2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Engine Problems

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering malfunctioned, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the power steering assist assembly was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (STEERING). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 204,000.

NHTSA ID

11647569

Incident

Feb 1, 2025

Mileage

204,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK UPON DEPRESSION OF THE BRAKE PEDAL WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO JIM KERAS CHEVROLET (2000 COVINGTON PIKE, MEMPHIS, TN 38128) WHERE THEY PERFORMED SERVICES TO THE BRAKE BOOSTER, MASTER CYLINDER, HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEM, LOWER CONTROL ARMS, AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER UNKNOWN SERVICES. THREE WEEKS AFTER THE REPAIRS, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE RESIDENCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 241,404.

NHTSA ID

11413026

Incident

Jul 6, 2020

Mileage

241,404 mi

ENGINE GOES INTO ENGINE POWER REDUCED MODE WHILE GOING 55 ON A HIGHWAY AND SOON THE ENGINE BECOMES DISABLED WHICH DISABLES THE STEERING AND THE BRAKES. NO INJURIES AS I WAS SMART ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE SITUATION, BUT THIS HAS OCCURRED MORE THAN ONCE AND MY CAR READS NO CODES FOR THE SITUATION.

NHTSA ID

11010391

Incident

Jul 24, 2017

Mileage

130,000 mi

MERGING ONTO INTERSTATE AT 55 MERGE SPEED AND AS ENTERING ONTO FIRST THRU LANE THE POWER STEERING DIED OUT AND ACCELERATION DROPPED ON ITS OWN. NEARLY HIT BY AN 18 WHEELER THAT HAD BEEN SAFELY BACK FROM MY ENTRY POINT BEFORE THE STEERING AND ENGINE BOTH FAILED. I PULLED AS HARD AS I COULD TO THE RIGHT AND A BELL RANG BUT THERE WAS NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OR ANY OTHER INDICATOR LIGHT FOR THE STEERING. WHEN I BRAKED, THE STEERING CAME BACK AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE RIGHT OUT OF HARMS WAY. THERE WAS NO OTHER CAR ON THE ENTRY RAMP OR I AM SURE WE WOULD HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED AT HIGH SPEED THIS HAPPENS OFTEN IN ORDINARY TRAFFIC AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 35 AND 45 ONCE THE CAR IS WARMED UP WHEN I ATTEMPT TO CHANGE LANES AND SOMETIMES A BELL RINGS AND OTHER TIMES IT DOES NOT. I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE #13036 AND IT DESCRIBES SYMPTOMS INCLUDED HERE AND ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. THE PART IS NOT YET AVAILABLE AS GM HAS BEEN TELLING ME SINCE MARCH OF THIS YEAR. I HAVE DISCONTINUED DRIVING THIS CAR UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY AND IF THE DISTANCE IS LESS THAN 5 MILES BECAUSE IT HAS NOT YET WARMED UP TO CAUSE THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS DEFECT AND WE WERE LUCKY TO HAVE NOT BEEN KILLED BY THE 18 WHEELER. *TR

NHTSA ID

10622096

Incident

Jan 16, 2014

Mileage

101,000 mi

AFTER FOUR (4) MINUTES OF DRIVING CAR AT 6:30AM IN THE MORNING, TEMPERATURE WAS 58 DEGREE ON 7/21/2014, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. ALL POWERED FUNCTIONS ASSOCIATED W/VEHICLE DID NOT WORK. ALL IDIOT LIGHTS FLASHED ON. THE MESSAGE IN DISPLAY WAS "ENGINE DISABLED." CAR WAS PULLED OVER AND SHUT OFF. AFTER 4-5 MINUTES OF REST, THE CAR WAS RE-STARTED AND DRIVEN BACK HOME ABOUT ANOTHER TWO (2) MILES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10614890

Incident

Jul 21, 2014

Mileage

82,860 mi

SEVERAL YEARS AGO VEHICLE STARTED TO EXHIBIT IGNITION MISSES WHEN MAKING SLOW SPEED TURNS 10-20MPH. CONDITION WOULD CORRECT ITSELF WHEN COMING OUT OF TURNS OR ENTRANCE RAMPS MERGING INTO TRAFFIC. IN 2013 AND 2014 OCCURRENCE BECAME MORE FREQUENT (2-3 TIMES WEEKLY). CHEVROLET DEALER ADVISED ME TWO MONTHS AGO THAT IT APPEARS TO BE CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE IGNITION SWITCH AND ADVISED ME TO REMOVE UNNECESSARY WEIGHT FROM IGNITION KEY CHAIN. I IMMEDIATELY DID THIS AND PROBLEM HAS NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. HOWEVER, DEALER ADVISED THAT I COULD ADD MY NAME TO WAIT LIST FOR A NEW IGNITION SWITCH, BUT WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR SINCE MY 2006 IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. SINCE MANY OTHER GM MODELS HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS SAME LATENT DEFECT I FEEL MY VEHICLE SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE RECALL LIST FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10588896

Incident

Jan 1, 2010

Mileage

20,000 mi

THE VEHICLE STOPS RANDOMLY IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING. THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT COMES ON AND THE CAR STOPS WITH NO WARNING. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES TO MY 21 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND HER 4 MONTH OLD BABY. THERE ARE NO CODES DETECTED TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM. THE CHEVROLET SERVICE REPAIR CENTER HAS HAD THE CAR FOR 2 DAYS AND ADVISED THAT THEY CANNOT LOCATE THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE ON INTERNET FORUMS AND I AM SURPRISED NO ONE HAS BEEN CALLED. MY DAUGHTER HAS TO DRIVE ON THE INTERSTATE TO ATTEND CLASS AND THE VEHICLE HAS STOPPED ON HER. THEY ARE NOW RELEASING THE CAR BACK TO ME WITH NO RESOLVE. CHEVY OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT CARE TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AS IT IS A COMMON ONE WITH SEVERAL OF THEIR VEHICLES. IF I SELL THE CAR, I AM LITERALLY SELLING A DEATH TRAP TO SOMEONE ELSE. BELOW ARE LINKS TO NUMEROUS FORUM DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS ISSUE. HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO DIE BEFORE CHEVY ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE? HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/CHEVROLET/MALIBU/2006/ENGINE/ENGINE_RANDOMLY_SHUTS_OFF.SHTML HTTP://WWW.FIXYA.COM/CARS/T3656645-GOT_CODE_P2176_CHANGED_OUT_TPS_STILL_GOT HTTP://CHEVROLETFORUM.COM/FORUM/MALIBU-15/ENGINE-POWER-REDUCED-20768/ HTTP://WWW.CHEVYMALIBUFORUM.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=10085 HTTP://WWW.JUSTANSWER.COM/CHEVY/6S938-CHEVROLET-MALIBU-MAXX-LT-2006-CHEVY-MALIBU-MAXX-LT-70000.HTML HTTP://WWW.FIXYA.COM/CARS/T11683460-ENGINE_POWER_REDUCED_2006_MALIBU HTTP://CHEVYFORUM.ORG/CHEVY-FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=20618 HTTP://CHEVY-MALIBU.AUTOFORUMZ.COM/REDUCED-ENGINE-POWER-MESSAGE-05-FTOPICT202902.HTML. *TR

NHTSA ID

10552316

Incident

Sep 30, 2013

Mileage

179,000 mi

MY 2006 MALIBU MAXX HAS 73000 MILES ON IT. WHILE DRIVING, THE AIR CONDITIONING STOPPED BLOWING COOL AIR. THE OUTSIDE TEMP WAS 95 DEGREES AND MY DAUGHTER AND I BOTH HAVE ASTHMA. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER TODAY AND WILL COST $1100 TO REPAIR AND REPLACE THE A/C COMPRESSOR! A CAR THIS YOUNG SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM. MY DAUGHTER AND I WERE BOTH USING INHALERS BY THE TIME WE ARRIVED BACK HOME! *TR

NHTSA ID

10341030

Incident

Jun 30, 2010

Mileage

72,900 mi