10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 12 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 102,147 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
While driving and making turn steering wheel get stiff
- Seaford, NY, USA
Replaced battery, starter, and alternator driving down highway esu warning and traction service light come on power steering light came on. Car loss power and cut off
- Jacksonville, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering was faulty and excessive force had to be used to turn the steering wheel. In addition, the electronic stability control indicator (ESC) illuminated and the contact's spouse changed the brake hubs more than twice. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the ESC sensor needed to be serviced and a new power steering system needed to be installed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 154,700.
- Kannapolis, NC, USA
Driving the car down the road and the power steering suddenly quits working making it extremely difficult to steer the car and increasing the chance of an accident. Recalls have been issued for several Malibu's with the same exact problem but this car has been excluded from the recall. This is a serious safety issue.
- Avon Park, FL, USA
Randomly loses power steering, I was leaving a concert sitting still went to move the car and no power steering, turned the car off and restarted it and had power steering again, that was the 2nd time it had happened, the first time I was in a drive thru again sitting still went to move and no power steering turned car off then on and power steering came back
- Galesburg, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to turn in either direction. In addition, the check power steering and service ESC messages displayed. The vehicle was taken to cambe Chevrolet (704 S. heaton St, knox, in), but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure continued. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 120,000.
- Knox, IN, USA
Steering wheel locks up in cold weather even after being warmed up for more than 5 minutes. Happened twice, second time I did a normal turn to the right it locked up and had to pull over right away. Always unlocks when restarting the car. Right headlight also doesn't properly work. Changed the light bulb two weeks ago and turned off just today. Checked the bulb and still works. I've researched the problems online and there's been recalls and complaints about both of my problems.
- Waukegan, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving, the contact stated that the power steering was faulty. The contact turned off the engine and had to make multiple attempts to restart the vehicle. Once the vehicle was restarted, the steering returned to normal. On another occasion, the steering wheel moved on its while the vehicle was idling and the power steering and ESC warning indicators illuminated. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Onargi, IL, USA
My daughter was pulling out of our parking space and the power steering went out. Power steering message and service ESC popped up. She was unable to steer the car and came very close to hitting a parked car. She did not have enough strength to turn the steering wheel. It stayed parked blocking traffic until I could get home to move the car.
- Greenfield, WI, USA
Takata recall. The whole car appears to be having problems at once. We go and get a certain minor problem fix and the next things pops up. Having problems driving acceleration and breaking. Doesn't seem to be safe to drive.
- Cleburne, TX, USA
While operating my 2009 Chevy Malibu 4cyl in a turn, the electric power steering without any warning failed. A warning indicator afterwards then flashed power steering and electronic stability control failure. The result was almost total loss of control of vehicle while driving in heavy city traffic going through a traffic circle with children in backseat of my vehicle. This is because without warning the electronic power steering failed which caused me to panic emotionally and also caused me great physical difficulty as I am a woman and I all of a sudden had to garner all this strength to manually steer the vehicle in heavy city traffic. Chevy is aware of this defect and will repair this if the vehicle is less than 10 years old and had less than 150,000 miles. We could have all died in a car crash. I think this should be recalled as this is a safety hazard that comes without any warning and renders the vehicle undrivable unless repaired as it is unsafe. The Chevy mechanic indicates if both the sensor and motor need to be replaced it will cost $1200. My husband is a veteran and we cannot afford this costly repair.
- New London, WI, USA
The wheel is hard to turn...... sometimes it hard to turn and after turning right to left it get easier to turn stationary.
- Calumet City, IL, USA
"power steering failure". our 2009 Chevrolet Malibu lost its power steering with no warning when my wife was driving home from work. Fortunately she was able to pull over on the highway. She turned the car off then restarted and it worked again. It worked for a few days then failed completely again when she was going shopping. Chevrolet is recalling many vehicles with this problem including many 2009 Malibu's. for some reason Chevrolet tells us our 2009 Malibu is not included. This is outrageous! my wife was shook up terribly and can not drive it till it gets fixed ( at great expense). Believe the problem is a failure of the electric power steering mechanism/sensor. This is a very serious safety issue and Chevrolet should be held accountable and responsible for correcting this problem on all affected vehicles. Thank you.
- Lake Hallie, WI, USA
The service ESC light came on, then the power steering light came on. I was in motion at the time about to make a turn. After a few days of the problem being intermittent, my car wouldn't start at all. I tried to start it and nothing. Replaced battery and a engine power reduced light came on. Car still won't start.
- Barberton, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. When making a turn, the steering failed and the electronic stability control indicator illuminated. The contact was able to gain control of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.
- Cleveland, OH, USA
My car power steering goes out and comes pack after I turn my car off and on. Sometimes the car won't start and the ABS light and the traction control light is on on the dash and the inside lock and unlock buttons don't work. They will go up and down on their own in the beginning now if I open my door it locks on me. I changed the wheel barring on the front right tire because bell tire said that the sensor was bad and you have to replace the whole thing G. still having issues. I don't feel safe where I work I travel and I don't always work in the best of neighborhoods and I don't want to get my car broken into or robbed. And I surely don't want my power steering to go out again while driving on the high way and me crashing and possibly injuring or killing someone else.
- Wayland, MI, USA
Power steering went out while driving. Could not steer and had to get the vehicle towed home.
- Madison, AL, USA
Approximately 2 months ago my daughter was driving her car and steering became incredibly difficult to steer. Fortunately, she managed to make it home. Took to local mechanic and was told power steering was the reason. He told us to take to local Chevy dealership D/T the fact that there was a special warranty/recall on power steering. Took to local Chevy dealership and confirmed was power steering but stated it was a warranty of 10 year or 150,000. Car has current mileage of 133,000. 10 year was said to be up on 12/13/2018 so refused to fix. Did some research and saw an article about recall from vp of GM. Said in article that they are taking responsibility for safety concern and will fix all the cars that have this problem. Spoke with executive car center at GM and refuse to fix vehicle. Sent numerous letters to vp of safety at GM. (xxxx) with no response. Luckily for my daughter she was on local street when power steering went out and not on highway etc. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Dardenne Prairie, MO, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. While operating the vehicle, the service ESC and power steering warning messages appeared. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The local dealer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 112,000.
- Granite City, IL, USA
- Charlotte, NC, USA