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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
13 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
100,262 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.

2009 Chevrolet Malibu steering problems

steering problem

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2009 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 5 of 37)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #657

Jan 292022

Malibu

  • miles

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

The car displayed a warning for the power steering and ESC service. I lost the power steering.Now after turning the car on and off it disappeared and the power steering was back.

- Tampa , FL, USA

problem #656

Jan 202022

Malibu

  • miles
Steering wheel locks while driving. Only way to unlock steering is by parking the car, turning off the ignition, starting the ignition and it will unlock. Parking brake light, ABS and traction control lights come on when this happens.

- Flint, MI, USA

problem #655

Jan 162022

Malibu

  • miles
Power Steering and ESC both failed at the same time randomly, no warning lights or signals until after the incident. Can get it to turn back on by starting car and jerking wheel, steering wheel shakes back and forth, power steering and ESC goes back out once wheel is turned even slightly. Electronic power steering is constant, so I am fighting my car just to drive it, and I have no electronic stability control in snow/ice. Impossible to react/turn quickly enough to prevent an accident in the worst case scenario. Most likely torque sensor, extremely common issue with 09 Malibu-??s, no recall issued.

- Canton, OH, USA

problem #654

Jan 102022

Malibu

  • 140,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact-??s daughter stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the residence. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer to be inspected. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V153000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in an active recall. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

- Lyons, MI, USA

problem #653

Jan 112022

Malibu

  • miles
Power steering failed when turning from a stop and/or low speed into traffic. Steering was nearly impossible and required great effort from driver. A brief message flashed on the Driver Information Center and a unique chime was heard. The safety of the driver was affected by oncoming traffic. The failure has not been inspected by a mechanic as of yet, but the vehicle is available for inspection at any time.

- Salina, KS, USA

problem #652

Jan 142022

Malibu

  • miles
Power steering message appeared and complete loss of power steering occurred immediately while driving. After researching, it appears this is a recall issue with these models and year, but does not apply to this vehicle? A teenage driver was behind the wheel when this known safety issue occurred.

- Piedmont, OK, USA

problem #651

Jan 032022

Malibu

  • miles

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

While making a turn, power steering message appeared on the dash, but went away after I parked. I continued to drive and the next time I attempted a turn the message appeared again and I lost steering capability. This happens periodically and the car is impossible to steer when it does occur.

- Barbourville, KY, USA

problem #650

Jan 072022

Malibu

  • miles
The power steering will just randomly shut off, no rhyme or reason and then when the car is turned off and on it will be back.

- Winchester, VA, USA

problem #649

Jan 112022

Malibu

  • miles
Steering failed when driving on freeway, abruptly stopped and had to restart on the road to can control of steering. Spent several hundred dollars, replacing breaks and to fix the check engine light error. Despite service, ABS, service tire pressure, service + passenger air bag and other controls flash in and out when driving at various speeds/times. Breaks seem not to work right when stopping and speeding up is strained. Now cruise control is not disengaging consistently.and power steering issues are returning this winter. Dashboard lights are in and out and I can't read speed. Do not purchase!

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #648

Jan 072022

Malibu

  • miles
There was a recall in 2014 on this car.I did not receive a notice so I did not know anything about it. My car has 78,500 miles.I have noticed a power steering leak. I am unable to purchase a new car or have this fixed without the past recall being honored. I am afraid of having a crash. Please send me a recall from the year it was recalled so that I can have it fixed.I have owned this car sense 2009 the year it was manufactured.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #647

Jan 042022

Malibu

  • miles

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

While driving the "power steering" light and traction control light came on the dash and immediately the car became almost uncontrollable as the steering became VERY hard to steer. I pulled over and turned the car off and restarted and it seemed to be fine, but did it a couple of days later. I have not driven the car since as it is unsafe to drive in this condition since there is no warning when it will happen. The car is available for inspection if needed.

- Ryland Heights, KY, USA

problem #646

Dec 102021

Malibu

  • 202,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while turning the ignition key, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the power steering and the service ESC warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated when she turned off the vehicle, the failure would cease. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V153000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 202,000.

- Chatfield, MN, USA

problem #645

Dec 252019

Malibu

  • miles
December 25th, 2019- Driving home from work, steering wheel twitched then began to shake. Thought it was just needing alignment or tires. Drove on highway (70mph) 8.5months pregnant and then abs light, Traction off/service traction, service ESC and Power steering pop up on cluster panel and then steering became hard and my car shut off on its own. Wouldn't start back up. For 2 days. After it being look at by 4 DIFFERENT mechanics they all seem to have no idea except one. Complete Steering Column replacement. This is extremely unsafe for anyone and I have 2 kids I can't risk to drive in this vehicle AND just paid off.Recalls shouldn't expire and they should be honored if a new owner has the same issue. This is deadly and if I wasn't as strong as I am, I doubt I'd be able to steer it like I did.

- Portage, WI, USA

problem #644

Dec 122021

Malibu

  • miles
Electric power steering failure while vehicle was in motion resulting in difficulty to steer vehicle. "Power Steering, " "ESC OFF" message codes on information panel. GM issued a recall for a series of 2009 Chevrolet Malibus regarding the same safety issue with the power steering, unfortunately my NIN is not covered under the recall. Issue started at ~188k miles and has not yet been verified by a certified mechanic. Power Steering failure has occurred once while vehicle was in motion and on multiple occasions on start-up; would clear on restart.

- Haysville , KS, USA

problem #643

Nov 182021

Malibu

  • miles
When i turn the wheel almost all the way i loose power steering i almost hit some one & their car due to this i took it to the dealer and they said my vin wasn't apart of the recall

- Lutz, FL, USA

problem #642

Feb 202020

Malibu

  • miles
There is a clicking noise in the steering wheel column while it jerks both left and right while driving. Happening every time it is driven hard to turn steering wheel both left and right.

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #641

Oct 132021

Malibu

  • miles
My power steering has intermittently gone off making the vehicle nearly impossible to steer at times while driving. It appears to be in line with recall # 14V153000. When I brought this to the attention of a local dealership, they advised my car now has too many miles and is past the end date of this recall. For one, I never received notice that my car was eligible for this recall and two, it wasn't causing these issues until recently- and the dealership said to repair this would be in excess of $2000. The car is still drivable and available to be inspected. It would be preferred that it was examined soon as this is not only a hazard to myself & those in my vehicle, but others on the road as I would not be able to avoid them. The power steering alert comes on when this occurs, but obviously it is too late as it provides no prior warning that this is about to happen - and this has happened multiple times.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #640

Nov 042021

Malibu

  • miles
UNKNOWN I was driving to work last week on Thursday and when I attempted to make a right turn my steering wheel was difficult to turn and a few seconds later it locked and the car turned off and on the dash board the battery light turned on and the words that appeared were Service Traction, Service ESC, and Power Steering.

- Pomona, CA, USA

problem #639

Oct 192021

Malibu

  • miles
I started my vehicle and began to drive it as I normally would. After stopping at a stop sign, I began accelerating and turning 90? left onto the street. Mid-turn my power steering completely shut off and I almost got into an accident. Luckily there was a turn around right there I was able to veer to. Turning this vehicle without power steering is nearly impossible. I'm a strong guy and it was pretty tough for me. This issue happened completely out of the blue without any warning whatsoever. When it happened, the ESC light came on as well as saying something about power steering. I turned the car off and then back on and noticed that the ESC light and power steering message were now gone and the car drive as it should. But it decides to go out randomly at any given time while driving and that is a HUGE safety hazard for not only me but others on the road as well. It has come to my attention after plenty of research that this seems to be massive issue among Chevrolet Malibu owners. The issue was recalled for different models/engines but not the 2.4 liter. At this point it's obvious that this is a vehicle wide issue and needs to be recalled for all models/engines.

- Youngstown, OH, USA

problem #638

Jun 012019

Malibu

  • miles
Steering is difficult after driving and components get hot, research shows many other Vehicles have same issue. costing $300 to $1200 for repairs. Needs reported this to GM and the NHTSA. You never know, GM might cover some of the replacement cost. There is a video on youtube that covers replacing the torque tube sensor but what if that is not the cause? Yes, a GM tech 2 scan tool is required to set up the front end once the part has been replaced. Keep any bills you acquire during this job so that GM may reimburse you in the future should they decide to cover this repair. it also could be a module in the steering colum plus the turn signals do not shut off making it a hazard to drive while turn signals are still on! SEE LINK BELOW: THIS IS HARD TO TURN WHILE DRIVING AT SLOW SPEEDS! https://www.chevymalibuforum.com/threads/2009-esc-service-light-no-power-steering.47242/

- Newark, OH, USA

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