The Malibu continues to disappoint men

"itschrome" (itschrome) 10/20/2017 at 14:43 • Filed to: None

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Heard back from my mechanic today regarding the POS 2012 Malibu. He changed the oil and pulled the cam solenoids and found metal shavings in the solenoid filter. after cleaning the errors are gone and the engine is running well but sounds like a god damned diesel engine still. It’s a ticking time bomb for sure. fuck fuck fuck fuck. and she’s super under water on the damned thing, it also only has 58k miles.. I hate that car..  

Roadster Man > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 14:53

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Uh oh metal shavings are badddd. Even my family’s POS Saturn made it to 65K without any problems.

Don’t buy an Audi to replace it...

boxrocket > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 14:59

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2.4L? Or the 3.6L?

If it’s the 2.4L, get rid of it before the next thing fails. They have so many problems it’s not even funny.

If it’s the 3.6L, see if they’ll test the high-pressure fuel pump and timing. They probably won’t unless there’s codes for them, but they’re known issues...

Urambo Tauro > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 15:05

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Damn. They really are building these to be disposable, aren’t they?

Chariotoflove > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 15:07

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My condolences. It doesn’t even have any style that makes it worth saving.

404 - User No Longer Available > boxrocket 10/20/2017 at 15:08

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You mean the 2.5L? The 2.4L was never offered in North America for that gen.

razorbeamteam > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 15:09

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I would think that even some women would be disappointed by that.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 15:09

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I rented a Malibu last year, some kind of ecotech four-cylinder engine the turned itself off at stop lights. Comfortable and adequately peppy. Would have been a ‘16 or so. Would it be the same car you are talking about?

yamahog > razorbeamteam 10/20/2017 at 15:15

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^unofficial oppositelock motto: “disappointing women even more than Malibus”

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > yamahog 10/20/2017 at 15:22

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I nominate dropping the “un” from “unofficial”

yamahog > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 10/20/2017 at 15:35

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I’ll toss it into the magic tagline generator and see what happens

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/20/2017 at 15:40

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Nope. The Malibu has gone through two generations since 2012.

itschrome > razorbeamteam 10/20/2017 at 15:45

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HAHA OMG, Stupid phone changed me to men. haha but yes the misses is also disappointed. haha

itschrome > boxrocket 10/20/2017 at 15:46

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yes it’s the 2.4. :(

itschrome > 404 - User No Longer Available 10/20/2017 at 15:47

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it’s a 2.4, you’re thinking the post 2012.5 refresh model. this is a pre-mid cycle refresh car.

itschrome > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/20/2017 at 15:49

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no it’s a 2012, it’s a whole different crap bucket

itschrome > Urambo Tauro 10/20/2017 at 15:49

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they were.

itschrome > Roadster Man 10/20/2017 at 15:49

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sooo, I should buy an audi? ok!

itschrome > Chariotoflove 10/20/2017 at 15:55

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thanks, but the fact she is super underwater on this car means it’s gotta be fixed.

404 - User No Longer Available > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 16:30

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2012 was when the Epsilon extended one became Malibu Classic for fleet only, no?

And then the one after became the horrid Daewoo based one, not an MCE, that was in 2014.

Jonathan Harper > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 16:36

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sounds like it disappoints women too

shop-teacher > 404 - User No Longer Available 10/20/2017 at 16:59

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No, that was 2013.

Chariotoflove > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 17:11

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Oh no, I got that. What I meant was, we often talk abut putting up with troublesome cars because they have something redeeming about them. In this case, she has to put up with it despite not having those things in their favor. 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 17:24

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Sorry. I was driving a ‘12 Impala with the high-feature VVT V6 that was making the I-need-a-$3,000-timing-chain noise. So I priced it to sell and sold it.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > itschrome 10/20/2017 at 18:30

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Metal shavings in the “solenoid filter”.... that sounds like bullshit.

This made me curious enough about the process of replacing these which can be found here:

In the diagnostic/replacement done, I’m not seeing any “solenoid filters” in that video... or at least nothing that looks like it would be a serviceable filter related to the solenoids.

Are you sure the mechanic didn’t say ‘metal shavings in the oil filter’? But to see that, he would have had to cut open the old filter.

As for it sounding like a diesel engine on start, that may be because (as stated in the video) the solenoids need to go into a ‘park’ position to reduce engine noise. That might not be happening, thus you’re getting more noise.

Maybe your mechanic took out the exhaust solenoid, cleaned it and put it back... which suggests to me he’s probably wasting your time/money.

And if he thinks those solenoids are filters, well then I say find a new mechanic and/or start doing more stuff yourself.

Replacing the solenoids looks like an easy job to do yourself... at least if you have the 4cyl engine.

And each of the solenoids are like US$20 to $30 each from Rockauto.com:

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chevrolet,2012,malibu,2.4l+l4,1501855,engine,variable+valve+timing+(vvt) +solenoid+/+actuator,12910

If it was my car, after reading/looking up the code, I wouldn’t bother spending a ton of time doing a diagnosis... I would just replace the part that sounds like is most likely causing the issue/throwing the code. Then I would clear the codes on my el cheapo OBD II code reader and see if it comes back.

I also recommend that you start doing oil changes yourself. Oil changes are the single most important service a car needs. And it’s simple to do. Yet I’ve witnessed mechanics fucking up this simple thing... doing stupid shit like putting on the oil filter without taking off the wrapper, using an air gun to tighten the oil drain plug, using threadlock or silicone on the oil filter... shit that’s mindbogglingly stupid.

Also one other thing, since your VVT (and you do have VVT if you have those particular solenoids) is dependent on oil pressure, it’s important to have the CORRECT type of oil for it to work right. For example, on a Chrysler 5.7L hemi with VVT, you must use 5w20. Using 10W30 causes the VVT to not work right. I imagine could be a similar situation in your Malibu.

itschrome > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 10/20/2017 at 20:18

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Truth be told im not very mechanical

 I probably miss quotes

 My guy is solid tho I assure you, im probably not quoting right

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > itschrome 10/21/2017 at 10:52

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That’s okay if you’re not very mechanical... that’s why I suggest starting with simple things.

And even the most solid person can have the odd off day.

And based on what you’ve said so far about this car in this and previous posts, I’m not convinced that it’s necessarily a ticking time bomb.

And I’m saying this because I’ve known people who had “problem vehicles” they took to “solid mechanics”... and when they switched mechanics, magically the problems got solved because the original “solid” mechanic was actually either a scammer or an idiot.

The only real way to protect yourself from this kind of thing is to arm yourself with knowledge. And that video I posted gives you all the knowledge you need surrounding the issue.

If your car still sounds like a diesel after the mechanic “fixed” it, it makes me skeptical about how solid he is.

boxrocket > itschrome 10/22/2017 at 14:06

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Kill it with fire!

By which I mean: Get rid of it while it still has some value!

boxrocket > itschrome 10/22/2017 at 14:10

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Since it’s a 2012 - and it’s one hell of a long shot this late in 2017 - is it possible it’s still under gm’s 5-year/100k powertrain warranty? 58K is low-ish for a 5-model-year-old car, so maybe it was a late 2012 or even a residual 2013 sale?