NHTSA Complaint #11425443 — 2013 CHEVROLET MALIBU

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while attempting to turn on the front windshield defroster, the defroster failed to operate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the lever for the defrost door was broken and the blower motor was faulty. The dealer replaced the HVAC mode cam and levers however, the failure recurred with air coming out of different vents, not where it was designated. Additionally, the battery was failing causing the interior and exterior lights to dim. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed that the body control module needed to be flashed. The vehicle was taken to another dealer Piehl Chevrolet Buick GMC of Princeton (1402 N Main St, Princeton, IL 61356), and diagnosed that the mode actuator cam had failed and the dashboard was disassembled to access the actuator mode cam and found that the gears were not positioned correctly. The second dealer Piehl Chevrolet Buick GMC of Princeton repositioned the gears and flashed the body control module. The contact stated that the failure persisted and the vehicle was taken back Piehl Chevrolet Buick GMC of Princeton and the air delivery was inspected and found that while the vehicle was turned off with the key not in the ignition, the door module would move inadvertently, the doors and gears were possibly broken by the previous dealer when the HVAC mode cam and levers were replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 136,000.