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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,395 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.

2011 Chevrolet Malibu engine problems

engine problem

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2011 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 2 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #63

Jan 162018

Malibu

  • 89,500 miles

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

My son was driving his vehicle and the computer assisted power steering went out. Fixed at doug Chevrolet 1-12-2018. Now (after the warranty repair of a steering shaft torque sensor) when driving four days later he lost power, vehicle flashed service traction and reduced power and slowed immediately from 45 to 5 mph and he was able to limp it home. The loss of power while driving was immediate and drastic and cars behind him were able to slow down but it could have caused a severe accident.

- Massillon, OH, USA

problem #62

Jan 132018

Malibu

  • 112,659 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving various speeds, the "reduce power" electronic stability control warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle began to shake. Jack winegardner Chevrolet (11001 indian head highway, fort Washington, md 20744) was made aware of the failure and stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. In addition, the dealer stated that the VIN was not included in the throttle body warranty extension and special coverage number: [xxx]. the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,659. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fort Washington, MD, USA

problem #61

Dec 292017

Malibu

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 20 mph, a warning indicator illuminated that the acceleration would began to decrease to approximately 5-10 mph. The vehicle began to shake and the contact depressed the brake pedal. When attempting to apply the brakes, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over and place it in park to turn off the vehicle. The contact noticed the warning indicator illuminated again, indicating the traction control, engine, and ESC failed and needed servicing. The contact diagnosed the vehicle at home and received error code P-2135, which indicated that the throttle sensor position needed repairing. The vehicle had not been to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

- Eagle Butte, SD, USA

problem #60

Jun 172017

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 106,807 miles

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

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the vehicle lost power and failed to accelerate. The failure occurred on another occasion, while driving at 30 mph. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was scanned for a code but there was no failure code. The contact called heritage Chevrolet Buick owings mills dealer located at 11234 reisterstown rd, owings mills, md 21117 and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic testing at the contacts expense. In addition, the contact stated that while attempting to park, the vehicle suddenly violently accelerated independently. The brake pedal was aggressively depressed which decreased slightly the speed of the vehicle but did not completely stop the vehicle. A chime sounded but it was unknown if a warning light illuminated. As a result, the vehicle went over the curb and crashed into a building. There was front end damage. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries reported. The manufacturer called the contact and informed her to not bring the vehicle in for the diagnostic testing but to take photos and send them to an E-mail address provided by the representative. The case number for the conversation with the manufacturer representative was 8-3068861818. The contact was concerned that NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V252000 (service brakes, hydraulic, electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control), 14E44000 (steering), and 15V269000 (seat belts) were related to the failures experienced. The vehicle was no longer being driven due to the contact being concerned for her safety. The failure mileage was approximately 106,807.

- Reisterstown, MD, USA

problem #59

May 072017

Malibu

  • 134,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle independently decelerated while being operated at 80 mph. The check engine, the traction control, the service ESC, and the engine power reduced warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 14V252000 (service brakes, hydraulic, electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control) as a possible solution however the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.

- Harpers Ferry, WV, USA

problem #58

May 022017

Malibu

  • 7,100 miles
My engine light has been on since I purchased the car back in 2014 the dealership said it was no big deal that the light would evenually go out. Upon purchase it had 51,000 miles on it, because they had it for a few weeks due to it having hail damage the finance company wouldn't approve the loan because of problems. The car was riding ok up until a few montha ago I noticed I was loosing power it was driving slower, I started feeling it tugging when I wanted to pick up speed. Then 3 days ago it just wouldn't go in reverse, when I tried to switch back to driving it wouldn't go into drive ultimately I had to have the car towed because the tranmission went out on it. The car only has 71,000 miles on it. I barely drive it anywhere. The engine to look at it is very clean. I looked up all the recalls on my car and none of them I was notified for and there are many. So why am I not getting a letter about this transmission that has obviously gone out. Up until now I was in love with this Chevrolet Malibu and was a devoted customer advising people this was a good car, now I'm not so sure. Looking at all these recalls are alarming.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #57

Apr 042017

Malibu

  • miles

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

Speed slow down on a 55 mph highway to 10 mph and wouldnt get no speed and it throttle and shake until I came to a stop the most scary thing to ever happen to me I went from a Ford to Chevy the most stupid idea I could've ever done and ever light on dash board is on and blinking to brake light, traction light, etc light, radio and clock lights the speed door and window lights its to much to deal with im afraid that this car is gonna take my life from me but noone can find no problem with this car I've got an oil change to spark plugs and so much more done on this car and nothing has changed this the fourth time this car has put me down in the six mths of me having this car somebody please help I love the car but its not a safe car to have and I can even exchange it out for another one at least thats what the people at the car lot says.

- Quincy, FL, USA

problem #56

Mar 302017

Malibu

  • 66,500 miles
The incident happened twice thus far. Once while waiting at a light and another time while driving. The car began to shake and the engine light, as well as the stability control lights flashed on. The car began to rev erratically and actually caused the car to move forward. Some messages began to come up on the dashboard display and the message that remained was engine power reduced. Trying to take off from the light to find a place to pull over the car was jerking and I could barely accelerate. While driving this slowdown and jerking happened suddenly and almost caused a collision with another car. After pulling over and shutting off the car the problem disappears for while before happening again. Once parked, opening the hood showed a violently shaking engine. A simple google search revealed that this is a frequent occurrence with Malibu around that time and the mileage I have on the car (66500). The culprit appears to be a faulty throttle body, from the experiences of other drivers.

- Cranford, NJ, USA

problem #55

Mar 182017

Malibu

  • 125,000 miles
Reactor gear broke, blowing into all parts of the transmission. Broke with no warning while driving on a city street, wasn't able to speed up or move out of first gear. Also was not able to reverse. Resulted in a need for a total new transmission.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #54

Jan 102017

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 60 miles
I was driving in the highway and my Malibu stopped and appeared the image of traction control off and the motor was shaking and my light of check engine was on and my car did not advance more then 10 miles.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

problem #53

Jan 012016

Malibu

  • 75,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The vehicle shook violently and the reduced engine service and traction warning indicators illuminated, in addition to a few other unidentified warning indicators. The contact pulled the vehicle over and shut it off. The contact restarted the vehicle after a while and attempted to drive home; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer stated it was a common failure with the vehicle and referred the contact to NHTSA. The VIN was invalid. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #52

Jan 062015

Malibu

  • 95,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle began to decelerate and the ESC indicator illuminated. The dealer could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred numerous times. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

- Iowa City, IA, USA

problem #51

Jan 042017

Malibu

  • 99,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 70 mph, the reduced power warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle slowed down independently. The contact stated that cycling the engine off and on remedied the failure; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.

- Wixon, MI, USA

problem #50

Jun 132016

Malibu

  • 72,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle began to decrease in speed when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle shook violently and all the warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The failure occurred once. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #49

Apr 292016

Malibu

  • 68,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle decelerated to 10 mph and the engine power reduced warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000.

- Dublin, TX, USA

problem #48

Apr 072016

Malibu

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 10 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The engine power reduction, the traction control and the ESC warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000. The VIN was not available.

- Brookfield, MO, USA

problem #47

Mar 042016

Malibu

  • 64,253 miles
1/26/2016 I got my camshaft solenoid fixed due to my check engine light coming on. When it started to shake real bad with the dash lights stating that my engine power was reduced, loss of traction (something to that effect) I instantly put it in the shop. Then last week 3/4/2016 I was driving up to erie, pa from Ohio, which is about 4.5 hours away. I say a good 40 minutes from my destination it happens again right on the highway. Engine light comes on and the dash says that my engine power has been reduced and loss of traction (?). thankfully there was an exit near that I could get off at and as soon as I put my car in park it started to shake real bad. So I did what I did before and turned the car off to let it reset and then started it back up. It ran fine for the remainder of my stay until it came time for me to leave to go back home. This time I only got 20 minutes away from erie before it started acting up again, but it kept doing it. Talk about being frustrated 4.5 hours away from home in your car. Especially since I just got it fixed not too long ago. This needs to be on the recall list, because this is ridiculous.

- Englewood, OH, USA

problem #46

Feb 282016

Malibu

  • 113,000 miles
Car intermittently loses power. Warning light for traction control comes on. Must pull over and let car sit for a minute before restarting.

- Langley, KY, USA

problem #45

Feb 012016

Malibu

  • 103,000 miles
The other day my 2011 Chevy Malibu started to violently shake coming out of a parking lot and then again while driving on a two lane road. This issue was frightening because I couldn't properly stop the car and almost got into an accident. The display indicated reduced engine power/traction/service ESC and the obd2 codes indicated P2135 (throttle/pedal position sensor/sw A/B voltage correlation). The Chevy dealership replaced the throttle body. I hope this does not happen again because the next time I may not be so lucky in getting out of this predicament unscathed.

- St. Charles., IL, USA

problem #44

Jan 192016

Malibu

  • 79,000 miles
My 2011 Malibu while on the highway through a sensor code for multiple problems the first stating reduced engjne power, then service ES, service traction, service airbags etc... probably 8 codes. At which point on the highway I could no longer accelerate above 40mph creating a very dangerous situation for me. The car was jerking and shaking and the RPM was reving up between 500 and 1500 even after I stopped. I turned the car off fearing damage to the engine and called myhusband. He asked me turn it on again so I did and although it was now idling normally the engine light remained on. He suggested I continue my commute. I pulled back on to the highway and experienced this same dangerous problem 7 yimes between jackson mi and lansing mi. We took it in to a repairshopand they assessedwhat they could stating that it appeared to be a throttle body issue but they would have to take it apart to look at it. The mechanic also statedthat many of the Chevy made vehicles have had this problem and he was very surprised that therehad not yet been a recall on the part.

- Jackson, MI, USA

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