Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL | |||
| 03/13/2013 | 42568 | ||
| Driving 65 mph on interstate and service esc and all other lights came on and engine died. i had to maneuver 3 lanes to the right in rush hour to get to the breakdown lane without power steering. faulty alternator ruled to be at fault. no warning that morning prior to event. two days before the battery light stayed on a little longer (5 minutes) than usual and then went off. it never came on again to warn of something wrong. i called chevrolet and the customer service was indifferent so i filed a complaint with my state's bbb as this is the third, and most severe issue, i have had with this car and i have not had it two years quite yet. i did receive a call back from gm. they are working on their response to this life threatening event as well as the other problems, which were the exhaust solenoid died ( service engine light came on) and the driver's side door handle covering came off exposing the sharp metal it is made of). | |||
| 06/09/2011 | |||
| System warning lights constantly say service esc and service traction. problem began within 4 months of taking delivery of the vehicle and is now scheduled for at least the fifth time in the shop for the exact same thing. by the way this vehicle has less than 5,500 miles on it since taking delivery of it march 2011. i have been told that when these warning lights are on, the systems (traction control and anti-lock brake system) are disabled. i was also told that the mechanical systems will continue to work fine. my issue is that the traction control and anti-lock brake system are an enhanced safety component of the vehicle (and all vehicles which has been scientifically proven) that are no longer available to me because the manufacture can not fix the problem. | |||
| 11/25/2011 | 6800 | ||
| This problem occurred first in november 2011. the engine stopped, there was no steering, service esc,the engine light came on. the vehicle was restarted but would not move when put in gear. today is the second time this same problem has occurred. chevy said the problem was repaired in november, but now it's back. the malibu is back at chevy for the second time for this problem. we experienced another incident 2 weeks ago but after starting the car again the problem was not there and has not surfaced until now. i certainly hope this problem is resolved this time for good. i feel very uncomfortable pulling into traffic. | |||
| 11/25/2011 | 6801 | ||
| As i was driving about 30mph on a suburban rd. the malibu jerked a couple of times then the (service esc) light came on along with other lights and the car stopped moving. it also had a (car locked) symbol lit on the dash. there have been other similar complaints and there is no excuse for this. we pay good money to drive a new car so we don't have breakdowns, not to mention the possibilities of getting hit when this fault occurs maybe even being taken out of the population. | |||
| 06/18/2011 | 6898 | ||
| From my wife: after two prior trips in the same day (36 miles and 16 miles round trip respectively), my 3rd occasion to start the car was met with a glaring warning message on the digital display that said engine power reduced. it was followed by service esc/traction control. i was puzzled by this when after that both the check engine light and the traction control light came on and stayed on. i was incredibly thankful to not have to get on the highway, but had to go to get to a performance. the engine had barely any power and it was as if the transmission was frozen. i had to creep along with drivers tailgating me because i couldn't go any faster than about 30 mph. as soon as i reached my destination (only 4 miles away), i contacted my husband so he could come to get the car when he got back from his errand. from husband and primary driver of car: i arrived to drop off another car for my wife and i experienced the same problems with the same scrolling messages and sluggish response. i called onstar and their diagnosis said to have the vehicle towed because there was a problem with the throttle. when i called to arrange a tow back to chevy, i was told that it's a built in safety feature of the car so that drivers can't inadvertently do more damage to the vehicle. today the brookdale chevrolet (mn) dealer said they couldn't replicate the problem and that i could either pick the car up, or they would keep it one more day to see if they could replicate the problem to identify and fix the issue. i told them i could not keep a car that was unsafe to drive. if my wife or i had been driving in this vehicle at high speeds when the engine power was reduced, it could have had the potential to cause an accident. please investigate this problem further. i've seen other complaints online regarding the same issue. | |||
| 11/24/2010 | 550 | ||
| I purchased a 2011 malibu from champion chevrolet in austin, tx in november 2010. the car was delivered to me with a known defective ebcm (electronic brake control module). they had the part on order and didn't tell me. i found out a couple of days later when i had a traction control failure indication and was informed that it would continue to fail until the module was replaced. the module was replaced and still had a traction control/abs failure. later i had to have the car towed to the dealer. the connector on the ebcm had a pushed pin from the module replacement. the car was kept there a week looking for the traction control/abs failure and a hydraulic pressure control module was replaced. this left the brakes feeling soft/mushy..more travel. tried to get a replacement vehicle but dealer wouldn't help me unleas i was willing to take a $6000 lost on the month old malibu. complained to gm but all they said was that the dealer fixed the car. offered some oil changes. in january decided to go ahead and take hit on this malibu and because of current incentives traded it for another malibu. | |||