2005 Chevrolet Malibu Problems

Above Average Complaints

Real NHTSA owner complaints for the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu.

20042006
Complaints
1,386
Crashes
67
Fires
38
Injuries
86
Fatalities
4
Recalls
8

Worst 2005 Chevrolet Malibu Problems

Top 3 most-reported issues with average mileage at failure.

#1461 complaints

STEERING

Avg mileage:104,435 mi
Crash-related:19
#2159 complaints

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Avg mileage:114,591 mi
Crash-related:6
Fires:9
#3130 complaints

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Avg mileage:85,141 mi
Crash-related:2
Fires:17
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All Problems by Category

Every NHTSA complaint category for the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu.

ComponentComplaintsCrashesFiresAvg MileageVolume
STEERING46119104,435 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM15969114,591 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING13021785,141 mi
SEATS6093,583 mi
POWER TRAIN572362,175 mi
ENGINE4961121,185 mi
SERVICE BRAKES435122,969 mi
UNKNOWN OR OTHER334471,961 mi
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE32190,312 mi
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM32121,154 mi
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)30144,329 mi
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL231136,812 mi
AIR BAGS1851131,381 mi
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC181149,258 mi
STEERING:COLUMN15149,737 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL14258,886 mi
SUSPENSION14173,440 mi
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM11155,654 mi
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES845,203 mi
STEERING:RACK AND PINION842,217 mi
STRUCTURE:BODY787,290 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING6163,250 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS6107,400 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS6354,644 mi
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH6430 mi
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION644,268 mi
WHEELS676,948 mi
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL5530,587 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE596,000 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE527,017 mi

Recalls for 2005 Chevrolet Malibu

8 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting ~15,838,023 vehicles.

14V252000ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
~2,440,524 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL
~2,440,524 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH
~2,440,524 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS
~2,440,524 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V252000ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
~2,440,524 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

14V224000POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT
~1,131,113 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on April 29, 2014, that they are recalling 56,214 model year 2007 and 2008 Saturn Aura vehicles. On May 22, 2014, GM increased the recall to include an additional 1,074,899 model year 2004-2008 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured from May 16, 2003, through October 5, 2007, model year 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured from June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, and model year 2005-2008 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured from May 26, 2004, through September 28, 2007, and equipped with 4-speed transmissions. The total number vehicles being recalled is now 1,131,113.

14V224000POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
~1,131,113 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on April 29, 2014, that they are recalling 56,214 model year 2007 and 2008 Saturn Aura vehicles. On May 22, 2014, GM increased the recall to include an additional 1,074,899 model year 2004-2008 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured from May 16, 2003, through October 5, 2007, model year 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured from June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, and model year 2005-2008 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured from May 26, 2004, through September 28, 2007, and equipped with 4-speed transmissions. The total number vehicles being recalled is now 1,131,113.

14V153000STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
~1,373,177 affected

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2006 Malibu Maxx, 2009-2010 HHR (non-turbo), 2010 Cobalt, 2008-2009 Saturn Aura and 2004-2007 Ion, and 2005-2009 Pontiac G6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (EPS) assist that could occur at any time while driving.

Other Chevrolet Malibu Years

Wider context: See the full Chevrolet Malibu reliability report with year-by-year comparison and generation analysis.

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