What 690 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Limited

SO MANY ISSUES, CAR CURRENTLY NOT STARTING. CODES WERE FOR BRAKE BOOSTER AND MAF SENSORS, REPLACED BOTH. STILL WON'T START. OPEN RECALL EMC, CALLED DEALERSHIP, THEY STATED RECALL IS FREE BUT SINCE IT WON'T START I HAVE TO PAY 125 SO THEY CAN HOOK IT TO COMPUTER. SHIFT TO GEAR HAPPENS WEEKLY, CAR WILL BE IN PARK. STABILTRACK CAME ON A FEW TIMES, BUT GOES AWAY. IT TELLS ME ICY CONDITIONS ON EVAN WARM DAYS, DISPLAY WILL GO BLACK BU USUALLY RANDOMLY COMES ON. THE WORST IS THE REDUCED ENGINE MODE. THERE IS NO RHYME OR REASON. I HAVE BEEN ON THE STREET DOING ABOUT 35 MPH AND IT DOES IT ALSO ON HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEEDS WITH 4 KIDS IN THE CAR, TERRIFYING AND DANGEROUS. I AM SURE I'M FORGETTING THINGS I HAVE JUST COME TO NOT FEEL SAFE OR COMFORTABLE DRIVING THIS CAR, LOCAL DEALERSHIP IS NO HELP. TOOK A PICTURE OF ONE OF THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED BUT THAT WAS 20000 MILES AGO, HAPRNS RANDOMLY AND ALMOST IN CLUSTERS. I CAN GO A MONTH OR 2 WITH NOTHING AND THEN IT'S 2-4 TIMES A DAY FOR A FEW DAYS OR WEEKS, AND THEN STOPS.

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TWO TIMES MY VEHICLE HAS DISPLAYED ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. WHEN THIS OCCURRED, MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WELL AND MY VEHICLE SPEED WAS AUTOMATICALLY REDUCE TO ABOUT 20 MPH ALMOST CAUSING A CRASH WITH THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME. THE ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON THE ENTIRE DAY EVEN AFTER POWERING DOWN MY VEHICLE. ALSO THERE IS A LOUD WATER NOISE WHEN COMING TO A STOP LIKE WATER IS RUNNING THROUGH THE ENGINE OR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM. THIS WATER NOISE OCCURRED WITH MY 2013 MALIBU AS WELL AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.MY VEHICLE IS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD AND SHOULD NOT BE EXPERIENCING THESE TYPES OF ISSUES.

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WHEN DRIVING, MESSAGE WILL APPEAR ON DASH STATING THAT ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED. MY CAR WILL GO IN TO LIMP MODE, AND WILL NOT INCREASE HIGHER THAN ABOUT 340 RPM, AND CANNOT ACCELERATE FASTER THAN 25 MPH. SOMETIMES I HAVE BEEN I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE AND RESTART MY ENGINE, AND THIS ERROR WILL GO AWAY. THERE WERE A COUPLE TIMES WHERE THIS ERROR DID NOT IMMEDIATELY GO AWAY AFTER RESTARTING MY ENGINE AND I WAS FORCED TO DRIVE HOME AT 25 MPH. LUCKILY I HAVE NO BEEN REAR ENDED YET, BUT THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AND IS FREQUENT WITH 2018 MALIBU'S ACCORDING TO SEVERAL ONLINE ARTICLES.

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REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AND LOSS OF POWER OCCURED. THE CAR WAS STILL RUNNING, BUT IT SLOWED DOWN TO A STOP ON THE HIGHWAY. BATTERY AND ELECTRIC SYSTEM WAS STILL ON, BUT THE DASH AND EVERYTHING ELSE DIMMED OUT AS WELL. THERE WAS NO WARNING AND VEHICLE WAS DRIVING ABOUT 40 MPH.

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REDUCE POWER MESSAGE APPEARED WHILE IN TRAFFIC REDUCING SPEED DRAMATICALLY. WAS NOT ABLE TO GO MORE THAN 13 MPH IN A 50MPH ZONE.

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TAKING MY FIANC TO THE AIRPORT SO THAT HE CAN REPORT FOR DUTY AND THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY COMES TO A SPEED OF 20MPH ON THE HIGHWAY CAUSE A VEHICLE BEHIND ME TO COME TO A CLOSE CONTACT WITH MY CAR. REPLACED SENSOR AND PEDAL AS INSTRUCTED BECAUSE I AM FRESH OUT OF MY WARRANTY AND A MONTH LATER. THE ISSUE RETURNED. I CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY 200 TO 500 EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS OR MO THE TO FIX THIS ISSUE. CHEVY IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND HAS ELECTED TO DO NOTHING. IT HAS BEEN REOCCURRING IN2016 TO 2018 VEHICLES.

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MY CAR RANDOMLY DISPLAYED A MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD THAT SAID "ENGINE POWER REDUCED" TRACTION LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED AND IT BROUGHT MY SPEED LIMIT TO AROUND 20 WHILE I WAS ON A BUSY STREET. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND GOT THE POWER BACK BUT HAS DONE IT 3 MORE TIME IN 2 DAYS. VERY SCARY WITH 2 BABIES IN THE CAR.

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IN MAY OF 2020 I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN WOODBRIDGE,VA FOR A ECM RECALL ON MY VEHICLE. AFTER WAITING FOR THEM TO DO THE RECALL THEY STATED NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH MY VEHICLE. FROM OCTOBER TO CURRENT MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN DOING EVERYTHING THAT WAS STATED IN THE RECALL WHICH LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT THEY NEVER CHANGED THE PART. MY VEHICLE HAS SHUT OFF ON ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD ALMOST CAUSING ME A ACCIDENT AND MOST DAYS NOW IT WON'T EVEN START. I GOT MY BATTERY CHECKED OUT AND MY BATTERY TESTED 100% SO I KNOW THAT WASN'T THE PROBLEM. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID I WOULD HAVE TO PAY TO GET THAT PART REPLACED. WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY WHEN IT'S ONLY BEEN A COUPLE OF MONTHS SINCE THE RECALL, SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT. PLEASE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. -THANK YOU!

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WHEN PUT IN PARK A MESSAGE SHOWS SHIFT TO PARK. I HAVE TO SHOVE IT INTO PARK BEFORE CAR WOULD TURN OFF. WHEN STOPPING AND MAKING TURNS THERE IS A SLOUSHING SOUND (WATER) COMING FROM THE DASH. I GOT BOTH ITEMS FIXED OUT OF MY OWN POCKET BECAUSE MY EXTENDED WARRANTY DID NOT COVER THE AIR POCKET BUT IT DID COVER SHIFT TO PARK WITH A $50 DEDUCTIBLE. I BOUGHT THE CAR BRAND NEW SO NOT SURE WHY ALL THESE PROBLEMS ARE HAPPENING. I KNOW SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL HAVING THE SAME ISSUES. THESE ITEMS NEED TO BE RECALLED AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE REIMBURSED SEEING THE CAR IS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD.

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WHEN DRIVING THE CAR IT WILL LOSE PROPULSION AND POWER. AT ONE POINT IT ALMOST SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. I TOOK THE CAR FOR INSPECTION TO CHEVROLET DEALER BUT I WAS TOLD THEY WILL TAKE WEEKS TO FIND THE EXACT ISSUE. IT ALSO HAS A SAFETY RECALL WHICH WASN'T PERFORMED DURING MY APPOINTMENT. I WAS TOLD TO COME BACK IF I SEE ENGINE LIGHT WITHOUT IT THEY CAN'T DO MUCH. I USE MY CAR EVERY DAY TO GET TO WORK AND NOW I FEEL UNSAFE WHILE DRIVING IT. MY CHEVROLET MALIBU IS OF THE YEAR 2018 WITH ONLY 30K MILES.

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THIS IS THE 3RD TIME FOR HE SAME ISSUE. AFTER A COLD START THE ENGINE WILL START MISSING ON A CYL WHICH RESULTS IN A HUGE DECREASE IN POWER AND RUNNING ROUGH. THIS LAST TIME, ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. JUST LIKE THE OTHER TIMES, IF YOU STOP AND RESTART THE CAR, THE ISSUE GOES WAY. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, NO CODES AND THEY COULDNT REPLICATE THE ISSUE AND NOTHING WAS DONE.

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ON DECEMBER 2, 2020 AT APPROXIMATELY 545PM I WAS LEAVING THE BILOXI CSPIRE STORE AND AS I DROVE ABOUT HALF A MILE, THE CAR COMPLETELY WENT HAYWIRE. ALL THE INSTRUMENTS WENT CRAZY AND THEN I HAD NO BRAKES AT ALL AND THE CAR HAD NO POWER.. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO GET THE CAR IN A SAFE SPOT AND MYSELF OUT OF DANGER SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY ROAD. I TRIED TO TURN AND GET OFF ROAD AND CAR HAD NO BRAKES AT ALL AND NO POWER. THEN ONCE I WAS ABLE TO GET IN A PARKING LOT THE CAR AND SAFE. I TRIED CRANKING THE CAR 2 OR THREE TIMES AND ALL IT WOULD DO IS TURN OVER ARE MAKING A STARTING NOISE AND WOULDNT STOP. THE BRAKES WERE HARD AS A ROCK AND WOULD NOT DEPRESS AT ALL.

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THE ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AND SAYS ENGINE POWER REDUCE. I HAD A RECALL TO NHTSA DONE, BUT THE SAME PROBLEM, AND VEHICLE STALLS LIKE ITS SHUTTING OFF OR WON'T PICK UP SPEED.

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WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE WITH RANDOMLY DISPLAY ERROR CODE SAYING 'ENGINE POWER REDUCED'. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THE CAR'S SPEED REDUCES TO ~25 MPH AND IT'S INCREDIBLY HARD TO ACCELERATE PAST THAT. THIS REDUCED ENGINE POWER WARNING COMES ON FREQUENTLY, AND WITHOUT WARNING. SOMETIMES IT WILL GO WEEKS WITHOUT DOING IT, AND SOMETIMES IT WILL DO IT MULTIPLE TIMES A TRIP. EVERY TIME IT HAPPENS, THE ENGINE LIGHT & TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT COMES ON. THE ONLY THING THAT TEMPORARILY FIXES THE CAR IS PULLING OVER, TURNING THE ENTIRE CAR OFF, THEN TURNING IT BACK ON. THIS OBVIOUSLY IS VERY DANGEROUS WHILE DRIVING WITH ANY TRAFFIC AROUND YOU. ONCE I TURN MY CAR BACK ON, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON (TRACTION LIGHT TURNS OFF), AND THEN EVENTUALLY TURNS OFF BY ITSELF (GRANTED IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN SOON AFTER). AFTER SPEAKING TO OTHER CHEVY OWNERS, I'VE LEARNED THIS IS VERY COMMON & I'VE EVEN BEEN ABLE TO FIND POSTS ON ONLINE FORUMS REGARDING THIS ISSUE.

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DELAYED ECCEL ELECTRICAL STEERING AN BATTERY LOSS. TIRE LOW WARNING RESET FOR ALL TIRES CONTINUE TO COME ON, BATTERY DIES BROUGHT CAR TO DEALER THEY SAI IT HAD ONLY 1 RECALL AN IT WAS FIXED

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WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE ROAD, THE VEHICLE HAS SHUT OFF COMPLETELY AS I APPROACHED A COMPLETE STOP AT A RED LIGHT. I ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON THE HAZARD LIGHTS BUT UNABLE TO START THE VEHICLE, UNTIL IT IS JUMP STARTED IT WILL START, I WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING. ONCE I ARRIVED AT HOME AND I PARKED THE VEHICLE, IT COMPLETELY SHUT ITSELF OFF AND I WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO START THE VEHICLE IT JUST STARTED AGAIN. WHICH I WAS ABLE TO LOCK THE VEHICLE WITH THE REMOTE. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES NOW ON DIFFERENT DATES.

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P2138 CODE THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE.

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THE CARS REDUCED ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AND OFF, SLOWING DOWN ON THE FREEWAY AND THE TRACTION LIGHTS KEEP COMING ON. AFTER BEING PAID THE DEALERSHIP TO FIX IT THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURS.

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THE CHECK ENGINE HAS COME ON THREE TIMES ALREADY SINCE I HAVE BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE... EVERYTIME THE CODE IS FOR EMISSIONS SYSTEM. WE HAVE REPLACES THE VALVE AND THE CANISTER FOR EMISSIONS AND THE ENGINE LIGHT STILL COMES ON.. ALSO THE SHIFT TO PARK ISSUE.

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CAR WENT BACK TO DEALERSHIP MONDAY BECAUSE OF PROBLEM I HAD LAST YEAR. LIGHTS COMES ON IN DASHBOARD : STABILTRACK, ENGINE ICON, REDUCED STEERING, LOW FUEL. ON MY WAY TO WORK MONDAY JUST MADE IT OUT MY DRIVEWAY AND STARTED UP THE HILL AND THE LIGHTS STARTED FLASHING. BRAKES HAD TO BE PUSHED ASK THE WAY TO THE FLOOR FOR IT TO STOP ROLLING BACK DOWN THE HILL. I LET IT ROLL BACK TO GET THE CAR OUT OF STREET. THE CAR WOULDN'T TURN OFF WHEN I PRESSED THE START/STOP BUTTON. PRESSED THE BUTTON AGAIN THE CAR TURNS OFF BUT ALL LIGHTS ARE ON IN THE DASH. PRESS BUTTON AGAIN AND LIGHTS GO OUT BUT THE START BUTTON IS LIT. SHIFT TO PARK COMES ON DASH. IT'S IN PARK. COULDN'T GET ENGINE TO TURN ON. COULDN'T MOVE GEAR SHIFT THAT HAS NO LIGHTS ON COLUMN OR DASH TO TELL WHAT GEAR IT'S IS IN. GOT CAR TOWED TO GREENWAY IN TUSCUMBIA, AL. HAD TO FIND A RIDE TO & FROM WORK BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LONER .PICKED CAR UP TUESDAY(THEY SAID THE BATTERY NEEDED TO CHARGED & THERE WAS A RECALL THEY FIXED) MADE IT HOME OK. WENT TO STORE, NO PROBLEM. GOT IN CAR TO GO TO WORK WEDNESDAY AND IT STARTS ACTING UP AGAIN. AND WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AT WORK, THERE WAS SMELL LIKE THE BRAKES WERE REALLY HOT. CALLED DEALERSHIP DIDN'T GET THROUGH TO SERVICE BUT GUY SAID HE WOULD GET MY NUMBER & HAVE SOMEONE CALL, NO ONE DID. GOT IN CAR TO LEAVE WORK THE LIGHTS STARTED AGAIN BUT I WAS ABLE TO COME HOME WITH NO FURTHER INCIDENTS. THE ENGINE ICON WAS STILL ON THOUGH. I'M SICK OF THIS CAR! AND I'M TIRED OF GOING TO THE DEARSHIP EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS OR EVERY 2 WEEKS! BUY THIS LEMON BACK!

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THE VEHICLE ENGINE REDUCED POWER WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY CAUSING ABRUPT DROP IN SPEED TO LOWER THAN THE SPEED LIMIT ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT AND A BUMPER TO BUMPER COLLISION.

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CAR IS STATIONARY WHILE WAITING FOR RED LIGHT TO CHANGE, THE CAR WILL SHUT OFF AND REDUCED DRIVING ASSISTANCE ERROR MESSAGE WILL POP UP BEFORE TURNING BACK ON. THE RADIO WILL ALSO CUT OUT IN PROCESS OF CAR TURNING BACK ON FRIM AUTO SHUT OFF. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR OVER A MONTH AND SEEMS TO GET WORSE. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON TODAY ASWELL

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WHILE DRIVING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON , DISPLAY SAID DIMINISHED ENGINE POWER , NO THROTTLE RESPONSE

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I WAS DRIVING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD ABOUT 15 MPH. MY CAR BEGAN TO SHAKE, THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS BLINKING, STABILITY TRACK LIGHT WAS ON, AND AN ICON CAME UP SAYING THAT THE 'SERVICE STABLITREK.' I HAD LITTLE CONTROL OVER THE STEERING AND I FELT NO TRACTION WHILE TRYING TO PULL OVER. I ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM WHERE THE CAR PROMPTS A SHIFT TO PARK, EVEN THOUGH MY CAR IS IN PARK.

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VEHICLE ECM FAILS WHEN ACCELERATING. LOSES POWER/SHUTS DOWN. CANNOT ENTER FREEWAYS, PASS, OR PERFORM OTHER MANEUVERS REQUIRING SUDDEN INCREASE POWER DEMANDS. ECM FAILS TO RECORD INCIDENT. EVERY TIME. EVERY DAY. UPDATED ECM SOFTWARE DOES NOT WORK. RESET CHECK ENGINE MODE SHUTS DOWN OTHER VEHICLE FUNCTIONS. HAVE BEEN TOO CLOSE TO BEING RUN OFF THE INTERSTATE, HIT WHEN ENTERING FROM ON-RAMP, REAR-ENDED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. NHTSA DOES NOT INVESTIGATE BECAUSE DEATH AND INJURY CANNOT BE LINKED TO FAILURES BECAUSE THE MODULE DOES NOT RECORD ISSUES/FAILURES. THERE IS NO FIX. EVERY DAY YOU GET IN YOUR CAR AND WONDER IF TODAY IS THE DAY YOU DIE BECAUSE YOUR VEHICLE FAILED TO PERFORM AT A CRITICAL MOMENT. NOW VEHICLE SHUT DOWNS WHILE DRIVING ON LEVEL SURFACES, AT CONSTANT SPEED, WITH NO ADDITIONAL DEMANDS. AM INSTALLING CAMS TO RECORD TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND VEHICLE WARNINGS DISPLAYED ON DASH SINCE ECM DOES NOT RECORD FAILURES. I BELIEVE A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION INTO ALL REAR END COLLISIONS INVOLVING 2018 MALIBUS SHOULD BE CONDUCTED SINCE THE VITAL LINK, THE ECM RECORD, HAS BEEN DISABLED BY MANUFACTURER.

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