2006 Chevrolet Malibu Steering
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The power steering for my Malibu max has stopped working. The steering wheel shakes, it also locks and won't allow you to turn its wheel. The part that it needs is called power steering assist motor. There's been many recalls on this car about the same issue. There's been an incident where I almost had a collision because of this problem unexpectedly which was the last time I've used my car since. Please let me know how I can get a recall for my car issue since my VIN # isnt listed Thank you.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately at 65 MPH, the contact was switching lanes from left to right, as the contact had turned the wheel slightly to the right the steering moved violently to the left and nearly caused the contact to lose control and hit the highway divider. The contact stated he saw numerous warning lights but was unable to focus on which lights were illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was not diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the failure is intermittent, but had kept occurring. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (Steering). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 230,839.
Good afternoon. The electrical power system has gone out of the vehicle. It was recalled in 2015 for this same issue and it was serviced in 2015 but it’s still having the same issue. Whenever I’m driving, the steering wheel just completely locks up on me and the EPS goes out completely making it extremely difficult to steer. This happened as my wife and I were turning away from Cannon AFB, NM where we’re stationed and during the outward turn, the steering locked up making me go onto oncoming traffic. Luckily there wasn’t a vehicle directly in front of me. I called a GM dealer and they said it is not covered under warranty because the recall is no longer active.
The contact stated that his daughter owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his daughter was attempting to drive out of a parking spot the steering wheel was hard to maneuver. The power steering wheel warning light illuminated. The contact was unaware if the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic or a dealer for diagnosis. The contact stated that his daughter informed him that the diagnosis was a malfunction with the power steering assist that needs replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The daughter was also informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (Steering) however the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact stated that his daughter called the manufacturer who confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering functionality, with the power steering warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was inoperable. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or a local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (Steering). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
Power steering goes in and out
The electric power steering went out while I was driving. I will not be able to send the part in for inspection until it gets replaced. My safety and others were at risk because it made it really difficult to change lanes which could've resulted in a crash. The problem hasn't been reproduced on my vehicle specifically, but has been produced on enough vehicles to have a recall issued. There weren't any warnings prior to the power steering going out. Just a beep and a warning on the radio display as it went out. My vehicle was manufactured in May of 2006 but want recalled, although the affected vehicles were made from April - June 2006. This is the second one that has gone out on me and there is still no recall for my vehicle. First one happened October of 2020, got it fixed then the second one went out November of 2023.
Power steering assistance fails at random times. The DIC does show "POWER STEERING" warning when it happens. Also, when parked, the steering wheel will jerk slightly left and right a few times on its own. The power steering usually fails after this, too.
Random power steering loss that happens more often in the winter. There is a recall on my model vehicle for power steering loss but not my particular VIN. I think Chevy needs to widen the range of vehicles since I am experiencing this problem as well.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started to shake and vibrate. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact pulled over and turned the vehicle off and on and regained power steering functionality. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact stated that the failure was related to a recall that had been completed under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
The power steering is randomly going out, no way to predict. This was a recall issue several years ago, which I had repaired at the dealership (when I did not have the issue), and now the issue is happening. Current diag says I need the Torque position sensor and power steering motor and module
When steering under power on acceleration or under a turn, the steering locks up and lose control of my car. This even happens anytime i raised the engine rpm up. Found out the previous ownwe was in an accident because of this. The had 20, 000 miles on it when i bought it in 2021.very dangerous. I want chevy to fix my car at no cost to me
EPS irregularities locks up..as previous reported. Steering column now feels lose when using tilt steering wheel lock won't engage. Steering wheel jumps back and forth Steering column moves. According to VIN number there is no recall. Other sites state April 2006 malibu was recalled. According to prior owner after being in touch ..they said recall was mailed to them around 2016 but didn't follow up because no issues at that time.this is my only transportation I cannot afford to attain another vehicle. I am a nurse. I need resolution
Noticed the steering was a little loose one day. It alarmed me so I kept a check on it. Now it's progressed and squeals. My steering is loose and almost free spinning for most of my driving.
Steering wheel locks up if you take off to quick.
on dash display beeped and said power steering.
Power steering turns off while driving. Steering wheel shakes then power steering turns off. Power steering will turn back on occasionally but turns back off.
Driving at 20mph, increasing speed to merge onto grand central parkway (up to around 45mph), steering wheel seized. All lights came on the dash, then disappeared. The car let out a few chimes, possibly 5 chimes. The car was unable to be steered and crossed 3 lanes before regaining control. Recall for the steering was completed on this car in 2020. The issue has occurred multiple times since the recall was completed.
the power electric steering message not working comes on in the info center at times i believe it said shaft needed to be replaced this has happened a few times this past year comes on a few times then goes out for a while i dont believe it was fixed on a recall
The contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the driver was driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic determined that the steering column was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 206,203.
Power steering failure. Locks up while driving. Locks right after starting also backing out of driveway. Bell goes off but motor didn't lose power. This happened 2 times
Power steering light kept coming on for a long time and steering was affected sometimes making it very hard to steer now its really causing a hard time steering I'm afraid to drive the car. I understand there was a recall about this problem in the 2006 malibu I never got a notice. Sandra Cusson.
Power steering goes out with out warning while driving. Says add power steering fluid no way to add some. Also makes a clunking noise and steering wheel is very shaky. The loosing of power steering is not safe as it can cause an accident. After looking up issue many have same issues. This needs to be recalled and fixed.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electric power steering failed and the contact nearly lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with electric power steering failure. The contact was informed that the electric power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the vehicle had previously been serviced under an unknown steering recall in 2015 and provided no further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.
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Quick Summary
The 2006 Chevrolet Malibu has 834 Steering complaints on file. 20 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.