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.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 50 mph, the steering wheel seized and the service traction control and power steering indicators illuminated. The contact turned the vehicle off and shook the steering wheel to correct the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 155,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 55 mph, the power steering and traction control indicators illuminated and the steering wheel became inoperable. The vehicle was pulled over to the shoulder lane and restarted. The vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,419.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving, the steering wheel wiggled and made a squeaky and grinding noise while making left and right turns. The contact stated that the seat belt indicator previously illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Suburban Buick GMC (21800 woodward ave, ferndale, mi 48220 (248) 547-6100) where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion and the motor to the electrical steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 122,000.
Service traction and ESC off are the messages that pop up. The traction control light stays on. Unable to disable enable/disable with the tc button. While driving the two messages appeared and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The traction control feature won't turn off and the ESC feature is off. On the NHTSA website there were 3 recalls for the 2011 Malibu. I have a 2011 Malibu and when I made a search with the VIN it says there are no recalls. On vehiclehistory.com I made a VIN search and the recalls were found. The recall on the 2011 Malibu was for the electrical system and that there could be disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
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On 8/20/2017 at around 9:30pm I was driving on a dark back-road in lemont, ill. (bluff rd. To be exact) I was traveling at about 20miles an hour & needed to make a sharp turn. All of a sudden my traction light went on & my steering wheel locked up causing me to have no control of my car. I immediately pumped my brakes so not to go off the road. After losing control I pulled over and tried to steer my way home because this is a very dark back road. Very scary!! I need to know what and how to get my car fixed. Auto mechanics are on strike here
While traveling at a slow speed (betw 10-20 mph) on 3/20/17, the car started to shake, the service ESC message light turns on, and service traction control light turns on (with message that car will power down). So, if I pull over to the side of the road and shut the car off (before it shuts down on it's own), wait 2 minutes for the computer to reset, then get RPM up quick (so the speed is quickly above the 20 mph), then it is wouldn't do it and I could get it to the mechanic. When the mechanic went to check it, the battery was dead, so no luck with computer scan. He put in new battery. So I drove it and it did it again. I took it to the mechanic and he checked it and he replaced the gas pedal (computer code indicated a bad sensor). However, it did not take care of the issue. Brand new battery and still draining battery (overnight). Mechanic thinks a relay may be staying open somewhere however isn't sure. Currently not drivable due to the shaking and that service ESC and service traction control messages come on with statement that vehicle will power down (while driving). First occurred on 3/20/2017 and is still occurring 4/20/2017 (mechanic hasn't been able to fix)! been dealing with a slow battery drain since purchased car in July 2016. If didn't drive car for 5 days, battery would be dead (4th day was still ok). Then in March 2017, other issue started and the battery drain became much worse. Now brand new battery and will drain completely dead overnight. Huge electrical issue. Car has 85,000 miles on it.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 5 mph, the power steering failed. The power steering warning indicator did not illuminate. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed as a power steering failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,260.
Steering wheel "shakes" as of 12/2016 vehicle has approx 92,000 miles purchased vehicle new in Nov 2010 four new tires June 2015 full alignment August 2016. Brand new brake pads and brand new rotors, all 4 wheels, November 2016. Description of incident (and condition): Steering wheel has been rattling noticeably at freeway speeds (40 mph to 75 mph) and while tracking a straight line. This has been occurring since the vehicle hit the 40,000 mile mark. Can feel slight movement in the steering wheel coincident with this rattling of the steering wheel. Does not appear to affect ability of the vehicle to track a straight line while moving. The rattle also occurs at lower speeds less than 40 mph, but it harder to discern since the city street road conditions in SE Wisconsin are terrible. Starting about December 2016, I have noticed the steering wheel shaking when the vehicle is not moving, the engine is running, and the vehicle is in drive (not sure if this occurs when it is in park). The steering wheel seems to be doing some kind of "hunting" as the rattling is random. Appears to be independent of temperature as this occurred when it was -10 deg F and as well at about 50 deg F. power steering fluid levels are normal. I can not discern whether this occurs when the vehicle is turning while in motion, or while turning the steering wheel while the car is stationary. End.
On 12/19/2016 as I was making a left turn when exiting the highway onto a surface street my 2011 Chevrolet Malibu steering wheel locked and the dash board displayed a "power steering " message. Being unable to steer my car went forward and I almost hit the car on my right who was also turning left. I had to slam on the break to avoid hitting the car and the cars behind also had to slam their breaks. Luckily no one hit each other. Right after that dashboard message disappeared and my car was able to turn again with no problem. The night of 12/20/2016 the same happened but as I was expecting a parking lot. A week before the first incident I started to notice the steering wheel would pop like it was shutting down at a stop or red light. I read that is a known problem to GM and NHTSA and that owners in other states have received recall notices for that problem. I have not received such notice and it's not listed as a recall on the NHTSA or GM website for my VIN.
As I was backing out of a parking space, I lost my ability to steer. The words "power steering" and "service ESC" flashed on my dash. I almost hit the car next to me. I made it to work. When I left work, the power steering was working just fine.
Eps electronic power steering has failed. It makes the steering revert to manual steering. Dealership says that the torque sensor is bad. While driving the vehicle becomes impossible to control. I can restart the car several times and the eps starts working, but fails later.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the power steering ability seized. The service power steering warning indicator illuminated. The contact was able to maneuver to the right lane. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the power steering assist motor was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
The contact owned a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 65 mph, the power steering malfunctioned and the contact lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained fractured bones on her face and the passenger sustained minor contusions that required medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was deemed destroyed. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering axle and tires were defective. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 66,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 60 mph, the power steering seized. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to operate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.
Power steering failed while driving. This happened in a curved part of the highway at ~45 mph. Was able to make the drive home which was ~2 miles. Restarted the car at home and everything worked fine until 5 days later - same problem. Service ESC and power steering illuminated on dash.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. While the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the area where the front driver side seat was welded had fractured. As a result, the seat failed to remain in position. In addition, while making a left turn at various speeds, the steering wheel steered to the left in excess and there was an abnormal noise coming from the steering wheel. The ESC warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000.
Car when started steering wheel locks up all the lights start flashing, locks start to unlock and lock themselves. Engine lines comes on hard to move forward or backwards.
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- Lewes, DE, USA