Complaint Review: Chevrolet General Motors - Detroit Michigan

To start with i do know what it means when a warranty is expired so thank you for explaining it to me. second i have filed a safety defect with NTHSA and spoke with other chevy owners with the same issue and they are contacting GM and the NTHSA to file complaints as well. my malibu came off the assembly line in early 2005 and according the GM there were some defects in the production and design of that year for the Malibu and Malibu Maxx which is why the did the special policy coverage adjustment, however they have since made 2 more adjustments in the VIN numbers they were replacing.

now if anyone has any other suggestions i would love to hear them if not please keep your tacky comments to yourself. thank you very much.

The first step in attempting to get a manufacturer to repair a safety issue (for free) is to file a complaint with the NHTSA-their website is

 http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

Ronny has a good idea as far as contacting others to see if more folks have the same issue, but then these folks need to REPORT the problem to the Office of Defects Investigation.

This will hopefully get the ball rolling (not pun intended.)

You say,

"I asked to speak with a supervisor regarding this since this is a defect with an experimental design from GM and the only year it was done was 2005. she told me that it would be sometime next week before i could speak with anyone. and she was sorry". Unquote.

That is quite wrong. It was not an experimental design only introduced in 2005. My early 2004 Malibu has the same electric power assist and I've never had any problems with it. That's 5 years of no problem service. One of the reasons GM introduced it was to improve fuel consumption. In the case of hydraulic power assist, the pump uses energy from the engine at all times. The electric power system only draws electrical energy on demand. So if you are going straight ahead on the highway, there is no wasted energy loss in the steering system. 

Lots of other manufacturers are turning to electric power assist for this reason. Also, it is power ASSIST so you do not lose steering control if the system fails. The steering wheel only feels heavier.

Since the US government has purchased GM, technically if you are an American citizen..you are a stockholder. So I would pull that vehicle into the white house and ask Obama to fix the steering.

Kidding aside, When the warranty is up, defects are not covered unless safety related as stated. But..this doesn't mean you should give up. I would keep on GM about this..you may get nothing from it..or you may get a discount on the repair..but it's worth a shot.

With that said..perhaps a steering issue can be a considered a safety hazard..keep your fingers crossed for a recall. As well, try to contact other owners of that vehicle who are experiencing similar issues...maybe get a petition together or something..if GM was smart they would be better off taking care of a few customers with this issue then being forced into a recall..which could cost them millions.

"It does not matter if my warranty is expired. Chevy designed the power assist and should replaced any defective parts on it or make these parts avaliable to the public, instead of charging $800.00 to fix a desigin flaw that they caused."

  Yes, it does matter if your warranty is expired.  The purpose of the warranty is to cover the cost of repairing/replacing defects.  It has a specific time and mileage limit.  They may have extended coverage for certain VINs, but they did this as a goodwill gesture.   Bottom line, they are not required to do anything for you after the warranty period expires.  The exception would be a safety related recall ordered by NHTSA.  Since that hasn't happened, you don't have a leg to stand on.

   I'm not saying that this is a good thing.  I've owned several vehicles that displayed obvious design defects after the warranty period had expired.   All car makers have them.  It's not fun, but that's the way it is.  With the exeption of the recall process, manufacturers are only required to cover defects during the warranty period.

It does not matter if my warranty is expired. Chevy designed the power assist and should replaced any defective parts on it or make these parts avaliable to the public, instead of charging $800.00 to fix a desigin flaw that they caused.  i have had mine checked out by 3 different mechanics and the only ones who even knew about it is the dealership. now you tell me who should be responsible for it. GM will not even respond to my request for more information on this flaw or design of the power assist steering. the special coverage policy has been extended 3 different times to cover more VIN numbers and mileage now im pushing to make it a complete RECALL.

I know what you are talking about. I have a 2007 Chevy Cobalt that has the same problem. Unfortunately, mine does not need just a new steering column. It also needs an electronic motor. We were told that the company that makes these motors, makes only 100 of them a week. They have an order backlog of 400 pending orders! We were told that it could take a month to get the needed part. Now I know why Chevy has never recalled these vehicles. They could not service all these cars.

    Once the warranty expires, it's up to you to foot the repair bills.  That is how warranties work.   It doesn't really matter if the manufacturer designed something poorly.   It lasted past the warranty (and more than 70,000 miles).  Do you really expect a manufacturer to keep repairing stuff for free on cars that have that kind of mileage?   If so, your fooling yourself.

Gm cars have been pretty notorious for problems hence they went bankrupt. They just couldn't deliver what people really wanted and needed..a reliable product that is economical.

However the government now owns GM..(using our tax dollars those idiots), so I say you back that car right into the White House and demand Obama or Pelosi get under the hood and fix the steering motor.