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.
Driving normal. Upon application of brakes, brake pedal became stiff and brakes did not function normal. Had to apply immense pressure to stop and it sounded like brakes kept locking up. Vacuum pump that supplies vacuum for engine with turbo to function, along with the brake booster to be able to apply normal braking power, was destroyed. The inside of the vacuum pump is in pieces and part of the bushing that connects into the engine was broken. Caused by faulty vacuum pump, or faulty cam shaft. If this had happened while in traffic, it is likely a crash would have happened. Damage caused to the vacuum pump resulted in metal pieces in the engine block as well.
Car does not recognize when the shift is on park. States to put car in park despite it being in park. Could take up to 10 minutes for the system to finally recognize the gear.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the message "Engine Power Reduced" was displayed and the vehicle would not properly accelerate above 30 MPH. Additionally, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to immediately stop, and the pedal was firm when depressed. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was unknown. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
I was driving down the highway and took the exit and went to hit the brake pedal and it was hard to push down. Took it into a shop for diagnosis/repair. Mechanic found that vacuum pump for brakes came apart. There is currently metal in the engine that I cannot afford to fix after already paying $500 for the new vacuum pump.
I was driving my small child to school and my car had a service message pop up that said engine power reduced and then my brake pedal became stiff to the point where I could not push it down at all to stop at a red light. Luckily by quick thinking I push down my emergency brake to avoid from hitting other cars. From doing research this is not the only complaint about this same similar situation on this car (2018 Chevy Malibu LS) It's ridiculous. It's going to cost me over $2000 for parts and for labor.
- Cleveland, OH, USA
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Vacuum Booster Pump failed while driving on the highway with my girlfriend and her small child in the car and this common problem for this specific Chevrolet motor and endangered our lives significantly. Over 500 complaints on NHTSA website. No recalls to date. $4,000 damage. Filed official complaint and requested that Chevrolet cover the costs.
Service Stabilitrak warning will pop up on my dash. The car loses power. Push on the gas and it sputters. Had it serviced by GMC 2 years ago and now it is happening again. More frequent in colder weather. There are thousands of reddit posts about this same issue from other 2018 Chevy Malibu owners. GMC refuses to acknowledge it is a quality or performance issue on their end.
I was driving the vehicle on a busy road and a message came up on the display above the steering column saying Engine Power Reduced. I went to brake and was unable to push the pedal in as it was extremely stiff. There were vehicles around me and I tried to use both feet and stand on the brakes and was able to get a little bit of movement but the car still didn't slow down. I had my significant other and brother-in-law in the car and we were all horrified we were going to get into an accident. I turned the hazard lights on and was able to steer to avoid hitting several vehicles and when traffic finally cleared I was able to get over and off the road into a gas station that was uphill and allowed us to slow down and finally stop because I put the vehicle in neutral tried the parking brake which got us to a complete stop and shut the vehicle off. There had been no previous issues with the brakes or messages such as the one that came up right before this issue occurred. The vehicle had to be towed and the repair shop told me the cam driven vacuum pump failed which caused the brake booster to not function. When this failure occurred, it damaged the intake and exhaust camshafts, crankshaft, and several other components. The cooling system and oil to be flushed out as I was told there was metal debris from the damaged parts caused by the vacuum pump failure in the fluids which had been all completely flushed and changed including cooling system, transmission fluid, and oil change The total cost of repairs as a result of the vacuum pump failure setting off a Domino effect of damage was $3536.40.
When I put my car in park a notice comes up in my dashboard saying -??shift to park-?? even though when I take my foot off the break it-??s in parked. I took it to a Chevy dealer and said it will $500+ to fix. I have asked 5 other people with my same car (2018 or 2019) and they have the same issue. Now my car is having issues when shifting gears. There seems to be a delay in gear shifts when I go from drive to reverse or to park.
I was driving on the interstate at 75 mph and I went to hit the brakes and they didnt work I had to take my feet off the gas and let it stop on its on and it was scary. I glad to be alive. And when I put the car in park it stated the I needed to shift to park and I couldnt cut the car off so after calling someone to come get me from off of the side of the ride. I had to keep putting the gear in park for it to go in park anf the message went away but it keeps coming on.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed with the brake pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard, the vehicle failed to reduce speed. As a result, he collided with the vehicle in the right lane on the rear driver's side. No air bags were deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed, but no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the engine vacuum pump, resulting in a lack of vacuum for the brake booster. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number?18V576000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.
My brake vacuum pump seized while driving in the far left lane on the freeway. My car began to lose power and my rpms dropped and rose back up quickly making my car lunge forward and back quickly multiple times. My check engine light came on and a warning saying my engine was losing power flashed across the dash.I exited the freeway and pulled over to a safe location, when attempting to stop my car I noticed that the breakes were stiff and would not move and I had to push the emergency break to stop the car completely. I had my car full of family members and all of us were extremely sacred and worried for our safety and those of others around us as the speed was no longer under my control.
While driving on the highway my dashboard displayed a warning of -??reduced power steering -??, engine light came off and on, loss of speed, and -??stabilitracking-?? light came on. Brakes also vibrated badly as if they were unable to hold a grip. I was unable to accelerate and was really in danger. The car was taken immediately to the dealership where they replaced the battery and told me it was repaired. On my return from the airport the next morning at 4:30 the same lights and warnings displayed on the dash once again and I had it towed immediately to the dealership. We are now 3 days in and I have gotten no explanation as to what is going on with my vehicle.
Cam-driven Brake Booster Vacuum failure without warning. My engine died, my brake pedal and steering wheel stiffened, while in moderate traffic. I had use excessive brake force to slow my vehicle to a stop. Currently have 78,012 miles as it is sitting in the repairs shop. This is the first time it has happened, but I worry it may happen again because upon further research, it is a very common part failure.
While picking my kids up from school my car suddenly lost braking ability and I heard a weird noise under the hood. Like it needed an oil change. Tension from the brakes and couldn-??t stop when tried. Definitely gained anxiety from this event. I did get the part replaced however I-??m concerned for the engine and any possible damage that may have been caused. I still have the original part to the vehicle as well.
My car just stopped in the middle of the road, and would not start again for a few minutes. Then is was in low power mode, no brakes either after that, found that problem to be a bad Vaccum pump, which G M didn-??t even have, and a faulty Accelerator Pedal sensor !
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pontotoc, MS, USA