Seats Problems of Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

I am filing a complaint regarding a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu that I purchased from a dealership on November 22, 2024. The vehicle was advertised as being in “excellent condition” at the dealership’s site. During the test drive, I raised concerns about potential transmission issues, but the dealership assured me that the vehicle was “clean” and safe to drive. Unfortunately, this assurance turned out to be false, as the vehicle has since displayed significant mechanical failures, including overheating issues, that pose serious safety risks. Within a week of purchase, the vehicle broke down twice: first on November 29, while driving to work, and again on November 30, while on I-10 katy freeway. The second breakdown created a life-threatening situation as the vehicle suddenly lost power in traffic. I incurred towing costs of $125 to return the vehicle to the dealership. After an attempted repair, the vehicle was returned to me on December 5, 2024. However, it broke down again on December 8, 2024, requiring another tow. Since that time, the vehicle has remained at the dealership, yet no adequate resolution has been provided. Additionally, I have since discovered that the vehicle has persistent overheating issues that were not disclosed at the time of sale. These overheating problems pose a serious safety risk as they could result in a fire or explosion, endangering my life and the lives of others on the road. The dealership’s negligence in addressing these critical safety concerns demonstrates a disregard for consumer safety. I believe the dealership knowingly sold me a defective vehicle with significant mechanical issues that were either hidden or misrepresented. The sudden and repeated breakdowns, particularly in hazardous driving conditions, and the risk of fire or explosion due to overheating, warrant immediate attention from the NHTSA.

See all problems of the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Not starting due to loss of power I believe it's electrical.

See all problems of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Air bag warning light stays on and will not reset. Driver power seat controls buttons out of plastic control cover and jammed in metal part of seat. Can not get seat control unjammed and no way to adjust driver seat.

Air bag light is on dashboard and my driver seat won’t recline back up to a normal driving position. Brought it to the mechanic to have it checked and was told I am in need of a new driver seat do to a faulty airbag. The car is not even 10 years old yet and I can’t use the seat properly to drive safely.

See all problems of the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Shift to park.

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

I have an electrical problem with my car. Driver seat is electrical and the seat has been stuck in one position. The siding of the seat where the buttons are broke. The seatbelt gets stuck from the plastic being broken. I’ve had the car for a year and within 3 months of purchase I had to change brakes and it needs brakes again.

My vehicle has not been inspected, but while I was driving the brake pedal became stiff, luckily my e brake was able to prevent any wrecks. I saw that the 2016 chevy Malibu has a known issue with the, "ebcm" and that would certainly cause these kinds of issues, my brake pads and rotors still have plenty of life left. Also, the driver side seat switch stopped working, according to reviews by other 2016 chevy Malibu owners, and mechanics, that's because of the design flaw in the switch, it somehow rubs itself raw until there's nothing left and it snaps, leaving the switch nothing to grab on to. So, my driver seat is stuck, all the way reclined, and all the way forward. Which, according to the manual in my Malibu says is a safety issue, because of the design of the seat, if it's reclined while driving and there is a collision, it can cause the seat to slide, which can cause serious injuries or death, I'd say that goes for both though.

See all problems of the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Driver seat frame bar broke. Is weld and the weld broke when I was on the road. Safety concern when I turn left or right driver seat moves a lot. I can’t drive my Malibu like that, im putting myself in risk and other drivers. First time happens to me this kind of situation. I had other oldest vehicles and driver seat never broke. Not good for a 2012 Malibu with a broken frame bar driver seat. Gm should fix this problem that comes from manufacure. I did a research about this and im not alone there is a lot of people complaining about this safety concern issue that chevy Malibus from 2009 and 2012 had and dealers dont want to pay attention to this problem.

See all problems of the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

I seem to have a short in the drivers side seat adjuster. At times when adjusting the seat a warning comes up to replace air bag and sometimes shuts off the radio. I have read that there was a recall at one point for this problem.

The catalytic converter and exhaust manifold are suspected to be malfunctioning. These components are part of the vehicle’s exhaust system, and their failure is believed to be contributing to hesitation and skipping during operation. Both components are available for inspection upon request. The hesitation and skipping reduce the vehicle’s responsiveness, creating a safety risk in traffic. This issue could hinder safe merging, overtaking, or maintaining consistent speeds. Additionally, malfunctioning exhaust components may lead to increased emissions and pose a risk of toxic gases entering the cabin if leaks are present. Check engine light displays. The problem has been confirmed by a professional auto mechanic during their inspection and diagnosis. The components have been inspected and diagnosed by an independent service center (the auto mechanic). They have not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. No warning lamps or error messages were displayed on the dashboard prior to the diagnosis. The symptoms, including hesitation and skipping, began approximately [insert timeline, e. G. , two weeks ago] and have been recurring during normal driving, particularly during acceleration or at lower speeds.

I went to move the lever to the driver side seat to adjust the back of the seat for support. And I went to go pull the level and the seat assembly snapped and broke off causing the seat to move backwards and forwards(up and down) and won't sit still. The seat can move at almost all angles. It does not slide just moves side to sides. It was a perfectly fine and I never used that level before until the first time ever and it just complete fell apart. It still looks like it's intact but I took it to the dealership and they said part of the assembly snapped.

See all problems of the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Driver seat not moving. This rode came out of the bottom of seat that causes the seat to move front to back. The the left side the seat moves.

See all problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

The driver side seat bottom portion left side caved in it says if the webbing underneath the seat that holds it up it broke and I just wanted to see if it was cause do the recall that was fixed on it or what not because I did read other complaints with the exact same issue I just want to know if there is a investigation or a way to be fixed.

Driver side seat weld has failed causing seat to lean & become unstable. This failure put my entire family at risk.

See all problems of the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Question: what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? answer: the drivers seat frame failed via a broken weld. The weld is located on the front and right hand side of the seat (assuming you are sitting in the seat). The seat became very unstable and I do not believe the seat is safe if a crash would occur. The seat is available for inspection. I am an average sized adult in terms of weight (<200 lbs). Question: how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? answer: the seat is no longer rigid and thus in the event of a crash I cannot believe the seat is safe. Question: has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? answer: it is clear the seat failed - see the picture. Searching online I found many people with the same problem and the pictures online of the failure matched what happened with my seat. Question: has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? answer: no, reading online people with the same problem were not happy with gm's lack of response so I did not bother to consult with gm on this broken seat. Question: were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? answer: no. The failure occurred this year. Picture: I am uploading a picture of the broken weld which I temporarily repaired using a hose clamp (I do not have a picture before I installed the hose clamp). In the picture you can clearly see the broken weld.

Have noticed that the driver's seat is leaning towards the back and right. Took it to the dealership and was told there are broken welds on the frame. This should not happen. Seems like it makes the car dangerous to drive.

I been had this vehicle since 2018 nothing but issues few months having this vehicle I start experiencing issues with radio coming on and going off for no reason so took it to get looked at the said it was from wiring in the passenger side seat that was causing it so I paid $400 to get that fixed. But still was and is having same issues with electrical and now my heat comes on by itself even when the knob is in the off position. My passenger side seat belt warning goes off even when no ones in the seat. And to top it off my car been running bad engine overheating but nothing on my dashboard is telling me that but I can smell burning from my engine coming through my vents and it's exhausting. I have been to many shops to get it looked at but they keep saying nothing wrong no codes where coming up nor was my engine light on. But as of 3/29/2021 I had multiple icons pop up on my dashboard and now my engine light on. So I finally got a code p228d come up and I been explaining to auto shops that's something wrong because it's not wanting to pick up speed. So what can I do I'm tired spending money to get it looked at and all I'm getting from people nothing is wrong with your vehicle. But there is truly something wrong with this vehicle and it does this no matter where I'm at on highway, street, when I'm idle it's a loud noise and I can feel the heat from the engine coming through the floor of my vehicle.

Cracking is starting on the drive side panel where the frame of the seat.

Drivers seat will not move forward or backwards. Seat is locked in the forward position and will not move backwards.

I could smell a faint electrical smoke smell while the car was running, then the instrument panel quit working completely. I then also noticed the driver side seat also quit heating.

See all problems of the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Driver seats horizontal bar has snapped it now leans to th e left. Comes up off of floor when breaking and accelerating. Concerned that the seat will become detached if ever in a rear or front end collision sending me out of the vehicle.

Engine light continues to come on repeatedly. Resetting does not fix the problem. Engine shuts off while driving. Then suddenly the engine comes back on at an accelerated speed. Engine shuts off at traffic light when my foot is on the brake. When I remove my foot from the brake and press the accelerator the car jerks into gear. Sometimes the stabil track appears on my dash board. Also, steering reduce be careful appears on my dash board. Sometime the driver side window will not go up or down. I have car shield but I can not find a mechanic to accept it. They all say that car shield is a rip-off.

The passenger airbag won't activate when someone is setting in it stationary and moving.

Drivers seat frame has broke in 2 places causing the seat to be unstable.

While someone is in my passenger seat, ally gages will go to 0, (including while driving) the seat warms will turn off, also my stereo shuts down. I get a notification saying "service tire monitoring system", "service thief deterrent system" also something about the airbags.

Whenever a passenger rides in the front seat all electrical components lose proper function. Heating/air-conditioning does not work, multiple warning sensors go off, radio does not work, gas gauge does not work, speedometer does not work, blinkers do not work.

The driver side seat that is welded to the frame of the car has broke. The right side of my drivers side seat now collapses when driving which is extremely dangerous not to mention the seatbelt is attached to the right side of the seat and buckled into it which is now collapsed which could cause a major issue if I was to ever get into an accident. I have done some reasearch online and this appears to be a common issue amongsts most 2004 Malibu owners. I am the second owner and I get the car is close to being 20 years old but mine only has 60k miles the drivers seat weld should not just detach and collapse while driving on a practically brand new car. Not to mention I am an average sized man 200 lbs 5 foot 7 on top of that I enquired to fix it at my local Chevrolet dealer and it will cost well over 1000 dollars based on a verbal estimate. I can jerry rig the seat to not collapse but that doesnt stop the fact that god forbid im in an accident my drivers seat could potentially become detached hurling myself and the seat into the window causing severe bodly harm or worse death. Please look into this as im sure many other people have this same problem it is a faulty weld in the drivers seat and needs to be adressed by the manufacturer Chevrolet.

See all problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Car seat caught on fire under me right after I turned on the ignition.

I got into my car and the driver seat collapsed on the back-right side. After inspection, I found that the weld broke, causing my car to be extremely unsafe to drive! I have found numerous complaints online and numerous complaints filed with NHTSA for this issue. Why isn't an official investigation being conducted regarding this defect? I feel that this should be considered a safety recall and gm should be responsible for the cost of the repairs!.

The horizontal seat adjustment motor has a shaft that broke. The vehicle was stationary at the time.

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the weld to the driver’s seat fractured. The contact had pulled over to inspect the damage and was where the seat had started to lean. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where she was informed that the entire seat needed to be replaced. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

When adjusting the drivers seat forward after getting into the vehicle, and driving, the seat turns toward the middle console. When I got out of the vehicle to see why this was happening, I immediately adjusted the seat to the rear position. The seat is now locked in the farthest back position and will not move forward. This results in a the inability to move the seat forward and causes a safety issue when attempting to drive. The seat has somehow dislodged itself from the track. I took it to the dealership who stated this happens sometimes and that it would cost around 900. 00 dollars to fix.

When driving it the transmission don't kick in until you get pass 30 miles and then it's doing everything that you have a recall on some of the other 2010 chevy Malibu just trying to see why my VIN number hasn't been recall. I have to put my emergency lights own sometime so I won't be in a reck getting my grandkids to and from school I fear for our safety but this is my only transportation so if you can pleas check and see if I have a recall on my VIN number it would please be appreciate sign a caring grandmother trying to keep her family safe &#128591;&#127997;&#128591;&#127997;.

Weld on seat frame is broken. In a crash driver could be ejected, along with seat. Seatbelt is attached to seat so becomes less useful and more unsafe. 1000's of complaints online already.

There was a recall on the seat belt assembly for my car in 2019 and I took it to davidson Chevrolet in watertown NY. They fixed the recall and mentioned it could affect the seat assembly. Shortly after I got a postcard regarding the seat. A few days later my seat no longer moves back or forth. I tried calling and they said it was a fuse and they had to order it. I kept calling every few weeks and they wouldn't give me an answer or call me back. I finally got ahold of someone and went into the shop Thursday July 30, 2020 to get the fuse in. They later came out and said it was because my lever broke, however my lever was not broke when I brought my car in. It looks like it is a clean cut. Then they turned around and said that it was the buckle assembly and proceeded to tell me to go to the junkyard to replace my seat and then I can pay them to install it. I feel as though I should not have to pay for it as it was originally from the recall. I also feel like I shouldn't have to go to the junkyard when they should be fixing it.