10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
68,576 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #132

Nov 012018

Malibu

  • miles
When starting the vehicle sometimes the power steering and service ESC message will flash on the dashboard and the steering wheel will be locked and cannot be turned. When restarting the vehicle the message may be gone and the steering wheel will move again or other times it will still be locked and the message persists. Also when driving and sitting in idle the steering wheel jerks and vibrates on its own and makes a weird rattling/rubbing sound, esp. When in park. I had this same issue last year and my local Chevrolet dealership "fixed" it for no cost since there was a recall pertaining to the issue, but now the same problem is occurring.

- Geneva, NY, USA

problem #131

Aug 022018

Malibu

  • miles
I have had several issues with the air bag and electronic stability control. I have taken my vehicle in before regarding the issue with the service air bag light before. Just recently the service ESC (electronic stability control) light had come on. I called General Motors regarding if there any recalls for my vehicle, and was told there are not active recalls, but I should take my vehicle in to have it serviced for the passenger side air bag not working properly (not on). I have also had numerous issues with my tmp(tire pressure monitoring) system as well with regard to low tire pressure that keeps showing the left front tire. When I put air in that tire air pressure is registering in the other tires as well. These are all serious safety concerns that need to be investigated. I don't know if anyone else is experiencing the same problem, but this could possibly lead to serious injuries or death.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #130

May 072018

Malibu

  • 38,000 miles
From 5/2018 until present, multiple occasions upon turning the key to start car have experienced: Engine power reduced on message board along w/ ESC light and check engine light illuminated. The car shakes and sputters. Usually can make all symptoms except check engine light disappear by restarting multiple times. Until last week, the problem has only occurred upon first starting the car regardless of the length of time it has set between starts and in any weather (ie cold, warm, rainy). Last Friday, it cranked but did not start the first attempt of starting and then after multiple attempts did start normally but during a two mile drive it reoccurred two more times and took multiple tries each time to get it to start normally. Each time I had to quickly pull off street to avoid traffic as it decreased in power and started shaking. The code it sends is P-2135. The first time back in may, I drove it the 6 miles to work but had to tow it as it resulted in dead battery. The code it sends is P-2135, so we have since replaced the throttle body assembly twice to make sure it was not a defective part. Otherwise after many hours waiting at my mechanics, there seems to be no actual diagnosis that we can find that seems to truly fix this issue. Have emailed Chevy and do have a service request # and will be calling today to set up appointment w/ local dealer asap in regards to bulletin 15-08-45-001 to see if they will cover this and pray that it may actually once and for all fix this annoying problem. My current mileage is 39,000.

- Toledo, OH, USA

problem #129

May 152018

Malibu

  • 144,000 miles
While driving the vehicle on the highway, the power steering just went out and I was unable to control the vehicle, and then it came back momentarily, and then went out again a little later. Thankfully it did not cause an accident, but now I haven't had power steering in over 4 months and it's starting to cause nerve damage in my arms and hands from the constant stress to drive, and when I called the dealership I was quoted an astronomical amount just to look at car to get diagnosis.

- Huntington, WV, USA

problem #128

Sep 152018

Malibu

  • 150,000 miles
Front passenger headlight keeps going out. While in motion on a city street a warning comes across that says engine power reduced. Then the ESC and service traction control comes on. The car then drops to 5 mph and stops. I turn it off and turn it back on and there is nothing. I wait a few seconds and try again and it starts up and I'm able to drive it.

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #127

Aug 132018

Malibu

  • 160,000 miles
When I start the car the traction control light comes on ESC comes up and says it turned off. When stationary it will just die, when driving it will just die doesn't matter if I'm going 75mph on the highway or in the middle of an intersection of city streets!!!!! took it to the dealership they have no clue what's wrong with it I've add mechanics tell me it's my computer but they don't work on my make of a car. The car may start up or not. I've read of a recall for this particular problem back in 2014 for this make, model, and year. They said they fixed? and this happened when I first bought the car in 2016 after they kept it for 90days for the seat belt recall.

- Fort Scott, KS, USA

problem #126

May 052018

Malibu

  • 96,000 miles
Upon driving the power steering locked up and lights flashed with a ding. The ESC light is on and the dash is prompting "power steering" and "service ESC" this has made driving and turning difficult. Car is now parked until it can go to a repair shop. After the first incident I was able to put the car in park and restart which allowed me to drive without an issue. The next day it progressed to everytime I start the car and attempt to turn the power steering locks up and the warnings flash.

- Columbia City, IN, USA

problem #125

Feb 152017

Malibu

  • 92,000 miles
About a year ago I was driving car going around 40 miles an hr and it would just die on me, no lights came up no warning. It happened at least 6 times and every time it happened it had it towed to dealership to get checked out. I've had fuel pump, fuel relay, cam shaft sensor 2 times and other things replaced. Still same thing would happen. Died again on me had it towed to a garage and my timing chain was broken, replaced that and cam shaft sensor again. Drove away and it died on me again. The only way my car stays running is when cam shaft sensor is unplugged but engine light stays on. When car dies I have no lights that come on to tell me I have a issue, it just shuts off. I've been dealing with the car just shutting down on me for a year. I'm afraid to have other people in my car cause I don't know if or when it would happen again. When this happened I had around 92000 mile on car.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #124

Nov 212017

Malibu

  • miles
Takata recall: My vehicle sensor are reading incorrectly. My check engine light won't go off, random light come on and off, my sensors is not reading my engine and engine location or tires. System is also reading there are no air bags or says passenger seatbelt is not in place when it is. Frequently my wiring glitches and I can not control the mirrors or windows, ect. My coolant and oil constantly drains out but no hole is noticeable. My car exhausts and won't move like it is supposed to as well.

- Wildwood, NJ, USA

problem #123

Mar 232018

Malibu

  • miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the ESC warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel shook. The contact restarted the vehicle, which cleared the failure code each time the failure happened. However, the failure was progressing more frequently. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer. The manufacturer issued one recall and seven tsbs for the steering. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

- Kansas City, KS, USA

problem #122

Mar 022018

Malibu

  • 154,000 miles
Steering wheel shakes when stopped at idle and shakes slightly when driving, after starting the engine the power steering some times does not work and service ESC message appears. I can turn off the engine and restart it and everything works but wheel still shakes.

- Jerome, MI, USA

problem #121

Nov 302016

Malibu

  • 80,000 miles
The car hesitates on a dry straight road going 55 miles per hour, but also on wet roads going 30 too. The cruise control randomly does not disengage. Most concerning for me is when I am at a complete stop and press on the gas to move forward the car randomly slows and shuts down without warning.

- Isanti, MN, USA

problem #120

Feb 102018

Malibu

  • miles
Vehicle throttle position sensor

- Charlestown, IN, USA

problem #119

Feb 102018

Malibu

  • 170,000 miles
I was driving on the the and the power steering, locked up. I reached out to na dealer ship and they corrected that problem and my seat belt. The next day 2/10/2018. The car slowed down to maybe 8miles while I was driving, and enough power to the engine. Very danger, very danger. Thank god the car behind me was paying attention. I have had this car for 3 years. I myself came out of pocket for wiring problems. Car just stopping on the hyw, no power at all. I replaced that. This is a very dangerous car to be on the road. I know cars have issues. But all this 3 years and just stopping and slowing down is and will be the death of others. Chevy is supposed to be one of the best car making, but this is horrible. And a lot people from what I read are having issues. This very dangerous.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #118

Jan 292018

Malibu

  • 84,500 miles
"loss of electric power steering" I have recently lost my electric powering steering and the ESC warning as well as the power steering warning keep displaying, when this started I thought it was just a power glitch because the air bag and other warning indicators would also go off randomly while driving it first happened which scared me and I slowed my vehicle until I could finally pull in somewhere safely (my rear tire pressure sensors are constantly not reading at all which started about a month after I had new tires put on it but that was the only notification I was getting up until now). I thought most of it was due to the extremely cold weather and restarting my car took care of the problem, and I wouldn't have any problems with it again for a little while. However this week restarting my car hasn't helped and now I have no power steering at all which is extremely dangerous when turning my vehicle and given that there is still less than 85K total miles on it then I am surprised that I am even having this issue at all, but I did read that some of the 2011 Malibu's have a recall on the U-joints, I believe that I read. I just found were there is currently 2 recalls on my car now and I have never had to do a recall therefore I was trying to figure that out and what I would need to do for that, as well as report the electric power steering issue too. Any information that you may have pertaining to this issue would be very appreciated since I did not see my car listed for the power steering recall then I'm not sure if I have to file a complaint first and/or if they will contact me when/if it is included with those recalls? thank you again!

- Minerva, OH, USA

problem #117

Jan 212018

Malibu

  • 107,500 miles
At random times my Chevy Malibu 2011 w/ flex fuel steering wheel becomes hard to control. The service ESC and power steering lights begin to flash. When I pull over (becomes this seems to happen on the highway a lot) I turn my car off and back on. The issue seems to temporarily go away. My car mileage is only at 107,500. I've read about recalls and tested my VIN for it. Unfortunately, I do not see that my car was one that was recalled for the 2008-2013 car recall for this problem. I don't have extra funds to buy a new car or get this one fixed. This is a very dangerous issue that I hope they can find a solution for.

- Bowie, MD, USA

problem #116

Jan 182018

Malibu

  • 72,000 miles
Very dangerous reduced engine power will occur at any time. I could be driving 70 mph and it will drop to 5mph. Someone could be killed!! I had the accelerator pedal position sensor replaced bec that's the code that was being transmitted and it worked fine for 3 days. Now same thing happened again as I'm driving my 3 young children home on the highway. Car will drop speed and violently shake and not go over 10mph.

- Clinton, TN, USA

problem #115

Jan 162018

Malibu

  • 89,500 miles
My son was driving his vehicle and the computer assisted power steering went out. Fixed at doug Chevrolet 1-12-2018. Now (after the warranty repair of a steering shaft torque sensor) when driving four days later he lost power, vehicle flashed service traction and reduced power and slowed immediately from 45 to 5 mph and he was able to limp it home. The loss of power while driving was immediate and drastic and cars behind him were able to slow down but it could have caused a severe accident.

- Massillon, OH, USA

problem #114

Jan 132018

Malibu

  • 112,659 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving various speeds, the "reduce power" electronic stability control warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle began to shake. Jack winegardner Chevrolet (11001 indian head highway, fort Washington, md 20744) was made aware of the failure and stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. In addition, the dealer stated that the VIN was not included in the throttle body warranty extension and special coverage number: [xxx]. the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,659. 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).

- Fort Washington, MD, USA

problem #113

Jan 102018

Malibu

  • 70,000 miles
While turning onto a street my engine began to sputter. After entering traffic my electronic stability control notice appeared as did information informing me I had reduced engine power. Upon looking up this problem I learned that many experience the same problem with 2011 2012 Chevrolet Malibu around the same 70,000-80,000 miles.

- Rio Rancho, NM, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »