Chevy Malibu Lawsuit Filed Over Defective Brake Vacuum Pump
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A class-action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors in U.S. District Court in Michigan over an issue related to the brake vacuum pump on certain 2013 to 2022 model year Chevy Malibu mid-size sedans.
According to Car Complaints, this lawsuit claims the factory cam-driven brake vacuum pump on affected Chevy Malibu models is defective and can cause a hard-feeling brake pedal and reduced braking performance.
The suit was filed by Virginia plaintiff Tiffany Johnson, who purchased a new 2017 Chevy Malibu in April of that year and later experienced a brake failure on the vehicle in September of 2021 when the vehicle had roughly 78,000 miles on the odometer. The repair shop replaced the vacuum pump at a cost of $118, however the pump failed once again in November 2021 when the vehicle had just under 84,000 miles on the odometer. These repairs were covered under the plaintiff’s insurance, although she still had to pay a $250 deductible.
A third brake vacuum pump and brake booster failure happened on the same vehicle in June of this year, the lawsuit alleges, which damaged unnamed “other components,” in the vehicle. The dealer replaced the vacuum pump, exhaust camshaft and gaskets in the vehicle this time, with the insurer again covering all repair expenses save for the $250 deductible.
As the Malibu uses a cam-driven vacuum pump, the suit claims that when the pump fails, “unintended mechanical resistance forms, affecting the timing of and/or damaging the camshaft and other engine components.” The suit also claims that GM is aware of the defective vacuum pump and the potential for it to cause damage to engine components, but has not done anything to address the matter. GM also allegedly refuses to extend the warranty on affected customer vehicles, Car Complaints reports.
This case will proceed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. We’ll provide more information on the suit once an update is available.
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My sister’s 2018 Malibu has just experienced this situation. She has roughly 130k. Miles on her car. I watched a few youtube videos and it appears to be a simple fix @ $85+.
I have a 2020 that all of this already happened to right after 60k miles. This is the worst obviously erroneously engineered monstrosity. So many issues with this car, engine also runs rich leaving carbon deposits everywhere. Worst car I have ever purchased.
I would love to be on one of these class action lawsuits, i literally have every issue down to the damage cam parts…. Replaced fixed everything at the dealership… less then 20k miles later it’s all happening again plus other issues….
Worst car ever, they are crooks to have put this thing out there for people to finance…. Crooks.
I own a 2016 Malibu LT 2.0 (Black) and I had to replace the Defective Brake Vacuum Pump 3 times within 2 months. I was backing out of my driveway, hit the brakes car kept backing up. The next time I was exiting off the interstate and almost hit someone. The next time I almost hit someone again after I had just replaced. I also have issues with the screen going black and have to change out the fuse often. The hood, top of the car and trunk are all faded as if the clear coat was not applied.
AN EXTERNAL ELECTRIC VACUUM PUMP WITH A BLOCK OFF PLATE WOULD RESOLVE 100% OF THESE ISSUES. DOESNT TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO REALIZE THE PUMP LUBRICATION IS INADEQUATE.
ELECTRIC VACUUM PUMP WILL RESOLVE ISSUE AND SAVE GM MILLIONS.
Well We bought Our 2018 Malibu in October 2018 and Have had multiple issues that have been common across the different GM lines. The Shift to park failure,ECM recall, Dead battery that required an engine reset to idle at dealership ,low tire lights that didn’t reset when proper air inflation and Now after completely shut down at a major Louisville intersection blocking traffic and having car towed to dealerships, now we are faced with the dreaded Vacuum pump camshaft failure. Guess I’ll go back to Honda or try a Toyota SUV