general problems of the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

Tl the contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the front driver side door remained in the locked position. The contact was unable to unlock the door from inside or outside the vehicle. Chuck nicholson inc (located at 7190 OH-39, millersburg, OH 44654, (330) 275-3522) stated that a waiver needed to be signed prior to any attempts to unlock the door due to possible damage. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the door locks on the vehicle failed. The failure occurred intermittently. In addition, the contact stated that the security system failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 72,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the vehicle was shifted out of park and all of the doors locked. The contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted back to the park position the rear doors did not unlock. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or diagnosed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at an unknown speed, the door locks would lock and unlock independently. At times, the locks would not work at all. The contact stated that the security light illuminated on the instrument panel and not all the locks failed at the same time. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The failure mileage was 80,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the master door lock or the key fob was used, the rear passenger side door would not lock or unlock had to be locked or unlocked manually. The dealer re-programmed the remote, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 65,700.

Doors will not lock or unlock unless done manually. My driver side door just recently stopped unlocking with the remote it has to be done with the key. Its not safe I don't live in that great of a neighborhood and if my doors are unlocked and someone is trying to get in id have to crawl into the back seat to lock each door. Its not safe I don't understand why this has not been recalled yet.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. While operating the vehicle, the wiper transmission failed to work. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who replaced the wiper transmission, but the failure recurred. The contact also stated that the front driver side door lock failed to work. The dealer replaced the door lock mechanism, but the failure recurred. The contact had to close the door with force to get the door to secure. The contact also had to roll down the windows to ensure the door was locked and unlocked. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,768.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the front and rear driver and passenger's side door locks would fail intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated the automatic door lock actuator would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.

2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle door lock problems. The consumer stated the doors would not unlock using the key.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the doors on the vehicle would not lock with the key fob, but it did lock with the key. The contact stated that the check engine light also illuminated on the instrument panel and the air conditioner smelled like the coolant was burning; however, the vehicle did not overheat. The failure was not diagnosed by a dealer or mechanic. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown. The current mileage was 50,000.

Three of my car doors do not lock unless manually locked. The electronics have failed on all three doors. I have to replace the motor in each door, at the cost of over $750. The cost is not the only problem. The motors that failed in each door will be replaced by the same faulty part. I can't believe it costs $300 to fix one door's locks alone. The drivers lock had greater problems than the others because sometimes it locks me in the car because it shifts the lock a little and the door gets jammed. This should be recalled. I filed a complaint with gm.

Started the car to come out of a parking spot, heard humming/rattling noise. Steering wheel started to vibrate then would do rapid half-turns by itself, jerking left and right. Shut the car off and restarted. Seemed ok for first few minutes then started again. Got on the road, driving about 35-40 mpg on highway and it became uncontrollable. Could not keep it straight within the lane. Almost hit a car in the lane on my right! pulled up to an auto shop near by. They test drove and experienced the issue but explained that with these cars, the technology in them is too advanced and would have to be taken to a chevy dealer. Mechanic explained that the matter is quite hazardous and it would be a huge risk driving it now. Single mom driving 45 minutes from home with 2 minor children. Had to get a tow truck to get back home, 45 minutes away. $$$!! had this vehicle for 11 months only. Prior to this issue, had door locks issues as I've ready on other threads and also currently experiencing issues with faulty tire pressure sensor as well. Nothing but problems with this car since I've had it. This is my first and very last Chevrolet!!.

The door locks do not work. How is this not a safety problem? sometimes the door locks work sometimes they don't. I have a newborn that rides in the backseat. If the doorlocks don't work, the only way to unlock the back door is to either roll down the rear window or crawl into the back seat from the front. If I had to get my child out of the car in an emergency, I don't know how I would do that without working door locks. I have researched this problem online and it appears this is a common problem with this car.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist intermittently failed without warning. In addition, the door locks for all four doors failed to engage when using the key fob remote. Also, when shifting the vehicle into park the doors failed to unlock. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 92,000.

The driver's side rear door lock no longer works when using the power lock button. It must be actuated manually- by manually lifting the knob up. The main problem is the knob is located to the rear of the door and is not accessible unless you are in the back seat- the knob cannot be raised from the front seat area of the vehicle in order to unlock the door to help occupants exit the vehicle, especially in case of emergency. The lock pull knob is located in a poor position.

Turn signal arm does not stay in place when signaling to turn. Also the turn signal arm when it does stay in place it will not return to normal position/turn off signal by itself after making a turn. When turning the steering wheel it makes popping noises. Door locks on all doors stay either in the "lock" or "unlock" position at all times. One of the rear passenger door lock has been replaced at the dealership for $300. 00 and the door lock still fails. The only way to unlock the passenger doors is to do it manually and climb over the seats. The driver door has to be unlocked with the key and manually locked when exiting the vehicle.

The a/c unit is blowing hot air . . Door locks will not unlock.

Remote lock would not work on driver's door.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power locks failed to lock and unlock. The failure occurred intermittently. The failure affected the rear doors and the front passenger door. The failure occurred when attempting to lock the doors using the inner door lock control on the driver's side instrument panel. The contact noticed that the failure occurred more often when there were higher temperatures. The vehicle was not taken to dealer for inspection or repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 24,500 and the current mileage was 25,600. Updated 09/05/lj.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that none of the doors would lock or unlock. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that all four door actuators needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000. Updated 09/05/lj.

2008 Chevrolet Malibu 4 door sedan. I purchased the car and approx. One month after purchase the front passenger door lock failed to operate, I took it to the dealer the car was purchased from and they fixed it under the warranty. Approx. One year after the passenger door lock incident, both driver side door locks failed. Took the car back to the dealer and they wouldn't fix it because I was 200 miles over my warranty. Approx. 3 months later the rear passenger door lock failed as well. I cannot unlock the back doors, and have to use the key to unlock the front door. I have two small nephews in car seats and my concern is that if they are in the vehicle during an incident that I will not be able to get the children free from the back seat because of the door locks. They cannot reach the lock itself so they would be trapped. For myself to fix the door locks would cost more than three monthly payments on the vehicle and in the economy that is very high. I would prefer to have a safe vehicle with no concerns about the safety of my vehicle to have to worry about when traveling with my nephews. After doing some research I have discovered this is a wide spread issue with this make and model. Considering this I believe it is a problem that gm needs to address.

The passenger door lock does not operate. The locks moves slightly but not enough to lock or unlock the door.

Nothing occurred prior to my passenger door lock working, electronically. It does not lock/unlock when the car is placed in park, or using the key control or door panel control. We are having the dealer hopefully fix the problem tomorrow.

The was nothing leading up to the event, the car was working fine. One day in may I put the car in park, and noticed that the front passenger door did not unlock as the rest of the doors did. I put the care back in drive, then back in park, still the door did not unlock, I tried the lock button, and the remote for the car and nothing happened. I went to the dealership, and since my warranty is up, I was told its $52 to diagnose the problem. Unfortunately my bumper-to-bumper warranty ended in Dec 2010. I see that this is a known issue with one or more doors not working after approximately 37k miles.

2008 Malibu - drivers door latch does not work. Often driver gets stuck in vehicle. In addition, there is a loud knock in the steering and it has had a ring gear replaced already, same problem 12,000 miles later.

Back in April I started having problems with my driver side lock. It would get stuck. Sometimes the door wouldn't even open. I would press the button to unlock the door, and that wouldn't work. I would have to use my key, ans sometimes that didn't work either. I am still having problems with the lock, and pretty much everyday I have to use my key to open the driver side door. I was told to use wd-40 and that sill didn't help. The most recent event with my car is this loud vibrating noise that has been occuring off and on for the past two months. I'v had several people check it out and they say they can't find anything wrong. My car makes the noise while sitting in park, sometimes while I'm driving, or sitting still at a light. About a 1-1 1/2 months ago my wheel wou;d move back and forth. I went to have it checked out and was told that there wasn't anything wrong. My wheel moves more and more. It moves sometimes when I first start my car, while sitting a light, and at various speeds while I am driving. When I turn my steering wheel back in a neutral position sometimes it would turn the other way. Today my wheel was moving while I was drivng and my car started moving in the same direction. It was hard to control and it was very scary because I was on the highway. I'm so fed up with this car, and I totally regret buying it. I am probably never going to buy a Chevrolet again, even if Chevrolet's are all that I have ever owned.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the rear driver side automatic door lock would not activate upon the engagement of the key fob or the interior door lock device. The vehicle had not been diagnosed. The failure mileage was 24,638.

Power door locks do not work properly. . . The passenger side rear power door lock was repaired under warranty. The other three remaining power door locks do not function correctly and have to be locked manually. This is an inconvenience when exiting the vehicle and also a hazard in the event of an emergency. . .

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu classic. The contact stated that the rear driver and passenger side doors could not be unlocked. The locks on the doors were broke. The contact stated that she attempted to open the doors from the exterior but to no avail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they advised that the locks needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified and offered to cover half of the repair expenses. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 42,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu ltz. The contact stated that the rear driver and passengers doors were unable to opened from the outside. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and they advised him that they needed to replace the door lock actuators on the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.

Driverside rear passenger door and front passenger door unlocks not working, or work intermittenly. Have manually lock/unlock both doors.

Rear driver door will not unlock with power locks. It is very difficult to reach the manual door lock without crawling into the back seat and there is no keyhole on the exterior of the rear door. It would be extremely difficult to get my children out of the car if there were an emergency.

I have automatic locks on my car and I have already had to take the car in twice to have the locks repaired or replaced and now the locks are giving me problems again. The car is still under the warranty period, but this is the third time that I'm going to have to take the car in for the same type of problem.

Bought a used 2008 Malibu with 36k, by the time I hit 43k the driver side rear door lock would not work electronically. By the time I hit 45k the driver door is not working properly. I looked into the issue and there are many others out there with the same problem. Chevy dealers then charge over $1000 to fix the lock motors, even though it seems to be a factory defect.

Both rear door lock actuators are inoperable. The doors will not lock automatically or unlock automatically. Both doors will not lock or unlock when the power door lock button is actuated. Both doors will not lock when the car is placed into drive. The rear doors can be opened when the car is moving. Both doors will not lock or unlock using the remote keyless entry. Because the vehicle is out of warranty, gm will not cover the repairs.