[DwDrummer]

My wife has been having some problems with her 2008 Malibu LS for sometime now. If we are crusing down the road and start to accelerate you will feel a thud that will shake the car almost like it coming from the transmision or something and will not accelerate much at all when this happens. It will do this at speeds from 20-30mph up to 60mph. It doesn't do it all the time which is weird but to me it's seems to me like the car is trying to down shift into a lower gear and something is not letting it. I've also wondered if it could be the spark plugs, spark plug wires, or possibly the coil pack going bad.

Hope this makes sense since it's kinda hard to explain, has anybody had this problem before? Her car currently has 52K miles on it but it's supposed to have a 100K mile powertrain warranty through Chevrolet. Should they cover something like this if we try to take it in under warranty? I'm just affraid they will keep the car for a couple days and say they can't find anything wrong with it then try to give me a expensive bill like most stealerships do

If somebody could help me out it would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Thanks,
DwDrummer

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

DwDummer,

I understand how frustrating this whole situation is for you and your wife. I know that there are several people on this forum that are knowledgable in assisting with possibilities of what could be happening with your wife's Malibu. However, in order to get the full details of what your powertrain warranty covers, you are going to want to take it to the dealership.

I do understand about your hesitation of visiting a dealership, but if it is determined that it is something if the powertrain then you are going to have to take it to a General Motors authorized service department to have it diagnosed and covered if this is the case.

Sincerely,
Michelle P., Chevrolet Customer Service

 

[ChicagoMalibu2009]

DWDrummer,

Rest Assured, however, that the careful wording above includes the fact of the matter that you stated. If this (It being a "powertrain" warranty item as defined in the exact warranty document that I'm sure you could find in your paperwork) is NOT the case, you will be charged for any and all labor and work done on the car while it is in.

I would not be any less hesitant to take it in to a stealership if you're not sure it's powertrain and dont want to risk it, or at the least do a bit more investigation.

Every time I leave a dealership I learn something new, like did you know that the fact that I changed my air filter recently may have been why I asked for a reflash of my transmission firmware? (I asked because I knew there was a new version out. cmon guys, you try too hard.)

 

[AGstone]

Chicago,

'Transmission firmware reflash' . . . for which transmission? Four-speed or 6-speed?

And, what is the relationship of 'transmission reflash' and the changing of your air filter?

 

[ChicagoMalibu2009]

It was a while back, and was the 4-speed. The reflash was for some shifting inconsistencies (that i did notice, but werent too bothersome. They went away with the update pretty much.) that some noticed and investigated. There was an update, someone found when they went in so I went in too.

There is no relationship, it was a poor attempt at humor. I had an experience once with my impala where you can't ask for a software update, they arent covered by bumper to bumper or powertrain or whatever. BUT, if you mention something that you've noticed about the item that is an issue/covered, in all likelyhood theyll just give you an update if it makes sense to fix the problems easily since updating the computer is easy. I.E., you cant get an update for free, unless its done as part of a complaint. I have no idea if any of this ever was or still is true: but it has worked for me so i'm not worried.

So I went in and mentioned the tranny was shifting oddly once in a while while cruising (which was true, but i wouldnt have normally gone in for that). 1 hour later, they reported the reflashed the firmware (yay! exactly what i wanted, right?) and that I may have noticed the sticky transmission because they saw I had changed my air filter. I couldn't help but laugh at the guy, but i also dont understand his angle to this day. I'd go to town on the magnus-moss act if they every tried to pull something off of that, and were they trying to see if id apologize and pay for the reflash? or get scared and ask to have a filter change? not sure.

 

[DwDrummer]

My wife took the Malibu in for the Chevrolet dealership to check it out but surprise surprise they couldn't find anything wrong with it.