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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,597 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 (Page 2 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #88

Aug 032018

Malibu

  • 92,000 miles

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

I was driving at a speed of 40 mph when all of a sudden I heard a high revving sound as if another vehicle was right beside me passing and soon realized that it was my car revving with the RPM gauge going above 3 and my car slowing down. Moments later my passengers and I felt a sudden "jerk" and the car jetted forward only to start revving again and this time I was merely moving at about 20 mph as I was still in shock from the first revving and non-accelerating moment. After trying helplessly to get the car to move at a speed of at least 15-20 mph, I decided to stop/restart the car and try using the manual shift. It gave another sudden "jerking" movement and moved in M5 but not even 10 seconds the car started with the loud revving sound as if I were mashing gas which I wasn't and we barely made it home at about 10mph using hazard lights. We basically had to push it over 2 very small speed bumps on the way in the gate. I decided to take it to the autonation shevy dealership where I bought it but unfortunately the car would not move and instead had to be towed there. Autonation Chevy did a "diagnosis" of sorts and within moments called to say that there is metal in the transmission and I need to pay a whopping $4,300 to have it fixed. Of course I could go on about how frustrating and humiliating this whole ordeal has been from beginning to $$$$ end bud I'd appreciate it if Chevy can reach out to me because I have a friend who said she had the same issue with her Malibu. I'm sure there are others out there but I'm now wondering if Chevy wants to wait until god forbid a dire situation occurs before they fix this problem.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #87

Jul 132018

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving home on a city street, with my 3 young children in the vehicle, when suddenly my car started violently shaking and quickly decelerated to about 10 mph. It was very scary and I just thought what if this happened while I was on the interstate I regularly drive. Thankfully I was close to home and was able to make it home.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #86

Jun 252010

Malibu

  • 5,000 miles
The dash board lights do not always come on when the car is first started and sometime they go off while driving. My son-in-law told me to pull over, shut off the motor, pump the foot feed 3 times and then restart the vehicle. That seems to work most of the time. But I should not have to do that. I have had the head lights go out at night when I hit a bump and then they came back on when I hit another bump. The cruise control does not always work. I received a notice that my taillights may not always work and to let them know if I have that problem. Well hell I am driving the car not running along behind it!! do I have to wait until someone rear-end me to find out that they don't work" not sure what kind of airbags I have in this vehicle but with history of electrical problems that may also be an issue.these problems have existed from the time the car was new. I have had it in to different shops to have it checked out and every time they tell me they think it is fixed. I am just waiting for the next shoe to drop. Is the competition for car makers so vicious that they need to rush production at the cost of customer safety to get vehicles out ahead of their competition" they continue to put more bells and whistles on these vehicles so they can charge us more up front and for continuous repairs. This is totally insane. Give me back my '57 Chevy. Never had any of these safety issues with that honey!!!

- Asbury, IA, USA

problem #85

Jun 042018

Malibu

  • 127,800 miles

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

Malibu decreases speed and downshifts and engine power reduced comes up in message center, no bumps, hard braking, no carwashes, simply driving down the road at 45mph and car illuminates engine light. Several parts have been replaced already for example throttle body, knock sensor, maf sensor, battery, fuse box, accelerator pedal all of these parts and my issue still persists. Several complaints have been made for this year make and model therefore I do not feel like this is an isolated issue.

- El Mirage, AZ, USA

problem #84

Apr 292018

Malibu

  • 20 miles
My tail lights come on without pressing the pedal and they do not come on, when the pedal is pressed. Very, very close to being rear ended. All roads and at all speeds. Cruise control is also affected. ESC light has come on. Very dangerous situation. NHTSA says there is a recall, Chevrolet says there is not.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #83

Mar 152018

Malibu

  • 145,000 miles
The first time my vehicle died while driving I was slowing down to turn right. The engine died and I turned off the vehicle, tried to restart and it would not stay started. I had it towed to the dealership and they could not duplicate the problem or get the car to give them codes so they had me pick it up. The 2nd time the car died on the freeway a week later. I was going 60mph trying to keep acceleration when it lost power. Thankfully I was near an exit and I was able to pull to the side of the exit. Again had it towed to the dealership. They duplicated the problem but have not been able to figure out what's causing it.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #82

Jan 212018

Malibu

  • 13,000 miles

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

Two days ago my husband, two children and I were driving at about 40-45 mph when our 2010 Chevy Malibu drastically slowed down and wouldn't accelerate with the gas pedal pressed all the way to the floor. At the same time service ESC, service traction and engine power reduced illuminated on our dash. Thankfully we were able to coast into a gas station. After turning the car off and on again, checking under the hood and sitting for over 30 minutes the problem still persisted. The car would not accelerate at all. We had to have a tow truck come get the car and bring it to the Chevy dealership. Today we received a call from the delearship saying we needed to replace the throttle body and it would cost $630. This doesn't make sense as the car has only 13,000 miles on it and has been very well taken care of. I put the VIN into the recall database and the only recall attached to our VIN is the brake lamp malfunction. This is very dangerous and should be looked into by the manufacturer.

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

problem #81

Dec 282017

Malibu

  • 42,000 miles
I've had electrical problems with my car since I bought it. The dealer has never been able to fix it because my car never showed any "codes". my car has acceleration problems, the right head light socket harness keeps burning out and I'm also starting to have problems with my brake lights. My brake lights don't go on when I press on my brake and when I do they sometimes stay on after I take my foot off the brake. The acceleration problem happens on a full stop and on the highway. I usually give my self extra space to accelerate because my car fails at times. In the highway my car sometimes struggles to catch up to speed with the other cars. This problem has almost cause and accident several times.

- Passaic, NJ, USA

problem #80

Oct 162017

Malibu

  • 69,500 miles
Brake lights stay all the time. Service traction light on. Service cvs light on.

- Pleasant Prairie, WI, USA

problem #79

Oct 222017

Malibu

  • 140,000 miles
I have 2010 Chevy Malibu I love my car it has never given me any problems the whole 3 years of owning it just the normal maintenance. One day I was driving at a speed of 25 mph and I crossed over an intersection and as soon as I did so I pushed to gas pedal to accelerate a little and I noticed that it wasn't going. This was very dangerous because I had my children in the car and another vehicle was right behind me and could have caused a car crash. I didn't realize that the car had shut off because everything was still work radio was on, lights were working. So I pulled over and turned the car completely off and when I tried to turn it back on it wouldn't start. The engine just kept turning over and not getting a good spark. And it also caused the battery to fail so I had to get a new battery. I changed the camshaft sensor, the crankshaft sensor and the car is still doing the same thing. This is a huge inconvenience for me because no one can find out what the problem is because the battery died O lost all diagnostic codes. Now what?

- North Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #78

Oct 162017

Malibu

  • 117,000 miles

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

Engine power reduced while I was driving into my daughters school.

- Perris, CA, USA

problem #77

Sep 292017

Malibu 4WD 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 76,633 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle lacked forward momentum. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the wave plate in the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,633. Consumer stated on 9/17/11 car not getting power. Made loud noise drove appox. 15 miles. Took cat to menke motor, transmission failed had engine repaired for $2300 updated 7/24/18

- Cincinnatti, OH, USA

problem #76

Sep 062017

Malibu

  • 10,200 miles
The vechile lost speed as I was driving into a parking space. I then put it in park. At that point the engine light was blinking. The car was shaking uncontrollably as if it would all just fall apart in pieces. The steering wheel was hard to turn and also rapidly shaking. The service ESC, service traction control, and a light with a car on a curved road was also on. This almost caused me to hit a parked car in front of me. I turned the car off and then back on and all the lights were off. I believe it to be the streering coloumn or an electrial issue. I read on some recalls and I think it is similar to the recall #14E044000. However, when I search my VIN it is not listed under it. Yet it is the same issue.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #75

Aug 252017

Malibu

  • 72,000 miles
While in motion, my 2010 Chevy Malibu ltz has been intermittently giving me a "service traction" "ESC off" notice and the cruise control is also working intermittently.

- Menomonie, WI, USA

problem #74

Jun 302017

Malibu

  • 142,285 miles
Engine power reduce light came on and I lost power in the middle of the freeway.

- Mendota, CA, USA

problem #73

May 132017

Malibu

  • miles
Had camshaft sensor installed less than a year ago and engine came on with same sensor code. The electrical system is going out constantly and headlight bulb was repaired 4 times less than a year. Cost me over 600 total one service was done for free because it was repaired and blew the next day. So much work and barely drive to car to and from work only 2 miles. I plan to make a complaint to the attorney general for explanations if not solved or reimbursed. The vehicle stays in the shop more than use. Traction control sensor replaces and came back 2 weeks later. The vehicle also stalled with my children on a busy street where a vehicle almost struck the back side missing my daughter by inches. Unsafe vehicle and too many malfuctions.

- Red Bank, NJ, USA

problem #72

Nov 012016

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 50,200 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that there was a recall regarding the throttle body reduced power mode, but the VIN was not included the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing the same issue listed in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified. The NHTSA campaign number was unknown. The failure mileage was 50,200. Updated 05/03/17

- Coatesville, IN, USA

problem #71

Jan 022017

Malibu

  • 140,000 miles
I was driving and then came to a stop to pull on a major highway. When I turned on the high way my Malibu wouldn't accelerate and acted as if it was in neutral, as a semi pulled up behind me I had to put it almost in a ditch so I wouldn't get hit. My mechanic says its the 3,5, R wave plate and that he looked at all the Malibu forums online and found out that many people have had this happen. I contacted GM and they told me there was nothing they could do. Never buying a Chevy again.

- Boonville, NY, USA

problem #70

Dec 072016

Malibu

  • 109,575 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle vibrated abnormally and the check engine indicator illuminated. The reduced engine power warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle decelerated independently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,575.

- Flint, MI, USA

problem #69

Mar 152016

Malibu

  • 92 miles
Trafficator continues to malfunction, ocassional brake failures and other digital lights malfunctioned and stopped to function any completely. I was almost in a deadly crash again. Sterring wheel. Not once these incidence happened all happened on motion.

- Sterling Heights, MI, USA

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