Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2001 Chevrolet Malibu submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
WHILE WAITING IN THE TURNING LANE AT A STOP LIGHT, I SUFFERED MULTIPLE INJURIES WHEN I WAS REAR-ENDED BY AN SUV TRAVELING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. I HIT MY THROAT AND CHEST ON THE STEERING WHEEL TWICE DUE TO THE IMPACT. MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, NOR WAS I RESTRAINED BY THE SEATBELT. *TR
I OWN A 2001 CHEVY MALIBU VIN 1G1NE52J516159XXX. I ALWAYS DRIVE WITH MY SEAT BELT ON. I'VE NOTICED THAT FREQUENTLY THE SEAT BELT COMPLETELY LOCKS UP SO TIGHTLY AGAINST MY CHEST THAT I AM UNABLE TO LEAN FORWARD IN MY SEAT. THIS HAS CAUSED ME SOME NEAR ACCIDENTS SINCE I WAS UNABLE TO EASILY TURN AROUND AND LOOK BEHIND ME AS I AM MERGING ONTO HIGHWAYS. AT TIMES, I WAS FORCED TO UNLATCH THE SEAT BELT WHILE DRIVING BECAUSE IT BECOMES SO TIGHT ACROSS MY CHEST AND SHOULDER. THIS HAPPENS DURING ACCELERATION, DECELERATION, NORMAL DRIVING, AT ANY TIME, SO I NEVER KNOW WHEN THIS IS GOING TO LOCK UP. PLEASE ADVISE IF THERE IS ANY SIMILAR COMPLAINT/CONCERN FROM ANOTHER OWNER. I AM GOING TO PUT TODAY'S DATE IN THE INCIDENT DATE SINCE THIS OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING AND HAS OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES ALREADY. I AM NOT REALLY AT ALL PLEASED WITH THIS CAR'S PERFORMANCE. MY LAST CAR WAS A CHEVY LUMINA AND IT WAS AN EXCELLENT CAR. I AM SO SORRY I TRADED IT IN AGAINST THIS PIECE OF CRAP I HAVE NOW. THE MALIBU IS HORRENDOUS IN RAIN/AND SNOW AS IT SKIDS AT THE SLIGHTEST HINT OF MOISTURE. *NM
THE LIGHTWEIGHT LOCKING LATCH PLATE OF AN OUTBOARD REAR SEAT BELT BROKE, DURING OR FOLLOWING THE PROPER INSTALLATION OF A CHILD SAFETY SEAT. (I AM A NHTSA CERTIFIED CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY TECHNICIAN, SO I CAN SAY WITH ALL CERTAINTY THAT THE INSTALLATION WAS CORRECT, BASED ON THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS AND THE CAR SEAT MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS.) THE CONSEQUENCES ARE THAT THE LOCKING MECHANISM OF THE LATCH PLATE BROKE, AND THE CAR SEAT WOULD NOT BE PROPERLY SECURED IF THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS WERE FOLLOWED. ALSO, THE VEHICLE IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCK ABILITY PROVISION OF FMVSS 208 (TITLE 49 CFR, SECTION 571.208), WHEN THE SEAT BELT LOSES ITS LOCKABILITY THOUGH REGULAR USE. *NM
DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW SWITCH STALLS BEFORE ROLLING UP. TURN SIGNALS DO NOT WORK ALL THE TIME. INTERNAL FAN SWITCH ONLY WORKS ON 5. IF I TURN THE FAN SWITCH ON OR OFF, TURN SIGNALS WILL START WORKING INSTANTLY. TURN SIGNAL PROBLEM STARTED RIGHT AFTER THE BLOWER WENT OUT. I CANNOT LISTEN TO THE RADIO AND RUN THE REAR DEFROSTER AT THE SAME TIME. THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RELEASE ALL THE TIME WHEN I TRY TO PUT IT ON. THE CAR HAS DIED AS I TRIED TO TURN LEFT AT A STOP LIGHT. THIS WAS A USED CAR WITH LESS THAN 30K MILES WHEN I BOUGHT IT IN MARCH 2005, NO PROBLEMS UNTIL ABOUT MAY. NOW A PROBLEM A DAY SEEMS TO APPEAR. THE CAR NOW HAS 39K MILES ON IT AND MY HUSBAND WANTS ME TO TRADE IT IN ALREADY BECAUSE HE SAYS IT IS GOING TO "NICKEL AND DIME US TO DEATH". I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL OF THESE PROBLEMS ON RECALL SITES, BUT THE DEALER SAID THAT MY VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. *JB
THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO WEAR THE SEAT BELT PROPERLY BECAUSE THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT WOULD NOT RETRACT BACK AND FORTH. *AK THE RACK AND PINION HAD A BAD LEAK. *SC THE GAS GAUGE DID NOT WORK PROPERLY. *JB
THE TURNING SIGNALS FAILED TO FUNCTION WHEN WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE USED. DEALERSHIP REPLACED MULTI FUNCTIONING SWITCH. ALSO, PASSENGER'S SIDE SEAT BELT CATCHES, BUT WOULDN'T RELEASE. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD ON COLLISION, DUE TO THE PASSENGER SIDE SEATBELT NOT LOCKING THE PASSENGER WENT THROUGH THE WINDSHEILD. PLEASE PROVIDE MORE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. MR
SEAT BELT LATCH WILL NOT PROPERLY FASTEN INTO THE BUCKLE HOUSING, AND AT TIMES RELEASES, CAUSING SEAT BELT TO BECOME INOPERABLE, CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK
DRIVERS SHOULDER BELT TIGHTENS WITH ANY MOVEMENT AND THE CONSUMER HAS TO RELEASE THE BELT FROM THE BUCKLE TO GET ANY RELIEF. 3 WEEKS AGO SEAT BELT WAS REPLACED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM BUT THIS HAS NOT COMPLETELY REMEDIED THE PROBLEM. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *AK *NLM
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .