10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 67,028 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
12/4/15 night, dry conditions, expressway: In motion: Chime sounded and 2 warnings flash - service ESC & service traction. 15 minutes later, - city streets, dry, same issue with ESC and traction warning lights going on, plus almost rear ended. Irate driver behind me said my brake lights were out, but they were astonished when the break lights came on while I was outside the car. They asked me to press the pedal - no lights. 20 secs after lifting off the pedal, brake lights on. Major safety issue. Upon driving found brake lights always go off when brake pedal depressed, go on at other times randomly while driving and go off again when brake pedal depressed.
- Belleville, MI, USA
I have only been driving this car for 5 months. Purchased used at dealership. I do not drive far. All of a sudden ESC and "service traction" shows up on my dash. My rear break light turns on and I'm not touching the break. The "service traction ESC" shows up more and more frequently. To me, this is a big safety issue and I see that my car is doing the same as others but GM told me via phone call, "only certain VIN numbers are recalled". somethings wrong here. Is it going to take someone to be severely injured or worse for this to get handled" I believe in american made cars, but why aren't the rest of us with this make and model and year also in this recall" we are having the same problems! all I was doing while driving was driving 45 mph on a straight flat road, where speed limit was 50mph!
- Natrona Heights, PA, USA
1. difficulty putting car in gear need to put excessive brake pressure to change gears 2. "service ESC" "service traction" light flash daily 3. brake lights are often engaged and or won't engage 4. cruise control won't engage effectively all of these things happen while driving and in a parked position
- Belleville, MI, USA
I have filed one complaint about this issue, now after having the brake light switch replaced, I am back again. My 2010 Chevy Malibu, [xxx], the brake lights illuminate when the brake peddle is not engaged. By pressing hard enough on the brakes (which cannot be done when slowing down, or a simple brake), the brake lights do come on. I have had the recall notice on this issue addressed and now have had the brake light switch replaced, this problem is still there. The brake lights do not operate properly and are on when they should be off and vice versa. I have contacted Chevy (GM) by chat, email, and phone and still cannot get help on getting this fixed appropriately. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Dewey, OK, USA
One night I was leaving work and I realized that my passenger side blinker was not working, indicating that my bulb was out. But by the time I made it home it was working again. A few days later I noticed that my blinker was not working on the driver's side. I found that when my lights are on the park light or blinker does not work on the passenger side of the car. When the lights are off the blinker or brake light does not work on the driver's side. Also when the lights are on the temperature gauge on the console flashes with numbers then with the lines. I found that there was a recall on the 2010 Malibu with the BCM body control module. That the brake lights luminate with out you stepping on the brakes. What needs to be known is that is also affects the blinkers, brake and park lights. It can also burn out your bulbs. It is a very dangerous situation because I take a chance on making a left or right turn and changing lanes without getting hit. I have small children and I pray every day that we make a safe journey. That is my only means of transportation.
- Houston , TX, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at approximately 35 mph at night, the tail lights would only illuminate when the vehicle was in motion. When the brake pedal was applied, the tail lights would deactivate. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control), but the failed recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
- Aberdeen, MD, USA
I was on my way to work and my cruise control cut off by itself then I noticed by brake lights were on. So I pulled over to the shoulder of the road and turned my car off then turned it back on and proceeded to work. My brake lights came back on. When I came home later that evening my brake light were working again, when I tried to use my cruise control it went off again by itself and I haven't been able to use it sense. Now my brake lights stay on all the time I just hope nobody runs into the back of me. When I press the brake my brake lights go off. My inside light doesn't work with this happening to my car. The traction control light stays on all the time have tried numerous things to try and fix the problem. Its getting to be a headache buy a car and now its dangerous I just hope I can get it taken care of before I get into an accident.
- Snow Hill, NC, USA
While I was driving to work I noticed that the brake light in the rear window was only working on an intermitent basis. I had recall work done on my car in October of 2014 under recall 14V252000 or Chevy recall 13036 then in mid July of this year my car started doing what they said that it might do in the recall letter. On August 3 I took my car to cargill Chevrolet in putnam, ct. To see why it was doing this I thought that it should be covered under the recall. They then replaced a switch on the brake pedal at a cost of $272.03 that they said would fix the problem. The next day it was doing the same thing so I took it back and they said that the whole bracket in the rear window needed to be replaced at a cost of $402.40. This seems to fix the problem. They said neither repair was covered under the recall. I was wondering what your opinion was and if you had any other reports of defective recall work on this recall. Thank you
- Southbridge, MA, USA
We got up this morning, went to get into our car and as I tried to unlock it I noticed my keyless entry would not unlock the door. I asked my boyfriend if his was working, and his wouldn't open the car either. So I unlocked the door manually and no alarm sounded. The dash didn't light up as it usually does either. I tried starting my car, the idiot lights came on as did my stereo, but the car never tried to turn over. We had no interior lights, no headlights, and not even hazards!! I thought hazards we're supposed to work in emergencies but apparently I was mistaken. Thank god we weren't broke down in the middle of a road or freeway. I've noticed other years of this particular car have a recall for an ignition switch, why not this one? because their stories sound just like mine. This car is being towed to the shop tomorrow morning. If it is the ignition switch, Chevy will be hearing from me.
- Jacksonville, FL, USA
I have had the recall notice (report receipt date: May 14, 2014 NHTSA campaign number: 14V252000 component(s): Electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control ) previously taken care of by oakley Chevrolet Buick repair shop about a year ago. The problem has returned, the brake lights do not operate properly (they are on when the brake is not applied & when you apply the brake they go off). I returned the car to the shop and they stated that they could not duplicate that problem, but that it may be the brake apply sensor. They had my car all day, and could not tell me what the problem is.....I picked up my car and now I am trying through GM to get the matter addressed. I have been informed to get a second opinion. Which I will do and I will be in touch. In addition to that issue, now the drivers seat belt chimes that the belt is not in use when it is and the car is driving. Another safety issue.
- Dewey, OK, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 25 mph, the headlights were activated, but failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic four times and the bulb was replaced each time. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.
- Chicago, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the ESC and traction warning indicators illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the pedal failed to respond. The contact continued to depress the brake pedal and it eventually responded. The contact pulled over and it took several attempts to shift the vehicle into park. The vehicle was powered off and did restart, however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed that the ESC system needed to be recalibrated. The vehicle was repaired, however, the failure recurred. The contact also stated that the brake lights remained illuminated the entire time unless the brake pedal was actually being depressed. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and had not been repaired. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, and service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
- Montgomery City, MO, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at any speed, the brake lights failed. The contact mentioned that the brake lights would illuminate without engaging the brakes and, when the brake pedal was depressed, the lights failed. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14V252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control); however, the failure recurred. In addition, the cruise control failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the body control module failed. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 97,145.
- Jenison, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 mph, the rear brake lights were illuminating constantly. The failure occurred intermittently and sometimes the brake lights failed to illuminate at all. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and repaired. The technician reset the computer but the remedy did not resolve the issue. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000.
- Lake Placid, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at various speeds, the service ESC, traction control, and reduced engine power warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle independently lost power. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not taken in for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000.
- Muskego, WI, USA
Yesterday I sent an E-mail about the turn signal indicator arm malfunctioning for the right turn signal on my 2010 Chevy Malibu. It got to the point yesterday that if I wanted to indicate a right turn I had to constantly hold up the arm to get it to signal. Today I took it in to be repaired and it cost me $218. The mechanic told me that he has replaced close to a hundred of these in the last few years and that it seems to be a common problem with GM products. This is definitely a safety issue and it could have gotten me pulled over by a policeman for not signaling. All the other cars that I've owned have never had this problem. This is why we won't be buying any other GM products. We've had to take the Malibu in for a total of 5 recalls so far. Come on now -- don't you think this is a bit excessive??
- Cincinnati, OH, USA
Owner was driving car was informed that tail lights were not working by another motorist. Stopped at shop. Repair shop unplugged light harness and customer left then approximately 20 mins. Later smoke and fire was noticed coming out of the left rear trunk area at location of wiring harness area. This is the second wiring harness trunk fire this investigator has investigated on a Chevy Malibu in the last 6 months. A second fire was investigated with the same scenario on a 2006 Chevy Malibu that occurred on 8-11-2014.
- Chester , VA, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that headlights failed and only the high beams were working properly. Also, the contact mentioned that the air bag light continuously illuminated without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000.
- Pinckney, MI, USA
2010 Chevrolet Malibu applied brakes and car continued to travel and not stop. On July 16, 2014, the consumer was involved in an accident, due to the above mentioned statement. The vehicle was totaled. The consumer referenced recall # 14V252000.
- Ringgold, GA, USA
- Oakdale, PA, USA