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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,125 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.

2016 Chevrolet Malibu engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 3 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #105

Apr 102021

Malibu

  • 77,500 miles

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

Was driving in 45mph street when I got a 'engine power reduced' message and dropped speed to 10mph. This is clearly a safety issue and can very well cause an accident if I'm driving on highway or uphill for the matter.

- Los Banos, CA, USA

problem #104

Mar 262021

Malibu

  • 65,851 miles
I was driving on a secondary road going about 45 mph when all of a sudden my car decelerated to 20 mph in a matter of seconds. The dash showed me an "engine power is reduced" message and my check engine light came on. I was able to safely pull off the road and was able to get home safely. I turned the car off for about 10 minutes and restarted it and it seemingly is fine now but this is terribly unsafe. To my knowledge there is no recall or any word on this from GM.

- Kinde, MI, USA

problem #103

Mar 182021

Malibu

  • 50,000 miles
I was coming to a stop at a traffic light. I received an alert on my dash "reduced engine power" and my check engine light came on. My car became much less responsive to pressing on the accelerator and seemed to be having trouble going more than ~30 mph. An inspection of the problem gave the error code P2138 as the source of the issue.

- Bordentown, NJ, USA

problem #102

Mar 132021

Malibu

  • 43,000 miles

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

While driving on the highway doing 55 mph my vehicle began to stutter and then immediately dropped to a speed of 20 mph. It would not accelerate any further. Check engine light came on as well as'reduced engine power' message. I pulled over and shut the car off, waited a few minutes and restarted. It drove this time at a spped of 35. Made it home within a few minutes and let the car sit. The next day the check engine light was still in but the car drive at regular speed.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

problem #101

Mar 082021

Malibu

  • 47,000 miles
Reduced engine power warning came on with engine light causing vehicle to slow down abruptly; code P2138 reads on engine diagnostic

- West Bloomfield, MI, USA

problem #100

Feb 162021

Malibu

  • 38,000 miles
While driving about 40 in the city I got an error stating engine power reduced. Lost speed quickly and had limited ability to accelerate could not go over 30 mph or accelerate up steep hills.

- Syracuse, NY, USA

problem #99

Mar 012021

Malibu

  • miles

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

While driving at a high rate of speed, my engine reduced light came on and would not allow me to drive over 32 mph. This could have caused an accident with severe injury considering where I was driving. I have seen many others complain about this, why hasn't it been recalled, when will it be recalled?

- Aurora, IN, USA

problem #98

Feb 222021

Malibu

  • 70,000 miles
As I was driving at a high speed my engine power reduced light came on and my car speed slowed down drastically. When diagnosed it said it was the accelerator position pedal. This is very unsafe and almost caused a wreck. From what I hear this is common with the mabilu and needs to be recalled seeing that someone could lose their life.

- Raytown, MO, USA

problem #97

Feb 192021

Malibu

  • 61,000 miles
When I'm driving I get a message saying 'engine reduce power' and I can't go over 25 mph

- Chespeake, VA, USA

problem #96

Feb 192021

Malibu

  • 64,763 miles
Back in December of 2020, every time I stopped at a red light or brake (when coming to a stop in traffic) the car completely shuts off. I would get a warning that the car was in battery save mode and the stabilitrak light would come on. The morning of Jan. 12, 2021, it happened while driving on the interstate 322. I blocked rush hour traffic for about 20 minutes before the car started back up. While this was happing nothing on the car worked. It blow out cool air and the radio and windows didn't work. This is a big problem and is very dangerous. Not just for me and my family but other drivers on the road. I did take the car to be serviced unfortunately, they could not find anything wrong with the car. Instead of resting on the break in traffic, we put the car in park. You can see how that can be problematic. In addition to that, now it sound like some sort of liquid is passing through when I come to a stop/park. Fast forward to what has lead me to filing a vehicle safety complaint, this evening my son was driving on us 22 when he called me in a panic because while driving a warning displayed on the dash engin power reduced, traction light and engine light came on simultaneously. The speed reduced to about 20 and would not accelerate. I told him to put on the hazard lights and pull over02 as soon as it was safe. He did as I said as I waited on the phone with him. He turned the car off and let it rest for about 5 minutes. The car started back up without any problems. The traction light went off but the check engine light is still on. He made it home without any more incidents. As I stated above you can see how this is a serious problem. I am learning that I am not the only one with a Chevy Malibu (2016 64,763 miles) with safety issues. This is unacceptable. I hope that no one has to lose their life before action is taking. They need to recall and give a refund.

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

problem #95

Feb 172021

Malibu

  • 87,577 miles

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

As I was exiting the highway the just slowed to a crawl. The screen said reduced engine power and wouldn't allow me to accelerate past 15 - 20 miles per hour. Luckily there were no cars following behind me at the time. I pulled over shut the car off and issue continued. I plugged up a code reader and got P2138

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #94

Feb 092021

Malibu

  • 41,000 miles
My engine light comes on and 'engine power reduced ' appears on the dashboard. The car's speed drops & I can only drive at 20-25 mph. I restart the car and it drives fine for 2mins and then goes into limp mode. It's a dangerous situation B/C I'm on the highway doing 60-65 and this happens. I'm thankful I didn't get into an accident. Code P2138 is what makes the engine light come on. Throttle/pedal accelerator.

- West Babylon, NY, USA

problem #93

Jan 232021

Malibu

  • 77,000 miles
Driving on the expressway when my car got a message on the dash saying 'reduced engine speed'. I went from 60mph to 10mps within seconds, this is a serious life threatening problem when driving. Once it slows completely down it stops and I have to turn off my car and restart it just for it keep happening. When I took my car to a Chevy dealership they told me 'everyone with a Malibu is having these problem last and they can no fix it cause the can't figure out the problem. They also informed me with all the Malibu's having the same exact problem is should be a recall. I went to a another Chevy dealership and was told the exact same thing. Chevy want us to enjoy the car but will not go the extra mile to do recalls on them when they know it's a big problem. My car also be stuck in 'shift to park' when it's already in park, I have to constantly restart my car and turn it off for the message to go always and my car is off, which is ridiculous because if you leave your car in shift to park that will completely kill your battery. Also, when I start my car it sound like a bunch of water just moving around but it's nothing leaking but you can hear the water once you start the car. The brakes on the car do not last long enough! I went to get some brand new brakes in October and was told from two different car shops that I need new brakes. These problems is ridiculous and dangerous and could be fixed by recalling the cars and fixing the problems.

- Gary, IN, USA

problem #92

Jan 202021

Malibu

  • 72,000 miles
Was driving on highway at 60 mph and dashboard lit up with warning engine power reduced mode and car went into low speed. Tried accelerating car would not go beyond 20 mph

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #91

Jan 012021

Malibu

  • 82,000 miles
Several times a week my car will suddenly go into "engine power reduced" mode and go into low speed. If I get out of the car, lock it, and unlock it 30 seconds later it will reset and then be okay for a few minutes. This power reduction is exceedingly dangerous when moving at highway speeds and suddenly needing to pull over. The check engine light will come on but then disappear sometimes the same day after having parked for a while. Typically the car goes into this "reduced power mode" after about 45 minutes of driving. I was able to capture the following error codes: P1101 (intake air flow system performance), P2122 (throttle position sensor D circuit low input), and P2138 (throttle/pedal position sensor/switch D/E voltage correlation). Really hoping this will be replaced under warranty instead of having to get it fixed myself!

- Kenosha, WI, USA

problem #90

Jun 052020

Malibu

  • 80,000 miles
I was driving one day and all of a sudden, I have seen 'engine power reduced' warning on the dashboard. This warning reduces the car speed considerably and therefore slow the car no matter how fast you are going. I took the car to a Chevy dealership to get it checked and they told me that one of my intake valve was defective. I had it replaced and paid for the service. I left and the same day the warning came back again and slowed the car. The speed can go from 60mph to less than 10mph in few seconds. Stepping on the accelerator pedal again doesn't help the car increase speed. I have researched online and many other drivers have similar issues. I took the car back to the dealership to have them diagnosed it again. Unfortunately they have not detected the cause of the warning 'engine power is reduced'. they told me they don't know what to do and are asking me to replace my engine. I think this is absolutely ridiculous.

- Brooklyn Park, MD, USA

problem #89

Dec 282020

Malibu

  • 100,000 miles
Engine power reduced, this has happened countless times, since the vehicle was purchased in January 2017, it has been to bryner Chevrolet in jenkintown, pa, where it was originally purchased more times, than I can count. Each repait costing more and more. I'm assuming Chevy is waiting for someone to die, before they actually fix it. Imagine being on a major highway and going from doing 65 to 20 unexpectedly. The person behind me had to swerve into another lane to keep from rear ending me.

- North Wales, PA, USA

problem #88

Dec 242020

Malibu

  • 82,000 miles
I just experienced the check engine light on and reduced power alert on christmas eve: 12/24/20 this was so scary on highway and had to drive on the reduced power with my flashers on and terrified as car's wizzed past me! I was worried that I would breakdown and couldn't get home. I did make it home and was shaken by the experience. I have a 2016 Chevy Malibu and the dealership quoted $350 to fix it. It is still there as didn't have funds to fix it. Dealership said it is an issue with gas pedal not reading in system correctly. This is a huge safety risk because it happened while driving on highway going 60 mph, and it dropped speed to 35 mph! this is so dangerous! especially because it happened at night in a secluded area. This is super scary for a woman driver thinking I was going to breakdown at any moment. I have been driving uber since covid and no work available in my regular job. Since I don't have my car, I can't drive to make any money to fix it. I was unable to work on uber's biggest night of the year on new year's eve, losing out of a $500 night. GM should pay to get this fixed and for lost revenue due to unable to work.

- Athens, GA, USA

problem #87

Aug 262020

Malibu

  • 79,510 miles
I was driving downtown when car engine warning light came on and it slowed down then shut off, luckily the car behind me didn't hit me. I was able to pull over. I've had it towed 2 time one mechanic said: I needed a motor. I bought a code reader replaced both batteries. Next code P2138 reduded engine power. It a defective throttle control accelerator pedal position sensor. I towed it to GM dealership they are trying to sell me a motor and will not acknowledge, pedal problem because there is no recall only special coverage adjustment #N192188250 global safety field investigation dcs5117 global warranty.

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #86

Nov 022020

Malibu

  • 97,347 miles
While on my way to work mon morning for the 5 or 6 time the energy reduction light came on im the middle of the highway almost causes me to get rear ended in the road I quickly turned my emergency lights on to keep from being hit pulled over on the side of the highway turned the vehicle off and called the dealership they tell me its a recall on the vehicles theres nothing they can do for me to contact the GMC dealerships I pay almost 500 on car payments to be experiencing this dangerous on the highway someone could have been badly hurt I need help with this problem.

- Longview, TX, USA

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