Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Chevrolet Malibu owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Lost of control of vehicle three separate occasions. Vehicle pulls to the left into oncomming traffic. On three separate occasions my Chevy Malibu has lost control while changing lanes from the right lane to the left lane. The back end has swung out and caused the car to wooble from right to left out of contol. The first time was at 40 miles per hour and I was able to regain conrol over the vehicle. The second time was on the highway at 55 miles per hour and I hit a guard rail with only small damage to the bumper. The last time was a week ago and was the most serious. I was changing lanes from the middle to fast lane of a three lane highway going about 65. The vehicle back end broke loose again and skidded back and forth 3 or 4 times before I lost all control of the vehicle. I hit a truck and caused unknown amount of damage to the truck and $3000.00 of damage to my car. …
It's been happening for a while & in recent times more regularly. While driving you can feel the steering toughening it up making turning difficult. Once car is pulled over steering returns to normal. Parking gets tough. Fluids are fine. Car is riddled with engineering gremlins that rear their heads in the most inopportune time. Most have simple & straight forward solutions (bleeding the antifreeze system) but lack of the documentation can make things unnecessarily difficult.
Tl-the contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while making a right turn, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was restarted and resumed to normal. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000. Djr
Tl contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the contact lost control of the steering wheel. No matter which way he turned the steering wheel, the vehicle would head in the opposite direction. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop. The mechanic stated that the frame that holds the rack and pinion had completely rusted away. He further stated that it was very rare for that to occur to a vehicle. The contact has not notified general motors; however, the dealer stated that nothing could be done. The vehicle has not yet been repaired and is currently using a used frame. The current and failure mileages were 184,000.
While turning the steering wheel became hard to turn. The service dealer found a leak in the rack and pinion. The dealer stated that there was no leak and had given the vehicle back to the consumer. (the rack and pinion was replaced) the ac was found inoperative due to the suction and discharge hose leaked, the engine raced but didn't move due to low transmission fluid, and the left rear tail lamp seal had fallen apart.
Consumer was traveling 40-45 MPH and steering wheel locked up. Consumer couldn't straighten out wheel & vehicle spun around & hit concrete wall. Also, airbag didn't deploy until about a minute after vehicle had hit concrete wall.
This 1999 Chevrolet Malibu was purchased in July 2001 in had a water leaking problem took 3 tries before they found it needed thermostat gasket didn't even have one in it they sold it to me .this way with a promise it had been fixed. Within the first year I had the car they had to replace both front wheel bearings & strut bushings. Then the alternator went out & it cause my battery to go bad overcharged it they replaced alternator but refused to re-emburse me for the battery. Then ignition switch caused problem with anti-theft system would not start. Had that replaced in March 2002. Then anti-lock brake system went out had to have it replaced window switch very slow had to be cleaned another one not working at all now, not covered under warranty, at this time also had to have anti theft system fixed again light on all the time another bad ignition switch. …
I purchased a 1999 Chevy Malibu in November 2003. I have replaced the brake pads at least 10 times ($20 each time), the rotors have been replaced 3 times ($70 each time). The brakes give you no warning they just quit suddenly which has almost caused several accidents. The ABS light always comes on and when this happens you can guarantee the ignition switch is about to lock up on you. The rear windows quit working, I hear a weird popping noise coming from the rear of the vehicle while driving down the highway. The anti theft system has came on 6 or 7 times and will not allow me to crank the car(once it happened while my child was having an asthma attack and I was attempting to take him to the er). If you hit a bump in the road sometimes it sounds like a small explosion in the front end and causes the steering wheel to jerk uncontrollably for several miles. …
The brakes have been resurfaced once. The pads have been replaced 3 times and the rotors replaced twice. I have had the car in for the final repair attempt on the brakes. They say there is nothing wrong with them. While the car was in the shop for this, the driver's power window went out. Three people in the service dept. Tried to get it to work. I had to leave the car another day. When I went to pick it up, I was told there was nothing wrong with the window and it is now working. The power locks lock and unlock themselves periodically. I hear air coming in the driver's door. The cd player face gets to hot to touch and I smell burning. I was told this was normal. The steering column wouldn't tilt down because of plastic debris on the assembly. The brake light circuit board melted. The air conditioner control head shorted out. The EVAP system vapor pressure sensor had to be replaced. …
Since I've had the car, the brakes have been replaced twice, rotors replaced (also cleaned and other things-to the point they asked me to see if there was a recall on brakes and rotors). The right front passenger window will not work from the driver side to roll down but can still roll it up from there. The air conditioner button(resistor) needed replacing and then the vent button(resistor) needed replacing. Also, had to replace tie rod end and wheel bearing . Not to mention a water pump. We bought the car used from sawyer Chevrolet with 38,000 miles on it. It now has 76,000. But within a year and a half of owning it, this is all the work we had to put into it. I've never had a car that needed all that repairing done before it reached 100,000 miles. Plus we had to get new tires because they had Firestone tires on them that were warping, etc. …
Steering complaints in other Malibu years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 1999 Chevrolet Malibu?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the steering of the 1999 Chevrolet Malibu, 5% of the model year's 789 complaints. The component named most often is steering wheel/handle bar (5 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Chevrolet Malibu steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 1999 Chevrolet Malibu, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1999 Chevrolet Malibu steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to steering problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.