10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,725 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 2013 Chevrolet Malibu:

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

problem #334

Sep 022023

Malibu

  • 190,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the instrument panel lights started flickering, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality. Additionally, when the brake was depressed, the brake pedal was abnormally firm. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and inspected. The vehicle was then towed to the residence where the battery was charged. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the generator control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.

- Anderson, IN, USA

problem #333

Aug 312023

Malibu

  • miles
The instrument cluster goes out. Can't see anything on the dash speed gas or anything while driving or goes out completely. Can not drive car. Not safe to drive don't know if I have gas or how fast I'm going or if I have any warnings on the car.

- Woodward , OK, USA

problem #332

Jun 062022

Malibu

  • 56,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact replaced the wheel bearings; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

- Ticonderoga, NY, USA

problem #331

May 312023

Malibu

  • miles
5/31/23, while driving uphill, car shuttered as I was slowing down at stop sign and displayed "Service Stabilitrak" & "Engine power reduced" which caused the car engine power to drop drastically. I was barely able to make it home safely with my children. On 6/1/23 tried to crank it, first time it wouldn't turn over, second time it started up. Check engine lights and messages still on, radio screen completely black (has gone out multiple times at random over past two years). Drove around the block with half power. On 6/2/23, attempted to crank three times, never turned over. Popped the hood to discover negative battery terminal severely coroded. While cleaning terminal, find battery cables possible faulty. Upon research, discovered how many thousands of others have the exact same issue, GM refuses to acknowledge to release a recall for those like me who can't afford hundreds wasted having anyone even looking at it, much less paying for guesstimating the wrong solution. So now I'm stranded along with my children, and don't have any resources to hope for a solution in the near future.

- Sheffield, AL, USA

problem #330

Apr 282023

Malibu

  • miles
My 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco 2LT has 120,000 miles on it. I purchased the vehicle at 68,000 miles from the only owner of the car. I have had the car 6 years and kept up on all maintenance. While I was driving in a 45mph zone my vehicle-?? s interior lighting started flashing. My dash flashed then said service stability track, car went blank then back on said service power steering flashed again and said service battery charging system and then went completely dead. When I got to the bottom of the hill to turn off main road my brakes had locked up in the rear and I had no power steering and wheel locked could not turn wheel. Vehicle would not allow me to shift into neutral so I could be pushed out of traffic and I had no flashers or any power. Battery was 1year old. My biggest concern is that the vehicle never alerted me with a service engine light. There was no indication that my alternator was not responding. And mechanics and dealership service shop are wanting thousands of dollars for possible parts and labor without a clear idea of what the exact issue is. I believe that this issue was recalled but since my vehicle was not manufactured in a specific state was never repaired. I believe that my GCM has a malfunction that was to be replaced and reprogrammed with the appropriate software!!

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #329

Mar 132023

Malibu

  • miles
The Dash board instrument cluster is turning on and off randomly. loosing steering control due to electronic steering. Mechanics cant find a problem and seems to be common with this year Malibu. wont replicate at Mechanics completely random. Just had a new battery installed also and Mechanics say everything is within specs. No warning on this it just happens. 83000 miles on car and it happened about a year ago once and last two weeks several times. The front passenger seat got some water on it and the presence sensor must have deactivated the air bag system. Much to sensitive to be reliable.

- South Elgin, IL, USA

problem #328

Jan 052023

Malibu

  • miles
Driving the vehicle it just shuts off, the will cause an accident driving down the road. It-€™s a major issue with shutting off an the ignition switch at that. I can-€™t drive it it-€™s parked. Along with the engine. My mechanic told me these are the troubles there should be a recall on these cars.

- Mountainburg , AR, USA

problem #327

Sep 012022

Malibu

  • 96,000 miles
The contact's son owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with the brake and power steering warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where she was informed that in 2014, a software update was performed to fix the failure. The contact was then provided an estimate for the repair. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the dealer's possession. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

- Claymont, DE, USA

problem #326

Jun 152020

Malibu

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 35 MPH, the instrument cluster display suddenly went dark, and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Later while the contact was driving 75 MPH, the instrument cluster went dark, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn, and the vehicle suddenly lost motive power and stalled. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who replaced a battery cable and the failure had not reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.

- Aurora, IN, USA

problem #325

Dec 282022

Malibu

  • miles
Dashboard light don't work majority of the time is started like month ago and before that started there was something on the dash I believe is said brake/stability trak And now the battery keeps dying

- Ardmore , OK, USA

problem #324

Jan 082023

Malibu

  • miles
El tablero de mi carro se apagó y más nunca a querido prender. Y se agota la batería del carro

- Albany, NY, USA

problem #323

Jun 042021

Malibu

  • miles
The gauge cluster in my car has intermittently lost power for about two years. It is now almost always off. I have been unable to have this repaired as the parts have been unavailable nationwide since I initially started having problems. I can't see any of my gauges. I have no idea how much gas I have, if my car is overheating, or if my car is having any other sort of problem.

- Kankakee, IL, USA

problem #322

Aug 272022

Malibu

  • 97,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after experiencing a hard braking failure, the vehicle started exhibiting electrical issues. The contact stated that the instrument panel lights would flicker on and off. Additionally, the vehicle failed to start up immediately. The battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the diagnostic module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was included in NHTSA Recall Campaign Number: 12V224000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 97,000.

- Jamestown, NY, USA

problem #321

Oct 192022

Malibu

  • miles
My wife and I bought this beautiful 2013 Chevy Malibu.upon the first couple of days we had to take the car back to the dealer cause it was repeatedly shut down on us.The used car dealership never fixed the problem.As I done my research on this à2013 Chevy Malibu it has 9 recalls and these recalls been issued since 11-13-2013.These are all the recalls on 2013 Chevrolet Malibu by National highway traffic safety.suspension 12-22-2021.suspension 08-12-2021.... suspension 12-10-2020...... electrical system tran 7-5-2016.....visibility 03-23-2015.... electrical system seats 11-13-2013... electrical system software 5-7-2012. Please tell me how to go abought all these defects

- Ventura , CA, USA

problem #320

Sep 232022

Malibu

  • miles
I'm having a lost of battery power in my 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco. when it happens it shows that i should service the charging system. and as i continue to drive both batteries lose power and run out. i have checked the recall for it and it is not coming up under my vin number. at times have no problem but when it does happen the battery light comes on then the check engine light comes on and I start loosing more power and it tells me to check my charging system. what should i do the next time it happens?

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #319

Aug 312022

Malibu

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently. The check engine warning light and the low battery warning light were illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the high voltage generator control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System) which she associated with the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

- Flint, MI, USA

problem #318

Aug 242022

Malibu

  • miles
Under a slow acceleration doing highway speed say going up a incline the car will get a burning smell in the cabin its smell like burning electrical wireing so far now visible smoke.

- Susanville, CA, USA

problem #317

Aug 022022

Malibu

  • miles
Engine overspeed error message & car will start to hesitate to accelerate. First happened 7/2021. Second time is 8/2022

- Atlanta , GA, USA

problem #316

Dec 012021

Malibu

  • 8,900 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that prior to owning the vehicle, her father had the vehicle serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). Recently, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle jumpstarted; however, the vehicle failed to remain running. The contact had the battery replaced twice within a short period of time however, the failure persisted. The contact initially towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic where she was referred to a dealer for assistance. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective generator control module which she linked to the initial recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 8,900.

- Sherwood, AR, USA

problem #315

Jun 042022

Malibu

  • 88,073 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his sister was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the instrument panel indicated that the battery voltage was low. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was notified of general control module and belt tensioner failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). The contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The failure mileage was 88,073.

- Riverside, CA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »