What 921 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

Engine overspeed error message & car will start to hesitate to accelerate. First happened 7/2021. Second time is 8/2022

NHTSA ODI 11478161

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that prior to owning the vehicle, her father had the vehicle serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). Recently, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle jumpstarted; however, the vehicle failed to remain running. The contact had the battery replaced twice within a short period of time however, the failure persisted. The contact initially towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic where she was referred to a dealer for assistance. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective generator control module which she linked to the initial recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 8,900.

NHTSA ODI 11476294

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his sister was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the instrument panel indicated that the battery voltage was low. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was notified of general control module and belt tensioner failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). The contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The failure mileage was 88,073.

NHTSA ODI 11470327

I was driving down a busy street one day after work during the early night, and as I went to engage the brakes my whole electrical system started to shut off and on. Once I came to a complete stop it shut off my a/c then proceeded with my radio and lights. I took my foot of the brake in pure shock and back on come my a/c and radio. I proceed to drive with caution and again it starts to try and shut off my vehicles electrical systems. I pull over turn the car off check the battery and fine. Trusting it to make it less than the mile trip left home I drive again no issues, as I am approaching a busy intersection then car begins to go haywire with the electrical systems without the ac on and locks the all eletric steering systems and almost causes me to collide with surrounding traffic. Took to have diagnostic run for codes and none. Purchased another brand new battery which I thought maybe it was defective. Well wasn't NY of the issues because tonight with my family's safety put at serious risk along with any of the many tourist pedestrians and other motorist I experience the same exact thing but within a higher speed limit zone. When I pulled over to park the car it refused to cooperate. It was if my car was being controlled by a hacker and I was fighting for control over the wheel.

NHTSA ODI 11468095

2013 CHEVROLET MALIBU ECO. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE WOULD SHUT OFF, LOSING ALL POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONSUMER STATED THE BATTERY LIGHT ILLUMINATED, DISPLAYS BATTERY SAVER ACTIVATED, AND THEN THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER.

NHTSA ODI 11465899

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle restarted independently but inadvertently turned off. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an oil change. The vehicle was not repaired and continued to experience failure. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464926

The light of the dashboard went on and off several times while I was driving and almost the car went off, I had to press the speed pedal so it won't turn off. I took it ti a electrical shop and the guy told me that is an manufactured problem that special year and model had before and they where call to a recall to fix that problem. Can you please help me with this situation, I'll be very grateful.

NHTSA ODI 11463735

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 15-20 MPH, the battery warning light illuminated and the steering wheel suddenly lost power steering functionality. The vehicle then lost electrical power. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that oil was leaking and that the passenger's side axle needed to be replaced. Additionally, the drive belt had detached. The contact was informed that the alternator and battery needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

NHTSA ODI 11460655

Car starts idling up and down while stopped at light. When the car is given the gas to go it will not pick up speed it stalls and car completely turns off in drive. While parked in parking lot I put the car in reverse and it would not move and that has happened 5 times. The engine light comes on and I have taken it to 4 different mechanics to put the diagonstic test on it and it comes up with idle sensor, change it and 2 days later car starts jerking and will not go over 35mph and finally dies. While driving 55mph on the hwy the car looses speed and wont go over 35 mph. Nobody is allowed to drive this car until chevy fixes it, and it will sit in my yard until then because my family is more important than a piece of metal. I wont sell it because of this danger either. I crank it up every month but it has not been driven in 2 years.

NHTSA ODI 11457921

My driver seat is powered and it is inoperative. It remains stuck in a reclined position. At first the seat would not return to an upright position but all the other power functions (reclining the seat, moving it forward and back, tilting the seat, moving it up/down) still worked. I took the car to a shop and they said that the cause was some of the wiring had disconnected. They took the seat out and made sure everything was plugged in correctly. The seat worked again but only for a short while. Now, the issue is present again and the driver seat will not move forward/back or return to an upright position. This is hazardous because the seat is not able to offer the driver the correct seating position to drive.

NHTSA ODI 11448320

Car gives engine power reduced warning and then drastically loses speed. Another warning saying engine over speed comes up and the car is unable to accelerate at safe speeds. This is dangerous because I can easily be rear ended by this malfunction especially when driving on the highway. I have children and having them at risk of being in a motor vehicle accident due to a malfunctioning car does not sit well with me. I have seen this issue reported on several other platforms. When I took the car to the dealership regarding this issue I was told I needed to replace the battery but 2 batteries later and I’m still having the same issue. There is no warnings or signs prior to this malfunction happening, it is unpredictable and at random, making it that more dangerous. I would also like to add that this has happened a repeated number of times, it is not an isolated incident. But as of late it has been occurring more frequently.

NHTSA ODI 11447693

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the dashboard lights were completely black. The contact mentioned that there were no lights showing on the dashboard panel until the vehicle was being driven. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,944.

NHTSA ODI 11442774

Dash lights flickering in and out and I can’t see my speed but the car still runs n has blinkers. Eventually it will flicker and go all the way black. Also the radio still worked fine n reverse camera did too it don’t stall or anything tho I’m just scared to drive At night cause i goes totally black

NHTSA ODI 11438786

I brought my 2013 Malibu LT in March of 2021. When I test drove and took it to autozone to get a diagnosis before buying the car nothing was wrong with it. After having the car for about 3 months the problems started. When I went to get it checked again it said that my alternator wasn’t working correctly how it should do I replaced the alternator. After getting the alternator replaced my car still stalls while driving and acts like it doesn’t want to go. When I try to start my car it barely turns over to start. While I’m driving I can’t turn on the radio or lights because it makes my car power go out. The radio lights turn on and off. When I put car in reverse it shuts off. When I’m driving the car shuts off out of nowhere and I have to put it in park and turn it back on. Sometimes it takes awhile to turn back on. When it first happened the engine reduced power popped up as a warning then the engine light came on the dashboard on and off. Everyone says they don’t know what is wrong with it so I feel that the manufacturer should be reliable to fix these problems for us customers. These problems put my child and I at risk by stopping out of nowhere in traffic. I’m currently pregnant and it happened with me and my kids in the car.

NHTSA ODI 11437052

Both low beam headlights stopped working. Two days later the passenger side low beam headlight turned on again, but not the driver side. 2 months later both low beams again no longer working. I've replaced all 4 fuses (interior and exterior), headlight relay, and bulbs. None of that fixed the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11436889

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and turned off with the key in the ignition, the vehicle started up independently. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. Additionally, whenever the air conditioner was activated, only hot air was coming from the vents causing the windows to become foggy. The contact’s husband was concerned with the stated failures along with other electrical failures within the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

NHTSA ODI 11435104

When driving my dash lights quit for days and then sometimes come back on. I am not aware of what speed I am going when driving. I am not able to accurately drive the speed limit that I am suppose to. I don’t know how much gas I have or if I am about to run out of gas. If my check engine light is on or not, and can’t see my turn signals. How can you obey the laws of driving when you can’t tell if you are going over the speed limit or not or using your turn signal.

NHTSA ODI 11431746

When driving this vehicle with ~111,000 miles on it. The infotainment center continually rebooted, causing drops of Bluetooth connection and pauses in the AC. The instrument panel stayed working, but lights turned off. This happened about 6 times in a 20 minute drive on the highway. After exiting the highway and executing a turn the reboot happened again, however the power steering locked up making the car unmanageable. Thankfully nothing was hit by the car! After this incident, driver was rightfully freaked out and won't touch the car again until this is resolved. One week prior the car rebooted once and the engine idled oddly, turned car off and on and worked fine for about a week, then the above incident happened.

NHTSA ODI 11428801

ALL ELECTRICAL INSIDE CAR GOES OUT OR ON AND OFF WHILE DRIVING. ALL DASH GAUGES, SPEEDOMETER, GAS GAUGE, RADIO, HEAT/AC, TURN SIGNALS, ETC. CAR STILL RUNS BUT NOTHING ON INSIDE WORKS. I do not know if this control outage effects the ABS or Steering. It only last for a few seconds. It has happened several time will drive 50 to 70 MPH. I've let off the gas and try not to panic. Everything comes back on and I continue home. I'm scared to drive my car

NHTSA ODI 11427964

Instrument cluster goes out and is available for inspection. It first went out in the middle of driving 80 on the freeway with others in my vehicle. I have taken it to a Point S mechanic who has confirmed the issue and can be easily recreated just by turning the car on. Nobody has inspected other than a mechanic because I did not know that was even an option. No, there was absolutely no warning to indicate the issue, only the check engine light would work and that issue has been temporarily resolved. Due to research, I, along with many others, have come to the conclusion that it is a fault in manufacturing where one of the resisters in the cluster was not soldered correctly causing a failure in connection. I believe there should have been a recall on the equipment, especially seeing as how common this issue is and that the product isn't even made/sold anymore. It is upsetting to see the ratio of 2 investigations compared to over 700 complaints.

NHTSA ODI 11427383

Car is stuck in heat. Sometimes the controls come on by themselves and hard to turn off. Heat does not defrost the window it sometime make it worse and hard to see while driving. Was told that it is not the compressor but the wiring and programming of the control system. A recall for other years have been issued for similar issues. This is the third report filed.

NHTSA ODI 11420553

my whole dash board went out why i was driving could not see my speed or how much gas i have nothing was coming up

NHTSA ODI 11419630

ALL ELECTRICAL INSIDE CAR GOES OUT OR ON AND OFF WHILE DRIVING. ALL DASH GAUGES, SPEEDOMETER, GAS GAUGE, RADIO, HEAT/AC, TURN SIGNALS, ETC. CAR STILL RUNS BUT NOTHING ON INSIDE WORKS.

NHTSA ODI 11416812

ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, VEHICLE HAS SHUT COMPLETELY OFF. BECAUSE IT IS AN ECO ENGINE, I ASSUMED IT WAS SIMPLY IDLING DOWN, WHILE STATIONARY A TRAFFIC LIGHT OR STOP SIGN, AS USUAL BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. THE FIRST COUPLE OF TIMES THE VEHICLE SHUTOFF WAS AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS, AND DRIVE THROUGH LANES. AND THEN THE VEHICLE SHUTOFF WHILE ON THE INTERSTATE AT 70 MILES PER HOUR. SHORTLY AFTER THAT INCIDENT, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I REPLACED THE BATTERY BUT THE CAR HAS STILL HAD TO BE JUMPED OFF THREE TIMES SINCE THE REPLACEMENT. AND WHEN I HAD THOSE CODES REPAIRED, NOW THE VEHICLE DRIVES AS IF IT ISN'T GETTING GAS AND THEN ALL OF SUDDEN IT WILL JERK AND ACCELERATE QUICKLY. LASTLY, WHEN THE BRAKES ARE USED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THE PEDAL WILL SUDDENLY GO ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOORBOARD, THEN COME AND TIGHTEN TO POINT I CAN BARELY PRESS THE BRAKES. I HAVE REPLACED THE BRAKES ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS AND THE MECHANICS DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS CAUSING THAT ISSUE TO OCCUR.

NHTSA ODI 11416125

THE VEHICLE HAS MAJOR ELECTRICAL ISSUES FROM THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. JUST LAST WEEK I STARTED THE CAR IT MADE A NOISE AS I WAS DRIVING I HAD NO SPEEDOMETER, NO BLINKERS. NO RADIO ON GAS GAUGE AND NO TEMP GAUGE. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR STALL IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY AND NO RECALL? IT'S BASICALLY A DEATH 🪤

NHTSA ODI 11415472