Re-occurrence of a prior complaint. Driving my vehicle on a local highway when the service traction and service ESC displays came on. Car began to sputter as though it were going to stall. Coasted to the side of the highway, and after idling for a minute the displays returned to normal. After driving about 2 miles further, it happened again. It continued to happen throughout the rest of my drive. The next day, it ran fine for about 10 miles or so, and then began stalling again and began to lose some braking and steering. Last time this issue occurred, the brake lights also locked on leaving the drivers behind me thinking that I was braking. Last time these alerts were displayed my vehicle died completely and had to be serviced. Now, it seems to be progressing towards the same result. GM will not acknowledge that there is an issue, but hundreds of Malibu and HHR owners since 2008 seem to disagree. I once again contacted the dealership that gave me the explanation of it requiring hundreds of dollars to diagnose. Seeing that this has been occurring for at least 5 years, I would imagine that GM is aware that there is an issue. Unfortunately, it always seems that it takes the death of several drivers before there is a response. One driver in a printed chat with a GM rep stated that the issue caused his vehicle to crash due to the loss of ABS and power steering, and his airbag failed to deploy. Isn't a loss of braking, steering, air bag, brake lights and acceleration a safety concern?

- Comstock Park, MI, USA

I own a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. When driving at various speeds, the service traction, service ESC and ESC off warning lamps illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician advised that the body control module was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 57,000 and the current mileage was 67,000 plus. When my foot is on the brake the brake lights go off. Upon taking foot off the brake the brake lights stay on.

- Martinsburg, WV, USA

2009 Malibu brake lights stay on while driving then when I press my brakes the lights would go off no one knew when I was using my brakes. This was brought to my attention when I was on a major hwy/speed limit 70 mph when all of a sudden traffic was stopping. The cars behind me were coming at a high speed, but luckily the car directly behind me just short of crashing into my rear missed me.. he got out of his car while the traffic was stopped and approached me to let me know I had no break lights and he also noticed that prior to stopping my break lights were on. In the meantime I had warnings pop up on my car service traction/ESC service. Well of course, my car was taken to a shop where it showed a break switch needed to be replaced and switch brake needed to be calibrated by the dealership. The car was taken to the dealership and the break switch failed when they performed brake position calibration. The gentlemen said that the switch could be bad even thou it was a new one that was purchased from the dealership. They replaced it again and re-calibrated and afterwards said everything works well. Within two weeks the problem with breaks are still there. There is a major problem we have with the 2009 Malibu. I"M just lucky I"M still alive. What upsets me the most is the problem is there, but dealerships want to keep replacing parts and charging you $$$$ for something that needs to be recalled before someone gets killed!

- Mullins, SC, USA

While slowing down while attempting to come to a stop the warning system came on to service the stability control and traction control. This seemed to reset when ignition turns off but comes back at any time. Took it to a mechanic shop and after several attempts a code came up and they replaced the brake positioning switch. This worked for 3 months when again the warning notice came on. Took it back to the shop and they replaced the switch again figuring it may be defective. That worked for only 3 weeks when it came on again. Also while this warning notice comes on the cars brake lights stay on but go off each time the brakes pedal is applied and comes back on a few seconds after my foot is off the brake so from the rear of the car it looks like I am stopping when I am actually moving and looks like I am going while actually stopping. So far my shop can not find the cause. They say it keeps coming up with the same code.

- St. Cloud, FL, USA

While driving, the car will appear to think that the brakes are being applied. The brake lights will all activate, and cruise control will cease working. When the brake pedal is depressed, the brake lights turn off. The brakes still stop the car, but the lights and cruise control appear to be not calibrated to the brake sensor. Also, sometimes 3 warnings appear in the dash display: ESC off, service ESC, and service traction, though it is not necessary for the problem to occur. This happens very intermittently, but once it starts, it usually doesn't go away. I've had the problem repaired about 6 times, but it keeps coming back. I am out of options, as the repairmen seem to not know what is wrong with the car.

- Brighton, MI, USA

The vehicle began to display a "service traction/ESC" message on the hud. Brake lights would come on randomly and stay on, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for hours. As a result of brake lights being on, cruise control was not functional. Had a sensor replaced which temporarily resolved the issue. The problem has returned 53 weeks and 17,000 miles later.

- Ypsilanti, MI, USA

Hello, my car's service traction and service ESC light turns on intermittently. The brake lights behave in the opposite way, I.e. they stay on during normal driving, turn off when I press on the brake pedal, and turn back on when I release the brake. The cruise control does not work whenever this happens. I do not experience anything different while driving and I believe this is a sensor/circuitry issue. I read through the forums and news websites and found that this is a common problem in a lot of Chevy vehicles. There is a tsb on this issue and recalls for a few cars. This is a serious issue as it might lead to accidents when someone driving behind my car sees that the brake light turns off when I press the brake pedal. I would like GM/Chevrolet lo help me out here and fix this issue without making me pay for it but they have not responded positively. The dealership charges $110 just for doing simple diagnostics. But this issue is something pretty common to a lot of Chevrolet cars and is not a wear related issue. GM or Chevrolet should take responsibility to fix the issue. My car is out of 3-year warranty but is still within 5-year warranty (bumper-to-bumper). I hope that an action will be taken and my car will be repaired and/or I will be reimbursed for the repair expense. I found many articles on this issue and a few of them are copied below. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Marlton, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the electronic stability control service warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. The dealer performed a diagnostic, which located several failure codes however, the dealer was unable to identify the stability control failure code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,204 and the current mileage was 75,222.

- Chesapeak, VA, USA

This is a recurring problem, beginning nearly 2 years ago. I have had the vehicle in for repairs several times, but the last documentable incident is March 9, 2013. ESC service light comes on, cruise control shuts down, brakes lights illuminating when they should not, and not illuminating when they should. There's always been some "thing" they find wrong, from re-calibration of the ESC system to this last incident, where they told me it was the brake light switch! I had just had the vehicle in to have a headlight replaced the prior weekend and I never noticed the brake lights not working, and the dealer that replaced the headlight never mentioned it either. I'm thinking they would have if they could charge me to fix something additional on the car. I just paid $250 to replace what I was told was a burned out brake light switch on March 9th, (palmen motors, kenosha, wi), and its already recurring. I heard part of possible recall on wnn abc news and started researching and ended up at your site this morning. I want to report this. There's no telling how many dollars have been paid to mechanics to fix unnecessary repairs because of this! I am furious! I am hoping that if this is a recall, or made one, I can at least get some of my money back! thank you,

- Pleasant Prairie, WI, USA

While drive down the road this ESC light keeps coming on and tells me to service traction soon. I don't notice anything different about the way it handles or drives but when this light is on you cant see the odometer. Turn the car off and back on the light goes off, yesterday it did the samething. My car only has 24000 miles on it.

- Raven, VA, USA

"no ESC" light appeared. 6 service attempts have been made to repair the vehicle. Issue still active.

- Lyndhurst, OH, USA

Intermittently, the brake light will come on and remain lit solidly until the pedal is depressed, then it goes off -- acting opposite of the way it should. At night, the light is visible in the rear-view mirror and we can see it come on. We then depress the brake pedal and it will remain on tail lights only for a few minutes, then it glows brightly again as though the driver were depressing the brake pedal. When the light is on tail lights only, the brake light will illuminate correctly when the pedal is depressed and the brakes appear to be effective. There is an occasional "service traction control" and "service ESC" light that appears on the instrument panel. When the fault codes are scanned with an ABS braking system code reader, it yields a C-0131 anti-lock brake system pressure circuit malfunction. This problem seems pretty prevalent with late model Chevrolet vehicles from what I have read on the internet, but the repair procedure is not clear to anyone who is experiencing this problem. Some say that it is a $1,000+ dealer repair item and that the problem tends to occur at the end of the 36,000 mile warranty period, just like ours did. It is extremely annoying and distracting to other drivers, some of whom pull alongside and say that the brake light is working "opposite" of the way it should. The brakes seem effective, but in case of a loss of traction, skid, etc., I am not sure what the result might be to the electronic stability control or the traction control -- both of which we keep turned off to minimize any problem until I can locate an appropriate fix. It seems that a recall of these vehicles is in order.

- Magnolia, TX, USA

Backing out of a parking spot power steering gave out. Service ESC light came on. Power steering message lit. Pulled into parking spot shut car off. Started car seconds later - no warning lights on and power steering was back but did not feel right. Turned wheel while parked and ESC and power steering warning lights illuminated. Tried again, same thing. Had to drive 2 miles to home with no power steering. Outside temperature was 34 degrees at the time.

- Blackwood, NJ, USA

Have told the dealership of these problems with the service airbag and service traction. Also I sent an email to the Chevrolet headquarters and received a call from them telling me that it was my repair not their fault. This past Friday the 20th I took the car again to the dealership as the service airbag light has been on constantly for the past two weeks. I was informed that the module was bad and I would have to pay $250 dollars ( my deductible since I have the extended warranty, paid extra for that when we bought the car). How can a module be bad on a 2 year old car is the issue I am having and why I have to pay to fix/replace it. I could understand if the car was older, but feel anything electronic that goes wrong with a car today now falls on the consumer.

- Dickson, TN, USA