NHTSA Complaint #10054588 — 2000 CHEVROLET MALIBU

ON YOUR SITE I HAVE FOUND MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING COOLANT LEAK DUE TO POOR SEALING OF THE MANIFLOD GASKET THAT ACCORDING THE SEVICE BULLETIN ON THIS SITE, REQUIRES NEW GASKET TYPE TO REPLACE THE OLD, AND THE INTAKE MANIFOLD BOLTS CLEANED AND COATED WITH THREDLOCKER AND TORQUED TO A REVISED SPEC. THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE ONCE TO MY CAR AT ABOUT 30K MILES AND FORTUNATELY COVER UNDER WARRANTY, IF NOT IT WOULD HAVE COST ME $1050, PROBLEM IS NOW THE CAR IS DOING THE SAME THING AGAIN AT 79K MILES AND IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY....HOW MANY TIMES SHOULD THIS HAPPEN? WAS THE SERVICE BULLETIN PUT OUT AS A PERMAMANT SOLUTION FOR THIS PROBLEM? IF NOT HOW LONG SHOULD THIS WORK BE GUARANTEED? WHY WAS THERE NOT A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM? DOES THERE HAVE TO BE A FATALITY TO RECALL A VECHICLE? IN ADDITION I ALSO HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM WITH THE HAZARD WARNING SWITCH THAT ALSO EFFECTED THE WIPERS, NEITHER WOULD WORK, AGAIN THIS REPAIR WAS SUBMITTED AS WARRANTY WORK. I HAVE COMPLAINED SEVERAL TIMES TO BOB BELL CHEVY ABOUT HOW HOT THE DASH INSTRUMENTS GET TO TOUCH AND HAVE ALREADY HAD TO HAVE RELATED ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS REPAIRED, TO NOTE..WHEN I FIRST COMPLAINED ABOUT THE HEAT WHEN TOUCHED TO CHANGE INTRUMENT SETTINGS I WAS TOLD "THAT'S NORMAL". GRANTED MY EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERED SOME OF THE WORK BUT I STILL HAD TO PAY A $250 DEDUCTABLE W/EACH PROBLEM. ALL THESE PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN REPORTED ON THIS NHTSA SITE BY MANY PEOPLE AND ADDITION OTHERS I KNOW PERSONALLY AND WHO I HAVE HAD MANY DISCUSSIONS WITH ALSO HAVE THE SAME YEAR MALIBU WITH ALL THE SAME PROBLEMS....WHY HASN'T THE MANUFACT. RECALLED THE CAR FOR THESES PROBLEMS, SURELY ALL CAN CAUSE FIRE SAFETY PROBLEMS. HOW ARE RECALLS DETERMINED AND WHAT CAN WE ALL DO????????????? I NEVER DREAMED CHEVROLET WOULD BE SO CHEESY. MY LAST CAR WAS 12 YEARS OLD AND OLDS CUSTOM CRUISER WAGON - NEVER GAVE ME A PROBLEM THAT WAS SO MAJOR AS THESE NOTED HERE, I SHOULD HAVE NEVER GOT RID OF IT FOR THIS MALIBU!*AK