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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
17about this part
Share
6%of 270 total for the year
Median mileage
82,850miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 17 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, 6% of the 270 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 82,850 miles. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“On 9-28-16, I placed the vehicle in reverse to depart a parking space, when I tried to put the vehicle into drive the gear remained in reverse. The transmission shift cable was replaced under recall on 03-27-15, for the previous 8 years the vehicle did not have a problem with the shift cable. The shift cable that was replaced under recall has now fractured.”

NHTSA complaint #10910641, filed 2016-09, 156,115 miles

“This has been happening for sometime now. I start my vehicle up to go, put it in drive and the car loses its power steering(steering wheel will not move) and the power steering warning shows up on the dash display. I also notice at a stop or at slow speeds the steering wheel jumps from right to left quite frequently.”

NHTSA complaint #10510214, filed 2013-05, 116,010 miles

“The transmission cable of my car quit working. I was trying to put my car in park when picking my kids up from daycare, and the car would not shift into gear. The car would not shift into park, drive, etc. When I thought I had put the car into par, the car proceeded to roll down the hill. I had to put the emergency break on, and all a tow truck. The dealership found that the transmission cable had to be replaced. Although this is issue is part of a Chevrolet recall, my 2006 Malibu Maxx is not part of the recall, and I do not understand why.”

NHTSA complaint #10615893, filed 2014-07, 118,000 miles

“This happened literally at the end of a 7 hour car trip- we got lucky. Driving on I-75 south and approaching exit. Begin to slow down and enter exit ramp. Steering wheel starts shaking profusely and immediately becomes extremely hard to move to either side. Panicking, I managed to control the car and slow it down to a very slow speed and put the hazard lights on, and slowly merge into a gas station that was, luckily, right next to the exit ramp. This was extremely scary, unexpected, and could have killed us if we were going the full highway speed and were not exiting on a ramp.”

NHTSA complaint #10592726, filed 2014-05, 100,000 miles

“My first occurrence was while driving across a railroad track at a speed of 35 MPH....while driving I heard a dinging and looked to see my power steering light came on at the same time that I was crossing the tracks....tracks where uneven so I kinda went around the uneven part and couldn't handle my steering so I almost hit a car coming in the opposite direction...second occurrence has even more life threatening....while drivin on the highway at speeds of 65mph...I heard the dinging sound and my steering locked up completely(like when the car is turned off) I could not use steering at all…”

NHTSA complaint #10502558, filed 2013-03, 59,550 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
200712%
2006176%
200531%
2004205%

Other parts of the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx

Steering
207 complaintsElectrical system
28 complaintsBrakes
23 complaintsElectronic stability control
12 complaintsExterior lighting
8 complaintsFuel system
8 complaintsVehicle speed control
8 complaintsEngine
7 complaintsAir bags
3 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
3 complaintsTires
3 complaintsEquipment
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology