1998 Chevrolet Malibu SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

I PURCHASED MY MALIBU IN 2000 AS A USED VEHICLE. IT HAD 24,000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE REPEATEDLY HAD TO REPLACE THE FRONT BRAKES ON THIS VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD THE ROTORS TURN AND REPLACED THE ROTORS ABOUT 5 TIMES. THERE IS DEFINITELY A PROBLEM WITH THE BREAKING SYSTEM. I UNDERSTAND THAT BRAKES NEED TO BE REPLACED BUT I HAVE REPLACED MINE ABOUT 32 TIMES IN 6 YEARS. I DRIVE A LOT OF HIGHWAY MILES AND THEREFORE DO NOT USE MY BRAKES AS OFTEN AS AN IN TOWN DRIVER. THE BRAKES START TO CHATTER WHEN APPLIED AND WHEN I GO DOWN THE ROAD AT CERTAIN SPEEDS THEY ALSO DO IT. I HAVE NEVER HAD A CHEVROLET VEHICLE USE BRAKES LIKE THIS ONE. I HAVE A 1995 CHEVY CORSICA WITH 230,000 MILES ON IT AND HAVE ONLY HAD TO REPLACE THE BRAKES ON IT ABOUT 10 TIMES. I ALSO HAD A CHEVY CAVALIER AND ALSO DROVE IT ABOUT 250,000 MILES AND DID NOT HAVE TO REPLACE THE BRAKES ON IT THAT MANY TIMES EITHER. I HAVE 230,000 MILES ON MY MALIBU. I HAVE TALKED TO SEVERAL OWNERS OF MALIBU'S AND ALL OF THEM SAID THAT THEY HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKES NEEDING TO BE REPLACED TO OFTEN. *JB

CODES C1286 AND C1214. THE CAR DOESN'T WANT TO STOP. I'VE ALREADY HAD THE BRAKES AND ROTORS DONE BECAUSE THE ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT WERE ON. THE TRACTION CONTROL FOR THE RELAY CONTACT OR COIL AND STEERING SENSOR BIAS MALFUNCTION IS PULLING UP. THE CAR HAS TOO MANY PROBLEMS IN 3 MONTHS I'VE HAD IT. *JB

THE ABS WARNING LIGHT HAS BEEN GOING ON OCCASIONALLY SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW IN 1998. RECENTLY, THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FREQUENTLY, ALMOST EVERY TIME, SHORTLY AFTER STARTING THE CAR AND USUALLY DURING THE FIRST TURN. TURNING OFF THE ENGINE AND THEN RESTARTING TURNS THE ABS LIGHT OFF, AND IT THEN STAYS OFF. ALSO, IN THE PAST MONTH OR SO, THE CAR HAS SLID FORWARD JUST AS IT IS COMING TO A STOP. THIS CAUSES ME TO SLIDE ABOUT ONE FOOT BEYOND WHERE I INTENDED TO STOP, WHICH COULD BE DANGEROUS. I HAVE TAKEN TO STOPPING WELL BEHIND THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME TO ALLOW FOR THIS EXTRA SLIDE. AT THE TIME OF THE SLIDE, I FEEL THE PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL SUDDENLY DROP, AND THEN I HAVE TO PUSH REALLY HARD TO STOP. THIS FAILURE ONLY SEEMS TO HAPPEN IN THE FIRST FEW TIMES I STOP AFTER STARTING THE CAR. I BROUGHT THE CAR TODAY TO WILKIE CHEVROLET IN PHILADELPHIA TO HAVE THIS DEFECT CHECKED OUT.

WHEN PULLING OUT OF A FRIENDS HOME ON A DRY 60 DEGREE NIGHT, MY SON PROCEEDED LESS THAN A BLOCK TO A FLASHING RED LIGHT. BEFORE GETTING TO THE LIGHT, HE APPLIED THE BRAKE (THE CAR BEHIND HIM SAW THE BRAKE LIGHTS) AND THE CAR WOULD NOT STOP. HE HAD A TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE. WHEN HE REALIZED THAT HE WOULD SOON BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION WITH AN ONCOMING VEHICLE, HE ACCELERATED TO TRY TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE ONCOMING VEHICLE. HOWEVER, HE STILL WAS HIT NEAR THE REAR OF THE BACK DOOR (ON THE DRIVERS SIDE) AND THE CAR WAS SPUN INTO A POLE ON THE OTHER SIDE CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGE - THE CAR HAS BEEN DECLARED A TOTAL LOSS. FORTUNATELY, THE OCCUPANTS WERE BOTH UNINJURED, BUT HAD HE NOT ACCELERATED IT COULD HAVE BEEN QUITE A DIFFERENT STORY. RIGHT NOW, THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS PUSHING FOR US TO HAVE IT MOVED TO A JUNK YARD TO AVOID THE STORAGE FEES. *AK *BF *NM

A LOUD POPPING NOISE CAME FROM THE FRONT AND REAR. CONSUMER DROVE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE LEFT AND RIGHT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO WARPING. *AK

REPEATED FAILURE OF FRONT ABS WHEEL SPEED SENSORS CAUSING ERRATIC ABS AND BRAKE OPERATION. *JB

1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU ABS LIGHT COMES ON. WHEN BRAKING, THE BRAKE PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN AND BRAKES DON'T WORK CORRECTLY, MAKING THE STOPPING DISTANCE LONGER. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACE THE FRONT SPEED SENSOR. A FEW MONTHS LATER IT STARTED TO DO THE SAME THING AGAIN. AND SINCE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. ALSO, WHEN BRAKING THE CAR VIBRATES, I KNOW THAT IT'S DO TO THE FRONT ROTORS, NEEDING TO BE REPLACE, BUT I WAS LOOKING ON THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS THAT THIS TYPE OF CARS HAS AND DON'T FIND IT TO BE A COINCIDENCE. SURELY THERE IS SOME THINKING WE CAN DO TO FIX THIS PROBLEM OR ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT TILL SOMEONE GET INJURED OR KILLED. IT IS NOTABLY THAT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF NOW. WE HAVE CARS ON THE STREET THAT HAVE FAULTY BRAKE SYSTEMS, IF THAT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE THEN CALL ME CRAZY. HOPEFULLY SOME ONE GET BACK TO ME. *AK

CONSUMER REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS SIX TIMES IN 4 1/2 YEARS. *PH

FOR SOME REASON THE FRONT DISC BRAKE PADS WEAR PREMATURELY.(THEY LAST ABOUT A MONTH OR SO OF IN-FREQUENT DRIVING).AT ABOUT EVERY THIRD PAD CHANGE,I'VE HAD TO REPLACE BOTH FRONT ROTORS.AK

I HAVE A 1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU. I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS FRONT BRAKE PROBLEMS...FROM THEM WEARING OUT PREMATURELY TO THE ROTORS WARPING. AT AROUND 5,000 MILES I WENT TO THE DEALER BECAUSE THE ROTORS WERE WARPED AND THEY WERE SUBSEQUENTLY RESURFACED. AT AROUND 13,000 MILES I HAD TO HAVE THE ROTORS REPLACED BECAUSE THEY WERE WARPED (THE WERE REPLACED WITH AFTER MARKET ROTORS). ALTHOUGH WARPING DID OCCUR AFTER THE ROTORS WERE REPLACED WITH A NON OEM PART, IT DID NOT OCCUR AS OFTEN AND AS BADLY. ABOUT ONE MONTH AGO I HAD THE FRONT BRAKES RESURFACED AND BENDIX PADS PLACED. WARPING STARTED AFTER A FEW DAYS THAT THE BREAKS WERE DONE. THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS NOT THE ROTOR THAT WAS AT FAULT. IT WAS THE ENTIRE BRAKE DESIGN OF THE MALIBU. THE BRAKES SIMPLY CANNOT HOLD BACK THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR ON SUCH SMALL ROTORS. BECAUSE OF THE RELATIVELY SMALL SURFACE AREA OF SUCH SMALL ROTORS, THEY TEND TO HEAT UP WAY TO EARLY CAUSING SEVERE BRAKE FADING....THE REASON WHY I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE MECHANIC TO HAVE THE BRAKES DONE TO BEGIN WITH. TODAY, AS I WAS DRIVING IN LIGHT TRAFFIC, AS I APPLIED THE BRAKES AT AROUND 25 MILES AN HOUR, IT FELT AS IF I WASN'T PRESSING THE BRAKE AT ALL AND I REAR ENDED A VEHICLE CAUSING A LOT OF DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE...SOMEWHERE AROUND $2,500 WORTH. AFTER ALLOWING THE CAR TO SIT FOR ABOUT A HALF HOUR I DECIDED TO TEST THE BRAKES BY APPLYING THEM IN THE SAME MANNER AS BEFORE...AND THE VEHICLE STOPPED AS IT SHOULD. THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXPLANATION IS BRAKE FADE DO TO THE ROTORS OVERHEATING. I'M EXTREMELY UPSET AT CHEVROLET AND AT NHTSA BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING TO REMEDY THIS MAJOR WELL KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE. THESE VEHICLES NEED TO RECALLED IMMEDIATELY IN ORDER TO PREVENT SERIOUS ACCIDENTS FROM OCCURRING. WHAT IF THE OBJECT IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE WAS A PERSON AND NOT JUST ANOTHER CAR. *NLM

WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES AT ANY SPEED, CONSUMER FELT VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHO INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE ROTORS WERE WARPED. HAD THE ROTORS REPLACED THREE TIMES SINCE OWNING VEHICLE. CURRENTLY, ANOTHER SET OF ROTORS WERE NEEDED. *AK

WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES THEY FAILED TO GRAB INTERMITTENTLY. DEALER STATED THAT MASTER CYLINDER MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING VEHICLE TO COLLIDE INTO AN EMBANKMENT.*AK

THE ABS WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. WHILE MAKING SHARP TURNS IN EITHER DIRECTION AND APPLYING PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL, VEHICLE EXPERIENCED EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. INDEPENDENT MECHANIC COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK

ABS SENSORS CONSTANTLY TURNING OFF ABS SYSTEM.*JB

FRONT BRAKES PULSATE WITH A VIOLENT STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY AND FRONT END SHAKE.THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AT NORMAL STREET SPEEDS AND HIGHWAY SPEEDS.

WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES ABS BRAKING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD WITHOUT WARNING. THE BRAKES HAS BEEN REPLACED FIVE TIMES, EVERY 35,000 MILES. WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES VEHICLE WOULD VIBRATE, AND THERE WOULD BE EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. *AK

ABS BRAKE LIGHT ILLUMINATES ON LEFT TURN. HAVE TO STOP, TURN OFF ENGINE AND RESTART TO TURN OFF THE ABS LIGHT. SERVICE REVIEW INDICATED THAT FAULTY LIGHT, WOULD COST 600$ TO REPAIR. *JB

THE BRAKES PERFORMED ERRATICALLY EVEN AFTER THE BRAKE SYSTEM WAS REPLACED. THE OWNER WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED NEW BRAKE CALIPERS. *NLM

ANTI LOCK BRAKES NOT WORKING OR RELEASING CAUSING TO REPLACE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS 4 TIMES ON THE DRIVERS SIDE ABS LIGHT COMING ON AND GOING OFF. FIRST TIME ABOUT A MONTH AFTER PURCHASE OF CAR. *NLM

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WITH NO WARNING BRAKE ROTORS WORE OUT, CAUSING EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK

REAR BRAKE WHEEL CYLINDER LEAKED.*AK *JB

BRAKES FAILED. *AK

FRONT BRAKE ROTOR FAILED TWICE. HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THEM TWICE. ANTI LOCK BRAKE LIGHT ALSO COMES ON PERIODICALLY.

CONSUMER STATES THAT SHE HAS HAD TO REPLACE FRONT ROTORS/ PADS, AND REAR CYLINDERS. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH ON HIGHWAY VEHICLE STARTED TO SHIMMY AND PULL TO THE RIGHT. AFTER TAKING VEHICLE TO DEALER, ALL THE ABOVE REPAIRS WERE MADE. *AK

BRAKE PULSATION CONTINUES AFTER SEVERAL SETS OF ROTORS AND PADS. ALSO HAVE REPLACED CALIPERS, MASTER CYLINDER AND HOSES. REAR BRAKES NOT FUNCTIONAL.*AK