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.
My electric steering motor and torque sensor is going out. I first noticed it starting to go out about 2 months ago in November. I was turning to pull into a parking spot at the grocery store and all of a sudden my wheel locked up and check ESC flashed across my dashboard. I almost side grazed the car on side of me on my way turning in. I had to turn the wheel really hard to straighten it up..so when I got into the parking spot and turned the car off and turned it back on it was working again and didn-??t do it for a while. So fast forward 2 months later in January it started back doing it again. I was backing out of my driveway and all of a sudden the steering got really hard and again service ESC flashed on the dashboard and I almost backed up into a car that-??s parked on the street behind my driveway. I had to turn really had and in the middle of the street I had to turn the car off and back on to reset itself. The next day was driving and and when I stopped at a stop sign my steering wheel started shaking left to right uncontrollably and ever since the the steering wheel just shakes even while sitting still so I made an appointment with the dealership that I got the car for checked it out and did a diagnostic test and the mechanic told me I needed a torque sensor and steering motor. I have the papers saying that-??s what-??s wrong with it and after doing research I found that that car model had a recall with the exact same thing my car is doing but when I put in my vin number it-??s not listed as a recall and my car isn-??t drivable and I think it should be recalled.As of now it has only been looked at by the dealership. And it-??s available for inspection upon request.
ESC traction control /Power Sterering light turned on my wheel was hard to steer. Lost control. If I turn off it works for a few minutes but then goes back to hard.. unable to steer
Several electrical problems have occurred with my 2012 Chevy malibu. First the horn would not stop beeping which caused me to jump and almost run into a telephone pole. I parked the car and the horns kept beeping I got home and the horn cap beeping. My husband cleaned off the battery cables and that seemed to stop the problem for a while then they started beeping again. Then my door lock started unlocking and locking by itself causing me to lock my keys in my car. So I disconnected the horn I disconnected the locks. Now my trunk is popping open by itself. Even when the trunk is open the electrical supply keeps going to it and making a clicking sound trying to open it. I have had many electrical problems with this car.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving, the brake light was illuminated. The contact stated that at the time she was not depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that when she was switching gears from either drive or reverse the brake light only illuminates once in gear and does not turn off. The contact also stated that the traction control warning light also illuminates while driving, however the vehicle does not drive any differently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who advised her that there was a recall on the same year, make and model vehicle as her vehicle NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V252000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL). The contact said she was advised that her vehicle had to be taken to the dealer to have her vehicle reprogrammed. The contact stated that she has not yet contacted the dealer or the manufacturer at this time. The failure milage was 60,000.
I bought the car a year ago from a used car lot. Replaced the cam shaft positioning sensor as per diagnostic reading for check engine light. Since then, svc air bag light has stayed on. Traction control light stays on and is disengaged. When braking ESC warning goes on and off and sliding occurs. The low beam headlights go on and off intermittently and no way of knowing when it will happen. When turning cruise control on or off, the car will accelerate on its own and will increase speed until brake is applied. Regardless of whether cruise control was turned on or off. I have had it looked at at my local Mr.Tire and they cannot figure out what is happening.
- Blue River, KY, USA
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I been having the same problem for a year now.. constantly putting it in and out the shop and no one can find out what-??s wrong with it.. the engine will loss it control and stop working in the middle of traffic which almost caused me a wreck several times. The Chevrolet dealership hasn-??t done anything to help but charge me to look at it and they didn-??t fix the problem. I have three kids and it has been a safety issue which is our only way to work and school. The car will skip constantly in the middle of traffic and several times someone almost ran into the back of my car. It will say engine power reduced, service traction and service sec I have spent ton of money trying to fix the issue and I have read several people have had the same problem.
The bcm and fuel pump relay over heats burns the wire causing stalls at traffic lights and normal driving then won-??t start back up. If you-??re lucky you can hit the bcm or take the fuel relay out and reinstall and it may start back
I have a 2012 Chevy Malibu i bought it in 2014. I have had the Esc light come on in 2016 but no problem with it untill now of this year in 2022. Not knowing the problem i have already put ALOT into it. I took it to a machanic they told me it was the rack and pinion. So got that done. Apparently it wasn't it took it to another machanic they told me it was struts got that done too n still nothing so i looked it up online got CV joint, inner, tie rod, wheel alignment. All those done n still nothing fix it. I didn't know what else to do until i made more scratch on my vehicle and i found that it could be a recall.
This car will not start!!!! It starts when it feels like it. I-??ve been stranded after work so many times for unknown reasons. Multiple mechanics have inspected car and cannot find the issue. Go on YouTube and search for this year car and you-??ll find so many people in the same situation as me. The car has battery but the engine will not start. GM cars have this issue in common and it-??s ridiculous GM cannot stand behind their brand. Please HELP US!!!
The contact owned a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 10 mph, other drivers alerted her that there was a fire underneath the vehicle. The contact's wife was able to safely exit the vehicle. There was no injury and no medical attention was necessary. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. The contact's wife was informed that there might have been an electrical short that caused the fire. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact left a voicemail for the dealer notifying them of the failure and was awaiting a callback from the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,000.
GM Tech Bulletins say there is a Ghost Problem with Elect. Stability Controller. GM mentions there is no recall or known cure for this..Components/contacts were cleaned at service shop but " Serv. ESC-ESC OFF" keeps appearing in "driver display" when hitting bumps -turning car.. i will mail service sheets. This option was available on 08-09-10 models of Malibu but Std. on my 2012 car. It is worthless when there is thick snow.. I will send, by mail, serv. records on this unsolvable problem... It continues to happen, at slow speed - not just one time...I believe YOU can read the G.M.-TSBs, as it was shown to me.... Consumer stated it showed a bad steering column multi switch & Yaw sensor unit, part still available.. Unit fires off bad code when barely moving and turning to right... Unit gets damp and works for a while. Turns out: Plastic Yaw coil in steering column broke up against the shaft, and the multi reed switch is probably bad, in there. The consumer stated after a new multi switch was installed, the bracket of the plastic broke again.
While parked or driving this vehicle shuts down on its own, sometimes on the freeway going 65 mph. The fuse located in the trunk has a faulty connection and a wire that isn-??t efficient for heat from fuel pump so it shuts down while driving and sometimes won-??t start. This is gonna kill someone when it shuts off on the freeway in traffic. I-??ve read up on this being a regular problem with the Malibu
My vehicle fail to restart vehicle, but vehicle was running good before. Once I turn off the vehicle for couple of minutes when I returned back to my vehicle and tried to turn vehicle on it would not allow me to turn on lights on vehicle would stay on when taking key out of ignition. I kept trying couple of time until I open the hood to check battery move battery cables tried again until vehicle turn on. Once vehicle had turn on and put vehicle in reverse dashboard lights started turning on check engine a service warning message display and speed meter would go up and down. When going forward the steering wheel became hard to control while vehicle would go toward slowly then stop go fast and slowly again until I got home turn vehicle off. Didn't drive it anymore until two days later. The second time I was on the freeway when my vehicles speed started to significantly reduce speed very quickly. I became concern with my safety until I was able to pull over on the side of freeway car turned off. When trying to restart vehicle would fail to turn back on had to tow vehicle back home. I tried turning vehicle back on failed at first on the last try vehicle turned on but when putting on reverse or drive vehicle became undriveable thier was no movement on vehicle and speed meter would not move. I just purchased this vehicle only had 8 months with it I payed $5000 plus $600 on plates. I do make my vehicle available for inspection it is very dangerous going through this specially on highway. I checked my onstart vehicle report but it does not show that anything is wrong on the report. My insurance provider Geico car details only show it needs and oil change. I also notice that in the vehicle history shows it has an oil leak. I can not afford to pay for a mechanic at this moment my vehicle is just park at home now.
I have an ongoing issue in which the power steering on my 2012 Malibu locks up and it's extremely hard to rotate the steering wheel to make turns....it has happened on numerous occasions from being parked from a cold start to recently actively happening while driving on the road/highway. The computer dash display pops up saying power steering then says service ESC
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning, the vehicle was unable to be restarted. The contact stated that the service ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Suburban Chevrolet Cadillac collision of ann arbor (3515 jackson rd ste B, ann arbor, mi 48103, (734) 663-3321) where it was diagnosed with needing battery, and negative battery terminal to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,017. The consumer stated the vehicle would slow down with a loss of power steering and electrical issues and sputtering engine. The throttle body was replaced twice and was recommended to be replaced third time.
The car had GM service bulletin 13036 (recall campaign 14V252) performed on September 19, 2014 and the car is experiencing the exact same conditions as described in the service bulletin[1] so the "fix" didn't resolve what is now an on going safety issue. It should be noted in the recall "why" section to owners the use of "...over time...". therefore, the issue is known to be time dependent and the fix doesn't appear to fully resolve the issue into the future. 1: we are currently seeing the following conditions: - service brake lamps may not illuminate when the service brakes are being applied. - if cruise control is engaged, additional service brake pedal travel may be required to disengage it. - traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features, if equipped, may be disabled. - service ESC and/or traction control tell-tales may illuminate with this condition.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the headlight connectors were melted and had to be replaced 7 times within the past three months. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that there was too much volts going to the headlight wiring connectors causing the connectors to melt. The vehicle was taken to van Chevrolet (100 nw vivion rd, Kansas City, mo 64118, 816-527-8564) to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired however, a week later the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact emailed the manufacturer and received a response which stated that they were aware of the failure however, no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
Vehicle is stalling out while driving, then when shuts off it will not start back up. Fuel pump was replaced, worked great for 1 whole day then did the same thing, left me stranded. Fuse box was then replaced. Ran great again until recently it stalled out in the middle of a very busy street causing me to almost be hit. Pins in the fuse box were replaced, but I'm still having issues, it seems to be related to the fusebox wiring itself, because I'm also having problems with things ran off of that fuse box! this getting ridiculous I've only had this car 4 months and it's been the worst car yet I've never had a vehicle leave me stranded. It needs to be recalled
While driving to school going roughly from idle to 10mph as started to get on the highway the ESC services power steering light came on and I lost all power steering. Needless to say me being 5'3" and 98 pounds didn't help me much to control the vehicle. I slowly pulled over to the side of the road and gathered myself not knowing what just happened. I turned off the car and gathered my thoughts. Luckily I was on straight away with no turns when this happened. So I preceeded to turn the car on and noticed the message was gone so I checked the steering and the problem light was gone. Well with that said, that was the first this had happened. And now it has progressed during the winter. I don't know if the cold has anything to do with it. But this is scary and GM should try to address it. I believe there was a recall for this issue but my VIN doesn't show that recall. Can you please help. The problem is starting to happen when I start my car now.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cahokia, IL, USA