Chevrolet Malibu owners have reported 2 problems related to power assist brake (under the service brakes category). The most recently reported issues are listed below. Also please check out the statistics and reliability analysis of Chevrolet Malibu based on all problems reported for the Malibu.
I purchased a new 2000 Chevrolet Malibu. Six months after owning the car I began having brake problems. Upon applying the brakes, the entire front of the vehicle to vibrate and the steering wheel shook violently to the left and right. I took my 6 month old vehicle to a dealership and they advised the front rotors were warped. They replaced the rotors. Later, this same defect occurred three more times. Chevrolet only made two more repairs. Each time they simply replaced the rotors and placed a shim between the axles and the rotor. This same manufacturers design flaw occurred on the flowing year and make vehicles:
1997-2000 Chevrolet Malibu
1997-1999 Oldsmobile cutlass
1999-2000 Oldsmobile alero
1999-2000 pontiac grand am
I complained to Chevrolet about the problem, but nothing was done. The district representative in san antonio simply tried to avoid me. Chevrolets on line complaint system also did nothing. Again, there has never been a recall for this brake problem. The main cause of this problem is due to the small (thin) size of the brake rotors, which caused a failure to disperse heat adequately. If a driver drives into a rain storm or to a car wash and the hot rotors cool too rapidly they will warp. Please see gm service bulletin # 00-05-23-002, dated February 2000 for more information. The maddening thing about this situation is that Chevrolet knew about this problem when I purchased my car. Chevrolet/gm failed to recall all these vehicles, and even though they knew it was a flaw in their engineering and design, they left the problem in the hands and pocket books of their customers. How many accidents have been caused by this type of corporate irresponsibility. This is a deceptive trade practice.
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all problems of the 2000 Chevrolet Malibu
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I actually have two Malibus - one a 1998, the other a 1999. Both have self-adjusting rear drum brakes which do not self-adjust, resulting in the front brakes (disc) doing all the stopping and overheating as a result. This causes rotors to warp, wheels to "shimmy" when brakes are applied, and loss of control of the vehicle in critical stopping situations at high speed. Request that you subpeona all gm service records for brake service on Malibus and see if there isn't a serious problem with repeated front disc brakes having to be replaced at frequent intervals.
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all problems of the 1999 Chevrolet Malibu
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