I put my children I the car as I always do the car doors lock when put in drive. All of a sudden the unlocked and would not lock back. Since then they have failed to work. This is a huge safety issue for those with children. The fuses and relays are all good on the car im assuming it is the actuator. Would definitely like to see a recall on these locks for the safety of our children and others riding in these same conditions due to faulty locks.
2008 Chevrolet Malibu locks complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 71, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Power door locks will not work they make the noise and click but do not take action to lock or unlock.this is very inconvenient having kids and having to reach all throughout the car to lock or unlock doors . Please fix this issue.
The power door locks are intermittent or have failed. This has become a problem with children in the back seat leaving them with unlocked doors or making it very difficult to reach across to unlock the door were a baby seat is located.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that when the master door lock or the key fob was used, the rear passenger side door would not lock or unlock had to be locked or unlocked manually. The dealer re-programmed the remote, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 65,700.
Doors will not lock or unlock unless done manually. My driver side door just recently stopped unlocking with the remote it has to be done with the key. Its not safe I don't live in that great of a neighborhood and if my doors are unlocked and someone is trying to get in id have to crawl into the back seat to lock each door. Its not safe I don't understand why this has not been recalled yet.
The power door locks do not work on 3 of the four doors. The doors do not automatically lock when car put into drive. You are unable to unlock drivers door or rear doors with drivers automatic controls or the key fob. Have to lift the door lock manually from inside the car. The only way to unlock the rear doors is by climbing into the back seats. A safety hazard when young children are in the rear seats and you need to get them out of the car quickly!! Had to have the door locks replaced on the three doors which cost $750.00.
My chevy 2008 malibu, the power locks stopped working on 3 out of 4 doors.
The driver door locks stopped working. When I brought to the dealer to repair, it was determined the actuator no longer worked properly and it was repaired under warranty. After another six months, the passenger side went out, the unit was no longer under warranty. The following year the same problem recurred on the driver side. Today, neither side works nor do the key fobs. The cost to repair is $350 per lock. After researching this seems to be a recurring and noted issue with gm. The manual states "unlocked doors can be dangerous". Many malibu owners have lodged complaints on independent sites including chevrolet malibu forum.
Door locks stop working two years ago, noise with steering and power train. Every time I turn it makes a crazy noise.
Back door locks will not lock unless pushed down manually. Both back doors will not lock with power locks or with key fob. I have read on many forums that it is the actuator not working. The car can actually be broken into because the doors are actually unlocked.
Chevrolet malibu door locks / latches are failing to operate on three of four doors on the vehicle. Remote lock and unlock cannot be completed due to actuator / latch failure. Safety of vehicle is compromised as chevrolet malibu body control module is supposed to lock all doors as vehicle transmission is placed into drive and unlock all doors when vehilce is placed into park. However, due to apparent design / quality failure of door lock actuator / latch mechanism (as evidenced by failure on this vehicle and numerous other vehicles as reported in online owner forums http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7950) safety of passengers is impacted by inability to secure moving vehicle and unlock and open doors to retrieve small children when outside of vehicle.
Rear doors will not lock when put in gear or at highway speeds or unlock when put in park. Only will lock or unlock manually. The dealer told me that there is no recall on this problem. The rear lock solenoids go bad. And that they have been selling and installing a lot of them. The solenoids are part of the rear door latch. I paid for two new solenoids and installed them .problem fixed. The parts number has been updated four times? I feel gm should have repaired this at no charge. Why is this not a safety problem ?
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist intermittently failed without warning. In addition, the door locks for all four doors failed to engage when using the key fob remote. Also, when shifting the vehicle into park the doors failed to unlock. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 92,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated the front and rear driver and passenger's side door locks would fail intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated the automatic door lock actuator would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the doors on the vehicle would not lock with the key fob, but it did lock with the key. The contact stated that the check engine light also illuminated on the instrument panel and the air conditioner smelled like the coolant was burning; however, the vehicle did not overheat. The failure was not diagnosed by a dealer or mechanic. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown. The current mileage was 50,000.
Initially the left rear door lock malfunctioned - approximately 17 months after purchase, would not unlock; problem continued and then the door would not lock. Spoke with gm dealer - not covered, parts cost $165 plus, the next lock to malfunction was the front passenger door, would not unlock; problem continued and then the door would not lock. Contacted gm dealer - no recall notice out, no warranty coverage. Contacted gm customer care - no recall or warranty coverage.the latest door lock to malfunction is the right rear door, will not lock or unlock. Whet to gm dealer for diagnostic service - cost $ 58.80, informed, "need right front an both rear door lock actuators, $ 784.24 installed - have to order." ironically, the entry alarm system still functions if it has been set although the door appears, and actually is, unlocked.
I am having the same issue as many on the chevy.com website. The issue has to do with the door locks not locking. The power door locks attempt to pull the lock down but have lost the ability to consistently do so. It is tot he point where the only way to lock the door is to manually do so. This wouldn't be an issue if the car hasn't already trained you to be use to the doors automatically locking when the car is put in drive and lock with the key fob while walking away from the car with a click and a honk. There are some safety issues here as you aren't quite sure when you car is locked or not. The number of complaints of this same issue was disturbing when I logged onto the chevy.com forum which discuss such issues. A recall seems inevitable and very much needed for safety reasons.
2008 chevrolet malibu. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle door lock problems. *smd the consumer stated the doors would not unlock using the key.
The door lock actuators on all 4 doors do not operate, I have to use the key to unlock the drivers side door then climb over the seats to unlock the rear doors and reach across to unlock passenger door.
Doors stopped locking when the car is put into drive or reverse, and unlocking when in park. This is a safety issue as we carry a toddler/child in the back seat and they are not locked in, and could open the door. We are told this is very common in malibu's and the dealer maintains an inventory of actuator's to repair all of the vehicles that are brought in.
Steering shakes violently,while driving or stopped,to the point of losing control. Condition is intermitent. Vehicle has been checked by dealer and diagnosed as needing a steering control module. So far chevrolet has not offered a fix ,except to replace it at a cost of 743 .00$ with the same part that is defective? Engine light came on at 70000 miles and dealer replaced cat conv at no charge . The third issue is door locks stopped working at 74000 miles,and will only open manually. The steering is a very dangerous condition and I fear will cause a accident.
The chevy malibu 2008 door latch on the passenger side does not work. It has to be opened and closed manually. When you buy anew car and pay that much money for it, you expect the doors to work properly for the life of the car, as I did for my other cars. This is wrong and it should be taken care of by the manufacturer, whether it's under warranty or not. This is just good business practice. Also, my front headlight leaks inside when it rains. This is totally uncalled for. I've driven almost 50 years and this has never happened to any of my cars. This also needs to be taken care of. ..updated 12/11/12
Three of my car doors do not lock unless manually locked. The electronics have failed on all three doors. I have to replace the motor in each door, at the cost of over $750. The cost is not the only problem. The motors that failed in each door will be replaced by the same faulty part. I can't believe it costs $300 to fix one door's locks alone. The drivers lock had greater problems than the others because sometimes it locks me in the car because it shifts the lock a little and the door gets jammed. This should be recalled. I filed a complaint with gm.
Automatic door lock failed to open when transmission was put in park. The only way to open the door was to pull up on lock knob which was almost impossible due to limited mobility (arthritis in shoulder). Needed to remove seat belt, slide over and sit on console to reach lock knob. Automatic locks still engage when car is put in drive but will not open when put back in park. I can not easily or quickly exit the car with this failure. Gm says not a safety issue since automatic locks are only a convenience and older cars were not equipped with automatic locks. However, on older cars the door would unlock when the door handle was pulled. On the malibu pulling up on the lock knob is the only way to exit the car. Cost to have dealer repair $300. An internet search reveals automatic door lock failures are very common.
Started the car to come out of a parking spot, heard humming/rattling noise. Steering wheel started to vibrate then would do rapid half-turns by itself, jerking left and right. Shut the car off and restarted. Seemed ok for first few minutes then started again. Got on the road, driving about 35-40 mpg on highway and it became uncontrollable. Could not keep it straight within the lane. Almost hit a car in the lane on my right! Pulled up to an auto shop near by. They test drove and experienced the issue but explained that with these cars, the technology in them is too advanced and would have to be taken to a chevy dealer. Mechanic explained that the matter is quite hazardous and it would be a huge risk driving it now. Single mom driving 45 minutes from home with 2 minor children. Had to get a tow truck to get back home, 45 minutes away. $$$!! Had this vehicle for 11 months only. Prior to this issue, had door locks issues as I've ready on other threads and also currently experiencing issues with faulty tire pressure sensor as well. Nothing but problems with this car since I've had it. This is my first and very last chevrolet!!
The door locks do not work. How is this not a safety problem? Sometimes the door locks work sometimes they don't. I have a newborn that rides in the backseat. If the doorlocks don't work, the only way to unlock the back door is to either roll down the rear window or crawl into the back seat from the front. If I had to get my child out of the car in an emergency, I don't know how I would do that without working door locks. I have researched this problem online and it appears this is a common problem with this car.
The driver's side rear door lock no longer works when using the power lock button. It must be actuated manually- by manually lifting the knob up. The main problem is the knob is located to the rear of the door and is not accessible unless you are in the back seat- the knob cannot be raised from the front seat area of the vehicle in order to unlock the door to help occupants exit the vehicle, especially in case of emergency. The lock pull knob is located in a poor position.
Both back door locks stopped working. They will not unlock or lock without manually doing so. This makes it very hard to quickly get my toddler son out of the car without rolling the window down first to unlock it. Cruise control works on and off due to the break lights flashing off and on even when I'm not pushing the break pedal. This is very dangerous when I am driving on the free way and my break lights stay on. This also occurs more often when it has rained and the car is wet. I assume this is due to a leak of water getting into the electrical... My trunk leaks when it is shut. When it rains heavy I notice the bedding becomes very wet on one side. The radio is also effected along with the cruise control. Certain buttons stop working for periods of time. The screen will also go black and the radio will not work at all then suddenly come back on.
Turn signal arm does not stay in place when signaling to turn. Also the turn signal arm when it does stay in place it will not return to normal position/turn off signal by itself after making a turn. When turning the steering wheel it makes popping noises. Door locks on all doors stay either in the "lock" or "unlock" position at all times. One of the rear passenger door lock has been replaced at the dealership for $300.00 and the door lock still fails. The only way to unlock the passenger doors is to do it manually and climb over the seats. The driver door has to be unlocked with the key and manually locked when exiting the vehicle.
The passenger door lock does not operate. The locks moves slightly but not enough to lock or unlock the door.
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