2006 Chevrolet Malibu problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (758) · Fuel/Propulsion System (36) · Vehicle Speed Control (31)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Malibu model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
910 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (6)
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2015-02-04 · campaign 15V064000 · 69,633 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2006-2007 Chevrolet Malibu and Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured April 1, 2006, to June 30, 2006, and 2006-2007 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured April 18, 2006, to June 30, 2006. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (EPS) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the torque sensor assembly, free of charge. The recall began February 24, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 14772. Note: This is an expansion of recall 14V-153 to cover additional vehicles built between April 1, 2006 and June 30, 2006.
Steering 2014-07-21 · campaign 14E044000 · 7,304 vehicles
Defect: Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain replacement intermediate steering shafts sold under the Dorman, OE Solutions, and Solutions brand names, part numbers 425-167, 2425167, and 7-3074, for installation on 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6, and 2007-2009 Saturn Aura vehicles. The affected steering shafts may have a yoke that inadequately supports the u-joint bearing resulting in a premature failure.
Risk: A joint bearing that fails prematurely may cause separation of the u-joint resulting in a complete loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dorman will notify owners, and dealers will refund the purchase price or replace the steering shafts, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact Dorman customer service at 1-800-523-2492.
Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 2014-05-14 · campaign 14V252000 · 2,440,524 vehicles
Defect: 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
Risk: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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 (Satu
Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:floor Shift 2014-04-30 · campaign 14V224000 · 1,131,113 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on April 29, 2014, that they are recalling 56,214 model year 2007 and 2008 Saturn Aura vehicles. On May 22, 2014, GM increased the recall to include an additional 1,074,899 model year 2004-2008 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured from May 16, 2003, through October 5, 2007, model year 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured from June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, and model year 2005-2008 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured from May 26, 2004, thr
Risk: If the transmission shift cable fractures while the vehicle is being driven, the transmission gear selection may not match the indicated gear and the vehicle may move in an unintended or unexpected direction, increasing the risk of a crash. Furthermore, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, despite selecting the PARK position, the transmission may not be in PARK. If the vehicle
Fix: GM will notify owners, and GM dealers will replace the shift cable assembly and mounting bracket, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 14152.
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2014-03-31 · campaign 14V153000 · 1,373,177 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2006 Malibu Maxx, 2009-2010 HHR (non-turbo), 2010 Cobalt, 2008-2009 Saturn Aura and 2004-2007 Ion, and 2005-2009 Pontiac G6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (EPS) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. GM expects to send an interim notification around May 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 Saturn Ion, 2009-2010 Chevrolet HHR and 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts. Dealers will replace the EPS motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 Chevrolet Malibu and M
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2011-02-28 · campaign 11E009000 · 4,887 vehicles
Defect: TI AUTOMOTIVE IS RECALLING CERTAIN FUEL PUMPS, PART NUMBERS TU456 AND TU303, SOLD UNDER VARIOUS BRAND NAMES AS AFTERMARKET AND REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR THE MOTOR VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMP MAY SEIZE, STOPPING THE FUEL FLOW TO THE ENGINE CREATING A STALLING CONDITION.
Risk: A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR SHOULD THE ENGINE STALL WHILE IN USE.
Fix: TI AUTOMOTIVE WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND WILL REPLACE ANY DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMP WITH A NEW OR REWORKED FUEL PUMP FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 22, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TI AUTOMOTIVE AT 1-866-867-3759 OR LOG ON TO WWW.RECALLRESPONSE.COM.
Service bulletins (762)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-18 · PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from tac.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-02-20 · PIP5358D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an unusual noise and is difficult to identify, isolate or pinpoint. technician should get record a sound clip or take a video of the noise for assessment by engineering. technician will need to
Unknown Or Other 2024-12-07 · PIT5074Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads. the j-35616-64b is the latest test probe released for checking tension or probing the .64 series terminals. the test probe
Showing the 6 most recent of 762 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-26 · Steering“i was driving at a busy time of the day and my steering wheel became almost impossible to turn, and it felt as though my whole car turned off but i gave it gas and went to nearest place i could pull over and noticed my radio was showing that steering fluid or something like that was on the digital part of my radio, so i googled what could the probl…”
2026-10-18 · Unknown Or Other · 💥 crash“i got the car on june 12th on june 16th when i had a severe car vacation not deploy and the seatbelt did not buckle when i bought the car they stated in the paperwork that the airbags have never been deployed and or never been deactivated and i had to find out the hard way 4 days later and due to the transmission shift gear cable when i was driving…”
2026-09-30 · Steering“when i drive the car power steering goes out totally and bings when it goes out.…”
2026-03-23 · Steering · 158,000 mi“the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while pulling out of a parking space, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn. the power steering warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was pushed back into the parking space. the contact stated that the failure was i…”
2026-02-04 · Steering“the power steering went out on the car as i was driving down the highway going 65 mph…”
2026-02-03 · Steering“the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. there were three audible dings with the message "power steering" displayed on the instrument panel. the contact reset the steering wheel and the battery, but the failure persisted. the veh…”
2026-01-16 · Steering · 125,000 mi“the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. the power steering failure warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was driven to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with strg shaft torque failure. the contact was inf…”
2025-12-05 · Steering“my power steering goes in and out as i'm driving depending on the speed. i have trouble swerving if needed because the power steering is not working correctly all the time. …”
2025-11-27 · Steering“power steering warning light appeared then steering wheel tightened while slowing down to make a turn into my apartment. this occured two times in 3 weeks. …”
2025-07-15 · Steering · 118,000 mi“the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, an alarm sounded, and the message "power steering failure" was displayed. no warning light was illuminated. the contact pulled over to the shoulder of the road to restart the vehicle however, the failure persisted. the local dealer was contacted; how…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.