[tiki1979]

I have a 2005 and my speedometer is off. Is the calibration something that I could do or do I need to take it into a shop? I also heard that it could be the speedometer sensor, so any info on that would be great too.

Thanks

 

[Starship]

Welcome to the forum. Your Malibu has a vehicle speed sensor (vSS) on the transaxle. The PCM calculates the vehicle speed from the VSS input and the known diameter of the wheel. So, if the speedometer in the instrument cluster is off, you may have a wrong size tire and/or rim or the speedometer circuit/motor in the instrument cluster may be going bad.

 

[Silver LTZ]

You have a 2005, but posted in the 2008-Up section.

MOVING.

 

[tiki1979]

Is this something that I would be able to do myself??? Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Starship]

It depends. There should be a label under the driver door lock striker. See p. 4-30 of the owner's manual at http://content.gmownercenter.yahoo.com/docs/manuals/chevrolet/2005_chevrolet_malibu_owners.pdf. Compare the tire size on that label to what's on the sidewall of the tires like p. 5-47. If they don't match, chances are the discrepancy in the diameter is your problem.

The other thing you can do requires an OBD scanner. You can compare speedometer needle against the vehicle speed on the scanner while someone else drives. If the needle is significantly off, you'll probably want to get the instrument cluster checked out.