1997 Chevrolet Malibu — Known Issues & Recalls

Your car shut off completely twice while driving, cutting all power including power steering and power brakes—once on the interstate and once on a city street, forcing you to have it towed. This happened even after a dealership replaced the ignition switch to fix the same problem. The electrical system failure leaves you without power steering or braking, creating a serious safety hazard.

Your ignition switch and cylinder are turning off your engine when you try to start it, and your car is also shutting off while you're driving. This problem has gotten worse over time and now requires replacing the ignition switch and cylinder assembly.

Your car's engine shuts off unexpectedly while you're driving. This is a dangerous situation that can leave you without power steering, power brakes, or airbag protection.

Your car is having trouble starting and the anti-theft warning light comes on, forcing you to keep the key in the ignition for about 10 minutes before the engine will turn over. This happens roughly twice a month and puts your battery at risk of dying. You're concerned the anti-theft system could lock up your car while you're driving.

Your car stalled suddenly while driving at about 15 mph with no warning. The dealer was unable to diagnose or repair the problem. This electrical system issue could leave you stranded on the road if it happens again.

Your car's anti-theft system is activating on its own and shutting down the engine without warning, though the car restarts after 10-15 minutes. The dealer found that your passkey sensor and ignition switch are faulty and need replacement to fix this problem.

Your car's anti-theft system activated unexpectedly and caused the engine to stall without any warning. This happened at 130,000 miles, and the vehicle was never taken in for diagnosis or repair. The anti-theft system may need to be inspected or reprogrammed to prevent it from engaging incorrectly.

Your car had trouble starting and would sometimes keep running even after you removed the key from the ignition. This problem left you stranded multiple times over several months during the spring and summer. Replacing the ignition lock cylinder fixed the issue.

Your car was subject to a GM recall (14350) for an ignition shut-off problem. You brought it to the dealer in October 2014 as instructed, but the dealer said GM hadn't sent the necessary parts. After following up in November, you were still told parts weren't available and were placed on a callback list, but haven't received a call back as of late November 2014.

Your ignition cylinder lock and switch were part of a recall repair. You're seeking reimbursement for the work that was done to address this recall issue.

Your car's theft deterrent system is malfunctioning, causing the engine to shut down unexpectedly while driving and preventing the car from starting. This has happened repeatedly over the past six months, creating a dangerous situation where your car could stall at any time. The issue likely involves the theft light sensor or immobilizer system that's incorrectly triggering and cutting power to the engine. A mechanic will need to diagnose and repair the theft deterrent electrical circuit and possibly replace the faulty sensor or control module.

Your car's theft alarm light keeps turning on, causing the engine to stop while you're driving and preventing the car from restarting. This problem continues even though you had the recall service performed years ago that was supposed to fix it. The issue likely involves the vehicle's anti-theft system or ignition control module that needs further diagnosis and repair.

While making a low-speed U-turn onto a dirt easement at less than 5 mph, both your airbags deployed even though you didn't hit anything. The airbag deployment caused chemical burns on your neck, chest, ear, and wrist, and also damaged items in your car including a camera and sent a fan clip into your head. This suggests the airbag system may be deploying inappropriately during steering maneuvers. The fix may involve diagnosing the airbag sensor system and potentially replacing faulty impact sensors or the airbag control module.

Your car was involved in a head-on crash with a guard rail after swerving to avoid a deer. Both the airbags and seat belt failed to work properly—the airbags didn't deploy at all, and the seat belt didn't lock up, allowing too much body movement. Your daughter suffered a concussion, a deep scalp laceration requiring 17 stitches, and severe bruising, likely from her head striking the steering wheel or rear view mirror. Addressing this issue would require inspection and potential replacement of the airbag system, seat belt tensioner, and impact sensors.

While turning left into your neighborhood, your steering wheel turned but your car continued straight, causing you to brake hard and hit a hill in a neighbor's yard. A mechanic found your rack and pinion (steering component) had failed. You discovered GM had issued a recall for this exact part on 1997-1998 Chevy Malibus for inability to turn left, but GM said the recall didn't apply to your specific vehicle identification number. The fix would involve replacing or repairing the rack and pinion steering assembly.

While driving at approximately 50 mph, the frame of your 1997 Chevrolet Malibu separated from the vehicle, causing it to flip and crash into a tree. The airbags failed to deploy during the accident. The vehicle was destroyed and the driver sustained head and neck injuries requiring medical attention. This type of structural failure requires a complete frame inspection and airbag system diagnostic to identify why the separation occurred and why the safety systems didn't activate.

Your car's theft-deterrent light starts blinking and your engine won't start — this has happened 3 times in the past month. You've been told to turn the key to the ON position and wait 10 minutes until the light stops blinking before the car will start. This is a safety concern because the car could stop running while you're driving.

Your car has experienced multiple issues: the brake caliper and bracket bolts keep loosening and falling out, requiring repeated brake repairs. Your passenger side windshield wiper stopped working. When you turn the key, the lights come on but you hear a clicking noise instead of the engine starting, and your radio cuts in and out. Your oxygen sensors are misfiring, and you've already replaced the EGR valve because it was stuck open and replaced the serpentine belt. The starting problem and electrical gremlins suggest a battery or charging system issue that needs diagnosis.

Your ignition switch has been cutting off unexpectedly, causing the engine to shut down while driving. Both the outer and inner tie rods also needed replacement, likely affecting your steering responsiveness and vehicle control. Fixing this issue required replacing the ignition switch and tie rods.

While driving slowly over a bump in the road, your tire burst and became damaged. The tire is still on the rim, so you weren't able to get a clear picture of the damage. You filed a police report about the incident. Repairing this will likely require tire replacement or possibly rim repair if the rim was also damaged by the impact.