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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,367 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.

2013 Chevrolet Malibu electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 2 of 17)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #318

Aug 242022

Malibu

  • miles

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

Under a slow acceleration doing highway speed say going up a incline the car will get a burning smell in the cabin its smell like burning electrical wireing so far now visible smoke.

- Susanville, CA, USA

problem #317

Aug 022022

Malibu

  • miles
Engine overspeed error message & car will start to hesitate to accelerate. First happened 7/2021. Second time is 8/2022

- Atlanta , GA, USA

problem #316

Dec 012021

Malibu

  • 8,900 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that prior to owning the vehicle, her father had the vehicle serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). Recently, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle jumpstarted; however, the vehicle failed to remain running. The contact had the battery replaced twice within a short period of time however, the failure persisted. The contact initially towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic where she was referred to a dealer for assistance. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective generator control module which she linked to the initial recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 8,900.

- Sherwood, AR, USA

problem #315

Jun 042022

Malibu

  • 88,073 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his sister was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the instrument panel indicated that the battery voltage was low. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was notified of general control module and belt tensioner failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). The contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The failure mileage was 88,073.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #314

May 052022

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving down a busy street one day after work during the early night, and as I went to engage the brakes my whole electrical system started to shut off and on. Once I came to a complete stop it shut off my a/c then proceeded with my radio and lights. I took my foot of the brake in pure shock and back on come my a/c and radio. I proceed to drive with caution and again it starts to try and shut off my vehicles electrical systems. I pull over turn the car off check the battery and fine. Trusting it to make it less than the mile trip left home I drive again no issues, as I am approaching a busy intersection then car begins to go haywire with the electrical systems without the ac on and locks the all eletric steering systems and almost causes me to collide with surrounding traffic. Took to have diagnostic run for codes and none. Purchased another brand new battery which I thought maybe it was defective. Well wasn't NY of the issues because tonight with my family's safety put at serious risk along with any of the many tourist pedestrians and other motorist I experience the same exact thing but within a higher speed limit zone. When I pulled over to park the car it refused to cooperate. It was if my car was being controlled by a hacker and I was fighting for control over the wheel.

- Savannah, GA, USA

problem #313

May 042022

Malibu

  • miles
The light of the dashboard went on and off several times while I was driving and almost the car went off, I had to press the speed pedal so it won't turn off. I took it ti a electrical shop and the guy told me that is an manufactured problem that special year and model had before and they where call to a recall to fix that problem. Can you please help me with this situation, I'll be very grateful.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #312

Dec 102017

Malibu

  • miles

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

Car starts idling up and down while stopped at light. When the car is given the gas to go it will not pick up speed it stalls and car completely turns off in drive. While parked in parking lot I put the car in reverse and it would not move and that has happened 5 times. The engine light comes on and I have taken it to 4 different mechanics to put the diagonstic test on it and it comes up with idle sensor, change it and 2 days later car starts jerking and will not go over 35mph and finally dies. While driving 55mph on the hwy the car looses speed and wont go over 35 mph. Nobody is allowed to drive this car until chevy fixes it, and it will sit in my yard until then because my family is more important than a piece of metal. I wont sell it because of this danger either. I crank it up every month but it has not been driven in 2 years.

- Jamestown, SC, USA

problem #311

Jun 072019

Malibu

  • miles
My driver seat is powered and it is inoperative. It remains stuck in a reclined position. At first the seat would not return to an upright position but all the other power functions (reclining the seat, moving it forward and back, tilting the seat, moving it up/down) still worked. I took the car to a shop and they said that the cause was some of the wiring had disconnected. They took the seat out and made sure everything was plugged in correctly. The seat worked again but only for a short while. Now, the issue is present again and the driver seat will not move forward/back or return to an upright position. This is hazardous because the seat is not able to offer the driver the correct seating position to drive.

- Hudson, MA, USA

problem #310

Jan 152022

Malibu

  • miles
Car gives engine power reduced warning and then drastically loses speed. Another warning saying engine over speed comes up and the car is unable to accelerate at safe speeds. This is dangerous because I can easily be rear ended by this malfunction especially when driving on the highway. I have children and having them at risk of being in a motor vehicle accident due to a malfunctioning car does not sit well with me. I have seen this issue reported on several other platforms. When I took the car to the dealership regarding this issue I was told I needed to replace the battery but 2 batteries later and I-??m still having the same issue. There is no warnings or signs prior to this malfunction happening, it is unpredictable and at random, making it that more dangerous. I would also like to add that this has happened a repeated number of times, it is not an isolated incident. But as of late it has been occurring more frequently.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #309

Dec 012021

Malibu

  • 53,944 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the dashboard lights were completely black. The contact mentioned that there were no lights showing on the dashboard panel until the vehicle was being driven. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,944.

- Bayshore, NY, USA

problem #308

Oct 302021

Malibu

  • miles

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

Dash lights flickering in and out and I can-??t see my speed but the car still runs n has blinkers. Eventually it will flicker and go all the way black. Also the radio still worked fine n reverse camera did too it don-??t stall or anything tho I-??m just scared to drive At night cause i goes totally black

- Belleville, IL, USA

problem #307

Mar 122021

Malibu

  • miles
I brought my 2013 Malibu LT in March of 2021. When I test drove and took it to autozone to get a diagnosis before buying the car nothing was wrong with it. After having the car for about 3 months the problems started. When I went to get it checked again it said that my alternator wasn-??t working correctly how it should do I replaced the alternator. After getting the alternator replaced my car still stalls while driving and acts like it doesn-??t want to go. When I try to start my car it barely turns over to start. While I-??m driving I can-??t turn on the radio or lights because it makes my car power go out. The radio lights turn on and off. When I put car in reverse it shuts off. When I-??m driving the car shuts off out of nowhere and I have to put it in park and turn it back on. Sometimes it takes awhile to turn back on. When it first happened the engine reduced power popped up as a warning then the engine light came on the dashboard on and off. Everyone says they don-??t know what is wrong with it so I feel that the manufacturer should be reliable to fix these problems for us customers. These problems put my child and I at risk by stopping out of nowhere in traffic. I-??m currently pregnant and it happened with me and my kids in the car.

- Xenia, OH, USA

problem #306

Oct 142021

Malibu

  • miles
Both low beam headlights stopped working. Two days later the passenger side low beam headlight turned on again, but not the driver side. 2 months later both low beams again no longer working. I've replaced all 4 fuses (interior and exterior), headlight relay, and bulbs. None of that fixed the problem.

- Independence, KY, USA

problem #305

May 012021

Malibu

  • miles
When driving my dash lights quit for days and then sometimes come back on. I am not aware of what speed I am going when driving. I am not able to accurately drive the speed limit that I am suppose to. I don-??t know how much gas I have or if I am about to run out of gas. If my check engine light is on or not, and can-??t see my turn signals. How can you obey the laws of driving when you can-??t tell if you are going over the speed limit or not or using your turn signal.

- Indianapolis , IN, USA

problem #304

Aug 112021

Malibu

  • miles
When driving this vehicle with ~111,000 miles on it. The infotainment center continually rebooted, causing drops of Bluetooth connection and pauses in the AC. The instrument panel stayed working, but lights turned off. This happened about 6 times in a 20 minute drive on the highway. After exiting the highway and executing a turn the reboot happened again, however the power steering locked up making the car unmanageable. Thankfully nothing was hit by the car! After this incident, driver was rightfully freaked out and won't touch the car again until this is resolved. One week prior the car rebooted once and the engine idled oddly, turned car off and on and worked fine for about a week, then the above incident happened.

- Green Bay, WI, USA

problem #303

Aug 052021

Malibu

  • miles
ALL ELECTRICAL INSIDE CAR GOES OUT OR ON AND OFF WHILE DRIVING. ALL DASH GAUGES, SPEEDOMETER, GAS GAUGE, RADIO, HEAT/AC, TURN SIGNALS, ETC. CAR STILL RUNS BUT NOTHING ON INSIDE WORKS. I do not know if this control outage effects the ABS or Steering. It only last for a few seconds. It has happened several time will drive 50 to 70 MPH. I've let off the gas and try not to panic. Everything comes back on and I continue home. I'm scared to drive my car

- Thomson, GA, USA

problem #302

Jul 152020

Malibu

  • miles
Instrument cluster goes out and is available for inspection. It first went out in the middle of driving 80 on the freeway with others in my vehicle. I have taken it to a Point S mechanic who has confirmed the issue and can be easily recreated just by turning the car on. Nobody has inspected other than a mechanic because I did not know that was even an option. No, there was absolutely no warning to indicate the issue, only the check engine light would work and that issue has been temporarily resolved. Due to research, I, along with many others, have come to the conclusion that it is a fault in manufacturing where one of the resisters in the cluster was not soldered correctly causing a failure in connection. I believe there should have been a recall on the equipment, especially seeing as how common this issue is and that the product isn't even made/sold anymore. It is upsetting to see the ratio of 2 investigations compared to over 700 complaints.

- Boise , ID, USA

problem #301

Jun 112021

Malibu

  • miles
Car is stuck in heat. Sometimes the controls come on by themselves and hard to turn off. Heat does not defrost the window it sometime make it worse and hard to see while driving. Was told that it is not the compressor but the wiring and programming of the control system. A recall for other years have been issued for similar issues. This is the third report filed.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #300

May 012020

Malibu

  • miles
my whole dash board went out why i was driving could not see my speed or how much gas i have nothing was coming

- Fremont , OH, USA

problem #299

Apr 022021

Malibu

  • 113,000 miles
All electrical inside car goes out or on and off while driving. All dash gauges, speedometer, gas gauge, radio, heat/ac, turn signals, etc. Car still runs but nothing on inside works.

- Ypsilanti, MI, USA

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