belt, I had a burn mark that lasted almost six months. I spent 22 days in the hospital, I started as ortho-trauma, went to surgery the next day to repair my left leg with 1 plate and 8 screws. Three days later, I had complications from my injuries. I went to pulmonary icu (picu). Two days after being stabilized, I went back to surgery to repair my right leg with 2 plates and 10 screws. It took 10 months to be able to walk again, with a cane and a limp... Right leg is noticeably shorter than my left it took a year to have feeling to the top of my right foot at my big toe. I have lost my nursing career due to not being able to do my job. Walking and standing, lifting, bending or pushing a medicine cart for long periods of time is impossible. I have been declared dis-abled.
Car was forced off road then rolled over into on coming traffic.
Anti-theft system prevents car from starting. Falsely detects that ignition key is not the correct key for this automobile, even thou this key has been used to start the car thousands of times. To overcome the problem driver must turn off ignition, turn key to on position and wait approximately 10 minutes for the computer to register the key as being correct, turn the ignition key to off and then turn it to start to get the car started. This has happened to us at least 100 times during the past 6 years. Gm service says the remedy is to replace the ignition switch at a cost of $400.00. This problem has been frequently reported by hundreds of thousands of gm 1998 thru 2006 automobile owners. I believe this is an engineering defect and should be repaired for free by gm. This is a safety issue with these cars and trucks.
One day out of nowhere while in park and idling car just died, restarted fine, then a couple days later at a stoplight died again, was able to restart and drive on, but this continued from then on everytime it was stopped and running would just die could restart when ready to drive off and it would go fine, until the last time it died while going 35 MPH in traffic and I was barely able to steer out of traffic and almost couldn't stop, but wouldn't restart anymore, and still won't start. Took to a mechanic who informed me that the ignition caused the anti theft to engage and turn off components in motor, I've read I others having same problem in this same year make and model just wondering why it hasn't been recalled along with all the rest of chevy' scars having this problem, obviously it's a bigger problem than just a couple and the last time it died on me I was lucky to not get hit.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle failed to restart and the failure continued to occur over a period of five months. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,700. Updated 08/28/14*lj updated 09/4/2014
Over the past month, the malibu has stalled out while driving. It has occurred both on acceleration and deceleration one time almost causing a broadside impact as my son pulled out to make a left onto a bust street. He was fortunate and the oncoming driver was able to brake in time. We took it to a garage that said our ignition switch had to be replaced, which we had done. Curious because this is the exact problem that has occurred with the other vehicles involved in the chevy recall, but our vehicle has yet to be recalled for this obviously hazardous defect.
Driving car at various speeds, will accelerate by itself while driving RPM >2000 when put in park RPM >2500. When brake for light and take foot off brake car will accelerate by it self I let it go up to 45 MPH this problem is intermittent, I turn engine off and turn back on it will idle normally 1000 or less. No panel warning lights pop up.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu . The contact stated that there was a visible antifreeze leak. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.
Hi, it's me.... Again. Imagine that with my chevy malibu. I went to start the car this morning. However, it wouldn't. I could hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds then turn off. The engine would fire briefly, and then stop. The starter is working great. So I turned to google. I found, like so many of the complaints on here that the anti-theft system is to blame. It likes to random turn on, preventing the car from starting. I called the dealer to ask what chevy was going to do to fix chevy's busted anti-theft system. I was told to turn the key to the "on" position for 10 min. The anti-theft would reset, and then I could start me car. They forgot to tell me that it would continue to do this until I spend $500 of my own money to fix a problem chevy knows about. Why should I have to pay to fix something that is due to poor engineering and manufacturing on chevy's part? Oh what.... Corporate america says so. They are bigger than me, and therefore are more important than putting out a reliable product to consumers. Chevy is a great example of a corporate greed manager. Just man up and fix your crappy cars.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The failure continued to occur intermittently at low speeds. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
I've had several issues now with the theft system on my 2001 malibu. It happens about every couple days to weeks now & is becoming a major problem with my job & also when it happens at night when I'm in a dark parking lot, outs not the best situation to be in. Im a single mom & have had plenty of problems with this car but this seems to be the worst & constant one of them all. If gm knew this would be a problem then they should have done the right thing for their consumers & taken care of the defect, which is not our fault yet we the consumers have to pay & suffer for it.
On at least 10 occasions over the past 10 years when attempting to start the vehicle the anti-theft passlock system will activate for no apparent reason, which disables the ability to start the engine by cutting off the fuel. If I turn the ignition key to on position and wait for 10 minutes, then turn the key to the off position and then attempt to start the engine it will startup successfully. This is very annoying and potentially dangerous when it happens while parked in dark parking lots late at night or operating the vehicle in very cold weather. This problem has been reported by tens of thousands of gm owners over the past several years. Why hasn't gm been forced to repair the problem.
When we would just start the car it would rev up to between 3000 to 4000 RPM and it would stay that way. This was only one way that it would act up. The other ways were when you were just driving along and the car would start to accelerate on it's own. Both ways you had to ride the brake and ride it hard in order not to hit the person in front of us. We had it in to one dealer twice with nothing getting fixed. We took it to a different dealer three times, they randomly replaced different things (guessing) at our cost, but problem still persisted. We even took it in when it was revving up to 3000 RPM, while they were under the hood it even went higher! We were told to turn it off because they were afraid it would blow, but when we came back to pick it up they said that it didn't happen again and they couldn't fix it if it didn't do it for them again. They told us that the best thing for us to do was to trade the car in on a different vehicle, we told him that this thing is a problem that should be taken care of and not just traded in. We contacted gm and told them that this is a problem that can cause serious harm not only to my wife and myself but to others. Gm did nothing to assist with the problem. They said that if the dealer couldn't fix it that they couldn't help us. They wouldn't even contact the dealers to see what the problems were. We have approx. 116,000 miles and it now has additional problems with the acceleration. We still have the car because we can't afford another at this time, but I feel like I'm driving a time bomb.
On at least 20 occasions over the past 4 years when attempting to start the vehicle the anti-theft system will activate for no apparent reason, which disables the ability to start the engine. If I turn the ignition key to on position and wait for 10 minutes, then turn the key to the off position and then attempt to start the engine it will startup successfully. This is very annoying and potentially dangerous when it happens while parked in dark parking lots late at night or operating the vehicle in very cold weather. This problem has been reported by tens of thousands of gm owners over the past several years. Why hasn't gm been forced to repair the problem?
I had my car tow to a auto services center cause it would not start, the tech told me it was the starter but said there was another problem the sub frame very rusted and the engine could fall out anytime. They replace the front sub frame,outer tie rod end, sway bar link kit, the cost was $927.39 . Is g m responsible and can I be reimburse for my cost.
Anti theft system on this car along with hundreds if not thousands of people have left us stranded. You call the dealer they say nothing of the reset stuff that is in the book. I did not have a book went on line last winter the first time it happened. Dealer said bring it in and get it tested never once offered the fix in book,so if they have a fix in manual don't you think they know its an ongoing issue???? Please make them do the right thing. This is the 6th time for me 3 on my way to work. Call polar chevrolet and tell them your car wont start and anti theft system is on bet ya get the same answer I did. They are ripping the consumer off with bogus fixes for a problem they know about. I drive a school bus for a living I just need to get to work. Google antitheft chevy malibu check it out please! Next site is abc cbs nbc and cnn.
This car is an absolute lemon,it forces you to use dexcool antifreeze and this eats away the rubber in the lines,have spent thousands fixing head gaskets and redoing the whole cooling system to be able to use the old green antifreeze and after all of the problems(cant afford new car!) I have looked on line and I am not alone,thousands have had same problem,this needs to be recalled. It is common knowledge with chevy about the anti theft system,you have to put key in on pos. And wait ten mins for it to reset. I have lost a job b/c I was late for work too many times,have had ignition replaced twice,it has nothing to do w/ignition. I get stuck in the middle of nowhere car wont start and gotta freeze to death (in michigan!) waiting for it to reset. This is ridiculous. And chevy does nothing!
I would like all the recalls for this con of a car and I would like to get in on any lawsuit against gm for their drug dealing business ethics or lack of these cars are a death trapwaiting to strike get gm out of business and bail out the consumer not the greedy liars that sell trinkets for 50k or more giving us less than safe garbage they call a car. My skastes run better 2100.00 2x for replaced engines and 375.00 parts and labor for alarm fix not working properly from factory you know it and you ask for a bail out I want you in prison every worker and the ceos no bail outs bail us out you robbing liars that sell garbage that can kill humans bail out my rear end.
My car seemed to be riding rough and my radiator light came on. Today I went for an oil change and the mechanic said I had an "intake manifold gasket leak." my oil is leaking into my coolant. He told me there was a recall from gm for dexcool. I can't seem to find any information on this but to have it fixed will be very costly.
Passcode antitheft system - 2 separate repairs, latest oct, 2011 involving the ignition/theft system. The system malfunctions and the vehicle will not start.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. The contact noticed that antifreeze was leaking from the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that the intake manifold gasket failed and would need to be replaced. No repairs were performed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The current mileage was 69,000 and the approximate failure mileage was 62,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Just bought 2001 chevy malibu, its leaking coolant and the engine is overheating to the point of smoke. So the gasket is shot, I've taken this car in before over this problem but still seems to come back to the car overheating and smoke. No one seems to know how to fix this one guy told me to just get a new engine, the coolant diagnostic didn't help and all of my coolant can't seem to stay in there it just leaks as soon as it's in, so now what??? There should have definitely been a recall for this gm needs to fix this considering my engine was tested and refurbished by chevy no more than 8 months ago at the dealer. This car finally stalled out on the highway and almost killed me, there is no damage other than the ones I mentioned above.
Car over heated, temp gauge over normal range. Added two gallons of antifreeze, still over heated, and checked for antifreeze in the oil. Antifreeze was present indicating a blown head gasket. No corrective repair has been done yet>.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu ls. Whenever the engine was started, the vehicle would not stay on; it stalled frequently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer several times but the failure could not be diagnosed. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
I have a 2001 chevy malibu with the 3.1l v6 engine that has 4 defective pistons in it (gm document id# 773655) also installed in 2001 buick, chevy, pontiac and some olds models. I bought this car new with 4 miles on it, it had a slight "tick" when started cold at that time, which the dealer explained that it was "injector noise", not to be concerned. The noise got just a little worse until it got up to 37,000 miles (just out of warranty), then it became very noisy and didn't go away when warmed up. I had complained about this noise every time I had the dealer change the oil. Then I found a complaint on the internet about these engines and the fix. That is when he finally produced the bulletin explaining the problem, and informed me that it was too late, warranty had expired. I contacted chevrolet (request#71-79653429) and they told me about the same thing-warranty is gone, sorry you didn't know to get it repaired under warranty. We are 72 years old and bought this car to last us the rest of our lives, and it just may not make it. We do not drive a lot, 46,500 miles in over nine years, but this thing is getting noisier by the month. Can anything be done to help us old folks?
Shawn jansen's maliubu was driving fast, and I could clearly see him winging it.
Five years ago I replace head gaskets on a 2001 chevrolet malibu. Recently, my vehicle will not hold antifreeze and the temperature gauge raises. I have was told by a mechanic that the head gaskets blown again. I have heard several people with the malibu are having problems with this. Is there a recall or compensation to the owners for this obvious manufacturing defect.
I bought my 2001 malibu in 2003. I had no real problems till this year 2009. My mileage now in 74,000 and the problems started at about 60,000. After a accident everything started to go. My gas gauge went down and my temp gauge also. My auto lock for my doors was not working. My air vents only work when they knob is on 3.main fuse box has major issues and the water pump went out and cost $2300.00 and needs a $500.00 service for the main fuse box. Water pump was replaced also 2005. Cost about $600.00 then. I wish someone would have pointed these problems before. Gm needs to step up to the plate; especially after taking more money from the tax payers for their mismanagement. I love my malibu but gm better get on the stick and help the ones who have this defective 2001 malibu.
Why wasn't there a recall done? Http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html the chevy dexcool issue has been going on forever and according to this there was a settlement but there is no recall. How does this happen. I've got a leaky intake manifold gasket and no way to cover the cost. Not only that but because I was never told of the results of this lawsuit I've missed the time to repair and file. What's the deal and how come there isn't a recall?
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