Problems with 2000 Chevrolet Malibu SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

I purchased my 2000 chevy malibu in march of 2001. in early 2003 i took my car in for repairs because i had lost steering ability. i was told the sub frame needed to be replaced so i had it done. a week later i had to bring the car back to the dealership for brake problems. i was then told the abs needed to be replaced so i had that done. since then i have had to change my brakes numerous times. just last year i had to replace the pads 3 times in a 9 month period because the pads had been worn all the way down. during that 9 month period i also had to replace the calipers and rotors once then a week later the rotors had to be resurface again. now i am having to have my brake pads replaced again this weekend. so that makes a total of 4 brake pad changes in less than a years time. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 chevrolet malibu. when the turn signals were activated, the contact would hear a sound and the signals would stop working. the vehicle was driven to a local repair shop approximately two weeks later and the mechanic stated that the signals were working properly and no failure could be found. immediately after leaving the repair shop, the turn signals failed to work again. she returned the vehicle to the repair shop and was informed that the vehicle had a defective switch, which was related to nhtsa campaign id number 03v327000 (exterior lighting:hazard flashing warning lights:switch). the dealer and manufacturer stated that her vehicle was not included in the recall. the current and failure mileages were unavailable. updated 10/16/08 *bf the abs light had illuminated. a new left front hub assembly was installed. updated 10/21/08. *jb

Intake manifold gasket replaced three times under and outside of warranty. hazard switch malfunctioning - almost caused accident turning signal/wiper washer switch malfunctioning premature brake wear until calipers replaced check engine light various emissions and fuel vapor leaks. *jb

2000 chevrolet malibu sedan with rusted left and right brackets that are welded to the k frame and hold the steering arm**cc the consumer had persistent problems with the brakes. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while coming to a stop from 35 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and did not respond. the vehicle's front passenger side collided with another vehicle. a police report was taken at the scene. the vehicle occupants received minor injuries, although the seatbelts were worn. the vehicle was towed to an auto body and deemed a total loss. the vehicle was not inspected to determine the cause of the brake failure.

I have a 2000 chevy malibu. as many malibu owners my car has the same issues. blower fan doesn't work on setting 1 and 2, rear speakers don't work in cold weather, rear tail lights don't always work, weird braking issues in the cold, and air circulation button changes from closed to open automatically. these are just some electrical issues with the car and i think i found the root cause. the windshield rubber seal on my car was unattached from the window outside at the bottom on the passenger side. i found out because after a heavy rain a lot of water was showing on the floor of the passenger side. the water damages has been happening for years. i found water sitting in the plastic molding right under the blower fan. water corroding the electrical cables on the floor. water tracks over the computer board located under the glove box. i've informed chevrolet and ask for them to create a tsb but they denied my request.*jb

Lower intake manifold gasket leak; ball joint & fuel pump; brake pads replaced 4 times in less than 3 yrs. *nm

My 2000 chevy malibu with only 80,000 miles had a knuckle in the front brake showing no wear and tear veering me off road ,im going to keep the part and take pictures. it drove smooth since i bought it. then today the front tire folded under. me and the certified mechanic couldnt explain it. the part showed no sign of wear to the area that broke. ive been looking to see if there was a recall, cannot find one if there is let me know... this is a very big danger and is life threatening. and it will obviously happen without a warning. a lot of people are maybe having this happen and dont live to tell about it being the reason or dont even know to tell about it. thanx. *nm

2000 chevrolet malibu developed problems with the brake equipment.*mr the consumer had the brakes replaced 3 times. the first brake service they were replaced under warranty after that the consumer was told it was considered wear and tear. the water pump was leaking. *jb

2000 chevrolet malibu developed problems with the brakes.*mr the brake have had to be replaced three times, 24666, 37158 and 49592 miles. the first time the manufacturer fixed them under warranty. the other times they claimed it was normal wear and tear. the last time the brakes failed the front disc pads had worn into the rotors. *nm

I have a 2000 chevrolet malibu with chronic brake problems. in the 5 years i've owned it, i've had to replace the brake shoes and surface the rotors every year (and replace rotors once) because of a vibration in the front brakes. chevrolet refuses to cover this abnormal behavior under warranty and requires that i pay for the repair every time.

Front brakes are continuously wearing before they should. front brake line collapsed. front left brake pads replaced within a month because of wearing too quickly. replaced brakes and rotor. *jb

2000 chevrolet malibu, 20,000 miles - dealership informed me that they had to replace the front brake rotors again. this is the third set of rotors. it is not covered under warranty (i bought extended warranty) and there are no recalls. this is a problem specific to malibu's of this time period. 3 sets of brake rotors in 20,000 miles? unheard of and absolutely qualifies for a "lemon part". this should be paid for by gm, but instead it is a profit stream for them. can you help?*ak

Whenever the brakes are applied the front end of the vehicle would shimmy. would let brakes go when vehicle started to shimmy. this occurred at various speeds. it was an intermittent problem. had taken vehicle to dealership, and had the rotors turned and brakes replaced. the rotors would be turned every 6,000 to 10,000 miles. the problem had not been resolved.*ak

2000 chevrolet malibu: turn signals stop without warning. air condition stops and starts on its on. brakes squeal. engine surges. uses oi, l but no leak. uses alot of coolant no leak found by me. ignition switch locks and wont let go sometimes.*ak

The brake pulsate and grind. i have had this problem for 2 yrs now. i have had the braking system completly replaced. brake pads, rotors, calipers, master cylinder, brake fuel lines, you name it and it has been done. i replaced the brakes with gm parts. i need new brakes again. my car could not stop in time to prevent an accident. it is awful. when the calipers were installed they make clicking sounds i was told this was ok. also, if i apply the brakes when going over bumps in the road the abs goes off. *ak

The dealer replaced the front brake pads and rotors at 29,000 miles, now 5,000 miles later at 34,000 miles the brake pads had to be replaced and the rotors resurfaced again. i feel the parts being used are defective. i also feel this is a safety hazard. i looked at the complaints against the same year make and model vehicle i have which is a 2000 chevrolet malibu and there are numerous complaints on the brakes. isn't it time some one did something about this problem so many consumers are having?*ak

We unfortunately own a 2000 chevy malibu. we have already replaced the rotors several times for going out of round. we have also replaced the fuel pump at less then 50,000 miles at the cost of $728.00. the air conditioner pops on and off on its own not cooling for the most part. the turn signals are nonfunctional and our vin number is not included in the recall although it should be. then there is the transmission slipping and the coolant leaking and the car overheating we are told this is a manifold intake gasket and will cost around 800.00 to fix. the newest problem is the factory installed radio tuner is burned out and now we have to replace the radio costing yet another $100.00 dollars or so this car has nickel and dimed us too much. after looking over your site i found these to be numerous complaints on the same year and model. i feel this car was a lemon across the board not just ours but, all 2000 malibu's. please look into these cars on a whole they were very badly manufactured and we all deserve some compensation for it. *jb

I have a 2000 chevy malibu and it wears out brake pads on less then 10,000 miles. gm refuses to do anything about it and blames the customer's driving habits. it is out of warranty, so there is not much i can do since gm says it is the brake pads. there has to be something else causing this to happen, but gm refuses to listen. *la

I purchased a used 2000 chevy malibu with 18,000 mile in march of 2002. the car was taken back to the dealership a week later due to problems with the brakes/rotors and the brakes/rotors were replaced. i continue to have problems with the brakes and rotors. in the 2 years i have owned this car, i have replaced the brakes and rotors 2 times and replaced the brakes 3 times. this is totally ridiculous. my car only has 54,000 miles. i contacted the chevrolet customer service line and was told this was a wear issue and not covered by warranty. i feel a recall is warranted as this is obvioulsy a defect with this make and model.*ak

2000 chevrolet malibu bought with 120,000 miles on it. less than a week after getting this car for 5500.00, when retail on the car was 8300.00, i had to replace the intake manifold gasket and the valve cover gaskets because they were leaking coolant. also, the brakes shudder and vibrate whenever applied, even at speeds less than 25 mph. half a week later, the gas gauge fell to zero while normal driving and the low gas light came on, even though i had just filled the car up two days prior. there was plenty of gas in the car, about 3/4 of a tank. also, the tranmission is slipping now when i speed up. when i speed up the car does not shift into 1st gear right away until 4000 rpm. when it does shift, it shift with a large jolt that shakes the entire car. there was no warning before the gas light came on, and i find the car to only now have all of these problems. also, the car smells of gasoline and leaks, even though i had it fixed. *ak

2000 chevy malibu service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:disc:rotor

The turn signal worked intermittently. sometimes the hazard switch needed to be turned on to get the turn signal to operate or sometimes it won't work at all. *jb turn signals do not work bulbs keep burning out. water gets in the casing. brakes and caliber worn out and had to be replaced a month after purchase. *tc

2000 chevrolet malibu with persistent brake problems. have to replace major brake components every approximately 20,000 miles. also, dexcool coolent leak from the intake manifold after only (approx) 50,000 miles. dexcool coolant breakdown and subsequent failure of cooling system. *ak

I believe there is an engineering defect in the design of the brakes that causes premature wear of the rotors, which could lead to brake system failure. this problem is well documented by customers, service facilities and gm dealers. gm goes out of its way to discourage relevant discussion of this problem, choosing instead to ignore it. in three years, i have had to replace my rotors 5 times with 87,000 miles on the car. it is expensive and highly unusual for rotors to wear out so quickly. every mechanic/technician i have spoken with says the exact same thing: the rotors are engineered extremely thin due to the caliper design. in order to fit the rotor in place - it must be so thin due to the design of the brake system that to begin with it is barely within safety specifications. if not extremely vigiliant, rotors can warp quickly - causing a cascading effect that is also well documented. i strongly believe this situation needs careful scrutiny. gm needs to acknowledge and develop a remedy for this situation. *ak

While braking the vehicle experienced extended stopping distance due to the front brake rotors wearing. also there was a vibration when depressing the brake pedal. the dealership was notified, but the problem was not resolved. *ak the dealership told the consumer they would replace the rotors when the vehicle was first purchased, but they never did. *cb *jb

Intermittently when the brake pedal was applied, the brakes grabbed so hard that the entire vehicle vibrated severely. when this occurred, the vehicle failed to stop immediately. this resulted in extended stopping distance. the brake rotors warped. on one occasion this failure caused lost of control, in which the consumer almost crashed into an 18 wheeler, but was able to pull over to the medium. the dealership has acknowledged that there was a problem with the braking system, but was unable to correct the problem, and was now refusing to work on the vehicle. *ak there was a rattle under the hood at the firewall area while the vehicle was in motion, the hose assembly was found rubbing under the vehicle, both front rotors had wore thin, the fuel pump sender did not hold the correct amount of fuel pressure, there was an open circuit in the 24x crank sensor, there was a rattle in the front suspension due to weak front lower control arms which were noisy (the right lower control arm was replaced), the coolant level sensor shorted, the water pump assembly leaked coolant, there was a vibration at highway speeds, hardware was bad and was loose in the caliper, rotor pulsation which was replaced per bulletin, the turn signal was inoperative, and the a/c had internal damage and would cut on and off. *sc

Front brakes (rotors) replace at 22,000miles the brake pads out lasted the rotors - that can't happen ??? it seems they(gm) have some type of design problem. *ak

The consumer complained about brake problems. when applying brakes the pedal goes all the way to the floor, there was extensive pulsation, and extended stopping distance. *ak the abs light was on and was intermittent. this made the stopping distance longer almost causing accidents. *sc

My 2000 chevrolet malibu has only 77,749 miles on it. i am the original owner and purchased the car new. since the purchase i have replaced rotors and brake pads 4 times. this is absolutely absurd. there must be some kind of a defect in the vehicle for a person to have to replace rotors and pads 4 times within the amount of mileage i have placed on my car. never in my life have i had to do this on any other car i have owned. i have all the paperwork where these rotors have been replaced. 3 times at the dealership and the 4th time at a private auto repair shop. i wasn't sure if the dealership was doing their job correctly because of the amount of times i have this done i decided to go to a private auto repair shop. *la

The back brakes locked up at 55 mph, which made me lose control and slam into a tree pretty hard. the road condition was paved and dry. legal proceedings will occur if chevrolet doesn't resolve this matter! *la

Brakes and rotors are faulty. the car makes rattling noises when brake is applied and is dangerous and there should be a recall. the car shakes excessively when brake is applied on the interstate and steering wheel shakes also. *jb

Consumer stated that brake line indicator light did not come on to inform her that she needed brakes or there was a problem with the brakes. she would hear a funny noise sometimes. then, she took vehicle to the dealer where she purchased vehicle, and after examining the vehicle, was told she needed brakes, and that the calipers on driver's side were going out. they wanted to charge her $140.00 to turn rotors, and put brakes on the vehicle. she has had the vehicle only one month. also, consume rgot stranded, and had vehicle to the dealer. deale rfound that the battery post was corroded, she was told that vehicle needed a new battery. *ak

Air conditioner switch turns on and off. vibration in front end when braking. turn signals work intermitently. ticking noise in engine until warm. windows fog excessively. shame on chevrolet. *ak

Right front tire on 2000 chevrolet malibu came apart on outer sidewall while driving at 60 mph. initally no cause could be found. the tread and inner sidewall appeared to be ok. after installing the space saver spare and driving about 100 miles home at 50 mph the tire and rim were immediately inspected. the tire was so hot you could barely hold your hand on it. the rim was hot enough to burn fingers. the brake on that wheel was not completely releasing and was causing the extreme heat build-up. the outside on the tire appears to have gotten so hot that it literally fell apart. the brake pads on this vehicle had been replaced at about 38,00 miles and this side had worn more than the other, but no problems could be found to account for the abnormal wear. the brake on this wheel appears to work nornally most of the time and then periodically not release completely and cause the heat to build -up and the abnormal pad wear. there was no warning from the tire or vehicle that this was about to happen except for a slight humming noise from the front of vehicle a couple seconds before failure. i consider this an extreme safet hazzard because it occurs with no warning and then is usually blamed on the tire. either it was defective or had improper pressure.

Brakes pulse/vibrate, especially after stopping from speeds of 30+ mph. dealer attempted 6 times to fix while under warranty, including turning rotors, replacing rotors (at 2200 miles), replacing hub assembly. all efforts have failed and problem returns in 3-9 months. mileage averages 8000 miles per year, and brakes are not suddenly applied. latest attempt is to replace brakes (at 29k000 miles) and install "shim kit."*ak

may 02 my vehicle was taken in for brakes and front end noise, the brakes were replaced and was told that the dealership did not have time to correct the front end problem (which they noted was covered by my warranty) and to reschedule for that problem. i did so in july 02 and at that time, they charged me for the work and tried to blame me for the problem so i paid $281.75 for this work which was previously noted that would be covered by my warranty. my battery has been replaced 3 times. the vehicle was overheating several times: in october 3, 2002, october 29, 2002, and in december 2002. i was forced to pay for at a cost of $280.52 for the dec. 2002 problem. in march 2003 the vehicle was taken in to the dealership again for front suspension noise, and it was determined that a right upper strut mount had callapsed. in may 2003 the vehicle has again overheated and they could not explain why the problem continues. the young man that i spoke with when i arrived indicated that they (the dealership) was unsure as to why the vehicle was overheating and to just drive it because his truck does it all the time on the highway and they had no explanation as to why the batteries that they were replacing kept cracking and leaking. when i expressed my concern regarding the problem and my safety concerns, he just blew me off as if i was just complaining. once again, it is now july 2003 and for the 4th time, my vehicle is overheating and overheating. in addition on serveral occasions i also indicated to the dealership, that there was a vibrating and shimbling when my brakes are applied and it makes it hard to controll the vehicle, not once would they address the issue with me nor have i been notified or any defects or recalls with the brake system for the 2000 chevy malibu. i am very concerned with my safety. in addition, my tires continuously loose air and the tread is separation from my left rear tire.*ak

We have a 2000 chevrolet malibu, we have 28,000 miles on this car and we have had to replace the brakes 2 (two) times..once at 17000 miles and now at 28,000 they are not wearing evenly, the inside brake is wearing down before the outside..i feel this is unsafe because it is clear i am not getting complete brake function. *ak

A/c turns off or goes on and off (light flashes). dealer states cause as failed control head. brakes have been chronic pulsing that causes the car to shudder, esp. when applying brakes from speeds of 30+ mph. at various repair attempts rotors have been turned, replaced (at 22k miles), new hub assembly installed. six attempts were made to repair under warranty. just had new brakes and shim kit installed but don't trust that this will fix problem based on past experience.

While traveling on the highway and without prior warning the abs braking system light appears on the dashboard panel. *ak

When the vehicle hit a pot hole, the engine shut down, the dealer inspected the vehicle 4 times , however the problem could not be duplicated.*ak. also when the brakes were applied, the vehicle did not stop, the brakes had to be re-applied in order to get the vehicle to stop. *ts *jb

The abs warning lights continuously stayed on while driving. prior to this the light would flicker off and on. *nlm

When depressing the brake pedal is delayed. the consumer has made contact with the dealership. please provide any further details. *nm

Consumer states that when trying to apply the anti lock brakes they will lock up, causing vehicle to have extended stopping distance. dealer notified. *ak

The consumer believes the brakes are designed improperly. the dealer inspected the vehicle but could not duplicate or correct the problem. *nlm

2000 chevrolet malibu. brake and rotor failure. *jb

Front/rear suspension-squawking noise -gm well aware of this issue hazard lights - have gone out twice. fuel integrity - erratic fuel reading - shows 1/4 tank - when in reality there is no gas. i have ran out of gas approximately 7 times - several times late at night. no cruise control - gm would not repair. brakes pads/rotors - have replaced 3 times. my local dealer rotolo chevrolet and gm customer service would do nothing. it was expensive. premature tire wear - two sets of tires. cars runs hot - would never go on a trip - because it would get too near overheating. i was afraid of getting stranded in the middle of the desert. engine ticking noise - local dealer said this was normal. now, i find none of these things were normal and many, many more car owners have experienced the same type of problems. also, i had a battery that exploded while car was under warranty. it was my problem. dealership would not replace battery. i finally had enough and turned this automobile back to gmac. is it going to take people getting killed to make gm responsible for these issues with the 2000 malibu. all of these problems were reported to the dealer, but since nothing could be duplicated, even though gm was aware of these issues, they would do nothing. after the car was out of warranty, the dealership was more than willing to correct these issues. the problem i have is the deception.....gm is aware of these issues and have been for some time. someone needs to hold then accountable. *jb

I bought my chevy malibu 02/01 and i have 39,000 miles and already i had problems with the air condition switch. the ac settings change on their own as you are driving the car. this causes the compressor to turn on and off, eventually causing premature compressor failure. my brakes were squeaking so i went to just brakes to get them changed and it cost 636.00. i had to have a four wheel friction reline, disc pads rf and lf, brake shoes relined rr and lr, rotors were new (could not cut) machine rf lf, drum machine rr lr, wheel cylinders new rr lr, bleed, flush, fill and adjust brake system, etc. i went to the dealer and they said "because i did not bring the vehicle to them, to get serviced there was nothing they could do about it because they did not look at the material." even though i had the material for them to look at. so i guess i have to eat the $700.00 just because of their defective material. *jb

When the brakes were applied, the brake traveled to the floor, which caused extended stopping distance. *jb

Consumer stated that when applying the brakes the brake pedal would go to the floor causing the vehicle to have extended stopping distance. dealer notified. *nlm