What 689 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

The stability track system comes on the vehicle slows down and stops in traffic. Then it says shift to park and will not start. The computer often displays reduce engine power.

NHTSA ODI 11486233

Shift to park light comes on when it was already put in park and shut car off.

NHTSA ODI 11482199

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the "Shift to Park" message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact attempted multiple maneuvers to turn off the vehicle and was eventually successful. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for service. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred her to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

NHTSA ODI 11481963

I was driving 35 mph when the message "reduced engine power" and it noticably slowed down. The check engine light is still on. I researched recalls/problems with the 2018 Chevy Malibu and this is one major one I found.

NHTSA ODI 11481672

I was leaving the gas station and when I got ready to pull off into traffic the car stalled. Flashed a message saying the automatic steering was disabled or something drive with care. I go out this morning and it won't start at all. It cranks but won't turn.

NHTSA ODI 11479113

When I get to a destination and put car in park it says " shift to park" like it's not in park. I have to wiggle my gear shift around for it to go away. Or when I park, I have to give it a forceful push to park.

NHTSA ODI 11476200

Most the time I park now, the vehicle does NOT recognize when I shift the vehicle into PARK. The transmission control (the "stick") is positioned correctly, but the vehicle chimes and warns vehicle cannot be turned off until vehicle is in PARK regardless. I am not sure if the vehicle is literally not in PARK, or if the vehicle's system sensors simply are NOT functioning correctly. Usually some jiggling of the stick causes the car to eventually recognize the PARK is engaged, but it is never certain. So far this issue has mostly resulted in inconvenience and annoyance, so no police reports or mechanic investigations yet. But whatever the nature of this malfunctioning PARK, under the right circumstances, this issue could conceivably lead to accidents and deaths if not addressed and repaired soon. I am reminded of Anton Yelchin's SUV crushing him to death after he thought his vehicle was in PARK but the system wasn't working correctly. My vehicle is 4 years old now and this problem only began manifesting recently, perhaps 3-6 months ago. I have searched online and I have found at least two other owners of this same make and model and year have experienced the exact same problem. I suspect this issue could lead to catastrophic problems in the future if not fixed early. Please investigate before things get out of hand.

NHTSA ODI 11475274

I shift my car into park and try to turn off the car, the car stays on and tells me to shift the car to park even though it is already in park. Car is having continuous transmission and emission issues that cannot be resolved by the Chevrolet dealership, resulting in paying lots of money and the engine light and emails from OnStar still appear.

NHTSA ODI 11475119

While im driving the stabilitrack warning will pop on then the engine light & immediately after my car will jerk to a almost stop. Then when I try to press on the gas peddle it will go slow but my peddle power goes to a 4. The dealership said it was my tire speed sensors so I got them replaced all to STILL have the same problem. It will also read power stirring not available & shift to park even tho I’m already in park.

NHTSA ODI 11473501

My car keeps saying “shift to park” when it is already in park. I have to keep turning the car back on and off numerous times and shifting the car into another gear and back into park and wiggle the shifter to get it to read that it’s in park. I don’t know if the car is actually in park or not and will roll if I leave it. Also by turning the car on and off multiple times, sometimes 7 to 8, will ruin the starter or cause some other issues. I have not taken to a dealer yet because online reports of same issue in multiple gm cars have said they are replacing with the same faulty part.

NHTSA ODI 11473243

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated after parking the vehicle, the message Shift to Park was displayed. The contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact reversed, drove forward and shifted into park(P) again. The vehicle then registered that the gear shifter was in park(P). The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while attempting to park the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,400.

NHTSA ODI 11472779

Getting an error "shift to park" message when parking and trying to shut the vehicle off. Have to now apply the parking brake, shift into gear, and shift back to park to get the vehicle to register in that it is in park to shut off. This error does not allow vehicles to be shut off or even doors locked which could pose a risk of a small child getting into the vehicle in these hot temperatures.

NHTSA ODI 11471485

Son was driving my 2018 Malibu with 90,000 miles. Check engine light came on and car reduced speed from 75mph to 40mph on interstate! Autozone reading says replace Variable Camshaft Timing Solenoid. Very dangerous situation. Chevy should have to fix this.

NHTSA ODI 11471064

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while entering the vehicle, there was a warning light illuminated and a message stating: Action Required Place Vehicle in Park; however, the vehicle was already in park. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer and the vehicle was diagnosed that the harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,050.

NHTSA ODI 11469567

my 2018 malibu premier with 12600 miles on it, parking sensor, and wiring harness is defective. The shop tells me gm knows about it and recommends replacing them. when you park the car and turn it off it does not go into park, you can not lock the car, and the radio keeps playing. If you do not shake the shifter it stays that way. If you do not have the radio on and you get out and close the door and walk away you do not know it. They want $450 to fix it as long as all goes well.I feel there should be a recall on this since they put in faulty parts and have notified their dealers.

NHTSA ODI 11464959

I got the error message, "Shift to Park" after putting my car in park. Thus, my car would not fully turn off, affecting the battery. This is a known issue with various make, models, and years of Chevrolet vehicles. If this had happened anywhere but home, if would have left me stranded. The dealership confirmed it was a known issue as they have had to fix many of these vehicles. The bill was extremely pricey.

NHTSA ODI 11464890

Component/System: Transmission shift control not correctly sensing vehicle has been placed in parked condition. Symptom: After parking and shutting off engine, message is displayed "Shift to Park" and car dings and lights and electronics will not turn off. Started about a week ago and was intermittent. Jiggling the transmission shift handle would always cause message to go away and electronics to turn off. Today, no amount of manipulating the transmission control handle will shut off the message. Tried to leave car in garage but lights and radio kept running. Decided to manually shut off lights and radio/info system hoping system will time out and shut down on its own. Finally got in contact with dealership who recommended I disconnect the battery cable until I can get the car into the shop. Safety concern: Though transmission can be verified as being in park, electronics will not shut down, thereby potentially allowing the electrical system to drain battery and not allowing car to be started when needed. Also, a bit concerned it was suggested by dealership I disconnect battery cable to eliminate power drain while "Shift to Park" error is occurring. Problem reproduced/confirmed by dealer: Not yet as the problem had a rapid onset from intermittent to full time over the course of a week. Having a bit of difficulty getting appointment scheduled that will get problem investigated and fixed. Loaner cars were discontinued last December and I live too far from dealership to be driven home. Inspection: No inspection has yet occurred; however, I have taken picture of "Shift to Park" message while transmission control handle is in the park position. Prior indications: There were no other signs of a problem. "Shift to Park" simply started and was intermittent over the course of a week. Jiggling the transmission control handle would quickly resolve the issue, then today, it has no impact.

NHTSA ODI 11464497

Suddenly and at random times check engine light comes on with error “Engine power is reduced” car will no longer accelerate even at freeway speeds causing a very dangerous situation. Has happened several times and continues to happen. According to other complaints this is very common and reoccurring for Malibu and needs to be covered by Chevy to resolve issue.

NHTSA ODI 11461877

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 40 MPH independently. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road for five minutes. The contact was able to continue to drive with no other issues. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred twice while driving. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

NHTSA ODI 11460689

Shift to park error message. Sensor in the parking shift module is malfunctioning.

NHTSA ODI 11460267

The harness and shifter solenoid went bad in my car. When I was on the highway, it stalled causing me to have to pull over onside the road. I nearly got hit in the rear by an 18-wheeler. There was an TSB on the make, model, and year of the car, but GM did not inform their customers of the issue and the dangerous situation one could be in if the car decided to malfunction in the middle of traffic. I was almost rear-ended from behind by an 18-wheeler while on the highway going 60 miles per hour. I also was stranded on the side of the road because they said they could not send anyone out. Malcolm Cunningham Chevrolet, a local Chevy dealer is aware of the issues with the vehicles, but when I bought my vehicle into the shop to get fixed, they lied and said I had wasted something in my car. They provided no pictures of the spills or pictures of the parts with the contamination that they claimed it had on it. The only person that inspected my car was Logan and the other technicians at Malcolm Cunningham Chevrolet in Augusta, Georgia. No, there was no warning lights indicating my harness and solenoid needed to be checked.

NHTSA ODI 11455425

engine shuts off with out warning. shuts completely off sitting a stop light and has to be put in park and restarted. shuts of in drive through and scared it will begin doing while traveling down the highway. no warning lights or nothing on. was told at dealer if not doing all the time or there was no light on indicating a failure that there was nothing could be done. very dangerous problem

NHTSA ODI 11453467

Car continued to send message "Shift to Park" which required diagnosis and replacement of gear shift assembly by independent service garage because car warranty has expired. Battery would die without message being eliminated. The message infers that the car is not in park which means that the car could roll away injuring someone or damaging property.

NHTSA ODI 11444188

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the contact had to pump the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The brake pedal went to the floorboard while depressed. Additionally, the "Shift to Park" warning message was displayed even after the vehicle was in PARK. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer initially diagnosed that the brake pedal needed lubrication. The dealer lubricated the brake pedal; however, the failure recurred with a chemical odor detected. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the brake pump system and shift gear were faulty. The dealer replaced the brake pump system however, the chemical odor was still detected and the "Shift to Park" warning message was displayed. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

NHTSA ODI 11443350

Our Malibu won't shift into Park. Displays "Shift to Park" message when the shifter is in the park position and it won't let you turn the car off.

NHTSA ODI 11440507