NHTSA Complaint #11055557 — 2001 CHEVROLET MALIBU

2001 CHEVY MALIBU WON'T START IN AUGUST, 2013 CAR WOULD NOT START. IT WAS TRYING TO TURN OVER, BUT WOULD NOT. HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED IN TO DEALER. THEY FOUND PASSLOCK SENSOR NOT WORKING PROPERLY. THEY REPLACED CYLINDER KIT (INCLUDED PASSLOCK SENSOR) AND IGNITION SWITCH. PAID $800. IN OCT. 2, 2017, CAR WOULD NOT START IN PARKING LOT. SAME THING HAPPENED. AS BEFORE, BATTERY WAS NOT AN ISSUE. TOWED TO SAME DEALER. THEY SAID SECURITY SYSTEM GOT SET SOME HOW. THEY REPROGRAMMED THE SYSTEM. SAID IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN, MAY HAVE TO PUT IN NEW SYSTEM. PAID $125. DEC. 2, 2017 IT HAPPENED AGAIN. CAR WOULD NOT START IN GARAGE. THIS TIME, AFTER FINDING ON-LINE FROM MANY POSTS ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM, FOUND A WAY TO GET THE CAR STARTED (10 MINUTE WAIT FOR THE 'ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM' LIGHT TO GO OUT. -THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE SAME WAY THE DEALER STARTED THE CAR IN OCT.) THIS TIME DEALER SAID NEED PASSLOCK SENSOR REPLACED, AGAIN. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ANOTHER $500+. SINCE CAR WAS RUNNING, AND AFTER READING WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT ISSUE, DECLINED REPAIR AT THE TIME. HAVE SEEN HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON NUMEROUS BLOGS AND WEBSITES, INCLUDING NTSHA, ON JUST THIS SPECIFIC CAR AND SPECIFIC ISSUE (2001 MALIBU WON'T START). MANY OF THEM SAYING THE PASSLOCK SENSOR DOES NOT LAST VERY LONG (SOMETIMES FAILS IN 2-4 MONTHS). ALSO SAW SAME PROBLEM ON NUMEROUS OTHER YEARS OF MALIBU, AND OTHER GM CARS. WITH ALL OF THE PROBLEMS WITH THE SYSTEM, THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL OF AT LEAST THE PASSLOCK SENSOR. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, WHETHER OR NOT THERE HAVE BEEN ANY INJURIES OR DEATHS. SOMEONE COULD BE FOLLOWED TO THEIR CAR AND/OR ATTACKED LATE AT NIGHT IN A PARKING LOT, OR ALONG A STREET, NOT ABLE TO DRIVE AWAY. IT COULD BE VERY SERIOUS. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE FIXED. PLEASE ISSUE A RECALL.