general problems of the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

I was turning left onto a city street when I heard a loud snap and the right side of the drivers seat fell down and started to feel loose.

Driver's seat is wobbling and feels like something is broken or detached beneath the right side of the seat. I've read many complaints about this in a chevy Malibu/maxx. Should be a recall. Mechanics on the phone assume it's a welding issue. The wobbling occurred over time. Shouldn't have to pay for a manufacturing defect.

Driver's seat frame assembly mount is broken. Appears to be a safety issue since seat tilts to the right. If involved in an accident, there is no way the seat would remain in the car. The factory welds have broken.

While driving along the freeway, car dinged at me 3 times, reduced engine power warning came on, couldn't accelerate, braking power was reduced, traction control light came on. Had throttle body cleaned and inspected. . Worked good for about 3 days and is happening again. And now the weld is broken on the drivers seat!.

The driver seat, rear right side is broken. Driver leans toward center console. Potential safety concern if there were to be an accident. Seems as if there was a structural failure in that location. Driver did not notice it break until sitting down one day to start daily commute.

Issue one is the drivers seal welds brake on the rear and front from the floor mount base to the elevated control thus in the case of a crash the seat is compromised to separate completely from the floor mount due to these welds being broke. Second issue fuel pumps begin to leak at the seal of the pump at the fuel tank leaking heavy amounts of fuel from the tank and onto the exhaust. Third issue which I have seen multiple reports of recalls but the dealership denies there is an issue with the maxx that only the base model is effected but while driving the power steering will fail and the car has no control and will violently jerk in one direction throwing the vehicle in to oncoming lanes or even into the ditch. Happens periodically the power steering message appears on main control message screen and car will sound an alarm, other times the entire dash board warning lights from check engine, oil, air bag, seat belt, so on so all come on and the power steering goes out. I have found that this issue usually occurs while accelerating whether slowly or even while trying to speed up more aggressively to merge unto expressway traffic. I have nearly wrecked into numerous cars due to steering going out and wheel will violently jerk one direction or to the other. Not sure why this site shows a recall for power steering but dealership denies there is a active recall for the maxx but they have one for the 2005 base Malibu.

The driver side front seat rails have failed and the dealer wants almost $1000 to repair (which I don't have right now). I am afraid that the seat will completely fail while driving and result in injury or death. It appears that this failure of the front seat railing weld is fairly common on this vehicle and I am surprised that the NHTSA would allow a manufacturer (general motors) to not fix this apparent serious design and manufacturing flaw. I purchased this car new, weigh less than 130 lbs, have never been in an accident, and have always been gentle with the car. I am disappointed that gm and the Chevrolet dealer want to make a profit from me to repair their design and manufacturing defect. I offered to pay the out of pocket costs to repair the defect (I thnk this would be about â½ of the quoted price for the actual mechanic time/wages and wholesale parts price), but was turned down.

Vehicle was in motion traveling straight at about 10 mph when seat weld on right side broke and detached from rail. There's now nothing holding the seat in place on that side so it wobbles up and down and side to side.

Drivers seat welding has snapped underneath causing the seat to lean to the right and bounce up and down.

The driver seat welds have broken making the seat unsafe.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the driver side seat welding failed. The failure caused the seat to lean to the right and become wobbly. The contact also stated that the driver seat was no longer adjustable. The dealer stated that the tracking underneath the seat needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000. Updated 10/30/lj.

The seat is no longer attached to the seat track on the right side of the driver's seat. The seat leans to the right even without a driver in the seat. The factory weld has given out on the track. We feel this vehicle is not safe if it was to be involved in a crash. There was no incident that caused the weld to fail other than going around a corner at normal speeds. When researching repair for the vehicle we have noted many others with the same complaint.

Driver seat suddenly dropped and leaned to the right. Upon inspection of seat, the mounting bracket was found to be broken.

When entering my parked 2005 Malibu maxx, the cross bar under the front right side of the seat snapped at the corner weld. From reading these posts from other consumers, this has been happening since the car was manufactured. Not sure how many people can afford $1000 to buy another defective seat frame before they make a stronger one, but this seems like it should be added to the list of recalls I already have for this vehicle. ( which parts are not available as of yet ) this is definitely a safety concern.

Tl * the contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the driver side seat moved on the tract and was crooked. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN and failure mileage were unknown.

Driver seat weld on track assembly broke. Seat is loose. I took to dealership and estimate to repair is $1000. Not covered under warranty and no recalls. Not safe to drive.

Drivers seat, the weld has broken and now the seat sits to the right and moves with any bump or turn. Very unsafe.

Two welds holding the console side of the driver's seat to the body of the car snapped, causing the seat to sit crooked (lower on the inside), pivot backward during acceleration, and forward when breaking. If it were ever in a collision, the additional stress placed on the door side welds will likely result in the entire seat coming free. (even in the absence of a collision, the seat may come free based on the stress of constant pivoting during normal use. ) for the record, to my knowledge the car has never been involved in any collisions or other situation that might have placed abnormal stress on these welds.

I noticed the drivers side seat "swayed" to the inside of the vehicle when sitting down in the vehicle. After removing the seat for inspection, the weld connecting the support tube inside the seat completely separated from its weld joint. No previous accidents occured with this vehicle. Local service center stated this weld would be difficult to fix by rewelding and suggested finding a autosalvage seat to replace it.

I was adjusting the driver side seat when I heard a metallic pop. Seat had a slight tilt to right that became worse when seat was raised up. Slight rocking motion was noticed when shifting body weight. Visual inspection found that right front weld had failed.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the driver's side seat track weld became loose from the frame, causing the seat to detached and tilt toward the passenger's side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician verified the failure and stated that the seat frame needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 95,000.

The drivers seat rear inside mounting bracket is broken. It looks like the weld failed. Seat is very uncomfortable and unsafe as it lunges forward when brakes are applied as well as falls back when you accelerate. Looked online for a fix and it seems this is very common and Chevrolet has not recalled it nor is taking responsibility for this unsafe flaw. I haven't taken it to a mechanic as I heard and read that it is very expensive to fix or replace it with a junk yard part. . . Which is not an acceptable remedy.

Tl- the contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the driver side seat moved on the tract and was crooked. The vehicle was diagnosed by the dealer. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was unknown. Bd.

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu LS. The contact stated that the drivers side seat was not secured properly to the floor of the vehicle and move while someone was driving. The owner inspected the vehicle his self and noticed that the two bolts were fractured which may have caused the seat to move. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were approximately 53,851. The VIN was unavailable. Tb.

The driver seat rocks when the car is in motion and it will not adjust. Dealer states that the seat track is busted and will need to be welded together or replaced.

Driving away from work in a parking lot and the front right seat of the driver seat popped and sagged about 3 inches down, shoving the seat sideways. I pulled over to check it and found that a pipe running the front of the seat had sheered away on the right hand side. Driving it home, another pop in the back of the seat happened and now the seat is shoved into the center console.

I was driving home from work on the interstate and heard a loud pop. Suddenly I am sitting sideways in the driver seat. After pulling over and stopping, I noticed that the seat bracket/support had broke on the right side, next to the console. I bought the car used in April 2012 and have a limited warranty that does not cover this particular problem. Is there a recall for this particular defect? I do not feel safe driving the car or having anyone as passengers for fear of loosing control if the left side breaks. I contacted chevy directly with this response. . . Per our conversation this morning, I am very disappointed that Chevrolet is not concerned with this matter as a safety issue with it's 2005 Malibu driver seat frames. I pray that no fatalities come of this poor decision on Chevrolet's part.

I have a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu lt model with a problem with the front driver seat weld that holds the top seat frame to the lower seat frame. The weld that's holds them together broke. This is the second time this has happen. The seat only has one weld on the lower right braket, but the left lower braket has two welds one on each side. This problem happen at 55,000 and 88,000 miles. I feel that this is safety issue that needs address.

As I was driving my Malibu at approximately 40 miles per hour and negotiating a slight curve the drivers seat quickly tilted to the right and became unhinged. The entire drivers seat is now not attached to the "frame" on the bottom-which I am told needs to be "rewelded". I do not feel safe driving this vehicle anymore.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the tracks on the driver's side seat fractured as she attempted a right turn. As a result, the seat began wobbling forward abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the entire seat assembly needed replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who stated to the contact that there were no recalls for the failure. The failure mileage was 86,000.

Something broke under the driver seat. It now leans to the right. It rocks back and forth when you hit a bump. It causes strain on my back to drive. I have to lean all the way to the door for the seat to be utilized. I took it to a mechanic and he said the metal bracket snapped and needed to be welded together or the seat replaced. . Read more...

Driver seat frame failure. The front driver seat started tilting to the right on 10/7/2011. . Next day it was wobbling back and forth while driving. . . . Then it felt as though something broke underneath. This is very dangerous. . . . . It could have caused an accident. I have never had this happen to any of the cars I have owned. (Toyota corolla, Buick century). I bought this car from carmax with 30000 miles on it. I am not an aggressive driver and take very good car of my cars. I do not think something like this should happen. When will there be a recall on the these seats. It is very expensive to have something like this fixed. I read where one owner had to have his seat fixed twice. . . . Which cost him over $1000 both times. I cannot afford this. Please assist in getting a recall on this issue.

I'm the original owner and have owned the car for about 5 1/2 years and have almost 85k miles on it. I'm 185lbs. And my wife is a lot less :-) the right side of my driver seat suddenly dropped about 2 or 3 inches while my wife was making a turn while driving my car. Luckily she wasn't moving too fast and had plenty of room to maneuver. The seat would then rock depending on which way she turned the car. I took it to a garage and they told me the seat frame weld was bad and the frame had to be replaced. I searched online and have found over a dozen complaints almost all identical. Two or three could be coincidence, but over a dozen? estimated cost was $800 but the main concern is that this defective part could get someone killed. And does my "new" part have the same defect?.

Drivers seat frame failure, frame on drivers seat is cracked causing seat to beome uneven and unstable, car has 65k miles, I am of average weight and vehicle has not been driven on rough/pothole strewn roads (FL). Contacted dealership where car was bought new, was told "out of warranty, sorry". There is no way a seat frame on a 51/2 year old car should be cracked and a quick google search shows many others having the same problem, Malibu (new style) years 2004-2007. Price to repair from dealer was over $1000, please help those of us who cannot get help from gm regarding this issue by issuing a recall, if affected vehicles get into a collision the drivers seat will likely become detached from car with obviously detremential consequences to the driver. We all know that cars do break and don't last forever but for the love of god make gm give us a seat frame that won't crack and break under normal usage in less than 6 years and because of the extremely high cost to repair this many will be forced to drive them that way, thank you,.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the front drivers seat detached from the welding points on the right side bracket. As a result, the seat would lean toward the right. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but was not yet inspected. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 162,000 and the current mileage was 162,400.