What 976 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

TAKATA RECALL: MY VEHICLE SENSOR ARE READING INCORRECTLY. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WON'T GO OFF, RANDOM LIGHT COME ON AND OFF, MY SENSORS IS NOT READING MY ENGINE AND ENGINE LOCATION OR TIRES. SYSTEM IS ALSO READING THERE ARE NO AIR BAGS OR SAYS PASSENGER SEATBELT IS NOT IN PLACE WHEN IT IS. FREQUENTLY MY WIRING GLITCHES AND I CAN NOT CONTROL THE MIRRORS OR WINDOWS, ECT. MY COOLANT AND OIL CONSTANTLY DRAINS OUT BUT NO HOLE IS NOTICEABLE. MY CAR EXHAUSTS AND WON'T MOVE LIKE IT IS SUPPOSED TO AS WELL.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ESC WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE STEERING WHEEL SHOOK. THE CONTACT RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, WHICH CLEARED THE FAILURE CODE EACH TIME THE FAILURE HAPPENED. HOWEVER, THE FAILURE WAS PROGRESSING MORE FREQUENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED BY A DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER ISSUED ONE RECALL AND SEVEN TSBS FOR THE STEERING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

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STEERING WHEEL SHAKES WHEN STOPPED AT IDLE AND SHAKES SLIGHTLY WHEN DRIVING, AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE THE POWER STEERING SOME TIMES DOES NOT WORK AND SERVICE ESC MESSAGE APPEARS. I CAN TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART IT AND EVERYTHING WORKS BUT WHEEL STILL SHAKES.

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THE CAR HESITATES ON A DRY STRAIGHT ROAD GOING 55 MILES PER HOUR, BUT ALSO ON WET ROADS GOING 30 TOO. THE CRUISE CONTROL RANDOMLY DOES NOT DISENGAGE. MOST CONCERNING FOR ME IS WHEN I AM AT A COMPLETE STOP AND PRESS ON THE GAS TO MOVE FORWARD THE CAR RANDOMLY SLOWS AND SHUTS DOWN WITHOUT WARNING.

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VEHICLE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR

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I WAS DRIVING ON THE THE AND THE POWER STEERING, LOCKED UP. I REACHED OUT TO NA DEALER SHIP AND THEY CORRECTED THAT PROBLEM AND MY SEAT BELT. THE NEXT DAY 2/10/2018. THE CAR SLOWED DOWN TO MAYBE 8MILES WHILE I WAS DRIVING, AND ENOUGH POWER TO THE ENGINE. VERY DANGER, VERY DANGER. THANK GOD THE CAR BEHIND ME WAS PAYING ATTENTION. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR FOR 3 YEARS. I MYSELF CAME OUT OF POCKET FOR WIRING PROBLEMS. CAR JUST STOPPING ON THE HYW, NO POWER AT ALL. I REPLACED THAT. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS CAR TO BE ON THE ROAD. I KNOW CARS HAVE ISSUES. BUT ALL THIS 3 YEARS AND JUST STOPPING AND SLOWING DOWN IS AND WILL BE THE DEATH OF OTHERS. CHEVY IS SUPPOSED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST CAR MAKING, BUT THIS IS HORRIBLE. AND A LOT PEOPLE FROM WHAT I READ ARE HAVING ISSUES. THIS VERY DANGEROUS.

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"LOSS OF ELECTRIC POWER STEERING" I HAVE RECENTLY LOST MY ELECTRIC POWERING STEERING AND THE ESC WARNING AS WELL AS THE POWER STEERING WARNING KEEP DISPLAYING, WHEN THIS STARTED I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A POWER GLITCH BECAUSE THE AIR BAG AND OTHER WARNING INDICATORS WOULD ALSO GO OFF RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING IT FIRST HAPPENED WHICH SCARED ME AND I SLOWED MY VEHICLE UNTIL I COULD FINALLY PULL IN SOMEWHERE SAFELY (MY REAR TIRE PRESSURE SENSORS ARE CONSTANTLY NOT READING AT ALL WHICH STARTED ABOUT A MONTH AFTER I HAD NEW TIRES PUT ON IT BUT THAT WAS THE ONLY NOTIFICATION I WAS GETTING UP UNTIL NOW). I THOUGHT MOST OF IT WAS DUE TO THE EXTREMELY COLD WEATHER AND RESTARTING MY CAR TOOK CARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND I WOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT AGAIN FOR A LITTLE WHILE. HOWEVER THIS WEEK RESTARTING MY CAR HASN'T HELPED AND NOW I HAVE NO POWER STEERING AT ALL WHICH IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN TURNING MY VEHICLE AND GIVEN THAT THERE IS STILL LESS THAN 85K TOTAL MILES ON IT THEN I AM SURPRISED THAT I AM EVEN HAVING THIS ISSUE AT ALL, BUT I DID READ THAT SOME OF THE 2011 MALIBU'S HAVE A RECALL ON THE U-JOINTS, I BELIEVE THAT I READ. I JUST FOUND WERE THERE IS CURRENTLY 2 RECALLS ON MY CAR NOW AND I HAVE NEVER HAD TO DO A RECALL THEREFORE I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT AND WHAT I WOULD NEED TO DO FOR THAT, AS WELL AS REPORT THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING ISSUE TOO. ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY HAVE PERTAINING TO THIS ISSUE WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATED SINCE I DID NOT SEE MY CAR LISTED FOR THE POWER STEERING RECALL THEN I'M NOT SURE IF I HAVE TO FILE A COMPLAINT FIRST AND/OR IF THEY WILL CONTACT ME WHEN/IF IT IS INCLUDED WITH THOSE RECALLS? THANK YOU AGAIN!

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AT RANDOM TIMES MY CHEVY MALIBU 2011 W/ FLEX FUEL STEERING WHEEL BECOMES HARD TO CONTROL. THE SERVICE ESC AND POWER STEERING LIGHTS BEGIN TO FLASH. WHEN I PULL OVER (BECOMES THIS SEEMS TO HAPPEN ON THE HIGHWAY A LOT) I TURN MY CAR OFF AND BACK ON. THE ISSUE SEEMS TO TEMPORARILY GO AWAY. MY CAR MILEAGE IS ONLY AT 107,500. I'VE READ ABOUT RECALLS AND TESTED MY VIN FOR IT. UNFORTUNATELY, I DO NOT SEE THAT MY CAR WAS ONE THAT WAS RECALLED FOR THE 2008-2013 CAR RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM. I DON'T HAVE EXTRA FUNDS TO BUY A NEW CAR OR GET THIS ONE FIXED. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE THAT I HOPE THEY CAN FIND A SOLUTION FOR.

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VERY DANGEROUS REDUCED ENGINE POWER WILL OCCUR AT ANY TIME. I COULD BE DRIVING 70 MPH AND IT WILL DROP TO 5MPH. SOMEONE COULD BE KILLED!! I HAD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION SENSOR REPLACED BEC THAT'S THE CODE THAT WAS BEING TRANSMITTED AND IT WORKED FINE FOR 3 DAYS. NOW SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN AS I'M DRIVING MY 3 YOUNG CHILDREN HOME ON THE HIGHWAY. CAR WILL DROP SPEED AND VIOLENTLY SHAKE AND NOT GO OVER 10MPH.

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MY SON WAS DRIVING HIS VEHICLE AND THE COMPUTER ASSISTED POWER STEERING WENT OUT. FIXED AT DOUG CHEVROLET 1-12-2018. NOW (AFTER THE WARRANTY REPAIR OF A STEERING SHAFT TORQUE SENSOR) WHEN DRIVING FOUR DAYS LATER HE LOST POWER, VEHICLE FLASHED SERVICE TRACTION AND REDUCED POWER AND SLOWED IMMEDIATELY FROM 45 TO 5 MPH AND HE WAS ABLE TO LIMP IT HOME. THE LOSS OF POWER WHILE DRIVING WAS IMMEDIATE AND DRASTIC AND CARS BEHIND HIM WERE ABLE TO SLOW DOWN BUT IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A SEVERE ACCIDENT.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE "REDUCE POWER" ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE. JACK WINEGARDNER CHEVROLET (11001 INDIAN HEAD HIGHWAY, FORT WASHINGTON, MD 20744) WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IN ADDITION, THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE THROTTLE BODY WARRANTY EXTENSION AND SPECIAL COVERAGE NUMBER: [XXX]. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 112,659. PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*JB

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WHILE TURNING ONTO A STREET MY ENGINE BEGAN TO SPUTTER. AFTER ENTERING TRAFFIC MY ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL NOTICE APPEARED AS DID INFORMATION INFORMING ME I HAD REDUCED ENGINE POWER. UPON LOOKING UP THIS PROBLEM I LEARNED THAT MANY EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH 2011 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU AROUND THE SAME 70,000-80,000 MILES.

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MY 2011 CHEVY MALIBU WHEN DRIVING THE STEERING WHEEL WONT FUNCTION.

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FAULT CODES POWER STEERING AND BREAK LIGHT SHOW UP ON DASH BOARD. CODES WILL NOT CLEAR THUS CUSSING THE VEHICLE A NO START NO CRANK. THE VEHICLE WHILE BE DRIVEN INSTRUMENT GUAGES GO IN AND OUT CAUSING IT TO THROW CODES RANDOMLY.

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AIRBAGS AND SIDE AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY, STEERING LOCKED UP AND WHEEL SEPARATED FORM AXEL

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DRIVERS FLOOR WAS SOAKING WET AFTER A RAINY NIGHT SINCE THEN MY CAR HAS BEEN READING SERVICE ESC AND NOW IT WONT START.

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'TAKATA RECALL' THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY WHEN I PUT THE KEY IN THE IGNITION THE LIGHT BECAME DIM. WHEN I TURNED THE KEY, I HEARN A CHIME AND THE DASH SHOWS 'POWER STEERING' AND 'SERVICE ESC'. THE CAR WOULD NOT CRANK; ONLY FLICKER N THE DASH AND LOOSE POWER.

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THE SERVICE ESC AND TRACTION SENSORS FLASH, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHES. THE CAR LOSES POWER AND LURCHES AND BUCKS. THE CAR RUNS REALLY ROUGH AND SOUNDS HORRIBLE! THE DEALER SAID THE FUEL INJECTORS NEEDED $1700 WORTH OF CLEANING, BUT DIDN'T MENTION ANY OF THE STUFF WE FOUND FROM OUR RESEARCH.

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SERVICE TRACTION AND ESC OFF ARE THE MESSAGES THAT POP UP. THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT STAYS ON. UNABLE TO DISABLE ENABLE/DISABLE WITH THE TC BUTTON. WHILE DRIVING THE TWO MESSAGES APPEARED AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE TRACTION CONTROL FEATURE WON'T TURN OFF AND THE ESC FEATURE IS OFF. ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE THERE WERE 3 RECALLS FOR THE 2011 MALIBU. I HAVE A 2011 MALIBU AND WHEN I MADE A SEARCH WITH THE VIN IT SAYS THERE ARE NO RECALLS. ON VEHICLEHISTORY.COM I MADE A VIN SEARCH AND THE RECALLS WERE FOUND. THE RECALL ON THE 2011 MALIBU WAS FOR THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND THAT THERE COULD BE DISABLEMENT OF CRASH AVOIDANCE FEATURES SUCH AS TRACTION CONTROL, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL, AND PANIC BRAKING ASSIST FEATURES.

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I HAVE BEEN HAVING AN ISSUE WITH MY 2011 CHEVY MALIBU SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE 2017 YR. EVERY TIME I SLOW DOWN (20MPH OR LESS) OR STOP MY CAR STARTS TO SHAKE UNCONTROLLABLY AND THE ESC AND TRACKING LIGHT COMES ON AS WELL AS THE CHECK ENGINE LINE COMES ON AND STARTS BLINKING. ALSO, THE CAR LOOKS LIKE IT IS LOOSING POWER. ONCE I TRY TO ACCELERATE, THE CAR WILL NOT GO FAST AT ALL. IT IS LIKE IT HAS TO BUILD POWER BACK UP. IT IS NOW THE SUMMER TIME AND I CANNOT TURN ON MY AC BECAUSE IF I AM DRIVING LESS THE 40MPH, MY CAR WILL JUST CUT OFF. I HAVE REPLACED EVERYTHING UNDER MY HOOD EXCEPT MY ENGINE. I TOOK MY CAR TO NUMEROUS MECHANICS AND ONE PARTICULAR ONE TOLD ME I NEED A NEW ENGINE. HOW? WHEN I SEE TOO MANY PEOPLE WITH THIS REOCCURRING ISSUE. THIS IS A 2011 HOW COULD THERE BE A BAD ENGINE IN ALL THESE CARS. I TRIED TO TAKE MY CAR TO CHEVY DUE TO A RECALL THAT IS OUT FOR THE ESC ON THESE CARS AND SINCE MY VIN NUMBER DID NOT MATCH THE LOCATION IN WHICH THE RECALL CAME FROM, EVEN THOUGH IT IS FOR A 2011 CHEVY MALIBU, THEY WOULD NOT HONOR THE RECALL. I AM AFRAID I AM GOING TO GET HIT AND KILLED. I AM AT A STOPPING POINT. MY CAR TAG EXPIRES IN DEC I NEED TO FIND A RESOLUTION. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE.. TO BEAT IT ALL I STILL AM MAKING PAYMENTS ON THE CAR. FML

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LAST 3 YRS MY ESC AND SERVICE TRACTION LIGHT COMES ON. LAST AUG 2016 HAD THE CAR IF FOR THIS REPLACED A BRAKE SENSOR PROBLEM CAME BACK 3 WEEKS LATER. WENT FOR 2 MORE DIAGNOSTIC TEST. COULD NOT FIND ISSUE. MAY 2017 PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN. IN ADDITION, WHEN THIS SERVICE ESC COMES ON MY BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT WORK. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. I AM BRING THE CAR IN AGAIN FOR ANOTHER DIAGNOSTIC. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE. THE LIGHT COMES ON DURING THE WARM MONTHS, EITHER DURING THE ACTUAL BRAKING OR WHEN I AM IN A STOP POSITION HOLDING DOWN THE BRAKE. GM CUSTOMER CARE HAS BE OF NO HELP THUS FAR.

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WHILE TRAVELING AT A SLOW SPEED (BETW 10-20 MPH) ON 3/20/17, THE CAR STARTED TO SHAKE, THE SERVICE ESC MESSAGE LIGHT TURNS ON, AND SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT TURNS ON (WITH MESSAGE THAT CAR WILL POWER DOWN). SO, IF I PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND SHUT THE CAR OFF (BEFORE IT SHUTS DOWN ON IT'S OWN), WAIT 2 MINUTES FOR THE COMPUTER TO RESET, THEN GET RPM UP QUICK (SO THE SPEED IS QUICKLY ABOVE THE 20 MPH), THEN IT IS WOULDN'T DO IT AND I COULD GET IT TO THE MECHANIC. WHEN THE MECHANIC WENT TO CHECK IT, THE BATTERY WAS DEAD, SO NO LUCK WITH COMPUTER SCAN. HE PUT IN NEW BATTERY. SO I DROVE IT AND IT DID IT AGAIN. I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC AND HE CHECKED IT AND HE REPLACED THE GAS PEDAL (COMPUTER CODE INDICATED A BAD SENSOR). HOWEVER, IT DID NOT TAKE CARE OF THE ISSUE. BRAND NEW BATTERY AND STILL DRAINING BATTERY (OVERNIGHT). MECHANIC THINKS A RELAY MAY BE STAYING OPEN SOMEWHERE HOWEVER ISN'T SURE. CURRENTLY NOT DRIVABLE DUE TO THE SHAKING AND THAT SERVICE ESC AND SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL MESSAGES COME ON WITH STATEMENT THAT VEHICLE WILL POWER DOWN (WHILE DRIVING). FIRST OCCURRED ON 3/20/2017 AND IS STILL OCCURRING 4/20/2017 (MECHANIC HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIX)! BEEN DEALING WITH A SLOW BATTERY DRAIN SINCE PURCHASED CAR IN JULY 2016. IF DIDN'T DRIVE CAR FOR 5 DAYS, BATTERY WOULD BE DEAD (4TH DAY WAS STILL OK). THEN IN MARCH 2017, OTHER ISSUE STARTED AND THE BATTERY DRAIN BECAME MUCH WORSE. NOW BRAND NEW BATTERY AND WILL DRAIN COMPLETELY DEAD OVERNIGHT. HUGE ELECTRICAL ISSUE. CAR HAS 85,000 MILES ON IT.

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THE ENGINE STARTS TO SPUTTER , CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND OTHER DASH LIGHTS COME ON AND VEHICLE QUITS RUNNING . HAD IT IN CHEVROLET GARAGE AND NO CODE SHOWED UP THEY REPLACED A SENSOR TOLD ME IT WAS FIXED . PROBLEM RETURNED , THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AND STILL EXISTS. VERY DANGEROUS. NEVER KNOW WHEN IT IS GOING TO STALL OUT.

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ENGINE REDUCED POWER MESSAGE IS DISPLAYED AND THE ENGINE LOSES POWER WHILE DRIVING. SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT COMES ON. CAR MAY STALL IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. ENGINE CODE IS P2135. IT HAPPENS BETWEEN 4-10 MINUTES AFTER STARTUP. WHEN IT HAPPENS WE HAVE TO SHUT THE IGNITION OFF WAIT A COUPLE MINUTES AND RESTART THE VEHICLE WHICH THE VEHICLE RUNS NORMAL AT THAT POINT. THIS IS A REPEATED DAILY PROCESS AND STILL IS NOT RESOLVED. WE REMOVED THIS VEHICLE FROM HIGHWAY USE DO TO THE UNSAFE CONDITION. IT IS WINTER HERE IN MICHIGAN AND MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ISSUE.. CAR HAS 130,000 MILES. *TR

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I WAS DRIVING AND THE CAR BEGAN TO SHAKE AND JERK, AND THEN THE ALERTS ACROSS THE DASH CAME UP AS "SERVICE ESC", "SERVICE TRACTION", AND "ENGINE POWER REDUCED". I TOOK IT TO A CHEVY DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER PAYING $550.00 FOR THE REPAIR THE CAR SEEMED TO WORK FINE UNTIL RECENTLY, ONLY TWO MONTHS AFTER THE INITIAL REPAIR THE SAME EXACT THING HAS HAPPENED, AND NOW THE DEALERSHIP IS TELLING ME THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE CAR, THERE IS NO RECALL AND I'LL EITHER HAVE TO TRADE THE CAR IN (WHICH I CAN'T AFFORD TO DO) OR JUST DRIVE IT AND HOPE THE PROBLEM WILL CORRECT ITSELF. I AM BEYOND SCARED TO DRIVE IT AS MY DAUGHTER IS IN THE CAR WITH ME, AND I DO NOT WANT TO BE DRIVING A DEATH TRAP DOWN THE HIGHWAY. PLEASE HELP.

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