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2006 Chevrolet Malibu Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 1,117 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu, most often about the steering (73% of complaints, typically around 85,000 miles). It is 4th of 26 Malibu model years by number of complaints and has 6 recalls.
Most common 2006 Chevrolet Malibu problems
Steering
811 complaints · 73%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: electric power assist system, column, rack and pinion, hydraulic power assist.
The power steering light is on and the research I have done leads to me to believe that there is no way to fix the electric power steering in the 2006 chevy Malibu lt. I will like to have this on file as a complaint to the mfr for not making this a recall. I am sure its because it costs too much to fix this particular…
2006 Chevrolet Malibu. Electric assisted steering will shut down. Turning of the car is virtually impossible at slow speeds. Same problem that is reported by many on the preceding year.
Electrical
142 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 98,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, 12v/24v/48v battery, instrument cluster/panel, software.
Traveling down the highway and suddenly the vehicle is very hard to steer got the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road after having to muscle the wheel then had the car towed to the dealer.was told it was a electric power steering assist motor that had went out causing the problem and after questioning about a…
Tl contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 15 MPH on black ice, the vehicle struck a guard rail head-on. There were no injuries. The body shop repaired the vehicle and, a week later, the contact noticed that the engine remains on even when the key is not in the ignition. The dealer stated that the issue…
Fuel system
96 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 83,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu lt. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the contact stated that the check engine and fuel lights illuminated, causing the vehicle to shut off. The dealer was notified and advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was contacted, but…
I pulled in gas station shut car off, attendant filled tank, when he was done I paid and started car, car dinged a lot and gas gauge registered empty, and message on screen said low fuel, and check engine light was on. Long story short if you bounce car gauge comes back up to full, then drops back down until you do…
Brakes
68 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles. Parts named most often: conventional, foundation components, antilock, pedals and linkages.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that a noise was heard while making a turn. The contact also mentioned that there was a popping noise and vibration while decelerating. The vehicle was taken to independent repair shop who replaced the rack and pinion, the outer tie rod, the brakes and…
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated an independent mechanic informed him that the front brakes had to be replaced. The brakes were replaced twice within a year. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Lights
63 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 73,000 miles. Parts named most often: brake lights, tail lights, headlights.
Brake lights are on when not pushing the pedal. As soon as you push the pedal, the lights go out. You come really close to getting rear-ended because the person behind you doesn't realize that you are stopping.
Headlights have started to fail on a regular interval. I have replaced the low beams 4 times. I just purchased two more because the right low beam has failed again. No, I do not touch the quartz halogen lamp. I have worked with these bulbs for many years.
Engine
58 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated when she applied pressure to the brakes, the brake light would not illuminate and when it would illuminate, it would not shut off. In addition, she noticed that the check engine warning light was also illuminated. When attempting to accelerate, the vehicle…
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 24 MPH, the vehicle vibrated whenever the gears were shifted. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Transmission
43 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 99,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle jerked intermittently. The contact stated that NHTSA campaign number: 14v224000 (power train) exceeded a reasonable amount of time for…
Gear shift lever moves to park position, but park is not engaged. Can not start engine because transmission is still in drive, even though gear shift shows park. Sounds like gm recall notice #14152, but we were informed by dealer our VIN # is not part of this recall.
Speed control
35 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 95,500 miles. Parts named most often: cruise control, accelerator pedal.
I was driving my vehicle on the freeway in lunch hour traffic. As I exited the freeway to change to a connecting freeway, the engine shut off half way along the exchange ramp. At that point I noticed that I had poor breakage and no power steering. Lucky, I was able to coast over and stop in the emergency lane mid…
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into the back of another vehicle. No injuries were reported. The failure occurred twice. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic testing. The contact stated that the failure was related…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2006 Chevrolet Malibu recalls
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the torque sensor assembly, free of charge. The recall began february 24, 2015. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Gm's number for this recall is 14772. Note: this is an expansion of recall 14v-153 to cover additional vehicles built between april 1, 2006 and june 30, 2006.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2006-2007 chevrolet malibu and malibu maxx vehicles manufactured april 1, 2006, to june 30, 2006, and 2006-2007 pontiac g6 vehicles manufactured april 18, 2006, to june 30, 2006. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (eps) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
Stability control: electronic stability control (esc)
Risk: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the bas and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an interim letter to customers on july 14, 2014. The recall began on august 18, 2014. Owners may contact general motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). Gm's number for this recall is 13036.
Full defect summary
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
Transmission: floor shift
Risk: If the transmission shift cable fractures while the vehicle is being driven, the transmission gear selection may not match the indicated gear and the vehicle may move in an unintended or unexpected direction, increasing the risk of a crash. Furthermore, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, despite selecting the âparkâ position, the transmission may not be in âpark.â if the vehicle is not in the "park" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and gm dealers will replace the shift cable assembly and mounting bracket, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-553-6000. Gm's number for this recall is 14152.
Full defect summary
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.
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. Gm expects to send an interim notification around may 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 saturn ion, 2009-2010 chevrolet hhr and 2010 chevrolet cobalts. Dealers will replace the eps motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 chevrolet malibu and malibu maxx, 2005-2006 pontiac g6 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, pontiac g6 and saturn aura built from mar
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: frontal
Risk: If the passenger sensing system malfunctions, the front air bag on the passenger side may be disabled when it should be enabled, or enabled when it should be disabled. In either case, in the event of a crash that requires air bag deployment, a front passenger's level of injury may be increased.
Fix: Because a replacement leather seat cover that is compatible with the passenger sensing system is not available, general motors (gm) will repurchase these vehicles in accordance with the terms stated in gm's letter to owners. The recall began on november 6, 2006. Owners should contact gm at 1-877-477-1022 to begin the process of repurchasing their vehicle.
Full defect summary
Certain vehicles originally built with cloth seats that were equipped with an automatic air bag passenger sensing system and later reupholstered with aftermarket leather seat cover kits are involved. Testing has indicated that the aftermarket leather seat covers can cause the passenger sensing system to malfunction.
Equipment: labels
Risk: A 15" diameter replacement spare tire can not be installed on the front axle due to a fit interference with the brake caliper.
Fix: Owners will be mailed a corrected label with installation instructions or the customers could have their dealers to install the label for them. The recall began on november 29, 2005. Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438.
Full defect summary
Certain vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." the tire label table specified the 15 inch spare for the front disc/rear drum brake system and it should specify a 16 inch spare tire size.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
Questions about the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu
- What are the most common problems with the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (811 complaints, typically around 85,000 miles); electrical (142 complaints, typically around 98,000 miles); fuel system (96 complaints, typically around 83,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu have?
- 6 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 4, 2015 (steering). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2006 a bad year for the Chevrolet Malibu?
- It is 4th of 26 Malibu model years by number of complaints, with 1,117 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.