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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
65,326 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2010 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 1 of 14)

problem #266

Feb 252023

Malibu

  • miles

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

Brake lights stay on while driving but turn off when braking, engine and traction control lights come on, car acts like it's going to die. This happens intermittently and sometimes without any warning lights. I noticed this again most recently within the last week and several times on 2/25/23. Vehicle has not yet been inspected but was previously taken in for the same issue in 2020. Dealership stated that since the lights weren't staying on and no codes were stored, they weren't required to make repairs. It goes without saying that driving with faulty lights can cause an accident and is also illegal. It is highly irresponsible of GM not to repair this known issue and of NHTSA not to issue a recall.

- Danville, IN, USA

problem #265

May 052016

Malibu

  • miles
Since sometime in 2016, these warning messages came on the dash periodically after hitting a bump - Service Traction, Service ESC, ESC off, Eng Power Reduced. The engine light stayed on. The car then ran slowly. After stopping and pulling off again, the car jerked forward. This could be dangerous in traffic! At first, I was told by a mechanic that my gas petal sensor needed to be replaced. After each of the 3 replacements, the problem seemed to be solved. But after a while, the warning messages would return after hitting another bump. The engine light would again stay on. Now, these warning messages come on every time I drive the car, with the engine light staying on. The same problems while driving still occur. A second mechanic advised me to put in this complaint, saying the problem was well-known to Chevrolet. He diagnosed it as being caused by water getting into a poor connection between the wire safety harness and the computer. The machine at AutoZone gave this assessment of the problem - "The ECH has detected that the APP sensor 1 and APP sensor 2 disagree more than 4.5 percent for less than 1 second. Probable cause: 1. Poor electrical connection. 2. Failed APP sensor." When I took the vehicle to a Chevrolet dealer in July 2016, they were unable to fix the problem. It would be really wonderful if this serious problem was the subject of a safety recall and was fixed for all affected drivers!

- Pioneer , LA, USA

problem #264

Dec 172022

Malibu

  • miles
Just Replaced Fuel Pump, Passenger Headlight Randomly Goes Out, Top Break Light Randomly Goes Out, Had To Replace Wiper Motor, & Fuel Pump Relay Wire Faulty. Wiring To Fuse Boxes Seem To Be Loose. Dealership or Any Other Certified Tech Will Listen or Touch To Fix The Car When Everything Is Working.

- Redford, MI, USA

problem #263

Nov 242022

Malibu

  • miles

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

I drive down the road and the brake lights come on I hit the brake then they go off. Randomly when I drive service esc service traction come on but as soon as I turn the car off and back on it is gone. Cruise control stopped working as well.

- Sandusky, OH, USA

problem #262

Oct 262022

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving the car safely as always and within the speed limits and an officer was heading the same direction, The brake lights got me cited for mechanical repairs. I have noticed the brake lights work yet they do not work with light pressure on the brake pedal. The officer gave a warning about brake lights and it has to be repaired ASAP. What explanation might there be for the brake light" What should I ask the mechanic to look for"

- Deforest, WI, USA

problem #261

Nov 082022

Malibu

  • miles
The power steering system stops working when it-€™s cold. There are no warning signs prior to it malfunctioning. When I get it towed to be seen or bring an mechanic to check out the problem it is always resolved before they can inspect it. This is unsafe because there is no warning and it comes and goes with no consistency. I could drive for 30 minutes without a problem and then it stops working or I could get in the car and it stops working within 5 minutes.This could easily cause an accident.

- Earlton , NY, USA

problem #260

Aug 052022

Malibu

  • miles

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

The brakes are doing the same thing that was recalled and repaired back in 2014. They are illuminating while driving down the road and turn off while I hit the brakes. I have been pulled over several times and cannot get my car inspected without getting this corrected. I have bought several parts trying to repair this but the parts are not correcting the problem. Cruise control, stability control and sever other functions are not working either all of them are related to the same recall issued back in 2014. Is there any kind of warranty on the recall that was repaired?

- Brady, TX, USA

problem #259

Jun 052022

Malibu

  • miles
The car shut off while driving down the street. Lost all control over steering and braking components. After the car shut itself off was not able to get it to turn back on after several hours. Turned it back on but when attempted to drive it home, it sh*t itself off again. Still could not control steering wheel

- San Antonio , TX, USA

problem #258

May 312022

Malibu

  • miles
When I bought the car in December of 2018 the car only had 42,000 miles on it. I had two incidences where the anti theft system went off locking me out of the car. The second time the vehicle had to be towed back to the dealership. Fast forward to 2022 and the car only has 77,000 miles on it and in the past three months the anti theft system has gone off in this car more than ten times. I recently went to a Chevrolet dealership and had them recut keys from the vin number.

- Lansdowne, MD, USA

problem #257

May 162022

Malibu

  • miles
My daughter was driving back from school in a very busy road and a message came up on the dash board that said engine power reduced and speed droped to 5 mph. I told her to park somewhere and turn off car for like 15 minutes and turn it back on and car still didnt accelerate. Had to go get her and leave car there. I just purchased this vehicle on November 2021.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #256

Apr 012022

Malibu

  • miles

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

I purchased the car for my mother on 10/20/2015 from Mike Savoie Chevrolet in Troy, MI. At the time I had a concern because there was a message being displayed on the car -€œService ESC-€, I was informed by the dealer that it was a false message and there was no issue with the car, we should just disregard but if we had any problems to let him know moving forward. At that time we did not have issues with anything else. There was about 80,000 miles on the odometer when we bought it, there are only about 95,300 now. Recently the brake lights have been coming on when the brakes are not applied, we have taken the car to a mechanic three times for this issue but he has been unable to duplicate it, as a result he felt that the brake pedal sensor was at fault and replaced it, but the issue still exists, a wasted $200! My 17 year old grandson is now using the car, the issue occurred again today and I discovered that this issue may be associated with a recall which also includes the -€œService ESC-€ message which has been on the car since I bought it. However, when I enter the VIN it shows no open recalls. Apparently it was not fixed and the dealer should have fixed it before I bought it or I should have been notified of the recall. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT MY GRANDSON-€™S SAFETY AND WILL NEED TO SWITCH MY CAR WITH HIM SO THAT HE CAN BE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE! Not only do the brake lights come on when not applied, but you need to tap the brake to turn them off at that point other drivers are not aware that the brake is being applied. Taking the car back to the repairman today. Please help. Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #255

Apr 202022

Malibu

  • miles
Car will not start. There is a recall for this, but my car seems not to be included. Turn the key over and over....battery is good....will not start.....after 50 or so tries, occasionally it will start, but when you get to your destination, you have to pray it will start again. Sometimes it will....most times it won't. This is a problem with a recall. Dealership will not fix it under the recall without the car being on the list. A little help from y'all would certainly help me. I'm 73, retired, on fixed income. Cannot afford to pay a Dealership to fix this when it is a known problem. Please help....

- Mcdonald , TN, USA

problem #254

Jan 312022

Malibu

  • miles
-€œEngine Power Reduced-€ comes on suddenly, alongside numerous other lights (check engine, service traction, ESC, etc). This causes the vehicle to reduce speed in traffic, increasing risk of collision. Other models of Chevy Malibu have been recalled for this same issue (faulty throttle sensor).

- Rollinsford, NH, USA

problem #253

Feb 072022

Malibu

  • miles
While driving the power steering goes out and a warning message pops up that says -€˜Service ESC-€™ and -€˜ESC Off-€™. It is near impossible to turn the wheel when this happens. I was able to turn the car off and back on, and the power steering returns/messages go away, but the same problem happens on and off.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #252

Nov 072021

Malibu

  • miles
Had test drove the vehicle everything was fine, picked the vehicle up and drove it home everything was fine, parked in the back of my house the car sat over night I go to pull it out the drive way, the power steering has gotten stuck and I mean it was STUCK!, the -€œpower steering-€ light came on the dash so I tried my best to turn to just pull it back in the driveway. It was so hard to turn I thought I would brake the steering wheel. Another thing whenever I ride over a bump my radio changes stations or turns off.

- Niagara Falls , NY, USA

problem #251

Oct 192021

Malibu

  • miles
Service electronic stability control light comes on and brake light comes on and off at times

- Howes Cave, NY, USA

problem #250

Aug 012021

Malibu

  • miles
The airbag don-€™t work, I just payed 1200$ to replace the computer pc because the car wouldn-€™t start and that didn-€™t solve the problem the check engine light is always on, the car have electrical problems; if I run the Ac it blows hot and then the car go to engine power reduces within 4 minutes. If I drive the car it will go on engine power reduce after 6 minutes because the fan is not working due to the fact that that car has electrical problems and the fan is not getting enough power to warm the car up and the engine gets real hot and it go to making a loud rumbling noise and growling and I can only drive 10 mph and 40 mph the fastest but then the car go to shaking and wen I try to park the car it-€™s shaking Nd rumbling which can cause an accident

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #249

Jan 062021

Malibu

  • miles
The passenger light beam will not come on it also messes with my radio it turns it to the aux I keep replacing the Bub in the harness and it's still not working not not to mention the car felt like a lost of power due to I guess the trance when turning a corner or pulling off. The air bag light comes on a few days and turn off.

- New Castle, DE, USA

problem #248

Sep 302021

Malibu

  • miles
brake lights sometimes they work sometimes they don't yes but they say the recall is 500 miles out of the recall miliage none of these have inspected it since i owned car yes service esc service transaction

- Saint Pauls, NC, USA

problem #247

May 142021

Malibu

  • miles
Brake lights illuminate without being pressed. Service ESC and Service Traction Control lights intermittently comes on. Dealer said recall issues has already been fixed.

- Woodhaven , MI, USA

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