Problems with 2005 Chevrolet Malibu POWER TRAIN

Vehicles intermediate drive shaft was going out. every turn you made it would make a clunking sounds. occurred on the vehicle right after it was bought. talked to dealer and they said it just needed to be lubed. lubed vehicle ourselves and did nothing. after time the clunking would get louder and louder. took it to different repair shop and it was the intermediate drive shaft. i had heard from a source that the 2006 malibu's had a recall on the steering column but they did not recall the 2005. the vehicles structure behind them are exactly the same just different body styles. this is not safe if it were to have gone out if we had to have been making some sort of a turn or driving down a highway or interstate. i have seen numerous accounts of this happening to the same year and make as mine on www.autobeef.com. car did have the part replaced. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu. while driving 30 mph the steering column locked without prior warnings. the vehicle was towed to the dealership and the steering column needed to be replaced. she called and sent a letter to the manufacturer, but no assistance was provided. the current and failure mileages were approximately 108,000. updated 03/04/10 *bf the consumer stated the right tie rod failed, the front struts were leaking, the steering rack failed and the transmission was leaking. updated 10/05/10

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly stalled. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. in addition, after starting the vehicle the contact was unable to shift into gear. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission shift cable failed. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. the contact also indicated that the check engine warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the fuel cap needed to be replaced. the fuel cap was replaced but the check engine warning light continued to illuminate. the manufacturer was notified of the failures. the failure mileage was 47,000.

Drove car 2 blocks turned off ignition. attempted to start on numerous occasions. upon opening door no lights, insert key in ignition, turn ,nothing on console no ignition. had mechanic check car stated it has to be anti-theft system. vehicle has been taken to dealership for this problem before, ignition module replaced and reprogrammed,(2 months prior to the current situation). also have had problems related to transmission, would not start in park. had to put in neutral and push up to park while turning key. taken to personal mechanic changed out linkage in transmission. vehicle taken to dealership and reprogrammed. remote does not do anything. checked fuses and battery all good. *tr

2005 chevrolet malibu recall customer states that the rack and pinion was replaced and it should have been covered under the bumper to bumper warranty**cc the consumer stated the second gear was slow to engage, there was a noise coming from the rear of the vehicle and the brakes made a noise when they were applied. the dealer cleaned the front brakes and applied treatment to them. the consumer was informed the tires were cupped. *jb

It has been over 5 months since recall, and gm has still not come up with the replacement parts. this delay appears to be intentional. can nhtsa do anything to speed up this process? *tr

Email (in) requesting an investigation of general motors re their dangerous & defective products. *ts *nm updated 2/15/2007 - the consumer smelled antifreeze coming through the air vents. the driver's side headlight had to be replaced. problem with brakes. a steering gear associated with the rack and pinion was replaced. the transmission hesitated. the consumer heard a knocking noise when turning the steering wheel. passenger side front turn signal failed. the dash light and tail light failed. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu. while turning the steering wheel at 5 mph, the contact heard a thumping noise coming from the steering column. the dealer stated that the steering gear failed and made the replacement. three months later, the failure recurred. the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. three months later, the dealer inspected the vehicle again and stated that they tightened it up, but did not state what they tightened. the contact stated that the thumping sound continued to occur and was louder than before. as of october 29, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the failure mileage was 28,000 and current mileage was 42,000. there was a noise when the vehicle was going into 2nd gear. u[dated 11/21/07. *jb

Vibration in front end screeching in transmission when at highway speeds 65-70. *nm

In november 2004 i leased a 2005 chevy malibu from a chevrolet dealer in new york. (dealer 1) in january 2006, i returned to this same dealer because the traction control light came on, the car would jump from 5 miles an hour to 40 miles an hour, then the engine would rev when i pushed down the accelerator but the car would not speed up. the diagnosis from dealer 1's mechanic was that there was almost no transmission fluid in the car and the gears burnt out. he told me there was no way this could be from a problem with the car and i had to pay for the new transmission; which i later learned was untrue. the mechanic stated that the transmission would slowly burn out (over months) with little/no fluid in it. from purchase, i complained many times to the dealer that the steering column would click when the steering wheel was turned and that the brakes did not feel right. the many times i brought my car in for service i would make these complaints and be told that everything was fine. april 2008 while driving on the highway, the engine started revving. the car had no power and started loosing speed. at my expense, it was towed to the nearest dealer. (dealer 2) the mechanic said they started opening the transmission but it was so badly damaged, did not finish. he had no explanation for the damage. dealer 2 had already ordered yet another transmission and he told me the exact opposite of what the mechanic from dealer 1 had said. dealer 2 and other mechanics i have talked to since, told me that without fluid the transmission would not shift, and with low fluid it would not be months before the transmission burnt out, it would be days or depending on the fluid level, even mere hours. the transmission was replaced again by dealer 2. i picked the car up and got 12 miles when the odometer and power steering failed and the transmission would not shift out of first gear. dealer 2 told me that the speed sensor on the new transmission was bad and had to be replaced. *tr

I own a 2005 chevrolet malibu. i have had a "clunking" of the "i" shaft since i bought the car and was told "not to worry about it". "won't hurt anything." "you can have it replaced if it becomes annoying." "is not covered under extended warranty." i have my car at a dealership right now to get the "i" shaft replaced. the shop foreman just came in and told me he has had to replace this on "several" malibus and gm has increased the cost of the "i" shaft because of so many repairs. it use to cost $90-$125. now he tells me it will cost $150 just for the "i" shaft. he even recommended i file the complaint and see if gm will address this issue and reimburse me for the costs. if a dealer repair shop is saying there have been several cars with this problem, then gm should have corrected this issue at no cost to the consumer 5 years ago. please help! i am a retired worker and this is killing my meager budget. *tr