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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 2
Average Mileage:
78,824 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Chevrolet Malibu brakes problems

brakes problem

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2009 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 3 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #101

Oct 212018

Malibu

  • 120,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have had this issue serviced by the dealer and still I ensuring the same problem even after it was resolved via recall and GMC voucher, the brake lights come on when I'm driving!!!! this complaint isn't the first of its kind and from the looks of things this isn't only affecting my vehicles I have read through other reports online as well as complaints talking about this same issue. I became aware that the problem arose again when other drivers sped around me flicking me off. One incident almost resulted in being clipped as the other driver was so close to my vehicle as he raced past to cut in front of me. Please fix this issue. It's a very dangerous situation as braking is a key component to driver safety!

- East Chicago, IN, USA

problem #100

Oct 242018

Malibu

  • 79,000 miles
While driving, sometimes my brake lights come on when I am not depressing the brake pedal, sometimes, when I press the brake pedal the break lights do not come on, the traction control light comes on and stays of then later it goes off.

- Burke, VA, USA

problem #99

Aug 012018

Malibu

  • 101,200 miles
High mount center stop light does not work drivers heated seat heater does not work

- Cranesville, PA, USA

problem #98

Dec 132017

Malibu

  • 95,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The caliper arms on both of my passenger side tires have gotten stuck, wore down the new brake pads completely and destroyed the rotors of my car in the past. The dealership's warranty had covered the replacement of the pads, correction of arms and rotors previously but the second occurrence happened after my warranty had expired and was extremely expensive. When the rear passenger side got stuck the sensor for my tire pressure was showing but there was no hesitation or issue with breaking. A soft dragging sound lead me to believe the sensor itself had disconnected from the vehicle and was dragging on the ground and making a soft but strange noise. Its going to take me 2 weeks to get into the dealership for an appointment ' since then, my rear rotor has become effected and will need replacing. This morning the tire pressure monitor sensor remained on the screen but when I first started driving and attempted to use my breaks, I did not stop and my foot touched the ground as I pressed the pedal. As I pulled into the parking lot of my office (about 45 minutes of morning commute), more lights lit up the back panel including the emergency break light, the 'brake fluid, ' warning, 'service ESC, ' followed by 'ESC off' scrolled across the dash and my breaks did not work at all when I attempted to slowly stop. I complained about the ESC warning light coming on previously and stopping my power steering from working but the dealership said they couldn't recreate the warning so they couldn't help me.

- Warminster, PA, USA

problem #97

Mar 072018

Malibu

  • miles
Have lost all power steering, sensor is messed up, brakes are barely working, why wasn't a recall issued for all 2009 Malibu? this is beyond dangerous.

- Holly Springs, MS, USA

problem #96

Nov 222017

Malibu

  • 265,000 miles
Service ESC lights comes on and the service ABS

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #95

Aug 162017

Malibu

  • 98,764 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving down the road come to find out because someone told me that my brake lights are not working properly when not applying the brakes the brake lights are on acting as if I was breaking and when I brake the brake lights turn off so in other words it's reversed. And also when I googled online to find out if I could find the problem multiple people were having the same problems I googled why are my brake lights on when not applying the brakes and also according to some people online they said there was no recall and the dealer wouldn't do anything for them. This is a safety hazard and very dangerous and right now I feel very uncomfortable driving my car especially in the situation that I am in.

- Clarkston, MI, USA

problem #94

Mar 082017

Malibu

  • 130,000 miles
My brake lights stay on when I am driving the car. The cruise control will just stop working and the car of course slows down at this point. Yesterday the low traction and eic light came on. This has been going on for several months with the brake lights and cruise control the low traction and eic problem just started yesterday. I have read page after page of complaints on this same thing happening on this model year make of car. I have had to take my car in for several recalls but I have not seen one on this particular issue. My car has 138,000 miles on in it and of course this happens while it is in motion on the highway road street etc. It could not happen if the car was not in motion. This is a scary thing to be driving your vehicle and pray your going to make it to where you are going without a crash.

- Trout, LA, USA

problem #93

Nov 032010

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 15,578 miles
BRAKE LIGHTS COME ONE WHEN DRIVING AND BRAKE PEDAL IS NOT PRESSED. BRAKE LIGHTS GO OFF WHEN BRAKES ARE PRESSED. BEEN TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES AND THEY PUT SOME GEL ON THE BCM CONNECTION AS PER A SAFETY BULLETIN FROM GM. IT FIXED PROBLEM FOR A WEEK. PROBLEM HAS RETURNED 4 TIMES NOW. I THINK NHTSA SHOULD TAKE MY CAR TO THE TEST TRACK AND PROVE THAT A SAFETY RECALL SHOULD BE MADE ON THIS VEHICLE. NHTSA DID ONCE PRIOR TAKE MY CHEVY TAHOE 1997 TO THE TEST TRACK AND PROVED THAT GM HAD INDEED HAD AN ELECTRONIC ISSUE. SO PLEASE COME GET MY CAR AND TEST THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH OR BCM. IT IS UNSAFE AND THOUSANDS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SAME ITEM ON THE INTERNET. I INDICATE IN THE FORM THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, IT HAS NEVER WORKED FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME MATTER OF FACTI TOOK IT TO SERVICE FACILITY TODAY 7/24/17 AGAIN :[XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Brecksville, OH, USA

problem #92

Jan 152017

Malibu

  • 125,900 miles
While in motion going to fl on rt 95 my speed control stopped working, what I didn't know until I got to fl. That my break lights were on all the time and when I would hit the breaks they would go off and then come back on. I took the car to a dealer in fl and they could not dublacate the problem. They did replace the third break light and after researching about the problem I told them to change the break peddle switch. I drove back from fl to pa. With no problems. I know there were recalls about the BCM and did receive other letters that if a break light problem like above would happen to take it to a dealer. This is a very dangerous problem. Sent reinversment papers tochev. But they sent me S letter telling me they would not pay for repairs.

- Jim Thorpe, PA, USA

problem #91

Oct 012016

Malibu

  • 66,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving, brake lights will illuminate without depressing them, and brake lights won't illuminate while pressed. Opposite of what's supposed to be. This has been intermittent. Sometimes brake warning light comes on in dashboard. Also the ESC light. Have an appointment with Chevy dealer to repair, but was informed they'll fix if not functioning at time of appointment. It's an intermittent problem.

- Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA

problem #90

Mar 182017

Malibu

  • 15,100 miles
I am reporting two incidents! approximately 6 months ago my break lights starting turning on again (after the recall was fixed a year prior) while diving the vehicle. I would tap the breaks and the light would turn off (giving cars behind me the idea that I was breaking when I wasn't and when I was breaking to slow down, they couldn't tell). It still does this problem. Now as of 3/18/2017 while driving on the highway my "service ESC power steering" light came on. It was very hard to steer off the highway or even get the vehicle home. As I research my vehicle online, these two issues were recalled back in 2014. I don't know if my vehicle was serviced for the power steering recall as I bought the vehicle on 12/26/2014. I do know that the break light recall was serviced because I took my vehicle in for the recall. I have an appointment tomorrow at the Chevrolet dealer, but I know I'm going to have to pay $1200 to $1600 for this repair. Something needs to be done about these recalls! someone needs to make sure they don't continue to happen every year or every other year going forward.

- Lake Villa, IL, USA

problem #89

Dec 152014

Malibu 4-cyl

  • miles
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact received a recall repair for NHTSA campaign number: 14V252000 (service brakes, hydraulic, electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control). Two years later, the brake lights failed to illuminate when applied, but would illuminate when the brake pedal was not depressed. The service ESC and traction control warning indicators flashed. Also, the cruise control shut off and operated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing and repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available. Updated 11/01/17

- Allison Park, PA, USA

problem #88

Feb 102017

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
I have filed complaint before. Dealership has been working on it. It has set idle now for 2 weeks. Messages service ESC -service stab.-brakes lights stay on-rpms escalates and car chugs down. I have had to dealerships 7 times and independent mechanic 1 time. Have talked to GM numerous times. Finally talked to [xxx]-he had real good advice-trade it off-let some other sucker have the problem-he will allow me $2,500 GM customer loyalty rebate on new car(GM). If you are having the same problem you may call [xxx] at [xxx]. good luck. This has been ongoing for almost 2 years. 4. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Oktaha, OK, USA

problem #87

Feb 122016

Malibu

  • 88,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact took the vehicle to be serviced per NHTSA campaign number: 14V252000 (service brakes). The contact was informed that the high mount brake light failed without warning. It was diagnosed that the high mount brake wiring and the light needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

- Rocky Mount, VA, USA

problem #86

Jan 292017

Malibu

  • 60,000 miles
I made a complaint on around L/17/17 complaining about my car have service ESC service traction and trying to stall out with brake lights being on> since that time it has been at dealership more than being driven. It is there now, making this the 7th trip to dealership and once to independent mechanic. This is a common problem with Malibu and needs to be resolved by General Motors-not me. You ask for a date when this happened-the space only allows for 1 date. It has been ongoing for over 1 & 1/2 years.

- Oktaha, OK, USA

problem #85

Jan 142017

Malibu

  • 50,000 miles
My 2009 Malibu, which I purchased new in 2009: About 1&1/2 years ago it started running irregular, service ESC-service traction messages came on car skidding emblem came on. I have had it to dealership where I bought it 3 times-each time they could find nothing wrong-took it to independent mechanic-he told me same thing. About a week ago I called General Motors-first person I talked to said to call NHTSA that they couldn't do anything until a recall. Called NHTSA told me to call GM again and start a case: I called and talked to [xxx], who was very helpful and contacted another dealership about fixing my car. I took it to them; they replaced the brake lam switch thinking that would fix it-did not. Called GM again and wads told to take it back to dealership that there was nothing they could do as far as cost for fixing it was concerned. My car is just sitting idle because I am afraid to drive it more than a few miles-afraid it will stall out in traffic. I have looked this up on the internet hoping to get some information as to what is wrong. There are numerous people who are having this same problem with their Malibu. None of the dealerships seem to know what is wrong and owners are stuck with paying to have numerous things replaced that do not fix the problem. It is timer someone took responsibility for this flaw and issue a recall. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Oktaha, OK, USA

problem #84

Dec 072016

Malibu

  • miles
Brake lights, radio, trunk opener on drivers door, left turn signal, doors randomly lock, 3rd brake light dim, sometimes driver door won't open from inside or outside with door unlocked, sometimes drivers door won't shut, 105K miles on this car. This is the most expensive vehicle I've owned and it's the worst vehicle I've ever owned. The drivers door is stuck shut currently.

- Friedens, PA, USA

problem #83

Nov 072016

Malibu

  • 125,000 miles
Driving down an expressway about 60mph and the power steering quit working, a message displayed on my dash "power steering service ESC" the ABS indicator light also displayed at the same time. I have no power steering. My car has approx 125,000 miles on it. I googled the issue and there was a recall for this issue for 2006-2007 Chevy Malibu so I contacted the dealer and they said my car does not have a recall for this issue. I do have a recall that I have not had fixed yet for the brake lamp malfunction 13036 which dealer stated is unrelated issue. I see several other people online are reporting this same issue for the 2009 4 cylinder Chevy Malibu's. I would hope GM will recall this and take care of the problem.

- Joliet, IL, USA

problem #82

Sep 142008

Malibu

  • 1,500 miles
Airbags deployed when I hit the brakes in 2008.

- Washington Dc, DC, USA

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