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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
81,919 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.

2012 Chevrolet Malibu steering problems

steering problem

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2012 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 2 of 9)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #149

Jan 122021

Malibu

  • 20,000 miles

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

The steering wheel is hard to turn and it's getting worse and worse when it is unlocked the wheel shakes like crazy and it has no grip when U turn in the car it is unlocked but as U driving it it locks it's selfnl. At a intersection as I was at a a complete stop once I took my foot off the breaker the steering wheel almost hit the the car in the next lane

- Glendale, AZ, USA

problem #148

Sep 012020

Malibu

  • 97,000 miles
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.

- Clifton, AZ, USA

problem #147

Jan 112021

Malibu

  • 180,000 miles
Power steering light comes on and my steering wheel is twitching and jerking.

- Bonham, TX, USA

problem #146

Jan 072021

Malibu

  • 120,000 miles

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

ESC light came on, lost power steering while maneuvering on extremely icy curve on freeway. Fortunately was able muscle the car to side of the road without accident. Found hundreds of complainants on NHTSA web site for this exact same issue, but couldn't find where there was any recall for this issue per my cars VIN number. Extremely dangerous problem that manufacturer needs to address.

- Rochester, MN, USA

problem #145

Jan 062021

Malibu

  • 130,000 miles
On Wednesday January 6, 2021, I was on my way home from picking my son up from school when I went to make a left turn from the center divider and my steering wheel would not turn! this caused me to make an emergency stop in the middle of the busy city street and to park up on the curb to avoid ongoing traffic. I tried to turn the wheel manually with a lot of strength but it did not move. Then a warning signal appeared saying (power steering). I turned the car off and back on to see if this helped, it did. After I got home I did not drive the car anymore. I am waiting to see if this repair is covered under Chevrolet's warranty regarding eps (electrical power steering) vehicles.

- South Bend, IN, USA

problem #144

Jan 082021

Malibu

  • 152,000 miles
As time is going on the steering is getting less controllable. I have yet to get into an accident but I can feel the car swerving a bit when I'm steering (swerving I didn't do). I looked up my VIN on iseecars.com to see if there was a recall at all with the steering and there was in 2014. I bought this car last year so I am the owner and am not sure how to go about this. I got it checked out and the mechanic said there is definitely an issue with the rack and pinion and shaft. Also my passenger seatbelt light remains on at all times and there have been minor issues with them.

- Flint, MI, USA

problem #143

Sep 212020

Malibu

  • 120,000 miles

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

Power steering goes out low trac light comes on service light comes on while car was in motion

- Endicott, NY, USA

problem #142

Sep 112020

Malibu

  • 90,000 miles
I was driving to town and everything stop working. It scard the crap out of me. I took it to smith Chevy in turlock ca they said they didnt know what was wrong with it and charaged me $489. Lucky it didnt kill me. GM motors need to do a recall on it before someone gets hurt or lose there life.

- Stevinson, CA, USA

problem #141

Jun 302020

Malibu 6-cyl

  • 150,000 miles
ESC warning on dash coming on will driving and turning forward or backward. HVAC controller not responding to commands, HVAC resistor and blower motor wires getting very hot and not blowing fuses when driving with ac or heater running. HVAC resistor blowing out. High motor oil consumption, every 1000 miles its low a quart.

- Pleasant Unity, PA, USA

problem #140

Jul 132020

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 103,794 miles
Steering wheel sticks on occasion and is hard to move. Sometimes it will jerk side to side in a shaking motion before sticking. My car goes out of lane.

- N. Scituate, RI, USA

problem #139

Apr 012020

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 73,800 miles

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

For a long time now, a year, I've been getting the ESC warning every time I turn the steering wheel. It just a nuisance alarm. It shuts off the ESC. Now however every time I start the car lately and I'm getting the power steering warning, I move the wheel a little and it goes away. I'm afraid it's going to get worse and I'll start losing my power steering. GM won't do anything about it because they say the VIN number isn't part of the recall. I have a 2012 with the 2.4L. It has 73,000 miles on it. The recall if that's what it is (# 15356: Special coverage adjustment - loss of electric power steering assist - (Aug 28, 2015).

- Joliet, IL, USA

problem #138

Apr 182020

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 130,000 miles
"power steering" message comes on randomly and the power steering goes dead while I'm driving. This seems to be a known issue with this Malibu and should be a recall. There are many complaints online about this issue. This has occurred multiple times. This is dangerous and should be a recall purchased vehicle in 2013 since than has happen close to 10 times.

- Sun Valley, CA, USA

problem #137

May 062020

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 154,000 miles
"power steering" message comes on randomly and the power steering goes dead while I'm driving. This seems to be a known issue with this Malibu and should be a recall. There are many complaints online about this issue. This has occurred in April 2020 and multiple times in May 2020. This is dangerous and should be a recall.

- Hempstead, NY, USA

problem #136

Apr 222020

Malibu

  • 140,000 miles
At random I will be driving down any road and the power steering, traction control, ecs lights will come on and I will lose power steering. I have to pull over and completely stop and turn off ignition and wait a few minutes and turn back on and the problem is reset. This happens at random with no pattern.

- Bainbridge, OH, USA

problem #135

Apr 022020

Malibu

  • miles
2012 Malibu loses power steering and ESC light comes on. Very dangerous. Don't think 2012 Malibu is covered under recall 15356, but it should be. People will die... probably already have.

- Marysville, KS, USA

problem #134

Feb 212020

Malibu

  • 141,000 miles
When idling in park my steering wheel will shake back and forth. And then I keep losing my power steering function. And then I have to restart the car and it will come back on. This has been happening for 2 days. With the ESC light in the power steering lights coming on on intermittent.

- Kalamazoo, MI, USA

problem #133

Mar 122020

Malibu

  • miles
ESC light comes on either right as I start the car or once I start driving and I lose power steering having to stop several times to restart my car. I fear driving my kids in my car because if this ongoing issue.

- Burlington, NJ, USA

problem #132

Feb 052020

Malibu

  • 0 miles
Stationary steering wheel shakes, ESC off light then it's says power steer steering wheel is almost impossible to move

- Wood River, NE, USA

problem #131

Feb 232020

Malibu

  • 137,000 miles
For about the last two weeks when I turn my car on a ESC power steering message has illuminated the dash. I have to turn my car off and back on several times to get the message to disappear. Tonight while driving the same message came on. I ended up having to pull over several times during my drive each time losing power steering! very scary and very unsafe. When I search my VIN number there are no recalls on it, I feel there needs to be before someone is hurt or killed in a accident.

- St. Paris, OH, USA

problem #130

Feb 232020

Malibu

  • 98,150 miles
2012 Chevy Malibu recently turned 98,000 miles. I was trying to make a turn after stopping for a stop sign and the power steering service, ESC light comes on. The steering wheel became stiff and very hard to turn. Was able to get car to the side of the road, turned engine off and on and I was able to drive. Very scary, I have read that this happens a lot with these cars. How can there not be a recall"?"

- Watervliet, NY, USA

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