What 191 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH and depressing the brake pedal to slow the vehicle, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the oil change service light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the vacuum pump and engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11493934

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the odometer and tachometer readings were incorrect. The Services ESC, power steering, power steering assist, and check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was turned off and restated and operated normally; however, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became stiff and the vehicle lost power brakes functionality. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed by an authorized dealer. The failure mileage was 65,000.

NHTSA ODI 11489289

This car is a rental. After driving the car, I parked it at my final destination, shifted it into park, and attempted to turn the vehicle off. The vehicle would not turn off and flashed a warning on the instrument panel instructing me to shift into park even though the car was already in park. The car would only finally turn off after several attempts at shifting in and out of park.

NHTSA ODI 11485411

Sometimes when I drive my car it loses power especially when I’m turning into on coming traffic it will lose speed and I’ve almost been hit on numerous occasions. I’ve taking the car to Chevy dealership 4 times already the last time they discovered transmission issues they repaired it. They tell me they don’t see anything else wrong. I have read reviews from other owners and they are experiencing the same exact problem

NHTSA ODI 11483410

A few days ago, when I put the car in park and turned it off, there was a message on the screen saying "Shift to Park." It was in park. I could not get out of the car because it was still getting power. If I tried to lock the doors, it sounded the alarm. I had to turn the car on and off multiple times to get it to go away. It would've drained the battery if I'd left it. Who knows if it was really in park either. It's been doing it ever since. I called the dealer and they want $350 to fix it. The guy told me they've been seeing this on Malibu's and "now it's happening on the Traverse models, too." I've been reading online how this has been happening since at least 2016, but there is no recall. Why NOT?? This is dangerous and they're aware of the problem. They've issued service bulletins on how to fix it!

NHTSA ODI 11473941

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH the vehicle was jerking and then inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle immediately; however, eventually, the vehicle restarted and was driven to the residence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11473710

The shifter gear control/ shifter assembly keeps failing on and off. It’ll give me a warning shift to park. It did this while drive on a major highway then my car loss all power as I was in the second lane causing so much safety concerns. It is also alerting me when I’m in park now that I need to shift to park more frequently. Extreme issue.

NHTSA ODI 11470017

My car would completely shut off in the middle of traffics and restart right away. The lights would completely restart, the driver panel, the radio screen, and ESC service light would come on interchangeably with the service engine light. When I would park my car overnight then start it up, the engine won’t start. Then the batter saver mode gets turned on, I’d wait 10 minutes then turn on the car and it works.

NHTSA ODI 11469989

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently hesitate and stall with the traction control and check engine warning lights illuminated. Once the vehicle stalled, the contact had to wait a few minutes before successfully restarting the vehicle. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer on multiple occasions however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate or determine the cause of the failure. The contact had the pistons, battery terminal, transmission, and wiring harness replaced; however, the failure persisted after each repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred her to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11469643

Reduce engine power warming lamp. Cars just suddenly loses power when driving at high rate of speed. Car slows abs f won’t go over 2ph causing hazardous situations and endangering occupants and other drivers. This issue has been repaired twice abs is now the third time.

NHTSA ODI 11464657

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS message was displayed, and the ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the mechanic performed an oil change and tire rotation; however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure due to the warning lights no longer being illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,300. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALERSHIP RESOLVED THE ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11463540

I was at a stop light ready to take off while driving for lyft with a passenger in back and the car just quit running as i took off when light turned green no warning whatsoever no dash lights no brakes no steering i had to wait til car stopped rolling so i put car in park then i couldnt put in neutral to push car out of traffic lane. so while i was trying to call a friend for help about 5 minutes passed and i tried the ignition i had a reading on dash that said batterry saver on so i waited and tried again after 5 minutes and car started with battery saver on not knowing how that really works i called nearest chevy dealer about issue they said it was out of warranty for them to look at so i drove to autozone a local parts store to get car checked out for car not starting and the guy found battery was good and charging system ok so there was no code or nothing after getting it looked at to this date of report i had no issues so far but im worried and hoping it wont happen while im driving on highway and get rear ended if it quits running on me again i heard and read about a sotware issue on chevy malibu so im puzzled and afraid to drive this car that i bought new on january of 2021

NHTSA ODI 11461518

while driving down a mountain in monterey tenessee from visiting a friend the car started blowing white smoke and all dash lights flickered before car shut off no brakes or steering while coasting down mountain almost got rear ended by pickup this was around 9pm it was dark i coasted into a gas station after a few attempts to start car . i called roadside assistance that night and got towed to dave kirk chevy dealer next town over after having issues with car i encountered issues with manager of dealer ship and roadside assistance neither could help til i started raising my voice i was stranded there in town for 2 days my friends felt bad the paid for my motel since i was so stressed out they didnt want to look at my car that manager said he knew nothing about after diagnosing my car they found a bad fuel injector that he said was open 100 percent so after 2 days i was on my way back to florida bad experience all the way around

NHTSA ODI 11461527

Vehicle lost power after trying to go around a truck on the highway. Car will decline in power and traction light and engine light blinks for a period of 60 minutes some times longer. While in traffic you can not press the gas to go, leaving your car to decline in speed on the highway. Please recall the 2020 Malibu before someone get seriously hurt. Dealerships are aware. Do i need to get the news people involved? Mine has been happing since my purchase. ( New car purchase) service departments dont understand it either. Had my first cylinder and injectors replaced February 2022 , Second Cylinder and all injectors replaced April 1st. 2022. Horrible car

NHTSA ODI 11459261

I need my pistons and rings replaced. My car only has 57,000 miles. My car has been diagnosed with excessive piston blowby from 2 different independent service centers. Both times I have been to Chevy to get it fixed under warranty, they’ve charged me $200 for diagnostics each time and told me it is my PCV valve that needs fixed. I had them fix my PCV valve and I still have excessive piston blowby. Chevy just wants to keep bringing my car back in for more diagnostics. I have spoken with GM customer service 2 times and somehow every single time I give them my VIN they hang up. My car is a 2020 with only 57,000 miles on it. There’s absolutely no reason why I should need all new pistons and rings and why Chevy service centers won’t just get it done! I have diagnostic reports, receipts, and videos of everything.

NHTSA ODI 11456916

Engine loses power while driving. This happened the first time on 8/24/2. I was on the NJ Parkway in highspeed traffic . The vehicle would not drive over 25 miles an hour putting all occupants in the car at risk. The dealership repaired the vehicle The same loss of engine power re-occurred on 3/12/22 while driving at over 50 miles an hour. the car just slowed without warning, and I was unable to increase speed on a busy roadway

NHTSA ODI 11456505

Engine loses power while driving. This happened the first time on 8/24/21 I was on the NJ Parkway in highspeed traffic . The vehicle would not drive over 25 miles an hour putting all occupants in the car at risk. The dealership repaired the vehicle The same loss of engine power re-occurred on 3/12/22 while driving at over 50 miles an hour. the car just slowed without warning, and I was unable to increase speed on a busy roadway

NHTSA ODI 11456506

Shift to park error

NHTSA ODI 11455310

The contact owns 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started shaking and inadvertently decelerated. The contact stated that the Service ESC and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer nor independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

NHTSA ODI 11454867

Engine Light came on before a full year of having the car. Started August 23 2021 the car will take forever to move like engine was lock up or something then when you put the car in drive it was go backwards and when you put it in reverse it will go forward. Car has a head of its own. I am pregnant I don’t feel safe In this car and this car is not safe for my baby to be in I spoke to different people who has the same car as me they experiencing the same thing 2019 and 2020 ..

NHTSA ODI 11444814

Was traveling at about 58 mph down the highway when all my warning gauges starting going off. My digital dash went blank and the car started accelerating on its own. I kept hitting the brakes trying to make it slow down and I could hear the abs function and feel it thru the brake while trying to slow down. After about a 1/2 mile of fighting the car the dash turned back on the check engine light stayed on and the car stopped trying to accelerate but wouldn’t change gears and was stuck at 3500 rpms when I limped it off the road and had a tow truck come get it.

NHTSA ODI 11437929

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle was equipped with the Auto START/STOP safety feature. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the engine failed to start up while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle and normal vehicle operation returned. The contact called the dealer and dropped off the vehicle to be inspected. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 21,647.

NHTSA ODI 11437603

This is an intermittent issue and hard to reproduce on demand. I have evidence in the form of multiple videos that may be provided anytime. Videos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zubc5ilgahayvxa/AABf3M1mLBikxQswv17Yn-YQa?dl=0 In the middle of driving on freeways, highways, or regular roads, the car will quickly slow down to a very low speed, around 5 mph causing other drivers to have to quickly swerve out of the way before wrecking into me. The power steering will also intermittently fail, as it becomes difficult to turn the wheel during these times. The car will also not accelerate at my will like it should at this time. Check engine lights will show up, as well as other warning notifications on the dash board. Some of the warnings include "Service Power Steering. Drive with Care", "Fuel Level Low", and "Service ESC". The car will also intermittently show all gauges in the zero/off/empty position. The car will also say "Shift to Park" when trying to turn it on, even though it is already in shift. I have sent the car back to the dealer 5 times to date and am about to pick it up again today as they have called me and said "it's ready" again. Each time they take the car, they do not address the issue. The first time I took it in, they just performed a recall repair for the camera and suggested the problem may be fixed from that. They claim they cannot fix something they cannot reproduce but I suspect they do not want to spend the time/hours/money it will take to figure out the problem since it is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty. It is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty but Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena TX refuses to repair anything and claim there is no evidence of the problem even though I've emailed them multiple videos of the problems happening. Auto Nation in Houston TX is who has the car now. It was recommended to me by General Motors to try another dealer. This is where I'm at currently with the situation.

NHTSA ODI 11436835

Shift to park displays when I put my car in park and the vehicle will not turn off. I have read that there have been recalls on this issue up to 2019 but nothing for 2020. My car is not even 2 years old...I shouldn't have a problem turning my vehicle off especially since it's been an issue in the past

NHTSA ODI 11431536

P0556 code and brakes are hard to stop. 40,016 miles on the car

NHTSA ODI 11431145