10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
16,803 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.

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problem #32

Jan 302024

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving my small child to school and my car had a service message pop up that said engine power reduced and then my brake pedal became stiff to the point where I could not push it down at all to stop at a red light. Luckily by quick thinking I push down my emergency brake to avoid from hitting other cars. From doing research this is not the only complaint about this same similar situation on this car (2018 Chevy Malibu LS) It's ridiculous. It's going to cost me over $2000 for parts and for labor.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #31

Nov 012023

Malibu

  • miles
Vacuum Booster Pump failed while driving on the highway with my girlfriend and her small child in the car and this common problem for this specific Chevrolet motor and endangered our lives significantly. Over 500 complaints on NHTSA website. No recalls to date. $4,000 damage. Filed official complaint and requested that Chevrolet cover the costs.

- Delmar, NY, USA

problem #30

Oct 302023

Malibu

  • miles
Service Stabilitrak warning will pop up on my dash. The car loses power. Push on the gas and it sputters. Had it serviced by GMC 2 years ago and now it is happening again. More frequent in colder weather. There are thousands of reddit posts about this same issue from other 2018 Chevy Malibu owners. GMC refuses to acknowledge it is a quality or performance issue on their end.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #29

Aug 172023

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving the vehicle on a busy road and a message came up on the display above the steering column saying Engine Power Reduced. I went to brake and was unable to push the pedal in as it was extremely stiff. There were vehicles around me and I tried to use both feet and stand on the brakes and was able to get a little bit of movement but the car still didn't slow down. I had my significant other and brother-in-law in the car and we were all horrified we were going to get into an accident. I turned the hazard lights on and was able to steer to avoid hitting several vehicles and when traffic finally cleared I was able to get over and off the road into a gas station that was uphill and allowed us to slow down and finally stop because I put the vehicle in neutral tried the parking brake which got us to a complete stop and shut the vehicle off. There had been no previous issues with the brakes or messages such as the one that came up right before this issue occurred. The vehicle had to be towed and the repair shop told me the cam driven vacuum pump failed which caused the brake booster to not function. When this failure occurred, it damaged the intake and exhaust camshafts, crankshaft, and several other components. The cooling system and oil to be flushed out as I was told there was metal debris from the damaged parts caused by the vacuum pump failure in the fluids which had been all completely flushed and changed including cooling system, transmission fluid, and oil change The total cost of repairs as a result of the vacuum pump failure setting off a Domino effect of damage was $3536.40.

- Dearborn Heights, MI, USA

problem #28

Sep 202023

Malibu

  • miles
Just now getting to Walmart my shift to park message came on my 2018 Chevy Mailbu

- Reedley, CA, USA

problem #27

Sep 192023

Malibu

  • miles
Today again shift to park message came

- Reedley, CA, USA

problem #26

Sep 182023

Malibu

  • miles
Again today my shift to park message came on to some odd noise help me please

- Reedley, CA, USA

problem #25

Oct 012020

Malibu

  • miles
When I put my car in park a notice comes up in my dashboard saying -??shift to park-?? even though when I take my foot off the break it-??s in parked. I took it to a Chevy dealer and said it will $500+ to fix. I have asked 5 other people with my same car (2018 or 2019) and they have the same issue. Now my car is having issues when shifting gears. There seems to be a delay in gear shifts when I go from drive to reverse or to park.

- Spring , TX, USA

problem #24

Jul 262023

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving on the interstate at 75 mph and I went to hit the brakes and they didnt work I had to take my feet off the gas and let it stop on its on and it was scary. I glad to be alive. And when I put the car in park it stated the I needed to shift to park and I couldnt cut the car off so after calling someone to come get me from off of the side of the ride. I had to keep putting the gear in park for it to go in park anf the message went away but it keeps coming on.

- Bay Minette, AL, USA

problem #23

Jul 152023

Malibu

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed with the brake pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard, the vehicle failed to reduce speed. As a result, he collided with the vehicle in the right lane on the rear driver's side. No air bags were deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed, but no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the engine vacuum pump, resulting in a lack of vacuum for the brake booster. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number?18V576000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

- Maywood, IL, USA

problem #22

Jul 112023

Malibu

  • miles
My brake vacuum pump seized while driving in the far left lane on the freeway. My car began to lose power and my rpms dropped and rose back up quickly making my car lunge forward and back quickly multiple times. My check engine light came on and a warning saying my engine was losing power flashed across the dash.I exited the freeway and pulled over to a safe location, when attempting to stop my car I noticed that the breakes were stiff and would not move and I had to push the emergency break to stop the car completely. I had my car full of family members and all of us were extremely sacred and worried for our safety and those of others around us as the speed was no longer under my control.

- Wildomar, CA, USA

problem #21

Jun 282023

Malibu

  • miles
While driving on the highway my dashboard displayed a warning of -??reduced power steering -??, engine light came off and on, loss of speed, and -??stabilitracking-?? light came on. Brakes also vibrated badly as if they were unable to hold a grip. I was unable to accelerate and was really in danger. The car was taken immediately to the dealership where they replaced the battery and told me it was repaired. On my return from the airport the next morning at 4:30 the same lights and warnings displayed on the dash once again and I had it towed immediately to the dealership. We are now 3 days in and I have gotten no explanation as to what is going on with my vehicle.

- Norwood, OH, USA

problem #20

Feb 222023

Malibu

  • miles
Cam-driven Brake Booster Vacuum failure without warning. My engine died, my brake pedal and steering wheel stiffened, while in moderate traffic. I had use excessive brake force to slow my vehicle to a stop. Currently have 78,012 miles as it is sitting in the repairs shop. This is the first time it has happened, but I worry it may happen again because upon further research, it is a very common part failure.

- Barstow, CA, USA

problem #19

Jan 122023

Malibu

  • miles
While picking my kids up from school my car suddenly lost braking ability and I heard a weird noise under the hood. Like it needed an oil change. Tension from the brakes and couldn-€™t stop when tried. Definitely gained anxiety from this event. I did get the part replaced however I-€™m concerned for the engine and any possible damage that may have been caused. I still have the original part to the vehicle as well.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #18

Nov 092022

Malibu

  • miles
Brake Power Booster, vehicle not starting. Not catching, brakes when completely out couldn-€™t stop

- Belleville , MI, USA

problem #17

Sep 282022

Malibu

  • miles
My car just stopped in the middle of the road, and would not start again for a few minutes. Then is was in low power mode, no brakes either after that, found that problem to be a bad Vaccum pump, which G M didn-€™t even have, and a faulty Accelerator Pedal sensor !

- Dalton , GA, USA

problem #16

Dec 272021

Malibu

  • miles
12/27/2021 I started my car to leave work & noticed a loud tap. I've worked for dealerships in the past & was part owner of my own repair shop for many years. Popped the hood, checked the oil level which was good, & figured I'd be fine to drive it home to park it & then hook the scanner up. Mid-way home I received an engine performance notification on my dash, but other than that it seemed safe with no diminished speed. Less than 3 miles from home I went to stop at a red light & had the hardest brake pedal I've ever felt in my life. I was fortunate nobody was around me so I put all the weight of my body on the pedal to stop the car at the light. The engine was sputtering & the steering felt tight & it felt like it was stalling, with a green turn arrow I risked crossing the highway & was able to safely park in the community's rec center. I'm not one who is quick to take anything to the dealership because many times the techs are lazy, so I hit the web & found two things. One - there is an extended warranty on the TPS sensor which is the entire gas pedal itself. This could explain the engine performance notification, but not the lack of brakes. Upon hours & hours of additional reading I found the problem - the vacuum brake pump. We ordered it & replaced it but I can tell you my engine likely needs an additional camshaft replacement for it to ever be right again. Two codes remain: P0014 & P0017 - Exhaust camshaft/crankshaft position not plausible. What was the condition of the vacuum pump? It was SHATTERED & had spewed chunks of metal directly into my engine. I was lucky that day, had I gotten 1/4 mile down the road I could have wound up in a lake instead of a parking lot. GM should be ASHAMED of this design & it's continued failure to not only address the issue, but lie about it in the process. First owner, failure occurred at 54,500 miles - no warranty. What scares me the most, is how many times the same owner has had this pump fail again & again.

- Dover, DE, USA

problem #15

Oct 082022

Malibu

  • miles
My car will stop and have no power now the heat shut off and won-€™t come back on it-€™s just doing some crazy stuff I looked up all the recalls for 2018 Malibu and it was a lot so why mines isn-€™t listed

- Akron , OH, USA

problem #14

Aug 162022

Malibu

  • miles
8 months ago brakes failed, you could stop but they were hard and stretched stopping distance, vacuum pump failure was the cause, when it failed it broke apart and sent parts into the engine, (valve cover ). Replaced vacuum pump removed valve cover and fished out the broken pieces, was lucky on this occasion, fast forward 8 months later, the mother of my kids was on freeway and car completely died, , got it to dealer and was informed, vacuum pump failed again sending metal fragments into the valve cover but this time pieces destroyed the cam and caused the reluctor to slip thus causing ecm to shut down engine. I-€™m concerned with there not being some sort of housing inside the valve cover cupping the side of cam that meets vacuum pump to shield engine components from metal pieces incase vac pump broke into pieces since vacuum pump isn-€™t part of the engine itself and the torque of cam shaft up against the gear on vac pump is very high, the expectation of parts braking off is highly likely, and there nothing protecting your engine from those fragments.. I-€™m not the smartest but I would not think a $100 external part could destroy and engine and take your braking function without any warning. I guess if I happen once I wouldn-€™t think to much into it but for the third time and being extreamly lucky on the first two occasions and taking responsibility for repairs are totally uncalled for, so now I have to replace and engine, WOW... I hope this can be addressed before someone actually gets hurt, I-€™m so lucky that my kids mother was able to coast off the highway b/c it could have been bad..

- Cedar Hill , TX, USA

problem #13

Jan 262022

Malibu

  • 77,000 miles
The vacuum pump on my vehicle has gone out for the 3rd time in 2.5 years. This creates a safety issue as that the brakes stop working and it takes an extreme amount of pressure for the car to stop. This has occurred once on the freeway and twice in heavy traffic areas. This could cause an accident and potentially seriously hurt or kill someone. This has occurred once before the engine was replaced and twice since it's been replaced.

- Glendale, AZ, USA

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