Problems with 2001 Chevrolet Malibu ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Over the past month, the malibu has stalled out while driving. it has occurred both on acceleration and deceleration one time almost causing a broadside impact as my son pulled out to make a left onto a bust street. he was fortunate and the oncoming driver was able to brake in time. we took it to a garage that said our ignition switch had to be replaced, which we had done. curious because this is the exact problem that has occurred with the other vehicles involved in the chevy recall, but our vehicle has yet to be recalled for this obviously hazardous defect. *tr

My car seemed to be riding rough and my radiator light came on. today i went for an oil change and the mechanic said i had an "intake manifold gasket leak." my oil is leaking into my coolant. he told me there was a recall from gm for dexcool. i can't seem to find any information on this but to have it fixed will be very costly. *tr

I would like all the recalls for this con of a car and i would like to get in on any lawsuit against gm for their drug dealing business ethics or lack of these cars are a death trapwaiting to strike get gm out of business and bail out the consumer not the greedy liars that sell trinkets for 50k or more giving us less than safe garbage they call a car. my skastes run better 2100.00 2x for replaced engines and 375.00 parts and labor for alarm fix not working properly from factory you know it and you ask for a bail out i want you in prison every worker and the ceos no bail outs bail us out you robbing liars that sell garbage that can kill humans bail out my rear end. *tr

Just bought 2001 chevy malibu, its leaking coolant and the engine is overheating to the point of smoke. so the gasket is shot, i've taken this car in before over this problem but still seems to come back to the car overheating and smoke. no one seems to know how to fix this one guy told me to just get a new engine, the coolant diagnostic didn't help and all of my coolant can't seem to stay in there it just leaks as soon as it's in, so now what??? there should have definitely been a recall for this gm needs to fix this considering my engine was tested and refurbished by chevy no more than 8 months ago at the dealer. this car finally stalled out on the highway and almost killed me, there is no damage other than the ones i mentioned above. *tr

Car over heated, temp gauge over normal range. added two gallons of antifreeze, still over heated, and checked for antifreeze in the oil. antifreeze was present indicating a blown head gasket. no corrective repair has been done yet>. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu ls. whenever the engine was started, the vehicle would not stay on; it stalled frequently. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer several times but the failure could not be diagnosed. the manufacturer had not been notified. the failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

Shawn jansen's maliubu was driving fast, and i could clearly see him winging it. *tr

Passcode antitheft system - 2 separate repairs, latest oct, 2011 involving the ignition/theft system. the system malfunctions and the vehicle will not start. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. the contact noticed that antifreeze was leaking from the vehicle. the contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that the intake manifold gasket failed and would need to be replaced. no repairs were performed. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the current mileage was 69,000 and the approximate failure mileage was 62,000. the vin was unavailable.

Five years ago i replace head gaskets on a 2001 chevrolet malibu. recently, my vehicle will not hold antifreeze and the temperature gauge raises. i have was told by a mechanic that the head gaskets blown again. i have heard several people with the malibu are having problems with this. is there a recall or compensation to the owners for this obvious manufacturing defect. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that the lower intake gasket, located near the water pump, was leaking water and antifreeze. while driving at any speed, the vehicle would overheat and water would leak out. the vehicle was towed to a repair shop and the mechanic stated that the lower intake gasket needed to be repaired at the cost of $695. the dealer has not been notified. the failure mileage was 149,130.

This car is an absolute lemon,it forces you to use dexcool antifreeze and this eats away the rubber in the lines,have spent thousands fixing head gaskets and redoing the whole cooling system to be able to use the old green antifreeze and after all of the problems(cant afford new car!) i have looked on line and i am not alone,thousands have had same problem,this needs to be recalled. it is common knowledge with chevy about the anti theft system,you have to put key in on pos. and wait ten mins for it to reset. i have lost a job b/c i was late for work too many times,have had ignition replaced twice,it has nothing to do w/ignition. i get stuck in the middle of nowhere car wont start and gotta freeze to death (in michigan!) waiting for it to reset. this is ridiculous. and chevy does nothing! *tr

Gasket is causing antifreeze leak into engine and the car is overheating. have use about a few bottles of antifreeze back to back. its going to cost so much to repair. im waiting for a recall from gm. the sooner the better. *tr

My car over heated twice. the first time i realized that the antifreeze was very low and i filled it up and went to my meeting. after my meeting was over and began to drive the car, it over heated again. i had to refill the antifreeze 3 times before i got it to an auto shop (as i was driving). once i got to the auto shope, i was told that the antifreeze was running in to the oil pan. currently, i don't have a car because i was told by the mechanic that the engine was no good and they had seen several cars like mine (same year) with the same motor problem. *tr

I have a 2001 chevy malibu with the 3.1l v6 engine that has 4 defective pistons in it (gm document id# 773655) also installed in 2001 buick, chevy, pontiac and some olds models. i bought this car new with 4 miles on it, it had a slight "tick" when started cold at that time, which the dealer explained that it was "injector noise", not to be concerned. the noise got just a little worse until it got up to 37,000 miles (just out of warranty), then it became very noisy and didn't go away when warmed up. i had complained about this noise every time i had the dealer change the oil. then i found a complaint on the internet about these engines and the fix. that is when he finally produced the bulletin explaining the problem, and informed me that it was too late, warranty had expired. i contacted chevrolet (request#71-79653429) and they told me about the same thing-warranty is gone, sorry you didn't know to get it repaired under warranty. we are 72 years old and bought this car to last us the rest of our lives, and it just may not make it. we do not drive a lot, 46,500 miles in over nine years, but this thing is getting noisier by the month. can anything be done to help us old folks? *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. the contact took the vehicle to the mechanic for routine maintenance and he stated that there was a leak in the intake valve. the dealer and another mechanic inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the same failure. the dealer repaired the vehicle and the contact stated that she would like to be reimbursed. the current mileage was 95,000 and failure mileage was 94,800.

I have malibu 2001 with 56000 mls on it. today i had to change lower intake manifold gasket.$950 total...beside this a had problems with my theft system,brakes ,light hazard switch. air conditioner ..etc. this is the my last gm car..period. *tr

I have twice replaced the intake manifold gaskets on my 2001 chevrolet malibu. both times it has started as a slow seep from the end of the engine on the drivers side. at first we didn't have any puddles, just a low fluid indicator alarm. then we had intermittant puddles. the latest occurence included a catastrophic failure with about an half a gallon of fluid into the engine, and it was 200 miles from home. we were fortunate that we were not driving when the failure was discovered, so we didn't have to replace the engine. the first repair occured in january 2005 at 101k miles, this one in august 07 with 144k miles. the first repair was done at an asce shop and cost $700, this one was at a dealer and cost $1200. i described the incident to another mechanic, and his first question was, "gm car?" it is quite common and well known to mechanics.

Car initially wouldn't start, would only turn over. car would die in traffic at highway speeds with no warning requiring trying to coast to a safe place out of traffic if possible with a severe potential to be hit from behind even with hazard lights on. car towed to chev dealership. dealership replaced intake manifold gasket. tech said gasket was leaking causing engine to hydrolock. third time driving the car since repair, car died in traffic again on freeway. car is setting at dealership again waiting for technician to diagnose since obviously the $1200 repair just completed didn't solve the problem. *tr

I have a 2001 chevy malibu with a 3.1 liter engine and i have had to replace the intake gasket once because it leaked oil into the antifreeze and antifreeze into the oil. it was a problem that i did not know existed with this motor? i found out a short time later that the damage was extensive and had to put a motor with 30,000 miles into my car. that was 1year ago last august and as of today september 5th i have the same problem with this motor and i'm going to have to replace the intake gasket again. how can i get this replaced at general motors cost, rather than mine again? i know of many others that have the same problem that i do. *tr

We had purchased a 2001 chevy malibu ls in 2004, it had 28,922 mileage. on july 1st 2004, had 28,959 miles, the engine light kept coming on so we brought it to forest city to get it checked out, they found the reservoir low and topped it off, they said no visible coolant leaks! on july 12th 2007 we had brought it back to quirk ( which was forest city) they said that the lower intake manifold caskets were leaking coolant, they wanted $879.00 to fix it (mileage 46,495). we got it fixed by a certified mechanic for $370.00 on july27,2007. now we had a 20 point inspection done onjanuary 29th 2007 and quirk said that we need intake manifold caskets again!, with only 9,953, after the first time they went, ( milage 56,248). i have talked to quirk and they said they would take 10% off the $695.00 price to fix it, so i talked to gm and they said it wasn't there problem but would take 25% off. if it wasn't there problem then why would they do that? when i asked them why i wasn't contacted about the dex cool problem, they had no answer. i have checked a lot of web sites and this is happening over and over again to people. why can't something be done about this. i don't feel that i should have to pay for something that gm is responsible for. i hope that you can help all of us, that are having this and other problems. thank you for listening. *tr

Why wasn't there a recall done? http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html the chevy dexcool issue has been going on forever and according to this there was a settlement but there is no recall. how does this happen. i've got a leaky intake manifold gasket and no way to cover the cost. not only that but because i was never told of the results of this lawsuit i've missed the time to repair and file. what's the deal and how come there isn't a recall? *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. the low antifreeze warning light illuminated. the antifreeze had to be refilled once a week. the mechanic stated that the intake manifold was leaking antifreeze. the failure mileage was 45,000 and current mileage was 46,849. updated 01-15-08. *kb the was informed by to mechanics, that it was common with this type of engine. updated 12/12/07. *jb

I own a 2001 chevy malibu and out of the blue one day my engine just shut down right on the interstate. i have not yet had it checked due to finance problems. not only that i also have to change my wheel bearings every week to two weeks. i have had this checked and the garage i take it to for all my repairs can't seem to figure it out either. please help thank you, mrs.sparks *tr

I bought my 2001 malibu in 2003. i had no real problems till this year 2009. my mileage now in 74,000 and the problems started at about 60,000. after a accident everything started to go. my gas gauge went down and my temp gauge also. my auto lock for my doors was not working. my air vents only work when they knob is on 3.main fuse box has major issues and the water pump went out and cost $2300.00 and needs a $500.00 service for the main fuse box. water pump was replaced also 2005. cost about $600.00 then. i wish someone would have pointed these problems before. gm needs to step up to the plate; especially after taking more money from the tax payers for their mismanagement. i love my malibu but gm better get on the stick and help the ones who have this defective 2001 malibu. *tr

I have a 2001 chevorlet malibu which has close to 67000 miles, and now its showing signs of coolant leaking ,and coolant has to be topped up every 200 miles or so, and the coolant used was dex-cool, gm recommended. also there is a problem with air conditioning (a/c) unit as it was not cooling at all, and when checked the freon. gas leaked out ,and yet to find where the leaking is from. mechanic mentioned the coolant problem was there in all malibu models starting 1998. please let us know if there was any recall for the above mentioned problems. *ak

Have a 01 chevy malibu whose lower intake have been replaced twice. have 53 other people who also have the same problem with lower intake and many more to come. *tr

Defective gaskets causes engine coolant to leak into engine and mix with engine oil. common problem for years on chevrolet malibu's and gm has never issued a recall. or contacted consumers to notify them of this issue? i have always well maintained my car and done so to manufacturers specs. this is obvious disregard for their customers. *nm

I have purchased two (2001) chevrolet malibu's that experienced the same problem. the intake manifold gasket is defective which causes antifreeze to leak. i experienced the problem with my first malibu back in 2005. based on documentation of consumer complaints that i submitted to the dealership, the repair was covered outside of the warranty and i only paid the warranty deductible. my second malibu was purchased used from a non-gm dealership in the fall of 2005. i purchased the second car due to the first one being a total loss in an accident. i am now experiencing the same leaking gasket problem with the second car. i contacted gm directly to inquire about having the car fixed. the car has 103,341 miles on it. regardless of the mileage, the mechanics that i have spoken to say this is a manufacturer's defect because the gasket(s) are cheap plastic. as of date, gm is not willing to cover the cost of the repair which costs $700+. the dealership that i use to service my vehicle will only offer a discount on parts and labor. the dealership is not at fault. it is gm's responsibility to correct this problem. i have 61 pages of consumer complaints referring to the same leaking gasket problem with the malibu. *nm

I have a 2001 chevy malibu, with 51000 miles my coolant light kept coming on. i took it to the garage. the mechanic filled the coolant. two months passed and the coolant light came on again. the mechanic filled the coolant and i made an appointment. it turned out, the coolant was leaking into the engine. i was informed my car had a faulty manifold gasket. it cost me $600.00 to have my car repaired. i hope there is a recall soon. i here that many gm vehicles have this problem. *nm

After having to refill my engine coolant on a regular basis i finally took my 2001 chevy malibu into the dealer to have it looked at. i expected a leaky hose but found out the problem was a failed intake manifold gasket causing the coolant to drain into the engine. the dealer guaranteed me that if i didn't perform the $900 repair that the engine was shot, and that the odds of saving the engine even after the repair were only 50/50. the other options i was given were to completely rebuild the engine ($3000+) or "cut my loses and trade it in now." after doing some research, i discovered that this is an extremely common problem, resulting from defective gaskets, that chevrolet has done nothing to remedy.*jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that there was an antifreeze leak in the intake manifold gasket. she took the vehicle to the dealer and they confirmed the leak. she had to place antifreeze in her vehicle every month because it would leak out constantly. she notified general motors twice. the first time, they did not respond to her via email. the second time, she spoke with them and they stated that she would need to bring the vehicle to an authorized dealer. from there, they will determine whether or not there is a defect. general motors further stated that the contact would be responsible for the repairs. the dealer acknowledged the defect. the failure mileage was 50,00 and current mileage is 60,000. updated 01-29-08. *kb

I had taken my vehicle in to get a simple oil change and was informed my vehicle has a faulty intake manifold gasket which is a very expensive repair costing any where from$ 800-$1000.00 . on my searching the internet i have found that this is one of the problems that gm cars are having over 70,000 miles. intake manifold leaks can lead to any number of very serious, and expensive problems. while the part itself isn't costly, the labor to repair is costly. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated a puddle was noticed under the engine. the dealership determined there was a faulty intake gasket. a new gasket needed to be installed.

Dt*: the contact stated when the vehicle was started, the check engine light illuminated. when an oil change was performed by an independent service dealer, a coolant leak was found on the engine next to the intake gasket. a second opinion was sought at another independent service dealers and when the leak was confirmed, the vehicle was taken to a service dealer and the manufacturer was notified. the contact continued to add coolant to the vehicle. the interior of the windows were coated by the coolant vapor, entering the vehicle through the ventilation system.

My 2001 malibu is starting to over heat and leak coolant from the engine. i have to keep putting coolant in constantly. i went to a mechanic, he stated it was a known problem but chevrolet/gm will not recall the problem. i have a real problem because i don't feel that i should have to pay $600 for a known problem and it should be recalled. i was thinking about buy a new chevy, but after this issue i will never buy an american car again!!!*jb

Lower intake manifold replacement. started losing antifreeze - leak on driveway. mechanic traced the leak with dye tablets and sealant tablets -- after several months i took it chev. dealer and they tested everything and replaced the lower intake manifold and was told this model car had manifold problems. it cost me $990. i had this work done about a year ago and thought maybe with the other malibu's having problems there might be a recall -- i'm waiting. *jb

After driving approximately 20-30 minutes, car will surge, and then stall. after waiting a few minutes the car will start and go another 15 min or so. this has happened on multiple occasions, and after multiple repairs. the last incident occurred on a busy bridge with no hazard lane; a police officer pushed me off the bridge with his squad car. i have replaced the alternator, fuel filter, & fuel relay. after each repair i was assured that the problem was corrected. after each repair the problem occurred again. i have taken it to two mechanics and they have not been able to find any problems. *jb

Engine leaks anti-freeze, turn signals go in & out, fuel gauge not always right, making a loud banging noise, and now dead won't even start. 2001 chevy malibu 3.1l v6 $22,000 & only 67,000 miles. *jb

3.11 gm v6 engine has a common problem of a notable intake manifold gasket leak, which oil and coolant system contaminates one or the other or both. had to get an extreme engine flush and further diagnosis and repair is needed. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated the engine hot light illuminated and the antifreeze was replaced to remedy the problem. when engine hot light illuminated again and the antifreeze was replaced a second time. on the third occurrence, the vehicle was taken to the dealership where it was determined the head gasket was blown which caused the antifreeze to get into the oil. the head gasket was replaced.

Six months into driving our new malibu a intake manifold develop a slow leak of antifreeze. in the winter more aggressive in the summer slower. yet it increased gradually over the next few years. i found out this is a common manufacturing problem. the leak grew so bad that it had to be repaired this month. the leaking antifreeze is not only a danger to the parts in the engine compartment but also the environment. this is a poorly manufactured part and gm should stand behind the repairs. the total cost to put a properly manufactured gasket with labor is $ 691.25. *jb

My 2001 chevy malibu has started leaking coolant. the low coolant light has come on, gone off, come on and gone off. when i check the reserve, the level is so low it's empty. after purchasing, so far 6 gallons, of dexcool and mixing it according to the directions each time, the coolant lasted a shorter and shorter period of time. the temp. warning light began flashing and ringing, then went off and the temp went down. i took it to firestone, where i just had the car inspected. now i'm being told that the manifold intake gasket is bad and the repairs will cost me $1023.00 after doing research on the problem, it seems that gm has been aware of this problem with the plastic gaskets for some time. does someone have to die due to an overheated engine, a catastrophic engine failure before gm will recall and fix this problem? or is this how mr. goodwrench can make so many repairs and advertise about how many cars they fix and man hours they work? i loved this car! i bought it with 5 miles on it(4 of which i put on during the test drive.) a 2001 with only 45k miles? am i the only one who sees that this is a manufacturing issue and that gm should stop issuing "private" notices and recall the cars for proper parts & servicing?*jb

I need to know who can i speak with in regards to gm having a recall on the intake manifold gasket for all 2001 chevrolet malibu's. i have been told the manager at advanced auto parts that several 2001 malibu owners come in to purchase coolant, as well as myself, as our gasket is leaking, which causes us to have to refill at least once a month or sooner. i have also checked online and there are several other people having the same problem, to the point that i fell a recall should be done. some individuals noted that they contacted their car dealer and the gasket was changed to a newer one that they are using in the newer cars. however, i contacted my dealership an was told that there's nothing they can do, as there are no recalls on the vehicle. i need someone to contact me asap regarding this problem. it's not fair to myself, the consumer, to have to pay out of pocket to get this manufacturer default corrected. too many people are having this same problem for it not be recalled. please, please contact me at 410/917-7327. thank you for your immediate attention to my concern. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 45 mph, the temperature gauge went above the normal range. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop, where it was determined the fuel regulator was spewing fuel onto the engine. the intake manifold seals were no longer there, causing fuel to get into the oil. the repair shop replaced the intake gasket, thermostat, timing belt, cooling fan, fuel regulator, and radiator cap. the manufacturer was alerted.

I noticed on my 2001 chevy malibu that the coolant light was coming on so i took it to the dealership where i purchased it. he raised the hood and said i was low on coolant without even taking the lid off. he said he would have it checked out and it would be an hour or more so i stayed since i had no way of getting home. two hours later he came out and said i had a intake manifold gasket leak, a water pump that leaked at one time but wasn't leaking now but needed replaced and handed me a bill for 1200.00. mind you this car only has 39,000 miles on it and when purchased it already had 25,000 on it and i have only put a little over 14,000 on it myself and it is only 5 years old. i have never encountered my car overheating and always had the oil change when required. i felt that this major of a problem shouldn't be happening so i called gm motors and they called back and said it wasn't under factory warranty and that i would have to pay to have it fixed. i have found out that it is unsafe to drive as my engine will blow up if i drive it. i also found out that it is not an isolated problem, that chevy malubu's from 1997 have had this problem and gm has ignored it. i feel that gm motors should pay to fix my car as i can not drive it for safety reasons at all. if i drive it i could blow my engine and cause a major accident as the car will stop. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet malibu. while driving up a very steep incline at an unknown speed, the vehicle began to overheat. the contact managed to pull over and called a tow truck. once the tow truck arrived, the driver placed coolant into the vehicle. the contact drove to her residence and called her local mechanic. the intake manifold gasket was repaired. on june 9, 2008, the vehicle began to overheat again on the highway. the contact pulled to the side of the road and drove to the nearest service station. shed added coolant into the vehicle, drove home, and called her local mechanic. she took the vehicle to the shop and the intake manifold gasket was repaired again. the failure mileage was 102,599 and current mileage was 133,000.

Antifreeze leaking intake manifold valve gasket defective. *tr

I am having problems with my car overheating. i have brought my car to several different places and everyone tells me that this is common in malibus,and something should be done about it. i have had my radiator replaced,my thermostat changed, my coolant system flushed. now chevrolet is saying it might be my water pump that's causing the problem. that will cost 586 and if that's not the problem they will check other things while im going to be the one taking the lost. *jb

The vehicles heat gauge stopped working and low coolant light came on. checked coolant level and discovered sludge in expansion chamber ( coolant recovery tank). flushed system of sludge and trouble shot reason for coolant loss. found intake manifold gasket leaking. vehicle will require new intake manifold gasket set, thermostat, hoses, water pump and possibly radiator. tried to flush system completely but found secondary plumbing such as heater core, radiator,coolant crossover and coolant bleed hosing gummed up with oily waxy type substance resembling gumballs (dex-cool?). i think gm should step up to the plate and take responsibility for the so called "wonder coolant". after all the sticker on the expansion chamber does say anything about changing every 5 years or 150000 miles. *jb