2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX Complaints

THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN INTO OUR DRIVEWAY, THE POWER STEERING LIGHT CAME ON AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED. IT CAME BACK ON THE NEXT TIME I STARTED THE CAR, BUT THE STEERING COLUMN HAS A VERY LOUD, GRINDING NOISE. PER MY REGULAR MECHANIC, THIS IS THE SUBJECT OF THE RECALL 12221 FOR CANADIAN VEHICLES, BUT MY VIN DOESN'T COME UP SO NO DEALER WILL ASSIST ME. I CAN'T SAFELY DRIVE. *TR

DRIVING AT A LOCAL GROCERY STORE AND LOST STEERING AND ALMOST CRASHED INTO CAR WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT. THIS NEEDS TO GET FIXED AND I'M NOT PAYING FOR SOMETHING THAT IS A WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE DIES BECAUSE GM DOESN'T WANT TO FIX A PROBLEM THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT. AVERAGE COST OF REPAIR $700. AVERAGE COST OF A LIFE, PRICELESS. MAKE A RECALL HAPPEN NOW. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE POWER STEERING ASSIST SUDDENLY FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. *TR

THE VEHICLE STOPS RANDOMLY IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING. THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT COMES ON AND THE CAR STOPS WITH NO WARNING. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES TO MY 21 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND HER 4 MONTH OLD BABY. THERE ARE NO CODES DETECTED TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM. THE CHEVROLET SERVICE REPAIR CENTER HAS HAD THE CAR FOR 2 DAYS AND ADVISED THAT THEY CANNOT LOCATE THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE ON INTERNET FORUMS AND I AM SURPRISED NO ONE HAS BEEN CALLED. MY DAUGHTER HAS TO DRIVE ON THE INTERSTATE TO ATTEND CLASS AND THE VEHICLE HAS STOPPED ON HER. THEY ARE NOW RELEASING THE CAR BACK TO ME WITH NO RESOLVE. CHEVY OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT CARE TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AS IT IS A COMMON ONE WITH SEVERAL OF THEIR VEHICLES. IF I SELL THE CAR, I AM LITERALLY SELLING A DEATH TRAP TO SOMEONE ELSE. BELOW ARE LINKS TO NUMEROUS FORUM DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS ISSUE. HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO DIE BEFORE CHEVY ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE? HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/CHEVROLET/MALIBU/2006/ENGINE/ENGINE_RANDOMLY_SHUTS_OFF.SHTML HTTP://WWW.FIXYA.COM/CARS/T3656645-GOT_CODE_P2176_CHANGED_OUT_TPS_STILL_GOT HTTP://CHEVROLETFORUM.COM/FORUM/MALIBU-15/ENGINE-POWER-REDUCED-20768/ HTTP://WWW.CHEVYMALIBUFORUM.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=10085 HTTP://WWW.JUSTANSWER.COM/CHEVY/6S938-CHEVROLET-MALIBU-MAXX-LT-2006-CHEVY-MALIBU-MAXX-LT-70000.HTML HTTP://WWW.FIXYA.COM/CARS/T11683460-ENGINE_POWER_REDUCED_2006_MALIBU HTTP://CHEVYFORUM.ORG/CHEVY-FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=20618 HTTP://CHEVY-MALIBU.AUTOFORUMZ.COM/REDUCED-ENGINE-POWER-MESSAGE-05-FTOPICT202902.HTML. *TR

MY VEHICLE LOST ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING (EPS) ASSISTANCE WHEN BEING OPERATED IN AN UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE. THE VEHICLE GAVE AN AUDIBLE ALERT AND WARNING LIGHTS DISPLAYED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED AFTER TURNING THE VEHICLE ON AND OFF SEVERAL TIMES. BECAUSE THE PARKING GARAGE CONTAINED TIGHT CORNERS AND REQUIRED SLOW SPEED OPERATION, I COULD NOT SAFELY OPERATE THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE PARKING GARAGE. THE NEXT DAY, THE EPS WORKED WITHOUT A PROBLEM. THIS UNPREDICTABLE AND INTERMITTENT POWER STEERING FAILURE IS WELL DOCUMENTED IN 2006 MALIBU MAXX VEHICLES. IN FACT, CHEVROLET HAS EXTENDED WARRANTIES AND CONDUCTED SPECIAL CUSTOMER SERVICE CAMPAIGNS TO SELECT 2006 MALIBU MAXX OWNERS TO REMEDY THE DEFECTIVE EPS. EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE SAME MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR AS OTHER VEHICLES DETERMINED TO BE DEFECTIVE, MY VEHICLE'S VIN FALLS OUTSIDE OF THE RANGE IDENTIFIED BY CHEVROLET. THE VIN RANGE IDENTIFIED BY CHEVROLET IS INSUFFICIENT. OWNERS LIKE MYSELF WHO OPERATE VEHICLES OUTSIDE OF THE VIN RANGE ARE NOT BEING ALERTED TO THE POSSIBILITY OF DEFECTIVE STEERING COMPONENTS. THE EPS COMPONENTS ARE KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE IN 2006 MALIBU MAXX VEHICLES AND SHOULD TO BE RECALLED. *TR

I WENT TO HAVE THE CAR INSPECTED BUT THE INSPECTION MACHINE CANT READ THE CAR COMPUTER. *TR

THIS HAS HAPPENED DOZENS OF TIMES BEFORE GM DID THE "CAMPAIGN" TO LESSEN THE AFFECT ON THE STEERING. NORMALLY WHILE ACCELERATING HARD AROUND A CORNER OR UP A HILL, THE POWERSTEERING WOULD LITERALLY JERK THE WHEEL FROM YOUR HANDS AND ATTEMPT TO STRAIGHTEN THE WHEEL. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS EXTREME DISCONCERTING AND DANGEROUS AT ANY SPEED. SYMPTOMS ARE THE DING DING DING WARNING AND THE VERY BRIEF FLASH, LIKE THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE IT, OF POWER STEERING ON THE RADIO DISPLAY. THAT LASTS MAYBE 1.5 SECONDS BEFORE IT GOES AWAY, SO YOU HAVE TO KNOW TO LOOK AT THE RADIO VERY QUICKLY WHEN THE DING DING DING GOES TO SEE THE "ERROR" MESSAGE. IT TOOK 2 TRIPS TO THE DEALER ON THE RECALL TO "RESOLVE" THE PROBLEM IN GM'S EYES. WHAT THEY DO IS REPLACE THE COLUMN, AND SOME SETTINGS IN THE COMPUTER THAT REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF FORCE THE MOTOR EXERTS AGAINST THE DRIVER. THE WHEEL NO LONGER COMPLETELY JERKS FROM YOUR HANDS, BUT IT STILL WILL CHANGE YOUR COURSE WHEN ON A TURN IF YOU DON'T HAVE A TIGHT GRIP ON THE WHEEL. I CONSIDER THIS SUCH A SAFETY ISSUE, THAT I RARELY ALLOW ANYONE BUT MYSELF TO DRIVE IT BECAUSE IT WOULD JUST SCARE THE BEJEAVIOUS OUT OF THEM FOR THE CAR TO TAKE THE WHEEL FROM THEIR HANDS. WAS BACK IN THE DEALERSHIP YESTERDAY ON THE EXTENDED CAMPAIGN OF 150K MILES OR 10 YEARS. THEY INDICATED THE FAULT WAS THAT THE MOTOR TOSSED AN OVERHEAT CODE AND THAT WAS CAUSING COMPUTER INPUT ISSUES OUT OF WHAT WAS EXPECTED. I ADVISED IT DOES IT EVEN WHEN THE CAR IS COLD, NOT DRIVING FOR MORE THAN A MILE. THEIR RESPONSE WAS THE MOTOR HAS AN INTERNAL FAULT THAT CAUSES IT TO OVERHEAT QUICKLY, JUST BY STARTING THE CAR. REPAIRS COSTS ARE WELL OVER $700 PARTS AND LABOR, AND READING ON THE INTERNET, THIS PROBLEM MAY NOT EVEN BE RESOLVED BY SUCH A COSTLY REPAIR. *TR

I ALSO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH MY 06 MALIBU MAXX. WHEN ACCELERATING ONTO THE INTERSTATE, I CANNOT GET MY SPEED UP NORMALLY. I HEAR DING, DING, DING... THEN THE STEERING LOCKS UP. CAN NOT MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. ALSO HAPPENS WHEN MAKING SHARP TURNS. ALMOST THREW ME INTO A DITCH ONCE AND ALMOST BOUNCED ME INTO THE GUARD RAIL ONCE. I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT CHEVROLET HAS NOT RECALLED THIS PROBLEM. IT IS A TRUE SAFETY HAZARD. I AM A LOYAL PURCHASER OF CHEVY PRODUCTS, AND I EXPECT CHEVROLET TO STAND BY ME AS WELL. APPEARS THIS IS A WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE BY ALL THE COMPLAINTS I READ. *TR

I RECENTLY BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE FOR MY 18 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO TAKE WITH HER TO COLLEGE. WE HAVE OWNED IT APPROXIMATELY 3 WEEKS NOW. ON 7/30/13, WE WERE DRIVING DOWN A LOCAL CITY ROAD AT APPROXIMATELY 45MILES PER HOUR, HEARD A DINGING ALERT SOUND, AND IMMEDIATELY LOST POWER STEERING. SHE WAS ABLE TO MOVE TO THE EMERGENCY LANE TO GET OUT OF THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC. SHE TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED, THE POWER STEERING RETURNED TO NORMAL. ON 7/31/13 SHE WAS ALONE IN THE VEHICLE, AND WAS ONCE AGAIN TRAVELING IN TOWN AND LOST THE POWER STEERING TWICE ON THAT TRIP. THE FIRST TIME SHE WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MILES PER HOUR, AND THE SECOND TIME GOING AROUND A SHARP CURVE GOING APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES PER HOUR. I AM FRUSTRATED DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE AS IT IS AN EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD WITH OVER A HUNDRED COMPLAINTS ON THIS SITE ALONE. I HAVE ALSO FOUND MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS IN OTHER ONLINE BLOGS. I HAVE BEEN TOLD AT THIS POINT THAT I COULD REPLACE THE STEERING COLUMN, THE EPS FUSE, THE ALTERNATOR, THE GROUNDING WIRE, AND EVEN THE MOTOR AND ASSEMBLY FOR THE POWER STEERING AND THAT IN SOME INSTANCES NONE OF THESE EXPENSIVE REPAIRS HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE BEFORE SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING TO HOLD CHEVROLET ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR PRODUCT? IS IT GOING TO TAKE MULTIPLE DEATHS AND/OR MULTIMILLION DOLLAR LAWSUITS TO MAKE SOMEONE LISTEN AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS? WHAT IF THIS VEHICLE WAS ONE THAT YOU PURCHASED FOR YOUR CHILD? WOULD YOU PUT THEM IN POTENTIAL HARMS WAY? HOW MANY COMPLAINTS DOES IT TAKE FOR ACTION????? *TR

WHILE DRIVING 70 MILES PER HR ON THE HIGHWAY A LOUD NOISE AND SLIGHT VIBRATION WAS FELT. AFTER SLOWING DOWN, THE NOISE WAS NOT AS LOUD AND THE VIBRATION WAS LESS. ON EXITING THE HIGHWAY ONTO A BUSY ROAD DRIVING NO MORE THAN 45 TO 50 MILE PER HOUR THE NOISE WAS NOT NOTICEABLE AND THE VIBRATION SEEMED TO BE GONE. ON GETTING OUT OF THE CAR AND LOOKING AT ALL FOUR TIRES IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE NOISE AND VIBRATION WAS COMING FROM THE HIGHWAY SURFACE. ON PULLING OUT OF THE GARAGE THE NEXT MORNING THE NOISE WAS BACK AND THE VIBRATION WAS VERY NOTICEABLE. ROAD SERVICE WAS CALLED TO CHECK TO SEE IF THEIR WAS A FLAT TIRE OR A PROBLEM WITH THE WHEEL LUGS. ON ARRIVAL THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN DROVE THE CAR AND DISCOVERED THE BACK RIGHT TIRE HAD SEPARATED IN SEVERAL PLACES CAUSING THE SOUND AND THE VIBRATION. HIS STATEMENT WAS "SOMEONE UP THERE MUST LOVE YOU", THIS WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU IF YOU HAD CONTINUED TO DRIVE ON IT. THE TIRE WAS REMOVED AND WILL BE TAKEN BACK TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE. THIS IS A FIRESTONE TIRE PURCHASED 11/27/2010 31. *TR