We had purchased a 2001 chevy malibu ls in 2004, it had 28,922 mileage. On july 1st 2004, had 28,959 miles, the engine light kept coming on so we brought it to forest city to get it checked out, they found the reservoir low and topped it off, they said no visible coolant leaks! On july 12th 2007 we had brought it back to quirk ( which was forest city) they said that the lower intake manifold caskets were leaking coolant, they wanted $879.00 to fix it (mileage 46,495). We got it fixed by a certified mechanic for $370.00 on july27,2007. Now we had a 20 point inspection done onjanuary 29th 2007 and quirk said that we need intake manifold caskets again!, with only 9,953, after the first time they went, ( milage 56,248). I have talked to quirk and they said they would take 10% off the $695.00 price to fix it, so I talked to gm and they said it wasn't there problem but would take 25% off. If it wasn't there problem then why would they do that? When I asked them why I wasn't contacted about the dex cool problem, they had no answer. I have checked a lot of web sites and this is happening over and over again to people. Why can't something be done about this. I don't feel that I should have to pay for something that gm is responsible for. I hope that you can help all of us, that are having this and other problems. Thank you for listening.
2001 Chevrolet Malibu engine complaints
Page 3 of 7: complaints 41 to 70 of 175, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the lower intake gasket, located near the water pump, was leaking water and antifreeze. While driving at any speed, the vehicle would overheat and water would leak out. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop and the mechanic stated that the lower intake gasket needed to be repaired at the cost of $695. The dealer has not been notified. The failure mileage was 149,130.
Gasket is causing antifreeze leak into engine and the car is overheating. Have use about a few bottles of antifreeze back to back. Its going to cost so much to repair. Im waiting for a recall from gm. The sooner the better.
Have a 01 chevy malibu whose lower intake have been replaced twice. Have 53 other people who also have the same problem with lower intake and many more to come.
My car over heated twice. The first time I realized that the antifreeze was very low and I filled it up and went to my meeting. After my meeting was over and began to drive the car, it over heated again. I had to refill the antifreeze 3 times before I got it to an auto shop (as I was driving). Once I got to the auto shope, I was told that the antifreeze was running in to the oil pan. Currently, I don't have a car because I was told by the mechanic that the engine was no good and they had seen several cars like mine (same year) with the same motor problem.
I have a 2001 chevy malibu with a 3.1 liter engine and I have had to replace the intake gasket once because it leaked oil into the antifreeze and antifreeze into the oil. It was a problem that I did not know existed with this motor? I found out a short time later that the damage was extensive and had to put a motor with 30,000 miles into my car. That was 1year ago last august and as of today september 5th I have the same problem with this motor and I'm going to have to replace the intake gasket again. How can I get this replaced at general motors cost, rather than mine again? I know of many others that have the same problem that I do.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. While driving up a very steep incline at an unknown speed, the vehicle began to overheat. The contact managed to pull over and called a tow truck. Once the tow truck arrived, the driver placed coolant into the vehicle. The contact drove to her residence and called her local mechanic. The intake manifold gasket was repaired. On june 9, 2008, the vehicle began to overheat again on the highway. The contact pulled to the side of the road and drove to the nearest service station. Shed added coolant into the vehicle, drove home, and called her local mechanic. She took the vehicle to the shop and the intake manifold gasket was repaired again. The failure mileage was 102,599 and current mileage was 133,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. The contact took the vehicle to the mechanic for routine maintenance and he stated that there was a leak in the intake valve. The dealer and another mechanic inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the same failure. The dealer repaired the vehicle and the contact stated that she would like to be reimbursed. The current mileage was 95,000 and failure mileage was 94,800.
Bought 2001 chevrolet malibu new on march 14,2001 engine started knocking around 35,000 miles. Has gradually gotten worse. Sounds like a diesel. It is either piston slap or bad lifters. Dealer would not fix issue at the time. Car continues to run. Also this vehicle has poor brakes. Replace rotors and shoes at 12,000 miles at dealer. Replaced rotors again at dealer at 30,000 miles. Currently has 111,000 miles on vehicle and is in excellent condition. Would like gm to fix engine issue at little or no cost. Brake issue is better with aftermarket parts.
I am a single mom of two, and am frustrated that all of my savings have gone into this money pit. I have replaced the intake manifold twice, and its going out again! I have replaced the water pump, heater core which are dying, and the theft system twice. I have had a fuel leak by my engine and had it enter inside my car and its doing it again, my ABS brakes only work when they want, and these are just a few of my complaints!
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that there was an antifreeze leak in the intake manifold gasket. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they confirmed the leak. She had to place antifreeze in her vehicle every month because it would leak out constantly. She notified general motors twice. The first time, they did not respond to her via email. The second time, she spoke with them and they stated that she would need to bring the vehicle to an authorized dealer. From there, they will determine whether or not there is a defect. General motors further stated that the contact would be responsible for the repairs. The dealer acknowledged the defect. The failure mileage was 50,00 and current mileage is 60,000. Updated 01-29-08.
I have malibu 2001 with 56000 mls on it. Today I had to change lower intake manifold gasket.$950 total...beside this a had problems with my theft system,brakes ,light hazard switch. Air conditioner ..etc. This is the my last gm car..period.
Antifreeze leaking intake manifold valve gasket defective.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. The low antifreeze warning light illuminated. The antifreeze had to be refilled once a week. The mechanic stated that the intake manifold was leaking antifreeze. The failure mileage was 45,000 and current mileage was 46,849. Updated 01-15-08. *kb the was informed by to mechanics, that it was common with this type of engine. Updated 12/12/07.
I have twice replaced the intake manifold gaskets on my 2001 chevrolet malibu. Both times it has started as a slow seep from the end of the engine on the drivers side. At first we didn't have any puddles, just a low fluid indicator alarm. Then we had intermittant puddles. The latest occurence included a catastrophic failure with about an half a gallon of fluid into the engine, and it was 200 miles from home. We were fortunate that we were not driving when the failure was discovered, so we didn't have to replace the engine. The first repair occured in january 2005 at 101k miles, this one in august 07 with 144k miles. The first repair was done at an asce shop and cost $700, this one was at a dealer and cost $1200. I described the incident to another mechanic, and his first question was, "gm car?" it is quite common and well known to mechanics.
Car initially wouldn't start, would only turn over. Car would die in traffic at highway speeds with no warning requiring trying to coast to a safe place out of traffic if possible with a severe potential to be hit from behind even with hazard lights on. Car towed to chev dealership. Dealership replaced intake manifold gasket. Tech said gasket was leaking causing engine to hydrolock. Third time driving the car since repair, car died in traffic again on freeway. Car is setting at dealership again waiting for technician to diagnose since obviously the $1200 repair just completed didn't solve the problem.
I own a 2001 chevy malibu and out of the blue one day my engine just shut down right on the interstate. I have not yet had it checked due to finance problems. Not only that I also have to change my wheel bearings every week to two weeks. I have had this checked and the garage I take it to for all my repairs can't seem to figure it out either. Please help thank you, mrs.sparks
Lower intake manifold replacement. Started losing antifreeze - leak on driveway. Mechanic traced the leak with dye tablets and sealant tablets -- after several months I took it chev. Dealer and they tested everything and replaced the lower intake manifold and was told this model car had manifold problems. It cost me $990. I had this work done about a year ago and thought maybe with the other malibu's having problems there might be a recall -- I'm waiting.
The car made a horrible knocking noise shortly after I bought it brand new. 5 different dealers stated that the teflon from the rocker arms in the engine wore out and thatw as what was making the awful noise. Itwas cosmetic, so to fix it would cost a lot of money. *ak also, the intake manifold on the car has cracked causing the engine/radiator to leak anifreeze out the exaust. Gm needs to recall these cars because of all the problems. I can go on and on with my car. I have maintained it every 3,000 miles meticously and should not have this problem with a car that only has 60,000 miles.
I have a 2001 chevorlet malibu which has close to 67000 miles, and now its showing signs of coolant leaking ,and coolant has to be topped up every 200 miles or so, and the coolant used was dex-cool, gm recommended. Also there is a problem with air conditioning (A/C) unit as it was not cooling at all, and when checked the freon. Gas leaked out ,and yet to find where the leaking is from. Mechanic mentioned the coolant problem was there in all malibu models starting 1998. Please let us know if there was any recall for the above mentioned problems.
Tl*- the contact stated that the front brakes on his 2001 chevrolet malibu (50000 failure mileage) had to be replaced every six months for the last two years. The contact also stated that antifreeze leaks into the oil. This will be the third time that the intake manifold gasket has had to be replaced. The vehicle has been taken to a mechanic six times concerning these issues. The brake and manifold problems still exists. The current mileage was 130,000.
Defective gaskets causes engine coolant to leak into engine and mix with engine oil. Common problem for years on chevrolet malibu's and gm has never issued a recall. Or contacted consumers to notify them of this issue? I have always well maintained my car and done so to manufacturers specs. This is obvious disregard for their customers.
Engine leaks anti-freeze, turn signals go in & out, fuel gauge not always right, making a loud banging noise, and now dead won't even start. 2001 chevy malibu 3.1l v6 $22,000 & only 67,000 miles.
I have a 2001 chevy malibu, with 51000 miles my coolant light kept coming on. I took it to the garage. The mechanic filled the coolant. Two months passed and the coolant light came on again. The mechanic filled the coolant and I made an appointment. It turned out, the coolant was leaking into the engine. I was informed my car had a faulty manifold gasket. It cost me $600.00 to have my car repaired. I hope there is a recall soon. I here that many gm vehicles have this problem.
I have purchased two (2001) chevrolet malibu's that experienced the same problem. The intake manifold gasket is defective which causes antifreeze to leak. I experienced the problem with my first malibu back in 2005. Based on documentation of consumer complaints that I submitted to the dealership, the repair was covered outside of the warranty and I only paid the warranty deductible. My second malibu was purchased used from a non-gm dealership in the fall of 2005. I purchased the second car due to the first one being a total loss in an accident. I am now experiencing the same leaking gasket problem with the second car. I contacted gm directly to inquire about having the car fixed. The car has 103,341 miles on it. Regardless of the mileage, the mechanics that I have spoken to say this is a manufacturer's defect because the gasket(s) are cheap plastic. As of date, gm is not willing to cover the cost of the repair which costs $700+. The dealership that I use to service my vehicle will only offer a discount on parts and labor. The dealership is not at fault. It is gm's responsibility to correct this problem. I have 61 pages of consumer complaints referring to the same leaking gasket problem with the malibu.
I had taken my vehicle in to get a simple oil change and was informed my vehicle has a faulty intake manifold gasket which is a very expensive repair costing any where from$ 800-$1000.00 . On my searching the internet I have found that this is one of the problems that gm cars are having over 70,000 miles. Intake manifold leaks can lead to any number of very serious, and expensive problems. While the part itself isn't costly, the labor to repair is costly.
After having to refill my engine coolant on a regular basis I finally took my 2001 chevy malibu into the dealer to have it looked at. I expected a leaky hose but found out the problem was a failed intake manifold gasket causing the coolant to drain into the engine. The dealer guaranteed me that if I didn't perform the $900 repair that the engine was shot, and that the odds of saving the engine even after the repair were only 50/50. The other options I was given were to completely rebuild the engine ($3000+) or "cut my loses and trade it in now." after doing some research, I discovered that this is an extremely common problem, resulting from defective gaskets, that chevrolet has done nothing to remedy.
Dt*: the contact stated when the vehicle was started, the check engine light illuminated. When an oil change was performed by an independent service dealer, a coolant leak was found on the engine next to the intake gasket. A second opinion was sought at another independent service dealers and when the leak was confirmed, the vehicle was taken to a service dealer and the manufacturer was notified. The contact continued to add coolant to the vehicle. The interior of the windows were coated by the coolant vapor, entering the vehicle through the ventilation system.
Dt*: the contact stated a puddle was noticed under the engine. The dealership determined there was a faulty intake gasket. A new gasket needed to be installed.
5 mos after purchasing car, the transmission had to be replaced. A few months later the engine would shut off while driving on the road. The following parts have been replaced: ignition module, spark plugs, fan belt, water pump, knock sensor, camshaft position sensor, crankshaft sensor, ignition switch.
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