2000 Malibu strange noise, or was it...

#11

Small world, eh? I bought mine right after the Canada Day weekend - our cars
were likely sitting together on the same lot 14 years ago!

Almost a decade and a half of Maritime weather and salt has been hard on my
old machine. I've stayed ahead of the cosmetic stuff and the body integrity
is reasonably sound. It has, however, developed an annoying (and
untraceable - I've tried) water leak through the firewall. After every heavy
rain, I have to sponge out the passenger side floorboards. Despite that, it
is a mechanical marvel. I change the oil regularly and that's about it. I
use it as my "run about" and for getting my canoe to the lake (I will admit
to driving it into spots a 4-door sedan has no business being). This may be
the last winter for her though, I'll see how the safety inspection goes next
spring.

If this Malibu holds up only half as well, I'll be satisfied... despite the
"horror stories".

Wes

"Brad Clarke" <shpxbsslbhqnzafcnzzref (AT) abfcnz (DOT) pbz> wrote

Quote:

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 03:11:00 GMT, "Wes Whitlock"
wwwhitlock (AT) ns (DOT) sympatico.ca> wrote:

I bought my Cavalier at Scotia on Robie Street. When did you buy yours?
I
picked mine up in July of '89. They are still around, but are now just
called O'Reagans Chev-Olds (used to be call O'Reagan's Scotia Chev-Olds)
and
have expanded over most of the block. I bought the Malibu at Forbe's
over in
Dartmouth (right colour, better price).
I bought mine in late July '89. It was the last one they had, but it
was a 5-speed and I didn't know how to drive a standard at the time.

I was also looking at a Honda Civic Si hatchback at the time, and the
Honda salesman taught me how to drive a standard.

I was ticked off that the Honda cost as much as the Cavalier and yet the
Honda didn't come with a radio or power steering. I bought the Cavalier
the next day

I used to get it serviced at Forbes, as they had better service and
prices.

#12

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 13:53:33 GMT, "Wes Whitlock"
<wwwhitlock (AT) ns (DOT) sympatico.ca> wrote:

Quote:

Small world, eh? I bought mine right after the Canada Day weekend - our cars
were likely sitting together on the same lot 14 years ago!

Almost a decade and a half of Maritime weather and salt has been hard on my
old machine.
I would think so. I moved to Ottawa in 93, and after only 4 years, the

bottom of the drivers door was rusting.

By the time I traded it in in 98, there was 2 inches of sheet metal
missing from the bottom of the drivers door

Brad

#13

Sorry you got a bad one, and even more sorry you now think I'm to blame
cause I don't cry along with you.

Long ago, I had a '68 Toyota Corolla that was great except for the floor
rusting away. Traded for a Chev Vega GT that I loved despite the fender
rust problems. I went back to Toyota because of the 'solid' rep, and never
had a less reliable vehicle -- hell, I had to rely on an old Triumph
Spitfire for transportation more than once when the SR-5:
1. wouldn't start
2. leaked all its oil out through a bad (oem) oil filter
3. blew its head gasket.
4. broke its rear wheel studs
(you get the idea)
Had an '86 Grand Am that was far better than expected, then a '90 Caravan
that was terrific. Got a '99 Caravan, and couldn't WAIT to get out of the
lease before it completely self-destructed. Driving a Vibe and a Malibu
now, and so far, so good. I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert, and I
rant too when something breaks that I think shouldn't. Just trying to get
people to put things in perspective.

Just remember, you MIGHT be able to weight the odds, but if you get a
trouble-free unit of ANYTHING, consider yourself extremely lucky.
Mass-production economics are such that a certain percentage of crap is
expected and accepted by the manufacturer, even if it ISN'T by the consumer
..... no sense spitting in the wind, you only get your face wet. Fix what
you can, fight what you can, and move on (just my "IDIOTIC" view of reality)

better luck next time (and luck IS the operative word)

"Teranews" <N/A> wrote

Hey Chris, wanta buy a SHITTY Malibu? I have one to sell you for a cheap
(NO/LOW) resale value of $2500.00. After you inherit all of its problems due
to Quality Control problems and Manufacturer defects then we can watch you
remain silent about the breakdowns and expensive repairs and then you can
"JUST DEAL WITH IT" ! Seriously I have no idea why you even made this
IDIOTIC post in this newsgroup. People here have REAL issues with this car,
not just random breakdowns and problems other cars have.

"Chris Moore" <ask.here (AT) reply (DOT) here> wrote

Quote:

That's a great story, and the responses from the 'doomsayers' just
emphasize
your point.

I've had good and bad luck with a large variety of cars from numerous
makers. Mitsubishi doesn't know how to make valve guides, Honda oil seals
self-destruct, Chrysler trim bits fall off, and Toyota electricals fail
too.
Everyone seems to be struggling with head gasket life as they go to
aluminum
heads and cooling systems are slimmed-down.

Cars are built to price-points, and the Malibu's isn't a very high one. I
agree that widespread problems SHOULD be corrected, but sometimes the
economics just don't work to the consumers' advantage.

S**t happens people, deal with it.

"Wes Whitlock" <wwwhitlock (AT) ns (DOT) sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:zBYib.13739$M71.358901 (AT) ursa-nb00s0 (DOT) nbnet.nb.ca...
I check this newsgroup every now and then to see what's the latest with
Malibu problems/solutions and I thought I'd share this true story. I have
a
2000 and outside of a burnt blower motor resistor and a new set of front
rotors and pads, I haven't had any real problems (knock on wood). Needless
to say, with this car's apparent reputation, I have become sensitive to
any
new or strange sounds while driving.

This past weekend, I was alone in the car running some errands when I
thought I heard a quiet electronic beep coming from the centre console. I
turned the radio down and listened for it to repeat. As I approached a
stop
light and applied the brake, I could definitely hear a muffled beep. I
pulled into a quiet parking lot and soon determined that almost every time
I
touched the brake, this odd beep would occur. I immediately assumed some
kind of computer failure or cross-connect that would develop into complete
electronic failure of the vehicle. To make it worse, it would beep every
now
and then WITHOUT touching the brake pedal. After a good ten minutes of
testing I pulled up and stopped at the edge of the lot feeling sorry for
myself - the Malibu curse had finally found me. As I stared at the centre
console, wondering what I should try next to diagnose this problem, I
heard
the console tentatively say in a quiet, muffled voice, "...hello?".

I was shocked immobile and continued to stare at the heater controls. Did
I
really hear that? What manner of evil possession was this? Again it spoke,
"...hello? Is there anyone there?".

This sounded like my 14 year-old daughter's voice. With a flood of
realization, I un-clipped my cell phone from my hip, where it had been
bumping up against my seat belt, and re-assured my daughter on the other
end. The muffled beeping I had heard was the buttons on my phone being
randomly pushed by my seat belt clip. Random, that is, until it hit
"redial". My embarrassment was surpassed only by my relief that the car
was
OK.

The morale of this story: If you look too hard for a problem, you will
find
one that does not really exist.

Cheers and happy motoring,
Wes

#14

Quote:

however, developed an annoying (and
untraceable - I've tried) water leak through the firewall. After every heavy
rain, I have to sponge out the passenger side floorboards.

Okay, this one should be easy. Usually this means that the drain holes in the
heater/vent air intake ducts are plugged. If you lift the hood, at the base of
the windshield there are these plastic screens to keep stuff out of this area.
Water will get in there too but is supposed to drain out the drain holes. Some
junk probably got in there and filled them up or partially blocked them. When
it rains hard the chamber fills with water and spills over into the interior
compartment. Clear out the drain holes and your problem should be solved. I had
a similar problem with a door once. It would fill with water and flood the
interior. But I know people who had your problem too. Good luck.

George

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2000 Malibu strange noise, or was it...

Chevrolet Malibu Chevrolet Malibu Discussions (alt.autos.chevrolet.malibu)

Re: 2000 Malibu strange noise, or was it... - 10-19-2003 , 08:53 AM

Re: 2000 Malibu strange noise, or was it... - 10-19-2003 , 10:34 AM

Re: 2000 Malibu strange noise, or was it... - 10-19-2003 , 02:57 PM

Re: 2000 Malibu strange noise, or was it... - 10-26-2003 , 12:25 AM