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 2002 Chevrolet Malibu submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 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
THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEATBELT DOES NOT LOCK WHEN STRESSED. THE PASSENGER ONE DOES. CHEVROLET WILL NOT FIX IT FOR FREE. A FRIEND HAS THE SAME VEHICLE AND IT DIDN'T LOCK IN AN ACCIDENT. SHE SMASHED HER FACE OFF THE STEERING WHEEL. WE DON'T WANT TO HAPPEN TO OUR DAUGHTER.
MY MOM AND SISTER WAS RECENTLY INVOLVED IN A AUTO ACCIDENT WHICH CAUSED CRITICAL INJURIES. MY MOM REAR ENDED A SEMI TRUCK AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY NOR DID THE SEAT BELTS LOCK CAUSING MY MOM TO CRUSH HER FACE. MY SISTER RECIEVED 2 VERTEBRA FRACTURES AND 3 RIB FRACTURES. THE CAUSE OF THIS ACCIDENT CAUSED MY MOM TO HAVE TO HAVE SURGERY ON HER FACE AND IS STILL IN THE UT HOSPITAL. IF THE AIR BAGS HAD DEPLOYED THEN IT COULD HAVE SAVED HER FACE MORE THAN IT DID.
THE SEAT BELT LOCKS UP AND CANNOT BE RELEASED SO THE BELT CANT BE USED TO SECURE PASSENGER. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON AND OFF FOR OVER A YEAR. NORMALLY AFTER JIGGLING AND TUGGING AND TWISTING IT WILL FINALLY RELEASE SO IT CAN BE USED. HOWEVER TODAY FEBRUARY 7, 2013 THE SEATBELT IS LOCKED TIGHTLY AND CANNOT BE RELEASED. THERE IS AN $85.00 FINE IN MY STATE OF RHODE ISLAND FOR NOT WEARING A SEAT BELT THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM. CAN YOU OFFER ME A SOLUTION. I HAVE SPOKEN TO SEVERAL PEOPLE WITH THIS MAKE AND MODEL THEY ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR
MY GRANDSON WAS CRITICALLY INURED WHILE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER IN 2002 CHEVY MALIBU, THIS VEHICLE CANNOT SUSTAIN IMPACT OF 30 MPH OR LESS TO FRONT PASSENGER SIDE WITHOUT CAUSING FATAL IF NOT CRITICAL INJURIES TO PASSENGER. NO SIDE AIRBAG, NO PROTECTION WHATSOEVER. RATED WITH THREE STARS...... RIDICULOUS. MY GRANDSON LOST ONE LUNG AND PART OF HIS BRONCHIAL TUBE BECAUSE THERE IS NO SAFETY MEASUREMENTS ON THIS VEHICLE TO PROTECT FRONT PASSENGER. *TR
I TOOK THE COVER OFF OF THE CAR SEAT TO WASH IT. WHEN I WAS PUTTING IT BACK ON I GENTLY MOVED THE BOTTOM PART OF THE LATCH SYSTEM COMPLETELY DISCONNECTED FROM THE CAR SEAT. (RELATED VEHICLE INFORMATION: MODEL YEAR=2002, MAKE=CHEVROLET, MODEL=MALIBU). *TR
SEAT BELT BUCKLE ON DRIVER'S SIDE DOES NOT LATCH. NO MATTER HOW OFTEN THE BELT TAB IS INSERTED INTO THE BUCKLE IT WILL NOT LATCH. THE RELEASE BUTTON IS NOT STUCK IN. ATTEMPTED TO LUBRICATE BUCKLE WITH WD-40, BUT NO LUCK. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH A MOTORIST FAILED TO YIELD AND CRASHED INTO THE FRONT END OF CONSUMER'S VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY, AND THE SEAT BELTS FAILED TO RETRACT. DRIVER HIT HEAD ON THE ROOF, AND SUSTAINED HEAD AND NECK INJURIES. *AK
CONSUMER APPRECIATED SERVICE TO SHOW WHETHER OR NOT CAR SEAT WAS INSTALLED CORRECTLY. *MR PH
THE CONSUMER SAID THAT SHE WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE WHEN THE PASSENGER WINDOW BLEW OUT, FOR NO REASON. THE FLYING GLASS NICKED AND GOUGED THE PAINT ON THE VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER FEELS THAT THE WINDOW OR THE VEHICLE IS DEFECTIVE. *SCC
I PURCHASED A NEW 2002 CHEVY MALIBU ON AUGUST 1, 2002. FOUR DAYS AND 250 MILES LATER THE FRONT PASSENGER WINDOW "EXPLODED" WHILE I WAS TRAVELING ALONE DOWN I-90 AT 75 MILES AN HOUR. I FEEL THERE WAS A DEFECT IN THE WINDOW OR THE CAR ITSELF TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN FOR "NO APPARENT " REASON. I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR WINDOW REPLACD AND THE RIGHT EXTERIOR OF THE CAR REPAINTED FROM THE FLYING GLASS NICKING AND GOUGING THE OUTSIDE OF THE CAR. I HAD BROKEN GLASS IN BOTH THE FRONT AND BACK SEATS. THE WINDOW AND PAINTING WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY THROUGH THE DEALERSHIP. WHEN I PICKED THE CAR UP FROM GETTING IT REPAIRED I NOTICED THEY (BODYSHOP) HAD SNAPPED BOTH REAR SEATBELTS. WHEN I GOT THE CAR HOME, I UNSNAPPED THE SEAT BELTS AND NOTICED THEY WOULD NOT RETRACTED BACK IN, BUT INSTEAD, JUST HUNG DOWN ONTO THE SEAT. I CALLED CORY PETERSON, HEAD OF SALES, AND TOLD HIM ABOUT THE SEATBELTS, AND HE TOLD ME TO TAKE THE CAR IN THE NEXT DAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, TO HAVE THEM CHECKED. MY HUSBAND AND I TOOK IT IN, AND DAVE HALLAND LOOKED AT BOTH SEAT BELTS AND SAID, "THEY ARE WORN OUT." I SAID "WORN OUT! THE CAR IS A MONTH OLD!" HE DID NOT HAVE REPLACEMENT PARTS THAT THAT TIME AND SAID HE WOULD ORDER THEM AND SET US UP FOR AN SEPTEMBER 20TH APPOINTMENT. I TOOK IT BACK ON THAT DATE, AND WAS TOLD THE PARTS WERE NOT IN. HE HAD ANOTHER MAN CHECK OUT THE SEAT BELTS AT THIS TIME AND HE SAID THE "RETRACTORS" WERE DEFECTIVE AND THE ENTIRE SEAT BELTS HAD TO BE REPLACED. DAVE HALLAND AGAIN TOLD ME HE WOULD HAVE THE PARTS OVER NIGHT EXPRESSED AND WOULD CALL ME WHEN THEY WERE IN. I WAITED AND WAITED AND FINALLY CALLED FOR DAVE ON SEPTEMBER 30TH AND OCTOBER 1, 2002. AND LEFT A MESSAGE FOR A CALL BACK. AFTER NO WORD, I CALLED A REQUESTED TO TALK TO THE SERVICE MANAGER. I WAS TURNED OVER TO TERRY, AND HE TOLD ME THE PARTS HAD BEEN THERE FOR OVER A WEEK. I TOLD HIM I WANTED THE PARTS WHEN THEY WERE REMOVED AND HE TOLD ME I COULD NOT HAVE THEM. I SAID, "I BOUGHT THIS CAR, DIDN'T I?" HE SAID"
WHEN INSTALLING CAR SEAT AND PUTTING SEAT AROUND VEHICLE BUCKLES WOULD LOCK INTO SEAT BELT. CONTACTED DEALER AND THE DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING. *AK CONSUMER STATED THAT THE CHILD CAR SEAT DOES NOT FIT WITH THE VEHICLE'S NEW LATCH SYSTEM AND THE REAR SEAT BELT DOES NOT LOCK PROPERLY. *YH
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 .