Vehicle Data Hub

1998 Chevrolet Malibu electrical system problems

150 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu, which is 10% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
150 10% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
90,000 miles 50 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
3 and 4
Injuries and deaths
3 and 1

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Electrical system complaints by mileage, 1998 Chevrolet Malibu Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 90,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 0 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 3 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 8 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 11 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 9 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 4 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 6 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 1 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 3 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 2 complaints 200k+ miles: 3 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 90,000 miles
Based on 50 complaints that include mileage. 22% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles0
20k to 40k miles3
40k to 60k miles8
60k to 80k miles11
80k to 100k miles9
100k to 120k miles4
120k to 140k miles6
140k to 160k miles1
160k to 180k miles3
180k to 200k miles2
200k+ miles3

What the data shows

Of the 50 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 90,000 miles, and 22% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 3 crashes, 4 fires, 3 injuries, 1 death.

What owners wrote

This car has been nothing but a nightmare for me. And to add insult to injury, the local chevy dealer says there is nothing wrong with the car. (though it doesn't stop them from charging me for all the expensive repairs that have been made) this car has many, many electrical problems. I purchased this car as a "certified GM" back in july 2001. There are just too many issues to list on this forum. Most recent, was coming home last night with my son in the car.

Reported at 137,000 miles, January 2005 CrashInjury

The anti- theft system disabled the engine while the vehicle was being turned through an intersection. With the motor dead, neither the brakes nor steering were powered. Coasted to the far right lane out of traffic flow, tried to restart the engine, but to no avail. Called a tow truck but by the time they arrived, the engine started and ran. This anti-theft system has prohibited the car from starting four times in the last year. The dealer stated that they cannot fix this.

Reported at 55,300 miles, January 2007

Other problems reported for the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Chevrolet models