What 976 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

4/16/2018) Codes pulled 16188 Brake Lamp Malfunction, 13036D, and 13036C. Code 16188 was repaired and replaced by the Chevrolet dealership. A warning code would show on the dashboard then brake lights would show that the brakes are being applied at all times while driving or not show when braking.

NHTSA ODI 11463695

I drove my car to a store and parked, when I returned and proceeded to backup, the steering wheel locked and I couldn’t drive and was stuck in the road. Finally after a while I turned the ignition off and back on and was able to drive home. There was no advance warning that The power the steering needed to be serviced.

NHTSA ODI 11460248

MAP sensor was physically broken and replaced during a particularly cold snap (below -10 degrees F), but the check engine light and "Service ESC," "Service Traction," and "ESC off" messages continued to appear in the following weeks. Acceleration repeatedly dropped off for a split second, and would continue to dip and return until I let off the accelerator and tried again. This acceleration problem always coincided with the three ESC/Traction messages listed above, and happened multiple times every time I drove it. During a second trip to the mechanic, some "frayed wiring" was replaced and the throttle relearned, but the symptoms continued as before, prior to the MAP sensor replacement and the wiring repair. The symptoms progressed to delayed, pulsing acceleration, not just dropping out. The following week, the power steering went out while driving, preceded by a gentle automated jerking on the steering wheel upon startup. The mechanic confirmed that it was electrical, nothing wrong with the physical components.

NHTSA ODI 11451132

ESC off shows up on dashboard and after driving I get "engine power reduced"

NHTSA ODI 11450479

Power steering went completely out as I'm driving down the road! It's only got around 65k miles maybe 66k,not that many miles at all for this to have happened. And they were aware of the issue as well. Now I'm out my car,I am in-between jobs at the moment,no money,and no transportation for my wife and I!! No way to go to job interviews,her very important medical appointments,and everything else!! I do not have the money to take to the shop,I don't have the knowledge either to do such a major task like that,not do I even have the space to work on it myself or anyone else for that matter.its winter time,And this car is my home,Soo now what are we supposed to do? It's unsafe to drive,and will probably just make it worse,more wear and tear on other parts by driving it the way it is now

NHTSA ODI 11448480

I have had my Chevy Malibu since 2016. In the almost 7 years I have had this car I has had the same issue with both starting and stalling while driving. There has been many time it has completely shut off while on the expressway. I have had it looked at by an outside mechanic and the dealership. The back Fuse box has been completely replacement 3 times twice of which were in the past year. There is a shot with the fuel pump relay causing the issue. The dealership will not acknowledge this issue. Each time I have been told it was the fuse box going out however a fuse box does not go completely bad every few years and now few month. I have same many many videos and comments from other owners of Chevy Malibu 2011 with the exact same issue. I have been lucky that I have been able to pull to the side of the road without accident due to this issue. This issue should be recalled if the vast number of 2011 Chevy Malibu's having the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11446668

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the contact avoided hitting a dog that was on the road, but the brakes failed and the vehicle crashed into a porch. None of the air bags deploy upon impact. The contact received medical attention after his head hit the steering wheel upon impact. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact replaced the CAM sensor, intake, radiator, and front end body, and on three separate occasions, the brakes were replaced. However, the failure recurred. Additionally, the accelerator pedal would go to the floorboard and the vehicle would stall. The Electronic Stability Control (ESC) warning light and a "Reduced Power" warning message were displayed. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

NHTSA ODI 11442926

car unexpectedly died on the way home with 2 children in car. Car would crank, but wouldn't start up, and sounded like a typical fuel pump problem. We had the car towed to a shop and they showed the fuel pump as working within the normal ranges and then started up the next day just fine, but paid 750 for work. A few days later the car died again, so we had it towed to the same shop, by the next day when the mechanic said it started up just fine so he wasn't able to diagnose the problem. He and i don't want to spend a 1000 every week putting parts in it that don't fix the problem while getting towed each week at 150 dollars. This is a safety concern and leaves the consumer hopeless. We want to get rid of the car, but don't want to sell it to a person for them to have the same issues and then in return blame us. GM NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. I've read hundreds of forums of other people having the same problem with no actual fix.

NHTSA ODI 11442569

Rear window brake light stays illuminated have to keep raising the brake pad up to get it to go off and in the daytime you arent able to see it. The alarm system is not allowing the car to start correctly. It is very frustrating to have to remove battery cables in many circumstances in order to operate the vehicle. These are all issues that occur many times for over a year. not just an isolated account.

NHTSA ODI 11441799

Engine starts but stalls shortly after. 89,000 miles. Never had any problems like this before. Dash display states "Service ECM," "service traction control," "reduced engine power," etc..A shop diagnosed it with a bad ECM, but that isn't the problem, as it didn't fix it. Based on the codes we're getting ready to swap out the APP (Accelerator pedal position sensor) This is a well known issue, that many other owners of various years have encountered, and reported. In fact, I just read that GM did a recall for newer Malibu's, for this exact same problem, (the APP causing "reduced engine power" and therefore not running) So I'm really not happy. They left out all the older vehicles with the exact same problem!

NHTSA ODI 11434336

Headlights keep going out and service airbag light keep coming on

NHTSA ODI 11433524

The rear defrost stopped working. Had my auto mechanic review and Rear Fuse Box had melted fuses which was effecting rear defrost. The rear Fuse Box needs replacing per mechanic. ($400) My concern is what is cause of the electrical issue in my Malibu and if not corrected by Chevrolet will it occur again?

NHTSA ODI 11432433

Power steering turned off. Lost all steering while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11431954

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that later in 2020, the electronic stability control (ESC) and low traction warning lights were illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where she was informed that both front rotating assemblies needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V019000 (Air Bags) and 14V252000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Vehicle Speed Control, Electronic Stability Control) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

NHTSA ODI 11429256

I’ve had dash warning lights since purchasing my vehicle since 2017. I have taken it to multiple places for diagnostic and repair. (Brake sensors, traction stability, throttle, and P010 and P011) my last repairs were over $2400 and after finally scraping money to complete the repairs was told the traction control warning light that had been coming on but coming on more often now was because I have one tire sensor that isn’t reading and that after fixing the accentuators the computer would stop going so crazy and triggering so many lights. On my recent trip to Michigan, when using my cruise control a car pulled in front of me in heavy traffic. When I braked my cruise didn’t disengage. I remembered this happening before but didn’t realize it was my cruise control and thought don’t tell me I have transmission problems!! Then when I was almost home during this same trip a car started honking at me and rolled his window down. He told me I had no brake lights. I then looked up recalls and found 13036, with all the problems my car has had except was told this was remedied/fixed on my car in 2017. I just now checked my car and I have brake lights. It appears the problem relates in conjunction to when the traction control lights are on and when there aren’t warning lights the brake lights work. My car has 20,000 since the recall repair and has had this problem the majority of this time except I didn’t understand. My car is not safe and I am very disappointed and concerned about GM product safety and remedies!

NHTSA ODI 11426175

CAR HAD ABS LIGHT COME ON MENTIME THEM CHECK ENGINE LIGHT LIGHT COME ON THEN ABS LIGHT COME ON

NHTSA ODI 11416752

POWER SEAT WELD AND FRAME BROKE ELECTRICAL PROBLEM CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON NOTHING WRONG MIRROR POWER ADJUSTING DOES NOT WORK

NHTSA ODI 11407605

MY VEHICLE HAS ABOUT 62,000 MILES AND THE CENTER REAR BRAKES LIGHT JUST INSIDE THE REAR WINDOW IS NOT WORKING. IT SEEMS VERY DIM. FAILED STATE SAFETY INSPECTION. NOT AN ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ODI 11407489

ALL OF A SUDDEN MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT START IT WOULD CRANK BUT WOULDN'T START AND THEN IT WOULDN'T CRANK AT ALL AND I COULDN'T HEAR MY FUEL PUMP FREAKING AS WELL. IT STARTED OUT AS AN INTERMITTENT STARTING PROBLEM AND THEN IT WOULDN'T EVER START AFTER THAT SO I WENT TO THE FUEL PUMP WIRING IN THE TRUNK FUSE BOX AND SEPARATED THE WIRING FOXES FROM THE FUSE PANEL AND CAME ACROSS A BURNT FUEL PUMP WIRE IT WAS A TAN WIRE AND IT WAS SCORCHED BLACK FROM THE END OF THE WIRE ABOUT 4 INCHES UP THE WIRE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BROWN WIRE AND IT WAS BLACK I REPLACED IT AND NOW IT'S FINE

NHTSA ODI 11399502

LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS KEEPS GOING OUT!! HEADLIGHT BRACKET MELTED! CAR FORUMS REVEAL THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON ELECTRICAL ISSUE. WHEN ANYBODY REPLACES HEADLIGHT HARNESS AND HEADLIGHTS, THEY END UP WITH THE SAME ISSUE A FEW WEEKS LATER. VERY DISAPPOINTING! PLEASE RECALL! CAR FORUM CONTAINING MULTIPLE CASES OF SAME ISSUE HTTPS://WWW.CARGURUS.COM/CARS/DISCUSSION-T32066_DS667897

NHTSA ODI 11366195

MY TEENAGE SON WAS DRIVING IN THE RAIN WHEN HIS MALIBU GAVE ENGINE POWER REDUCED, SERVICE TRACTION, SERVICE ESC, AND ESC OFF WARNINGS. CAR WAS BARELY DRIVABLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE IT HAPPENS SUDDENLY AND INCREASE THE CHANCES OF A COLLISION WITH OTHER VEHICLES. CODE READER SHOWED THE P2138 DTC. THE HEADLINER ABOVE THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR WAS ALSO WET. THIS APPEARS TO BE COMING FROM THE SUN ROOF. I BELIEVE THAT THIS LEAKAGE IS CAUSING ELECTRICAL CONNECTION ISSUES SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE CAR THAT IS CAUSING THE ABOVE MENTIONED WARNINGS AND PERFORMANCE ISSUES. ACCORDING THE THE CHEVY WEBSITE, THERE ARE NO RECALLS APPLICABLE TO THIS CAR BASED ON ITS VIN.

NHTSA ODI 11365506

THE HEAD LIGHTS IN MY VEHICLE DO NOT WORK AT ALL. I HAVE TO USE THE BRIGHTS TO SEE ANYTHING AT NIGHT. THE HEAT WORKS WHEN IT WANTS TOO AND WHEN I BUMP INTO A SMALL LUMP ON THE STREET IT TURNS OFF. THE WHEEL BARRIER IS BAD ON MY RIGHT TIRE.

NHTSA ODI 11363020

I BOUGHT MY FIRST CAR FROM A SMALL DEALERSHIP AND WITHIN THE LAST 35 DAYS THE ALTERNATOR, BATTERY, SHOCKS, FUEL PUMP AND NOW THE ENGINE LIGHT IS ON....WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING IT SEEMS LIKE THE CAR DON'T WANT TO GO INTO GEAR. AND WHEN IT FINALLY GOES INTO GEAR IT JERKS YOU. ALSO THE ELECTRICAL AND TEMPERATURE GAGE, THE LIGHTS ON DASH BOARD GO IN AND OUT YOU CAN HEAR A FAINT NOISE COMING FROM THE DOME LIGHT. TEMPERATURE GAGE STAYED AT COLD WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE AROUND. TOOK CAR FOR A RIDE THE NEXT DAY AND RIGHT AWAY WHEN DRIVING IT WENT ABOUT A QUARTER ABOVE COLD???

NHTSA ODI 11361324

PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM HEAD LIGHT KEEPS GOING OUT EVER OTHER MONTH

NHTSA ODI 11360675

GOT A 2011 CHEVY MALIBU FROM MY FATHER IN LAW. CAR ONLY HAS 44500 MILES ON IT. SO OF COURSE IT'S OUT OF WARRANTY. NOTICE THAT THE REAR DEFROSTER WAS NOT WORKING, SO DID SOME RESEARCH ONLINE AND FOUND MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS OF PEOPLE WITH SAME ISSUE WITH MELTED FUSES IN FUSE BOX IN TRUCK AND FUSE BOX MELTING ALSO. WHY IS CHEVY NOT TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT OR OFFERING A FIX OR RECALL. IT'S A FIRE HAZARD.

NHTSA ODI 11353990