The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu sedan equipped with four-door passive entry makes life a little easier for those frantically searching for keys in the bottom of a deep purse or fumbling to find them when carrying a child or bags of groceries.
Chevrolet placed small buttons on all four doors allowing the driver to unlock the door with one press and all four doors and the trunk with two presses.
An option on the Malibu LTZ, four-door passive entry is a common feature on luxury vehicles, but scarce on cars in the midsize segment. Using Malibu’s closed-loop wireless communication system, the car verifies that the proper key fob is within acceptable range – about three feet – and allows the driver to unlock the vehicle. Each key fob is uniquely mated to its vehicle, so there is practically no chance of false unlocks.
“Available passive entry on all of the doors was a feature we wanted to offer our Malibu customers,” said Phil Carlisle, Chevrolet Malibu product manager. “It’s small things like this that can go a long way in making everyday use of your vehicle easier.”
Pressing a button on the door handle – as opposed to automatically unlocking the door upon approaching the car – offered better functionality, according to General Motors’ engineers.
“This system truly keeps the driver in full control of the car,” said Ron Asmar, lead engineer for vehicle access. “We investigated fully passive systems where the key fob would automatically unlock the door when a person was within a certain distance, and decided against it. We wanted to make sure that the system prevented the car from unlocking just because the person and fob were close to it, such as when walking through the garage to take the garbage out.”
The 2013 Malibu is Chevrolet’s first global midsize sedan and is sold in nearly 100 countries on six continents. It is the first 2013 midsize car to earn a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from NHTSA and a 2012 Top Safety Pick by the IIHS.
In North America, the Malibu has three powertrains, including the Malibu Eco, which uses fuel-saving eAssist™ technology to enable EPA-estimated fuel economy of 25 city / 37 highway. Malibu also offers a fuel-efficient and powerful Ecotec 2.5L four-cylinder engine and an Ecotec 2.0L turbo that makes 259 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque.
