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Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Reviews

19 messages,  Last post on May 05, 2012 at 5:40 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, Hatchback

    

Messages Page 3 of 3

#18 of 19 2005 Malibu Maxx Owner-7 years in by sophiemaxx

May 04, 2012 (9:11 pm)

I bought my Maxx with 16,000 miles on it. It had been a dealer "loaner" car. I bought it on impulse, I knew nothing about the Maxx when I bought it and wow, I totally lucked out. We've been together for 7 years now, and it's been pretty great. It now has almost 130k miles on it and although it's not perfect, I've gotta say it's been a nice car to own.
 
There are drawbacks- the upholstery quality is horrible, you can get plain water on the seat and it appears stained. But if you use a foamy upholstery cleaner on it, it cleans up pretty well. Nice seat covers are a good idea.
Also, the keyless entry remote sucks. Get an aftermarket one when yours stops working.
Many little cosmetic things have gone wrong, not a huge deal... like the vanity mirror covers broke off pretty early, the radio power button's decal has worn off, etc. but these are little piddly, petty things. I'd rather things like this break as they don't affect the drivability of the car.
When I was at about 50k miles, a guy tried to jump my car but his jumper cables were mislabeled. It shorted a fuse out and "stuck" a CD in the CD player. It still works, but I have to listen to that one CD. The radio still works fine, as does the CD player, but like I said I cannot remove the CD so it's just Colbie Callait for me. Due to the "anti-theft" feature on the radio (or I call it- the "pro-money" feature for the dealer) they cannot take the radio out or really do anything without making the whole thing not work. I refuse to pay $800 plus for a new stereo. I've thought about getting a really nice aftermarket system put in, but I'll lose the features that are connected to the car- trip meter, fuel economy calculator, fuel range estimator, etc. so I just got an adapter for my iPod that plugs into the cigarette lighter and broadcasts my music on any unused radio station of my choosing. It works very well and is the cheapest as well as easiest solution.
 
I have done very little to this car and had very little in repairs so far. I've always changed the oil & filter every 3k miles. I replaced the belt (it only has one belt) proactively at around 85k miles. I've had a brake job and a new set of tires. I've replaced the headlight bulbs a few times, as they tend to burn out, but it's because they're daytime running. If I have the car on a long trip and it's not cloudy or overcast, I just turn the daytime running lights off. After I started doing that, I haven't had to change the headlamp bulbs in about 3 years.
This car hasn't required very much in the way of repairs. A seal on the front right transaxle leaked for a while and was replaced (around $150 repair). It has been leaking again and my mechanic suggested a new axle. It's only going to be about $300, which seems pretty reasonable.
I drove this car off road/dirt road when living in the mountains for a year. No pavement for 15 miles to the house, so 30 miles part off road/part dirt road almost daily for a year. Some days were pretty scary with mud, snow, and ice. Considering this car is not made for that kind of driving, I think she did really well. The ground clearance is pretty good on this car- a little over 6 inches. I had a steep incline driveway that consisted of dirt, big rocks, and boulder type rocks. I had to be very careful and crawl up slowly so as to not tear up the undercarriage (although, truth be told, the undercarriage of this car looks like someone took a sledgehammer to it). I did have to replace the tranny pan, but it was a $150 fix and pretty much my own fault for driving my car in places it wasn't meant to be driven.
I've had a "sort of" tuneup, but recently realized that I have never had the spark plugs replaced. I have almost 130k on the original spark plugs. (Eeks.) That being said, it's rather irresponsible on my part, but kudos to the makers of those plugs.
The A/C recently stopped getting as cold as normal, and I've got to have that looked at, but even if it's a big repair bill, I've more than gotten my money's worth out of this car. It's never left me on the side of the road, which I appreciate.
 
I have consistently gotten way better than EPA figures in mpg. My normal city mpg was around 28, and I averaged 36+ hwy until about 10k miles ago. I think a good tune up will help get my numbers back up again. Currently, I'm at around 25 city and 34 hwy, which is still awesome. On a road trip to the east coast a few years back, I got over 45 mpg driving at sea level at around 55 mph. I was floored when I saw the reading on the display and I checked and rechecked using the old fashioned way with my math skills. It was real and it was right. I couldn't believe it.
 
I've read that some people have had horrible luck with the Malibu Maxx, and others love theirs. Not every single car made is identical and some are truly lemons and some are okay, and I think some end up being really great. I am fortunate to have had a great experience with my Maxx. I took pretty good care of her until moving to the mountains and I know that took it's toll, but I'm pretty confident that I can get 200k out of her or better. The Maxx has been good to me.

#19 of 19 200K on mine by pao

May 05, 2012 (5:40 pm)

]8 years and 215K on my 04 Maxx LT when I gave it to my stepson as his daily driver....not one major mechanical failure...two tire rods and one brake caliper and one battery....all still running great...good MPG, cold AC....should make it to 300K easy

Messages Page 3 of 3

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