Front Seat Power Adjust Problems of Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

Power seat weld and frame broke electrical problem check engine light comes on nothing wrong mirror power adjusting does not work.

See all problems of the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Drivers power seat on my 2009 chev Malibu 52000 miles is lower on right side and rubs on console when you try and move, there is bar under seat with broken weld seat moves while driving when I checked online there were a number of complaints from people with the same problem.

See all problems of the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Airbag light is keep coming on. I have power seats and payed to get the panel fixed and the panel is hanging again.

See all problems of the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

The driver's seat tips backward when we sit back in it, and can rock back and forth when the car stops and starts, or if the driver leans back while driving. This happens no matter which position the power seat is placed in, up or down, forward or back. This is a six-way power seat control.

See all problems of the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Fire resulting from defective power seat control motor.

See all problems of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

The driver's seat is a power seat and, while I keep the seat in the lowest position, my wife needs the seat up higher. When raising the seat, she noticed that the seat was going up crooked and was not supporting properly on the side nearest the center of the vehicle. Upon further investigation, I noticed that the seat frame had broken near a weld, but not on the weld. Instead, a piece of the structural tubing that was welded between both sides of the framework had actually ripped, like a stress failure. I pulled the seat out of the car and took pictures of the failure on the front. I then noticed that the rear tubing was also split/cracked near the weld. The seat no longer feels solidly mounted, especially when in the raised position. The bar actually separates when raising the seat and moves around when weight is applied. After researching this on the internet, I could find no safety recall for this problem, which surprised me very much, given the nature of the failure. I believe, in an accident, that the driver seat would not be held in it's normal position properly and could injure someone more severely than the accident might cause on its own. I did find numerous other reports on various forums about people with the same type of failure. In fact, one of those people posted pictures and the tubing failed almost identically to mine, with a large piece still attached to the bracket by the weld. I do not know exactly when the break started, but it has most certainly gotten worse over time. My wife has been the primary driver of this vehicle for the last year or so, but I drove it for several years before that. The seat hardly ever got moved when I was the only driver. My wife and daughter noticed the seat leaning when in the raised position, which prompted my investigation. It appears to be a poorly engineered framework assembly and should be recalled.

Left front power seat welds broke. Right side of the frame both front and rear. Vehicle was stationary.

See all problems of the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Drivers powered seat lower front support tube broke and separated from the seat right hand side bracket link, at the weld attachment, attaching to the seat bottom. This breakout of material leaves the seat unattached to the track on the right hand side.

Front drivers power seat frame weld broke right side causing the seat to drop and wobble. Not safe with a seat not properly attached to seat track.

See all problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Power drivers seat frame weld broke causing the seat to wobble and not attached to mounts. Crash would not be safe because seat could separate. A real safety issue that needs a recall. Seat broke lose entering car.

Noticed driver seat was tilted to the right when sitting on it recently. Inspected underneath and saw a weld that looks broken. Broken metal bar (image attached). Looked online and see many others have complained. . Read more...

Driver seat rail broke. . . I barley move the seat. . I'm 5'3" and my daughter is 5'2" she just started driving and tried to move the seat up just a little then we heard a loud screeching sound the seat did move up, but it was slow. . That's when I check to see what was wrong and the rail the seat is on was broke. There are several complaint about this same problem, so clearly it's not our fault. . Read more...

The track weld and brace on driver side power seat is fractured/broken causing extreme uneven sloping in seat. The seat moves while driving. Multiple complaints about this issue with this car, why no recall on a faulty framing design?.

Upon entering the vehicle, the driver's side power seat collapsed, leaving the seat leaning backward and to the right. There appear to be broken frame welds on the right side where the up and down motor is located. As the seat is no longer attached to the frame, this is an extreme safety risk were there to be an accident; the driver would not be secure in the vehicle even with a seat belt engaged.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power seat shifted to the left and the frame rails became fractured. The contact mentioned that the seat would independently move which ever way the weight of the driver was shifted. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000. The VIN was unavailable.

While adjusting drivers power seat, heard a loud snap and the right side of the seat frame seemed to fall down as the left side continued upward. . . The seat frame broke, apparently at a weld, and now I cannot adjust the seat upward at all as it just tilts to the right as it raises. The seat belts are attached to seat frame and in the event of a crash, there is no reason to expect them to work properly either. I have read lots of complaints of this happening on all Malibu maxx's but, for some reason, the recall that I read about only covers 2005 and 2006 vehicles but the 2004 is identical and suffers the same problem. . . . When is the recall going to be enlarged to cover this problem as the powersteering recall has just been? I just received notice of the power steering recall being expanded to the 2004 and just in time as the car has started alerts.

I sat down in the front driver's seat and heard a loud snap. The seat immediately dropped down and to the right. The weld on the seat frame just snapped causing the power seat functions to no longer work. Since the seat was moved as far back as possible at the time the frame broke, the bolts that remove the seat from the vehicle are completely covered and not accessible. I am stuck with driving a broken/ unsafe/ unmovable seat or paying over $1000 at the dealership to have this fixed. Because of the safety issue I would be willing to spend the money at the dealership for a new seat but I have absolutely no faith that the new seat will work for long, especially after reading about some people having their seat repaired by the dealership multiple times (spending over $2000 total) and they're still driving around on a broken seat. When are we getting a recall?? the posts describing this issue go all the way back to 2005 and it seems that gm just doesn't care.

Upon raising my power seat something broke. The motor is really loud and when it went up the left side did not go up right and the seat leans to the right into the center console, doesnt feel as though I have any support under right side of seat. I am short and I need to sit up to see over the steering wheel and I now cannot. Seat belt is connected to seat frame and if im in an accident I feel the seat belt will not help. This issue needs to be recalled! read other people have this same issue on this same year.

The drivers seat frame broke on my 2004 Chevrolet Malibu maxx causing it to lean and tilt back to the right toward the center console. It has the 6-way power seat. The 58,795 is less than average for the age of the car. I feel that this is a safety issue since the seat belt attaches to the frame of the seat. I feel that gm should have this on a recall to fix the problem.

Electric power seats frame broke. Seats won't adjust, and leans to the side.

Driver power seat/ broken weld on metal stabilizer bar across the lower front of the seat. Causes the seat to be unstable and shift when braking or accellerating.

Heard a thump and power seat sagged on right side. Checked under seat and found weld had broken that holds a tube to a bracket. I could see that where the weld pulled loose from the tube it pulled metal from the tube. The weld did not break but pulled metal from the tube. The tube was made from thin gage metal.

Seats - front driver power seat, there is a bracket or brace that goes across the front and supports the seat, it is welded, the weld is broken, after doing forum and google searches this is a common problem for years with the broken weld, causing the seat to become unstable and allowed to rock while driving. Engine - the front engine oil seal or crankshaft pulley seal is prone to leaking, there is service bulletin out about this issue for a 6 cyl model, apparently the 4cyl model has the same problem. The fix is to have the seal replaced with an updated style constructed with a better spring and seal wiper. This can cause a substantial oil leak, even though this could not cause (to the best I know) a serious problem, it does cause oil to leak along the frame and onto the bottom of the engine and possibly onto the exhaust piping behind the engine. It also cause an environment issue causing motor oil to leak onto the ground.

Upon entering the vehicle, the driver's side power seat collapsed, leaving the seat leaning backward and to the right. There appear to be broken frame welds. As the seat is no longer attached to the frame, this is an extreme safety risk were there to be an accident; the driver would not be secure in the vehicle even with a seatbelt engaged.

Power drivers seat frame broke at a weld. This occurred while I was travelling at 65mph on the highway. I startled me and I swerved almost hitting another car. I have seen many people complain of the seat frame breaking in the exact same spot at a weld. This is obviously a manufacturing defect and because this can be a safety issue a recall should be issued. Also - I believe the seatbelt is connected to the seat. Definitely a safety issue. I have seen complaints from many people of varying sizes/weights. Even a smaller, 125lb woman had the same thing happen.

The drivers seat has broken when simply sitting down in the vehicle and can only be safely used in it's lowest position. If you try to raise the power seat, it tilts to the extreme right, and only the left side of the seat lifts. The car is very difficult to drive while sitting on such an extreme slant, and also hard to see when sitting in the lowest position, unless you are quite tall. Overall, the seat is now very wobbly and unstable if you shift your weight in the seat not that it has broken. I don't recall at what mileage this happened - but I was getting into the car in my driveway and heard a loud pop of something breaking loose, and the seat fell to the side. Fortunately it happened in my driveway and not while driving.

On February 28, 2013 I took my 2004 chevy Malibu maxx to a local dealer to have the power seat fixed. The frame broke at the weld during normal use causing the seat to rock, it could not be adjusted, and was a safety hazard since the seat was not anchored. I spoke with a local chevy dealer before having this fixed and they confirmed that it was a problem, a safety issue, and that chevy had decided to not take any action on it July 16, 2013--spoke with someone in customer service at chevy. They said that the problem would have to be documented by a chevy dealer, although documentation could be provided by the shop that fixed the problem. Chevy said they would of course want to know if there was a safety hazard with the vehicle. But they have no knowledge that this exists, even though the internet posts shows this to be quite a common complaint. Imagine if one were in an accident and the entire seat was ejected.

I got into my car and sat down and something under the driver side power seat broke. Looks like a support bar weld cracked. Now the seat is tipped to the right. If I raise or lower the seat, only the left side goes up and down. I'm not sure if there is enough strength holding the rest of the seat together. I've been waiting for a recall, since I believe this is a safety issue. I can find many complaints on line, so my case is far from isolated.

Front driver's seat is completely loose on right side. Not secured down, cannot adjust and tilts when you make a turn or go around a curve. Have to drive with seat all the way down which is hard because I am a short person. When I get out of the car the whole seat acts like it is just connected on left side and comes up on right side. I had someone lift the seat while I looked underneath. Something is broke. Bracket will not hold seat up, just falls back down and seat will not stay in place. Also a safety issue with seat moving and not secure. In reading other complaints, I feel that I have the same issue of a broken frame which is a definite defect. I am not real heavy and that seat should not have broke. I have had this car for over three years and this has been my personal vehicle. However, I do not feel it is safe to drive like this, but have no choice! OH! these are power seats. Thank you. ## VIN passed ## Chevrolet Malibu lt 2004 ##.

The power seat dropped on the right side as I was in the middle of a sharp left hand turn. The sudden drop caused me to jerk the steering wheel and I almost lost control. When I arrived home I looked under the seat and the support bar that runs across the front of the seat had broken at the weld. It looks like a top of a tin can peeled back. I am not a big person. I weigh around 230lbs. I think that the weld was bad when it left the factory. I can't believe that something so simple could've cost me and my family our lives. I can't afford to have this fixed at this point so I had to wedge a piece of wood under it until I can.

Drivers side front power seat broke causing seat to bounce , leans to the right rear also when height adjusted only left side goes up . Weld let go which is a huge safety issue with alot of other Malibu purchasers . This is a serious manufactoring deffect in the welds and frame construction of these front seats. If this were to happen while driving it could cause serious injury or even death to the passengers in this vehicle. Never mind if you hit some other vehicle or persons during this seat failure . I dont beleive gm will not put a recall out on this very serious safety issue Toyota put an entire frame on my truck no questions may be I should buy another Toyota instead .

The driver's power seat is broken. It's been slowly starting to tilt back and to the right and finally snapped. In researching this issue, it appears it is very common with the chevy Malibu and also very expensive. This is a huge safety concern as a broken drivers seat will not work as intended in a crash. The seat tilts to the right now and bounces when going over bumps, so being a safety concern it's also very uncomfortable. I think this should be recall situation for the Malibu seat and the dealer should not be profiting off a design flaw.

The power to the driver seat of our '05 Malibu maxx, is maulfunctioning/broken/not working correctly. It appears that the right side of the frame has given up. The power to the seat goes up but the right side stays down; leaving the driver leaning to the right. We contacted the dealer, who claims that he's heard about this before, but as far as we know, there is no recall for this malfunction.

At approx 76,000 miles the power drivers seat started to lean to the right. A weld broke loose from the seat frame underneath. The repair requires seat replacement for over $1000. The vehicle is out of warranty. I don't understand since it clearly is a manufacturer defect. Its unfair.

Left front (driver's seat) is broken, it rocks side to side, slides fore and aft slightly, and no longer holds heigh position. The seat is a 6 way power seat. Vehicle is currently at the local dealership (puyallup, wa) waiting for a new seat track to be installed. Estimated repair cost is $800. 00. Dealers stated that the seat track was broken in several places (failed weld points). I feel that this is a major manufacturer's safety defect and should be a recall item.