RecallRepo

1997 Chevrolet Malibu Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 1997 Chevrolet Malibu has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 6,773,527 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 693 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14V400000 2014-07-03 5,877,718 affected
Defect

This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 3,…

Consequence

If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 9, 2014. GM's number for this recall is 14350.

STEERING 03V527000 2003-12-11 750,283 affected
Defect

CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES HAVE LOWER PINION BEARINGS IN THE POWER RACK AND PINION ASSEMBLY IN WHICH THE RETAINER TABS WERE NOT CRIMPED PROPERLY. THESE RETAINERS COULD FAIL AND PERMIT THE BALL BEARINGS TO ESCAPE.

Consequence

IF THIS OCCURS, THE PINION SHAFT CAN BE FORCED UPWARD DURING LEFT TURNS AND BACK DOWN AS THE STEERING WHEEL IS MOVED BACK AND TO THE RIGHT. IF THE PINION SHAFT MOVES FURTHER, THE DRIVER WILL NEED TO EXERT MORE EFFORT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, SIMILAR TO A VEHICLE WITHOUT POWER ASSISTED STEERING. IF THE PINION…

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW LOWER PINION BEARING UNLESS INSPECT OF THE EXISTING BEARING INDICATES THAT REPLACEMENT OF THE GEAR ASSEMBLY IS NECESSARY. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 5, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537; OR PONTIAC…

VISIBILITY 01V068000 2001-03-08 129,427 affected
Defect

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD IN OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE "SALT BELT" STATES: ALASKA, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, IDAHO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA,…

Consequence

REDUCED VISIBILITY IN INCLEMENT WEATHER COULD LEAD TO A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER PIVOT HOUSING. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 14, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-222-1020 OR…

AIR BAGS 97V107000 1997-06-28 16,099 affected
Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE FASTENERS THAT SECURE THE PASSENGER AIR BAG MODULE TO THE INSTRUMENT PANEL TIE BAR WERE OMITTED.

Consequence

IF THE AIR BAG DEPLOYS, THE MODULE COULD SEPARATE FROM THE INSTRUMENT PANEL STRIKING AND INJURING AN OCCUPANT.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE AIR BAG MODULE FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE FASTENERS AND, IF NECESSARY, INSTALL ANY FASTENERS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN OMITTED.

Complaints by component

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
46
3crashes1injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
31
1crashes
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
29
1crashes
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC
26
1crashes
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR
25
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
24
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
17
SUSPENSION:FRONT
17
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
16
1crashes
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:LINKAGES
15
Total complaints693

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“Theft light. Car won’t start it’s happened 20 times in the last 6 months. I was driving and theft light caused everything to shut down. This is a dangerous thing that needs to be fixed”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2021-08-02

“Theft light. Car won’t start it’s happened 20 times in the last 6 months. I was driving and theft light caused everything to shut down. This is a dangerous thing that needs to be fixed”

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM · reported 2021-08-02

“Theft light. Car won’t start it’s happened 20 times in the last 6 months. I was driving and theft light caused everything to shut down. This is a dangerous thing that needs to be fixed”

ENGINE · reported 2021-08-02

“My thief light starts blinking and my car will not start. This has happened 3 times this past month. I was told it was the passlock to turn car in on position for 10 minutes or until light stops blinking then it would start. This is a safety issues that needs to be fixed before it happens while…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2021-01-02

“My thief light starts blinking and my car will not start. This has happened 3 times this past month. I was told it was the passlock to turn car in on position for 10 minutes or until light stops blinking then it would start. This is a safety issues that needs to be fixed before it happens while…”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2021-01-02

“Was driving on interstate when car completely shut off, lost all power , no power steering or power brakes. Second time, came to a stop on city street and car shut off again , no power , no power steering or power brakes again. Car had to be towed. This happened after I paid modern chevrolet to…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2020-10-13

“Theft light keeps coming on, my car will stop when it happens. This has happened while driving. And will not start. I’ve had the recall fixed years ago that was said to be the reason. It didn’t fix the problem”

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM · reported 2020-05-01

“Theft light keeps coming on, my car will stop when it happens. This has happened while driving. And will not start. I’ve had the recall fixed years ago that was said to be the reason. It didn’t fix the problem”

ENGINE · reported 2020-05-01

Defect investigations

Investigation EA00010 Opened 2000-03-27 · closed 2001-08-09

STOP LAMP ASSEMBLY OVERHEAT

There is no summary currently available

Investigation EA00019 Opened 2000-07-12 · closed 2001-03-06

WINDSHIELD WIPER

ON FEBRUARY 22, 2000, THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) INITIATED PE00-009 BASED ON SEVEN REPORTS OF WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1997 & 1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU & OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS VEHICLES.THE INVESTIGATION WAS UPGRADED TO EA00-019 ON JULY 12, 2000.DURING THE COURSE OF THE…

Investigation EA02003 Opened 2002-04-04 · closed 2002-12-10

POWER RACK AND PINION STEERING FAILURE

THE LOWER PINION BEARING IN THE RACK AND PINION STEERING ASSEMBLY MAY FAIL.GM WILL RECALL 1997-98 GRAND PRIX BUILT BETWEEN 1-MAR-96 AND 31-OCT-97; AND 1996-98 U-VANS/J-CARS BUILT BETWEEN 1-JAN-96 AND 31-OCT-97.SEE ATTACHED SUMMARY.

Investigation EA02003 Opened 2002-04-04 · closed 2002-12-10

POWER RACK AND PINION STEERING FAILURE

THE LOWER PINION BEARING IN THE RACK AND PINION STEERING ASSEMBLY MAY FAIL.GM WILL RECALL 1997-98 GRAND PRIX BUILT BETWEEN 1-MAR-96 AND 31-OCT-97; AND 1996-98 U-VANS/J-CARS BUILT BETWEEN 1-JAN-96 AND 31-OCT-97.SEE ATTACHED SUMMARY.

Investigation PE00009 Opened 2000-02-22 · closed 2000-07-12

WINDSHIELD WIPER

There is no summary currently available

Investigation PE01038 Opened 2001-11-14 · closed 2002-04-04

STEERING RACK AND PINION

ODI HAS RECEIVED 200 COMPLAINTS FROMT CONSUMERS AND 1,238 FROM GM ALLEGING FAILURE OR LOCKUP OF THE STEERING RACK AND PINION UNIT (R&P).THIS ALLEGED CONDITION CAN RESULT IN THE LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND A CRASH CAN RESULT.GM HAS REPORTED SIX CRASHES IN WHICH EIGHT PEOPLE HAVE SUSTAINED INJURIES…

Investigation RQ03001 Opened 2003-01-02 · closed 2003-09-15

POWER RACK AND PINION STEERING FAILURE

GM CONDUCTED A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA # 02V286) TO ADDRESS A STEERING DEFECT PERTAINING TO A LOWER PINION BEARING (LPB) WITHIN THE RACK AND PINION STEERING GEAR (R&P). THE RECALL COVERED 1,159,156 MODEL YEAR 1997-1998 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX VEHICLES BUILT BETWEEN MARCH 1, 1996 AND OCTOBER 31, 1997, 1996-1998 PONTIAC TRANS…

Investigation RQ03001 Opened 2003-01-02 · closed 2003-09-15

POWER RACK AND PINION STEERING FAILURE

GM CONDUCTED A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA # 02V286) TO ADDRESS A STEERING DEFECT PERTAINING TO A LOWER PINION BEARING (LPB) WITHIN THE RACK AND PINION STEERING GEAR (R&P). THE RECALL COVERED 1,159,156 MODEL YEAR 1997-1998 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX VEHICLES BUILT BETWEEN MARCH 1, 1996 AND OCTOBER 31, 1997, 1996-1998 PONTIAC TRANS…

Investigation RQ04006 Opened 2004-07-07 · closed 2005-01-13

WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE

IN MARCH 2001, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT IS CONDUCTING A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA NUMBER 01V068) ON CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1997-1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU AND OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS VEHICLES TO REPLACE DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELD WIPER PIVOT HOUSINGS.GM REPORTED THE WIPER FAILURE WAS TRIGGERED BY LOADS PLACED ON THE WIPERS WHEN…

Investigation RQ04006 Opened 2004-07-07 · closed 2005-01-13

WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE

IN MARCH 2001, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT IS CONDUCTING A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA NUMBER 01V068) ON CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1997-1998 CHEVROLET MALIBU AND OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS VEHICLES TO REPLACE DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELD WIPER PIVOT HOUSINGS.GM REPORTED THE WIPER FAILURE WAS TRIGGERED BY LOADS PLACED ON THE WIPERS WHEN…

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.