Home · 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Eco · Complaints

What 689 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (689)Crash / fire / injury (29)Engine (275)Electrical system (190)Transmission & drivetrain (168)Speed control (110)Fuel system (99)Brakes (67)Steering (40)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (21)Airbags (14)Suspension (13)

110 of 689 complaints match · Speed control · clear filters · page 5 of 5

Sep 12, 2019Speed control

I WAS DRIVING IN THE CITY, HEAVY TRAFFIC, WHEN WITH NO WARNING THE ENGINE LIGHT AND TRACTION LIGHT CAME ON, AND MESSAGE REDUCTION IN POWER ALSO CAME ON. I COULD NOT MOVE FASTER THAN 20 MILES AN HOUR. I OBSTRUCTED TRAFFIC TRYING TO GET OFF THE STREET, AND DRIVERS HONKED AND YELLED TRYING TO AVOID HITTING ME. I PARKED AND TURNED OFF CAR AND RESTARTED TWICE. IT DROVE NORMALLY BUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STILL REMAINED ON. I WILL SEE DEALER BUT NO WARNINGS OR ERROR MESSAGES ARE ON NOW. I AM TERRIFIED TO TAKE PASSENGERS OR DRIVE ON THE FREEWAY, OR AT NIGHT.

NHTSA ODI 11254972

Jul 19, 2019Speed control

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 75 MPH, WHEN AN ERROR MESSAGE CAME UP SAYING 'REDUCED ENGINE POWER' AND SOMETHING ABOUT TRACTION CONTROL. THEN MY SPEED WAS REDUCED AND I COULD NOT ACCELERATE. I HAD TO QUICKLY PULL OFF TO THE SHOULDER SO I WOULD AVOID BEING HIT BY ONCOMING 18 WHEELERS. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON. THE ENGINE LIGHT HAS REMAINED ON, BUT SPEED WAS OK. I READY THAT THIS COULD BE DUE TO THE THROTTLE BODY OR THROTTLE POSITIONING SENSOR. WHAT CAN I DO????

NHTSA ODI 11233277

Jul 5, 2019Speed control

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MERGE ONTO THE HIGHWAY, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. AFTER A FEW MINUTES, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED EVER SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED THREE MONTHS AGO. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO CHISWELL CHEVROLET OF THURMONT (111 FREDERICK RD, THURMONT, MD 21788) WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PERFORMING ACCORDING TO STANDARDS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,000.

NHTSA ODI 11229628

Jul 2, 2019Speed controlEngine

MY CAR IS LAGGING WHEN I COME FROM A COMPLETE STOP. IT SPUTTERS AT TIMES WHEN I ACCELERATE. MY CAR IS ALSO MAKING A VIBRATION NOISE WHEN I ACCELERATE, SLOW DOWN, TURNING, ON HIGHWAY, CITY STREETS AND WHEN I'M COASTING. THIS START HAPPENING WHEN MY VEHICLE REACHED 13,000 MILES. I ALMOST GOT INTO FOUR ACCIDENTS DUE TO THIS ISSUE. THERE NEED TO BE A RECALL ASAP! I'M PRETTY SURE THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE ONE UNTIL SOMEONE DIES BECAUSE OF IT.

NHTSA ODI 11229048

Jun 18, 2019Electrical systemSpeed controlEngine

WHILE DRIVING MY 2018 MALIBU WITH ONLY 7500 MILES ON IT, THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I PUSHED THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR HAD NO POWER AND I ALMOST WAS IN A CRASH WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. A LOT OF LIGHTS CAME ON THE DASHBOARD AND THE GAUGES WENT TO ZERO. AN ERROR MESSAGE DISPLAYED THAT SAID SOMETHING LIKE ENGINE POWER REDUCED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE GAS GAUGE AND OTHERS ACTED LIKE THE CAR WAS SHUT OFF. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR ME AND MY FAMILY AS TRAFFIC IN THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA AREA IS VERY HEAVY. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND SHUT THE CAR OFF. I TRIED TO RESTART IT AND IT WOULD NOT RESTART FOR 10 MINUTES. WHEN IT DID RESTART THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS STILL ON AND THE CAR STILL HAD VERY LIMITED POWER. THIS NEEDS FIXED ASAP. IT IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER WHERE I BOUGHT IT FROM IN NOVEMBER OF 2018. I TOLD THEM ABOUT THE POWER PROBLEM WHEN I HAD THE FIRST SERVICE OIL CHANGE DONE AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO ABOUT IT. I BOUGHT A NEW CAR SO THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS AND NOW I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS PRODUCT THAT NO ONE WANTS TO FIX. PLEASE FIND A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM AS IT IS LIFE THREATENING.

NHTSA ODI 11220833

May 30, 2019Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlEngine

MY CAR WAS BOUGHT NEW IN DECEMBER 2018. STARTING IN APRIL OF 2018, WITH A LITTLE OVER 3000 MILES ON THE CAR, I BEGAN TO NOTICE THAT WHEN I DROVE THE CAR WITH A COLD START (MORNINGS AND AFTER A FULL DAY OF WORK) THE CAR WOULD NOT RESPOND TO ME PRESSING ON THE GAS PEDAL. I WOULD PUSH DOWN, AND IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT 5-8 SECONDS FOR THE CAR TO ACTUALLY ACCELERATE AT ALL. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING ALMOST EVERY DAY FOR NEARLY A MONTH. MULTIPLE TIMES, I HAVE PULLED OUT OF A DRIVEWAY AND WAS ALMOST HIT BY CROSS TRAFFIC BECAUSE MY CAR LITERALLY WOULDN'T GO. WE HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE SERVICE CENTER TWICE NOW, AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO PULL ANY CODES OR FIND ANY ISSUES WRONG WITH IT. THESE NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED. ## VIN PASSED ## CHEVROLET, MALIBU, 2018 ##

NHTSA ODI 11217007

May 10, 2019Speed control

MY VEHICLE OFTEN DOESN'T NOT ACCELERATE AS IT SHOULD. RPM WILL READ BETWEEN 3 AND 4 RPM SPEED WILL NOT GO ABOVE 5 TO 10 MPH. THIS IS A RANDOM OCCURRENCE BUT HAS BECAME MORE FREQUENT IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS. IT'S HAPPENING ALMOST DAILY. LAST OCCURRENCE WAS THIS MORNING ABOUT 8:30AM. IT HAPPENS WHEN COMING FROM A STOP. I CAN PUSH THE GAS PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR STILL WILL NOT GO ABOVE 5 TO 10 MPH. RPMS WILL STILL SHOW NORMAL RANGE FOR ACCELERATION. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR THE 5TH TIME ONLY FOR THEM TO TELL ME IT COULDN'T BE REPAIRED JUST YET BECAUSE THE ACCELERATOR SENSOR HAS NOT FAILED COMPLETELY, ALTHOUGH IT IS CLEAR THAT IT IS DEFECTIVE. DEALER STATED REPAIR WOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY ON MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, AND CAR WON'T ACCELERATE, INDICATING THAT THE SENSOR HAS FAILED COMPLETELY. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE I NEVER KNOW WHEN MY VEHICLE WILL ACCELERATE AT NORMAL SPEED.

NHTSA ODI 11206921

Mar 6, 2019Speed controlEngine

CAR WAS NOT ACCELERATING WOULD NOT GO PAST 20MPHTOOK TO DEALER SHIP TOOK 2 MONTHS TO FIGURE OUT IT WAS THE KNOCK SENSOR AND ALSO THE ECM WERE OUT MIND YOU MY CAR HAD LESS THAN 6K MILES I'M THE FIRST AND ONLY OWNER OF IT! I BOUGHT THIS CAR FROM DON RINGLER WITH 4 MILES. MY CAR WAS ON THE HIGH WAY WHEN THIS HAPPEN.

NHTSA ODI 11184634

Dec 3, 2018Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlEngine

BOUGHT THIS CAR BRAND NEW IN AUGUST 2018. WHEN I DRIVE IT SOMETIMES IT LOOSES POWER WHEN I'M DRIVING FROM A STOP OR WHILE PICKING UP SPEED AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S ON THE FREEWAY OR ON THE STREET. THE ONLY WAY I CAN DESCRIBE IT IS IT'S LIKE THE TRANSMISSION GETS STUCK IN A HIGH GEAR AND SLOWLY BUILDS SPEED UP. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE IT LIKE THIS.

NHTSA ODI 11155526

Nov 23, 2018Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlEngine

I BOUGHT THIS CAR BRAND NEW 9/28/2018 WITH 2 MILES ON IT. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE THE CAR WILL STICK AT 3400 RPM'S, MAKING ALMOST NO POWER, WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE. THE CAR WILL DO THIS FROM A STOP OR TRYING TO PASS A CAR. BROUGHT TO DEALER FOR 4 DAYS, THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE ISSUE AS IT DOESN'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME(EYE ROLL) IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN AS IT WILL GIVE YOU A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY WHEN MOVING INTO OR AROUND TRAFFIC AND IS VERY DANGEROUS. MONITORING THE CAR THRU THE OBDII PORT I PERSONALLY FOUND IT NOT BUILDING BOOST FROM THE TURBO WHEN IT'S HAVING THIS PROBLEM, UNFORTUNATELY THE DEALERS CAN'T SEE THIS PROBLEM...

NHTSA ODI 11153410

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Working with the data? Download all 689 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 24, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Eco verdict →