What 690 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Limited

I keep getting a reoccurring message saying Engine Speed reduced, I can be driving going 60+MPH and randomly My car speed is reduced. This is becoming a safety issue as i have noticed this is a ongoing issue wit the 2016-2018 Chevy Malibu's.

NHTSA ODI 11497075

I paid a significant amount to have my car fixed after bringing it initially the first time in May. Since then I have had to return my car multiple times every other month because the engine light continues to come on and they don’t know why. I have worked directly with JR and have gotten no result. The engine light continues to come on and they continue to not be able to know why, they keep my car for multiple days and can’t explain why the light is on or what they did to remove it and then it comes on a few days or months later with the same issue that they cannot explain. I bought my car in over five times already I have contacted corporate to no avail. When I brought it back the second time they claimed a bunch of things were wrong with it that weren’t wrong the first time, every time there is a new issue but they can’t describe what is the cause of the issue or can they give me an explanation on what keeps happening the last time they claim it was an electrical malfunction but could not explain any details and waited until they were closing to contact me. My engine light has since come back on which means I would have to bring it in again. I contacted corporate they were supposed to call me back, never heard from anyone. I’ve been working directly with JR who I constantly contact and he does not follow up at all or call me back like he says he would and the issue continues to happen and he is very aware of it for my initial review. They have to leave my car there for multiple days to not get updates to not get any information, they don’t look at it they don’t even know what’s going on with it, it doesn’t even make any sense at all now I’m driving a car that could potentially be unsafe and I’m bringing it to the only dealership that is closest to me Chevrolet and they can’t even help. My car is a 2018 Chevy Malibu that I take extremely good care of yet no one knows why the engine light keeps coming on.

NHTSA ODI 11494311

Engine reduced while driving

NHTSA ODI 11491547

The steering wheel is jerking when in the position to turn, and waiting at a light. The STOP ENGINE Feature seems to make the jerk motion and also sends an ALERT MESSAGE which is a quick flash STATING "Steering Assist is REDUCED- Drive with Care". According to a SERVICE BULLETIN Provided by GM BULLETIN #19-NA-182 AUGUST 2019. This is a problem that needs to be corrected, for the safety of my family and others in the vehicle and on the road. Next, the car shut off and the command center went blank,

NHTSA ODI 11491643

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? A defect in the cam shaft solenoids causes a notice that "Engine Power is Reduced." At that point, the engine begins to struggle to accelerate from a stop, and from increasing speed while on the highway. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The unpredictability of the defect and its affect while driving poses a large threat to safety, particularly on the highway. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes. The dealership service rep not only confirmed the defect, but also confirmed that the issue persists across multiple GM models yet no recall exists. Again, this is a KNOWN defect with GM engines, as confirmed directly by the dealership. Despite this, no remedy was offered, I was told it's neither covered by my manufacturer's warranty or recall. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes. I was given a video explanation of the issue and also told directly of these persistence of the defect across multiple lines. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning prior to the failure. The defect and "Engine Power Reduced" message both first presented in March of 2022, less than a year into my ownership of the car -- and while my car was still under its 60,000 mile warranty.

NHTSA ODI 11491362

MOTOR DIED GOING DOWN THE ROAD Car is available for inspection If I had been crossing the street without the aid of a stoplight, I would have been T-Boned Vehicle problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer. Vehicle component has not been inspected by dealer or anyone else. The check engine light and logo came on as the engine was shutting down. I went into the trunk on the passenger side and shook and twisted the wires going into the control module mounted to the trunk wall. This was suggested for the 2016 Malibu which had a recall. There should be a recall on the 2018 also. After repeated shaking and attempting to start the motor, it finally started. I drove it home and parked it. When I went to read the code, the engine started and ran for a couple of minutes and stalled again. The code was P2BB3.

NHTSA ODI 11489407

12/27/2021 I started my car to leave work & noticed a loud tap. I've worked for dealerships in the past & was part owner of my own repair shop for many years. Popped the hood, checked the oil level which was good, & figured I'd be fine to drive it home to park it & then hook the scanner up. Mid-way home I received an engine performance notification on my dash, but other than that it seemed safe with no diminished speed. Less than 3 miles from home I went to stop at a red light & had the hardest brake pedal I've ever felt in my life. I was fortunate nobody was around me so I put all the weight of my body on the pedal to stop the car at the light. The engine was sputtering & the steering felt tight & it felt like it was stalling, with a green turn arrow I risked crossing the highway & was able to safely park in the community's rec center. I'm not one who is quick to take anything to the dealership because many times the techs are lazy, so I hit the web & found two things. One - there is an extended warranty on the TPS sensor which is the entire gas pedal itself. This could explain the engine performance notification, but not the lack of brakes. Upon hours & hours of additional reading I found the problem - the vacuum brake pump. We ordered it & replaced it but I can tell you my engine likely needs an additional camshaft replacement for it to ever be right again. Two codes remain: P0014 & P0017 - Exhaust camshaft/crankshaft position not plausible. What was the condition of the vacuum pump? It was SHATTERED & had spewed chunks of metal directly into my engine. I was lucky that day, had I gotten 1/4 mile down the road I could have wound up in a lake instead of a parking lot. GM should be ASHAMED of this design & it's continued failure to not only address the issue, but lie about it in the process. First owner, failure occurred at 54,500 miles - no warranty. What scares me the most, is how many times the same owner has had this pump fail again & again.

NHTSA ODI 11488829

My car just stopped in the middle of the road , and would not start again for a few minutes. Then is was in low power mode , no brakes either after that , found that problem to be a bad Vaccum pump , which G M didn’t even have , and a faulty Accelerator Pedal sensor !

NHTSA ODI 11488838

I was driving app. 41 miles per hour in heavy Friday traffic on 10/7/2022 and the check engine light lit up and the car dropped to about 20 miles per hour and would not pick up speed. The rpm was staying on about 3000. I pulled over and called my husband. We set for awhile and restarted the car and the light went off and it drove as normal

NHTSA ODI 11488594

My car will stop and have no power now the heat shut off and won’t come back on it’s just doing some crazy stuff I looked up all the recalls for 2018 Malibu and it was a lot so why mines isn’t listed

NHTSA ODI 11488506

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled, causing the power steering and power brake functionality to become inoperable. The contact stated he was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. The contact had managed to coast off to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to restart the vehicle and he was able to drive the vehicle to his destination. The contact stated that the failure started off as an intermittent failure, but gradually had become a constant failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred and the vehicle had to be towed. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer on several occasions to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. Additionally, the contact stated that the radio would randomly switch through the preselected stations. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75.

NHTSA ODI 11488270

I was driving around 50 MPH and the car began to sputter and it wasn't getting in gas. It slowed down to 20 MPH and I had to stop on side of road. It behaved as if it were out of gas, but it had a qtr tank of gas. It would not start after I stopped it. I took it dealership and they still do not have an answer. There should be a recall on this. Numerous reports that are similar to my scenario.

NHTSA ODI 11486999

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

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

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the vehicle's reduce engine warning light would illuminate at various speeds. The contact would pull over unlock then lock the vehicle in order for the vehicle's warning light to no longer illuminate and to regain proper function. While driving 75 mph when the engine warning light stating reduced speed illuminated. The mph dropped to about 25 mph. The vehicle's OnStar displayed a message stating that the antilock brake system was detected and the vehicle powered off shortly after. The vehicle was towed to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the crankshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that their vehicle was not included in any recall. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11478563

On 3 occasions, my vehicle has displayed the message “Engine Power is Reduced.” It has 83, 990 miles. I took it to the dealership to have them check it out, but I was told they couldn’t check it because the check engine light was no longer on. This is a problem because the warning will come on, then the check engine light turns off after the car has been turn off. The Chevy dealership says there is a three day wait for them to conduct a diagnostic, but what are the chances the check engine light will remain on? After having gone through this process on three separate occasions, the check engine light hasn’t appeared the next day. I have read about how others may be experiencing this problem and they do not have some resolution to this kind of problem. My wife generally drives this car, so I fear for her as she travels to and from work.

NHTSA ODI 11474815

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

Engine power reduced notification came on the dashboard and car deaccelerated down to less than 25 miles an hour on the highway on multiple occasions. On the last occasion about 2 months ago the notification came on again, the car stalled and would not start up again. This was in ongoing traffic and I could have been seriously injured if people behind me were unable to stop in time. I sat in the middle of traffic for 45 minutes until fire and rescue came and pushed my car out of the road and onto the shoulder until the tow truck came.

NHTSA ODI 11473620

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

I’ve brought the car in for the same thing “engine power reduced “ and they never were able to fix has been going on since February of 2019. codes related to the engine power reduced still occurred and are occurring on my vehicle, reported it to Gm ( have the emails) they offer me $2500 for a new car but won’t put it towards fixing this car, as it’s not a guaranteed fix as the vehicle has been brought in over 4-5 times for the same engine power reduced and never fixed it. I received a letter from GM regarding they will cover anything to do with “engine power reduced “ at no charge and now they won’t fix it. The last email gm said to report it to the dealership giving me the run around. This is one of MANY almost got in an accident today on the highway cause I was going 70 and it dropped to 40 out of no where of course with the engine power reduced message. I need help, please. I been going on since I bought the vehicle in 2019. Gm is doing nothing but taken advantage of for years

NHTSA ODI 11466483

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH and coming to a complete stop, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle Stop feature engaged independently as designed, causing the engine to stop running. However, upon releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle stalled and shut off. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The contact shifted into the park, depressed the pedal, and was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred twice. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that no issues were found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. A case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464788

Warning: Reduced speed, car stalled in the middle of traffic. Took to dealer ship and they charged me $279 and said it was the battery, from the looks of everyone else’s complaint, which we have the same complaint, I got ripped off. I deserve a refund and we all deserve our cars serviced.

NHTSA ODI 11464137

Certain @018 Chevy malibu models has a recall for asoftware problem could disable the fuel injectors And im currently having this issue where my vehicle will not start all of the time and is misfiring.

NHTSA ODI 11463865

Experienced electrical issues and engine issues since car was purchased in 2019. The car will stall randomly if stopped at a light or moving slowly in traffic. The breaks also skip when slowing down, I taken by break check and they advised the breaks where good, just had them done 2 years ago, max. I had the batteries replaced twice in the last 2 years,there is no faulty in the battery. Right now my car is not working at all, the breaks became stiff while driving, constant error saying "Reduced Engine Power". The car would turn over but it will not hold. I took it to my local mechanic, who advised he replaced all parts that could be the issue but the car still will not run right. He states it's and Engine or computer issue. There are a few recalls already issued by chevy, my car was made in July of 2017, and the issues described is the exact same issues I'm having.

NHTSA ODI 11463929