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3.7

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,320 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.

2010 Chevrolet Malibu engine problems

engine problem

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2010 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments

problem #8

Jan 172014

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 114,162 miles

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

In January of 2014, my father noticed there was a huge dark spot on my side of the drive way. So later in the day I take my car to valvoline and they let me know that my care is leaking oil. I take the car to sallas auto shop and they tell me that my cars axel shaft has a lot of play, which is causing the axel seal to leak, which shouldnt be the case because it was repaired before I purchased the car. They deem my car unsafe to drive and they have me leave my car at the shop so they can fix it. Not even a week later its leaking again so I take it back to them and they cant really figure out why its still leaking so they do a full body inspection and find that, not only has it been leaking but its been shooting shrap metal into my transmission(causing me to later have to actually replace the whole transmission). So I take my car back to the guy I bought it from and he tries to fix it and claims he stopped the leak. Not trusting his skills I finally take it to Chevy and after having it "fixed" several prior times, Chevy actually fixes it this time around. Apparenetly there is a special tool that has to be used to repair this particular part that not a lot of mechanics have, but Chevy does. Ive done my research online and this has happened to a few other people, which seems to be a manufacturing issue. Because of the leak my car was deemed undrivable for prevention of an accident, I was out of a car for about a week and a half as well as the costs of getting this problem repaired.

- Lee's Summit , MO, USA

problem #7

Apr 192014

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 88,144 miles
I have several complaints about this car that I believe to be manufacturer defects. The most serious issue I found today (4/19/2014) when I smelled gas outside of my car. Upon looking underneath my car I found my gas tank leaking onto my exhaust pipe. I consider this to be a recall issue because there is absolutely no damage to the undercarriage of my car. One of the other serious issues I have found with my car include a brake light issue. My car was occasionally showing a "service traction/ ESC" error code, which could not be explained by any mechanic or even a Chevy dealership themselves. It wasn't until a friend following me pointed out that my brake lights didn't seem to be working right, did I realize I was having an issue. The brake lights do the exact opposite of what they should, but only on the occasions said error code is showing. I looked into the issue online and found this to be a common problem. Chevy has not been able to give me a solution to this problem. The third major safety issue I'd like to point out, I know from experience is not exclusive to my car. When I sit in the passenger seat of my Malibu, among every Malibu I have ever been, the passenger side airbag does not turn on. I am 26 and weigh 94lbs, so I don't know if my size is the reason I do not engage the airbag!? the final defect I had to deal with involved my driver side rim. I had a tiny little hair line crack on the inside of my rim, causing me to loose a lot of air in my tire. I consider this a manufacturer defect because my rim was not damaged in any other way shape or form. I had a hard time obtaining a new rim, because (according to everyone I called) the rim was in high demand. Please look into these issues and consider adding them to GM's current recall list. Thank you for reviewing my concerns...updated 04-23-14

- Leesburg, FL, USA

problem #6

Mar 012012

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
Sometime around 70,000 mile when we would crank up the car we would hear a loud exhaust noise. After the car warmed up, the noise would go away. We took it into the local dealer and they said it was normal. We have also had engine running problems since early 2013. We now have over 106,000 miles on it and a local muffler repair shop diagnosed the noise as a cracked exhaust manifold. After checking with the local dealer, they stated that there have replaced several manifolds on various year model Malibu's. however, we are over the mileage warranty. The exhaust manifold can only be sold as a single unit with the catalytic converter. I think it should be covered.

- Toomsuba, MS, USA

problem #5

Sep 302010

Malibu

  • 1,400 miles

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

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the vehicle independently decelerated from 35 mph to 10 mph as the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle did not stall but the contact was unable to accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer stated that coolant had leaked onto the electrical wires and caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages was 1,400.

- Newport News, VA, USA

problem #4

Aug 072010

Malibu

  • 251 miles
The vehicle is a 2010 Chevy Malibu. I bought the vehicle brand new and it now has 758 mile on it. It stalls while doing speeds above 25 miles per hour. The steering becomes dificult, the brakes become less than efficient and it happens without warning. Every time this issue has happened it was above 90 degrees outside. It happened 4 times in 758 miles. They are looking at it at the dealership now and I have 2 other aquaintences that have the same car with the same issues.

- Hampton, VA, USA

problem #3

May 132010

Malibu

  • 10 miles
We just leased a Chevy Malibu from East hills Chevrolet at 1039 northern blvd. Roslyn, N.Y.11576. Within 2 days the new 2010 vehicle stalled on the long island expwy and could not be re-started. The nassau county police called a tow truck to the scene and towed it back to the dealer.after two [2] days we received a call from the service mgr. Leon, who stated that the car was repaired and ready for pick up[05-13-0=10] well, as my daughter drove out of the service dept.,again within 15 minutes the car stalled on the long island expwy and she is currently waiting again for the police to respond to call a tow being that the roadway is restricted.the service mgr, leon, told me the car was repaired and that it was a computer problem. I asked him if this had happened before and he said yes ! and now again for the second time it stalled on the expressway. This is not acceptable.

- Beechhurst, NY, USA

problem #2

Apr 202010

Malibu

  • 578 miles
Chevy Malibu 2010 - brand new with 16mi on odometer.

- Vienna, VA, USA

problem #1

Feb 272010

Malibu 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 14 miles
New Malibu 2010 (14 miles on odometer on 02/27/2010) has severe problem with the engine. Upon starting vehicle, it has a very strong vibration and looks like engine may stop running every minute. When accelerating, engine provides noise and vibration and engine generates rattling noise. It is unsafe to drive this vehicle. Dealership where vehicle was bought on 02/26/2010 does not like take to provide repair or so on. GM does not respond to our E-mails and calls, but when complaint was submitted to BBB we got a call that said that it is GM legal department - no last name or position, and the person started to intimidate us. The consumer stated when ascending a slope, not even 30 degrees, and have to stop, the vehicle began to slide back immediately once the accelerator pedal was released, before applying the brake. Updated 06/30/10.

- Vienna, VA, USA

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