2005 Chevrolet MALIBU - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2005 Chevrolet Malibu has received high safety ratings in various crash scenarios, with a 5-star rating for both the front crash driver side and the front crash passenger side. The overall side crash rating is also commendable at 4 stars. While the car does not come equipped with electronic stability control, forward collision warning, or lane departure warning systems, its solid crash test ratings provide a level of assurance for occupants.

Despite its safety performance, the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu has had a relatively high number of complaints, with 1377 reported issues. Additionally, there have been 7 recalls associated with this model, indicating potential concerns that required manufacturer intervention. It is always advisable for owners of this vehicle to stay informed about any recalls and promptly address safety-related issues to ensure the well-being of themselves and others on the road.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

1,377

Recall Count

7

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2005 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR. Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

No
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2005 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR. Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR. Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 4 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2005 Chevrolet MALIBU

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"i was tightening the battery and there was a spark and it’s been difficult to steer ever since"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-08-02
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that after his daughter started the vehicle, she became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly. no warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not repaired. after investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering) but the vin was not included. the manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. the failure mileage was 85,000."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-08-12
Complaint:
"issue started at ~80k while driving 60-65 mph, the steering wheel would unexpectedly shake violently. after hitting brakes, the steering system would return to normal. had car evaluated by mechanic specializing in steering/suspension and could not recreate the issue. this issue has been returning intermittently for the past year (99,800 mileage now). now the engine light is on indicating “power steering “ on dashboard and loss of power steering. i’m issuing this report because my vin number shows no outstanding recalls but there’s a known issue (14v15300) against this vehicle."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2025-02-11
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that he received recall notification of the nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the recall was completed however, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became stiff and difficult to maneuver. the contact stated that he had to turn off and restart the vehicle. the power steering assist warning light intermittently illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque sensor assembly or the eps motor controller unit needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 140,000."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-10-10
Complaint:
"the contact's wife owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated while driving 30 mph, the vehicle emitted a chime and the message "steering" was displayed. the contact stated that the vehicle did not experience any mechanical failure and he was able to continue driving. the contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering torque sensor needed to be reprogrammed. the independent mechanic referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. the dealer was not notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle was previously repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering) on february 09, 2015. the failure mileage was approximately 106,200."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-07-10
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist fault message was displayed and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. additionally, there was a ticking sound coming from the steering column while turning the steering wheel. the cause of the failure was not yet determined. the local dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). the contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. the failure mileage was unknown."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-03-09
Complaint:
"in january 2022, i started to lose the power steering my 2005 chevy malibu. after much research, i have learned that chevrolet installed eps systems on the 2004-2007 malibus. i found there has been a recall on the failure of this system. i contacted our local chevrolet dealership in april 2022 to learn there is a mileage stipulation on the recall. presently this is my only mode of transportation, which loses the power steering ability while driving. i am a disabled senior on a fixed income, therefore, leaving me with a crippled vehicle. i purchased this pre-owned vehicle in 2012, with the intention of not buying another one. i would like assistance with the repair on my malibu."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-10-01
Complaint:
"power steering goes in & out. wheel sometimes shakes side to side with & without touching wheel"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-05-03
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu maxx. the contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph and making a right turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. there was no warning light illuminated. the contact was able to pull to the side of the road and stop the vehicle. the contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where it was not diagnosed due to the mechanics being unable to replicate the failure. the contact became aware of nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering) however, the vin was not included. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer had been informed of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 150,000."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-03-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving at 65 mph and making a turn, the steering wheel inadvertently lost power steering assist functionality. there were no warning lights illuminated. the contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle with the extra effort needed to steer the vehicle. the contact stated that as she arrived at her destination, turned off the vehicle, and restarted it, the steering wheel regained power steering functionality. the contact notified an independent mechanic who advised her that the failure was related to nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). the contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving and the steering wheel was increasingly more difficult to maneuver. the dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist because nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering) had expired. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 183,000."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2021-06-12

Recalls for the 2005 Chevrolet MALIBU

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 chevrolet malibu vehicles manufactured may 16, 2003, through october 11, 2012, 2004-2007 malibu maxx vehicles manufactured june 25, 2003, through april 5, 2007, 2005-2010 pontiac g6 vehicles manufactured may 26, 2004, through january 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 saturn aura vehicles manufactured april 24, 2006, through may 26, 2009. in the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the body control module (bcm) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the brake apply sensor (bas) circuit. these fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'park' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist..."
Consequence:
Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). GM's number for this recall is 13036.

Component(s) Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM > WIRING
Date of incident: 2014-05-14

CHEVROLET Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

CHEVROLET ranks 2 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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