Headlights problems of the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

Steering wheel started shaking slightly in August. Now it shakes and then power steering goes out. This happens on the highway, city streets anywhere going any speed. As soon as the car starts the steering wheel shakes, of you turn the wheel in either direction it will clam it a little. Break lights randomly stop working. Replaced break lights 6 times in the past 2 years. Headlights melt the plastic has been going on since we purchased the vehicle in 2017. All of these issues have been recalled but not on my VIN.

Low beam headlight continues to short out even after replacement of the socket assembly.

Headlights and front blinkers quit working. When I went to change thenergy-saving lights the connectors were melted and wires were exposed. The orange lense on the drivers side has melted and is disconnected from the fixture and is lying inside the light inclosure. The lights and blinkers quit working as I was driving the vehicle. I cannot drive the vehicle at night because I am afraid to have the lights on for fear of possible first hazard. The cruise control stopped working around the end 2016.

The amber plastic housings enclosing the turn-signal/drl bulbs in the headlamp assemblies on both sides of the vehicle are melting, apparently due to the bulbs getting too hot. The melting plastic has dripped down onto the bulbs and the fumes from the melting plastic have fogged up part of the headlight lens. I am very concerned that this could cause a fire. I purchased this vehicle new. The headlamp assemblies and bulbs are original equipment, so this is clearly a design defect. I have read many similar complaints about other 2005 Malibus in various internet forums, and gm is apparently not willing to take any responsibility for the problem.

The amber plastic housings enclosing the turn-signal/drl bulbs in the headlamp assemblies on both sides of the vehicle are melting, apparently due to the bulbs getting too hot. The melting plastic has dripped down onto the bulbs and the fumes from the melting plastic have fogged up part of the headlight lens. I am very concerned that this could cause a fire. I purchased this vehicle new. The headlamp assemblies and bulbs are original equipment, so this is clearly a design defect.

While turning left the orange globe in the headlight assembly melted and caused light bulb to burn plastic. I contacted the company general motors before about the discoloration of my headlight assembly and they said they had not received any prior complaints. I work for a parts store and I had noticed almost every (80%) 2005 that came in for light bulb replacement has this problem. My daughter has a Malibu max 2005. She had to replace her assemblies which had burned worse, after she went to local Chevrolet dealer and they would not replace them. She purchased after market lights at about $65 each versus their $165 price not counting labor they would of charged. It's VIN #[xxx]. Gm has a problem and will not do anything to fix it. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The driver side headlight orange glass in side of head lamp it has a hole melted the top of the orange lens. Has a hole on top what can you do to fix that problem, it's seams to be only on the driver side of the car. It's on a 2005 Malibu maxx. Can you replace it under a factory warranty for us thanks. That's has to be a defective part on them cars please let me know what you can do for me thanks again.

I can't go a week without both headlight assemblies burning turn-signal bulbs. After replacing the bulbs no more than a week will go by and the bulb will turn black and sometimes blow up inside the headlight. Recently the bulbs are not burning out but what seems to be a bad connection to the socket, I will press the bulbs into the socket and within 5 minutes the turn-signals will not work again.

My cars headlights are dim at night and take a while to get brighter even though I have had the bulb replaced and the lighting components checked out. The windows won't roll down from any side of the car, a recurrence from two years ago. Also my doors won't unlock from the auto-unlock button that sits on the drivers side, this has been an issue for the past 2 years of my Chevrolet car ownership.

All the door locks unlock and lock with in driving position followed by a beep it does this constantly. I believe is very unsafe with children in the back seat. Issue with the gas gage going crazy, goes from full to empty so you never know when the gas is going to run out. Also issues with the headlights and other bulbs being blown. All seems like some electrical issues but not sure.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the headlights were constantly overheating and burning out, causing their plastic covers to melt. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 147,000.

My problem is with my 2005 chevorlet Malibu front parking lights. The parking lights bulb socket has melted through the socket and melted the plastic orange relfector around the bulb. This is a huge fire hazard that was luckily found early enough before any major accident occured. This has caused my light housing to become discolored and has made my headlights less bright. This has occured on both driver and passenger sides. I have tried different brands of bulbs and I have now replaced both headlight assemblies. I do still have the driver side headlight as well to show for reference of how much the light has melted the socket and the plastic orange housing around the bulb.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the headlights had overheated and burned through the plastic because of the bulbs becoming too hot. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the failure. The failure and current mileage was 111,000.

Head lights are dull. Passenger blinker does not work. Changed the bulb a couple times. Amber cover inside the headlight is melted. Hardly any light while driving at night. This is an accident waiting to happen. Went to dealer and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. Told me to go see someone who knows about head lights! really?.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated the headlight wiring harness melted causing the light bulb plastic covering to melt and the light bulb to fail. A local mechanic replaced the passenger headlight assembly, but the driver headlight also failed. The drivers headlight assembly was not replaced. The failure mileage was 86,000 and the current mileage was 92,000.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact stated that the headlight bulbs melted and the headlight assemblies filled with smoke. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who stated that there were no recalls or warranties addressing the failure. The contact had to purchase four different headlight assemblies and perform the repairs himself. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 103,000 and the current mileage was 130,000.

The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The vehicle was parked in a carport. The contact observed that both head lamps exhibited heat damage with a black discoloration. The exterior head lamp housing completely burned out which resulted in a hole. The cold weather temperatures were not a factor. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the bulbs in the head lamps required replacement at the owners expense. The failure mileage was 93,000. The current mileage was 93,000.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the headlight covers became foggy causing visibility at night to become difficult. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the head light covers were replaced. The replaced headlight covers became foggy after some time. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure mileage was 10,000.

My headlights, signal lights and parking lights work as they want. I have replaced the bulbs many times. The light covers get really hot and I am assuming that it is a defective part. There is no reason that my bulbs should have burned out 8 times in the last three months. I have seen four Malibus just like mine in the last two weeks with the same lighting problem as I have which leads me to believe that this is a problem with many of the Malibus. I am going to get a ticket soon if a recall is not placed on this problem. I do see it's an open investigation.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu maxx. The contact noticed that the parking light had blown out. She also found that the front parking lights were melted due to the light bulbs. The bulb was replaced with a sylvania bulb. The front passenger side light had a large hole in the orange area of the fixture. The entire front lighting assembly needed to be replaced at the cost of over $100. The failure and current mileages were less than 60,000. The original bulb melted the orange cover inside the headlight assembly for the parking lights. Hot plastic dripped on the bulb and burned a hole in the bulb. Updated 06/22/09.

I am writing to complain about the exterior headlights melting. It could cause a fire. It seems that the amber lights have melted the casing. This problem should be a recall and the dealers should replace the housing free of charge.

2005 Chevrolet Malibu headlights get too hot and have melted with a hole in the orange plastic. This causes the bulbs to burn out frequently. The problem didn't happen originally, but has started happening within the past 9-12 months. We have brought the car to the Chevrolet dealership today to see about replacing the headlights. I have read on the internet that others have had the same problem, but there is not yet a recall. The heat of the headlights burning out the plastic is a major concern to me.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact previously experienced failure with the driver's side headlight bulb constantly burning out. Six months later, the plastic headlight covers burned. The steering shaft has been replaced three times. The dealer stated that the plastic cover failure was a factory defect; therefore, they were unable to correct the failure. The failure mileage was 69,000 and current mileage was 78,400. Updated 02-23-09 updated 02/24/09.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact smelled something burning. He noticed a v-shaped burnt pattern in the front driver's side headlight. Approximately one month ago, the front passenger side headlight failed. The current mileage was 102,000 and failure mileage was 101,000.

About every two weeks I have to change the light bulbs in my headlights because it is becoming so warm that it is melting the plastic around the light bulb. It is becoming so warm that it is starting to melt to headlight cover!.

We bought this car 4 yrs ago in Aug 2008 at only a few yrs old we were very optimistic that the $ we were spending on it would be worth the less upkeep than that of the 1994 crown vic that we traded in (& my husbands 78 olds that has always required more work than it put out since he purchased it when we met back in 06). Since it was a few yrs old we thought that even though there was no warranty on our new "used" car, we would be ok. We were wrong. The first problem we noticed was the alignment which makes the car shake/vibrate at speeds 60+ & our first vacation we took it on which we only drove 4-5 hrs there & we ended up with 2 flat tires on the way. Then the headlights & blinkers had to be replaced (full units) bc both of them kept giving out & the bulbs weren't the problems & I kept getting traffic tickets bc I wasn't always aware when one would go out. Our 2 biggest problems to date have been our fuel sensor/electrical problems which quit working after 1 yr & I have run out of gas 10 times bc it isn't easy to keep up with miles/dates & I have kids so filling up every day isn't easy either as well as the locks/buttons on the drivers door that do not work & I have to open my trunk with a key & had to pay $ to get auto lock so that I don't have to manually lock the doors w/ the keys & the transmission/motor we had to pay $2750 to replace bc the last one completely gave out resulting in the car not being able to run whatsoever & my husband having to literally push my neutral car with his bc we didn't have the $ at the time to fix it. . Besides these problems there are the seats (plastic panels) falling/cracking apart, we had to replace the windshield bc anytime it rained our seats would be completely soaked. . & many other problems I still deal with. Keep in mind for the 4 yrs I have owned this car I haven't wrecked it & my husband keeps it up (changes oil, brakes,etc).

The daylight - signal bulb melted the plastic enclosure and smoked the headlights lenses reducing the visibility on night time at less than half. I notice this material-design defent on many cars in parking lots. This happen over the time, is not an instant failure and usual after long trips on night with the long beam on. .

The contact owns 2005 Chevrolet Malibu max. The contact stated the amber light reflector would become abnormally hot and burn the plastic housing, causing the headlights to fail. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer advised the contact that the light bulb and socket would need to be replaced. The contact did not replace the light bulb or the light socket. The contact stated there were numerous complaints online regarding the light bulbs burning through the housing and a recall should be issue. The failure mileage was 34,000.

Noticed haze in drivers side headlight , looked further found that turn signals on both driver and passenger side where stating to melt , have been smelling something burning when I get out of car for a week , noticed this when about to wash car , taking to dealer tomorrow , glad I noticed it now , when it was not to late.

Replace a c/s l/f parking lamp burned and melted l/f headlamp assembly b c/s r/f parking lamp burned and melted r/f headlamp assembly.

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the both headlights stopped illuminating. The contact examined the headlights and noticed that the bulbs burned out and melted the housing assembly. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Sm.

The blinker will always fail to work. The bulbs are just fine and intact, but the blinker will stop working. There is some electrical problem with the headlights. This has caused other vehicles to get in close contact with me, and almost in crashes. I have heard many different cases of this problem with other 2005 chevy Malibu's as well.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 35 mph, the headlight area began smoking. The failure occurred on three occasions. When the contact shut the engine and headlights off, the smoking ceased. No fire occurred. The Chevrolet service department advised her to have the dealer diagnose the failure. The dealer stated that they would replace both lights for $275 each at her expense. The bulbs have melted the headlight lens, but the dealer did not recommend changing the bulbs. The tail lights were operating normally. The fender area is much hotter than normal due to the headlights overheating. The warning lights illuminated on the dashboard to indicate the failure. The vehicle has not been repaired. The powertrain was unknown. The failure mileage was 79,000 and current mileage was 81,000.

I own a 2005 chevy Malibu. At about 40,000 miles I began to notice a burning smell. It smelled like hot, burning plastic. While trying to find the source of the smell, I noticed my daytime running lights (drl) were melting and charred. The housing also appeared to have smoke damage and was very hazy. In the time since I noticed the problem, visibility has gone done significantly. The problem seems to be on-going rather than a one time occurrence. I went to a Chevrolet dealer and they no idea what would cause the problem. I have not had it repaired since, because after doing internet research, it seems to be a problem with many '05 Malibus. I then called the gm help line where they asked a bunch of questions about where I had it repaired. They then told they were not going to do anything about it. I decided after that ( at about 120,000) I would replace the whole headlight assembly, hoping this would solve the problem. One day after installing the new assembly, the same melting and charring began to occur. At this point, I am unsure as to what to do next. It is obviously more than just a problem with the headlight since it happened after replacing the whole assembly. It also seems to be more than just an isolated incident with my vehicle since it took no time to find many Malibus with the same problem. I believe this is an issue that gm needs to investigate greater and provide a desirable solution for all Malibu owners.

I own a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu that just went out of warranty when I happened to be following my husband who was driving another vehicle. For 150 miles my husband complained that the headlights vibrated constantly causing a distraction for anyone driving in front of me. Until that time I had no way of knowing that the headlights had a problem. He checked them when we got home and found that there was no way to tighten them. I have checked for recalls on this problem and found none. I need to know what could be done to rectify this problem without cost to me since I was sure this problem has been there since I got the vehicle because there was no way to fix it. Ak.