What 188 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard however, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated that the failure caused the vehicle to crash into a nearby ditch. In addition, the contact stated that the failure caused severe damage to the vehicle, and the vehicle was undrivable. The contact used a code reader to diagnose the vehicle a retrieved a code for a brake booster back-up pump failure. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced an unknown recall repair however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 63,455.

NHTSA ODI 11657450

On September 28th I was driving along the highway, went to take an exit, and the brake pedal was locked. I experienced a loss of braking, hard brake pedal and increased stopping distance. In order to get the car to stop, i had to put the car in neutral and coast into a ditch/grass. Before the brake failure there was no instrument cluster malfunction lights illuminated or any warning of imminent failure of the vehicles braking system. A mechanic has informed me that the vehicles brake vacuum pump is to blame and that it needs to be repaired immediately. This part suddenly failing with no warning caused a complete brake failure within the car and posed a risk of injury or death to me and others.

NHTSA ODI 11491237