Nine problems related to engine have been reported for the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The oil light came on one minute the next minute the car cut off. I had the car towed to curtis Chevrolet in washington, DC and was told that the engine seized due to the oil regulator and filter exploded. The car has only 57500 original miles, serviced mainly by curtis Chevrolet. . . Oil recently changed by curtis yet I was told that to replace the engine would be $6,000. The car is currently considered totaled.
I have had several problems with this car: I have replaced tires twice, tried to have the front end alligned because of the steering problem , it is like I have no power steering - when I took it to get the front end alligned, they told me that they couldnt do it because of the rack & pinion needed replaced first. I have called gm and was told that it was not their problem. The dealership told me that there is a recall on this and for me to contact you. I have already had to put a motor and brakes(several times) on this car. Please help me. Sincerely, amelia denson.
While driving vehicle, it felt sluggish and fail to maintain speed. Took vehicle to dealership & was informed by mechanic one of the mounts had cracked & the other was broke. The mounts supported the engine. Had vehicle repaired.
My 1998 chevy Malibu developed a intake manifould coolent leak at 33,xxx miles. It cost me & my extended warrantee company over $400. 00 to repair. I have found out that gm is aware of this defect but continues to sell vehicles anyway. This is fraud!.
Motor mounts/ bolts sheared off right front, causing engine to tilt and to accelerate. Dealer notified, and made repairs at consumer's cost. After contacting gm, they decided to pat for replacement parts, consumer paid for the labor charges and rental car charges.
When brakes are applied vehicle does not stay on road. Steering wheel shimmies at 60-65 mph. Also engine requires major work, including the changing of the pistons. Both causes unknown.
Timing chain failed. Yh.
The vehicle vibrated all the time. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who repaired the motor mounts and the transmission mounts. The wheel bearings needed to be replaced, but the parts were on back order.
After increasing noise noted over a period of several months, I took my vehicle in to be serviced and was told that I had a cracked engine mount. The service person informed me that this was a very rare occurrence on a vehicle that was as new as 1998 without severe impact to the vehicle, which mine has never received and they were surprised that this had happened.