2013 Chevrolet Malibu

*TAKATA RECALL* WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY STEERING BECAME DIFFICULT TO HANDLE CAR BEGAN TO SHAKE IN A JERKING MOTION FELT LIKE WHEELS WERE GOING TO FALL OFF. ON TOP OF THAT TOOK CAR TO DEALER SHIP AND THEY DIDN'T HANDLE ISSUE UNTIL MY SECOND VISIT TO SEE IF IT WOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY I HAD TO PAY 100$ AND FIND OUT MY STABILITY SERVICE LIGHT, AND LIGHT AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT ARE ON DUE TO A REAR BEARING HUB BEING BROKE AND THE SENSOR NOT BEING ABLE TO DETECT SPEED CAUSING MY RPM TO BE AS THE TECHNICIAN CALLED IT DRIVE ERRATIC AND TRANSMISSION IS NOT SHIFTING UNTIL 4-6,000 RPMS. ALSO NEEDS A FUEL INJECTION, AND THEY MENTION A FRONT TURN SIGNAL BEING OUT WHICH I NEVER HAD ANY INDICATION OR KNOWLEDGE OF MY HEADLIGHTS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. ALSO, BEGAN TALKING TO CHEVROLET AS I WAS ON THEIR SIGHT AND SEEN RECALLS WHICH I HADN'T BEEN NOTIFIED AND WONDER IF SOME ISSUES THAT ARE OCCURRING ARE FROM PREVIOUS RECALLS THAT WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE NOT AFFECTED ME? IS THAT POSSIBLE? I AM A FULL TIME STUDENT, IN DEBT WITH LOANS AND CAR PAYMENTS AS I DON'T GET ANY SUPPORT FROM FAMILY. THE STEERING ISSUE OCCURRED VERY BADLY AND SUDDENLY ON 3/13/2017. STABILITRAC SERVICE WARNING LIGHT ABS AND TRACTION LIGHTS HAVE BEEN ON SINCE FEBRUARY 15 WENT TO DEALERSHIP ON 20TH THEY SAID THEY WOULD LOOK WHEN I MENTIONED IT, THE ISSUE WASN'T LOOKED AT OR EVEN NOTED JUST MAY NEED 2 FRONT TIRES. CURRENTLY AT 75,259 MILES I GOT THE CAR IN 2015 WITH ABOUT 45,000 MILES. DO HAVE DOCUMENTS FROM THE TWO VISITS TO THE DEALERSHIP AND ONE VISIT FROM ANOTHER MECHANIC. ALSO DIDN'T REALIZE A RECALL OR ISSUE HAS OCCURED WITH A SOLENOID AS MY ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AND AFTER TAKING IT TO A MECHANIC SHOP VERSUS THE DEALERSHIP I PAID 400$ AND FOUND OUT THAT WAS RECALLED AT ONE POINT PRIOR TO ME OWNING THE VEHICLE.

THE ABS LIGHT HAS COME ON STATING THAT I DID NOT HAVE STABIL TRACK CONTROL ANYMORE. THIS HAPPENED WHEN I WAS ENTERING A BUSY ROAD WHEN I SPUN TIRES ON SOME GRAVEL ON PAVEMENT ROAD SURFACE. IT HAPPENED WHEN I SPUN TIRES ON A ICY ROAD DRIVING AT ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR DUE TO ROAD CONDITIONS. IT HAPPENED WHEN I WAS DRIVING DOWN A DRY PAVEMENT STATE HIGHWAY AT 65 MILES AN HOUR. A TOTAL OF THREE TIMES. EVERY TIME IT WAS THE SAME PROBLEM BUT DIFFERENT WHEELS. IT HAS HAPPENED WITH LR, RR AND RF WHEELS PART REPLACED WAS 13589507W-(S) WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY. THE PROBLEM IS THE ENCODER RING WHICH IS PART OF THIS ASSEMBLY IS CRACKED, PIECES GONE OR THE WHOLE THING GONE. THERE WAS NOT A PROBLEM WITH EARLIER VERSIONS OF THIS ENCODER RING. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PART WILL BE ON THE NEW 2017 MODELS AND THAT IT WILL AFFECT THE COMPUTER EVEN MORE THAN THE 2013 VERSION WITH SOME FEATURES SUCH AS CRUISE CONTROL.

MY MALIBU STARTED MAKING A STRANGE NOISE SHORTLY AFTER I PASSED THE 40000 MILE MARK BACK IN LATE NOVEMBER OF 2016. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE TIRES AS THEY WERE ORIGINAL TO THE VEHICLE SO I REPLACED ALL 4 BUT THE NOISE WAS STILL THERE. I THEN WENT ON LINE TO INVESTIGATE IF OTHER MALIBU OWNERS WERE HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS. I DISCOVERED THAT THERE WERE MULTIPLE CASES LIKE MINE THAT INVOLVED THE WHEEL HUB ASSEMBLY FAILING ON THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE. I PURCHASED TWO NEW REAR WHEEL ASSEMBLY'S AND INSTALLED THEM WHICH TOOK CARE OF THE PROBLEM. EVEN THE PERSON AT THE AUTO PARTS STORE SHARED WITH ME THAT HE HAD REPLACED 3 ON HIS FATHERS MALIBU. I HAVE NEVER HAD A WHEEL HUB ASSEMBLY FAIL ON ANY VEHICLE I HAVE OWNED LET ALONE ONE WITH LESS THAN 41000 MILES ON IT. IF I HAD NOT REPLACED THE PARTS WHEN I DID I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE CONSEQUENCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN WHEN THE PARTS FAILED COMPLETELY. I DO HAVE THE PARTS REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE IF NEEDED.

WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT AHEAD ON A CITY STREET, AT APPROXIMATELY 30-35MPH, THE AXLE SHAFT ON THE FRONT, RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR BROKE. THE BROKEN AXLE SHAFT CAUSED AN ACCIDENT WHERE MY CAR WENT TO THE RIGHT AND I HIT THE BACK-LEFT SIDE OF A VAN; THAT IMPACT SENT THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR UP IN THE AIR WHERE I WAS ONLY TRAVELING ON THE TWO LEFT WHEELS. ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT MY CAR WAS GOING TO FLIP AND LAND ON IT'S ROOF, THE CAR DID COME BACK DOWN ON THE RIGHT WHEELS, BUT LANDED/HIT THE FRONT OF THE VAN AND THE BACK OF A PICK-UP TRUCK. *TR

THESE PROBLEMS OCCURRED ON PAVED OR CONCRETE CITY STREETS. AT LEAST ONCE LAST MONTH AND 3 TIMES THIS MONTH I EXPERIENCED TRANSIENT EPISODES OF WHAT I CATEGORIZE AS POWER STEERING FAILURE WHILE DRIVING. THREE OF THESE TIMES WERE AT REDUCED SPEEDS LESS THAN 20 MPH DURING A TURN AND ONCE TRAVELING 65 MPH DOWN A STRAIGHT SECTION OF THE HIGHWAY. ON TWO OF THE TURNING EVENTS I MANAGED TO AVOID HEAD ON COLLISIONS WITH OTHER VEHICLES AT THE INTERSECTION/PARKING ENTRANCE. THESE EPISODES ARE SHORT DURATIONS AND MAY BE CHARACTERIZED BY SUDDEN STIFFNESS IN THE WHEEL, JERKING TO ONE SIDE OR WHAT SEEMS LIKE A POWER STEERING FAILURE. ON THE LAST EVENT TODAY A POWER LOSS TO MY CONSOLE WAS NOTED. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM AND GIVEN MY NEAR MISSES IN THE SHORT TIME I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR, I HAVE TO WONDER HOW MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THIS PROBLEM WERE OUT THERE THAT ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT. ON A SAFETY NOTE, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ANYONE WITH THIS PROBLEM TO MAINTAIN A FIRM GRIP WITH BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL WHEN MAKING A TURN ON A SEPARATE NOTE I MENTIONED THAT I ALSO HAD TROUBLE WITH THE TIRES. THIS HAPPENED YESTERDAY AS I WAS GOING DOWN THE HIGHWAY IN A MODERATE DOWNPOUR. THE CAR SEEMED TO LOSE TRACTION ON EVERY PUDDLE I HIT. IT MADE FOR A VERY SCARY RIDE AND FORCED ME TOO CAREFULLY REDUCE SPEED TO A MINIMUM OF 45-50MPH. THIS IS STILL VERY SUBJECTIVE AND I STILL NEED TO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT, BUT IT DID NOT FEEL LIKE HYDROPLANING AS I KNOW IT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED AND CAUSED THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS TO FLICKER. THE FAILURE CONTINUED UNTIL THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DIMMED COMPLETELY. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A LOOSE BATTERY CABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED INTERMITTENTLY. IN ADDITION, WHILE TURNING THE VEHICLE, THE WHEELS SEIZED AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS DIMMED. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,200.

ISSUE WITH THE LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING GOING BAD AT 60,000 MILES. THE CAR MAKES A LOUD NOISE AT ACCELERATION AND A CONSTANT HUM AT SET HIGHWAY SPEEDS. WITH THE CAR ON A LIFT, YOU CAN PLACE YOUR HAND ON THE HUB, AND SPIN THE TIRE YOU CAN FEEL THE VIBRATION. THE CONCERN IS THE HUB IS OUT OF ROUND CAUSING THE WHEEL BEARING TO PREMATURELY WEAR OUT. ON-LINE RESEARCH INDICATES THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE WITH CHEVROLET MALIBU OWNERS.