One problem related to power steering hose, piping, and connections has been reported for the 1999 Chevrolet Malibu. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Our car suddenly loss all power steering while driving the smokie mt. Parkway in n. Carolina. The car was towed to pine crest chev. And they found that the fluid line to the power steering unit had been incorrectly installed by the factory. The fluid line was against the exhaust pipe and it had burned and worn through causing all the fluid to rapidly spray out onto the hot exhaust pipe. This incident could have easily resulted in a severe or fatal accident due to the sudden and unexpected loss of steering control along with an added threat of a possible fire in the engine compartment from the fluid.