general problems of the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu - part 2

Power steering intermittionly turns off and on.

Power steering suddenly quit working while driving. Code reader said steering wheel input torque sensor was bad.

Loss of power steering assist while driving, increasing risk of crash, occurred on 3/8/24. No warning of failure, but upon failure the dash indicated power steering malfunction. When able to schedule into repair shop, system error codes indicated the electronic power steering motor control module and steering column required replacement (shop mechanic said these parts have worn out). Vehicle has not been repaired due to excessive cost ($1400 parts, plus $385 labor and shop supplies, plus sales tax). Vehicle only had 96,227 miles when malfunction occurred and has never been driven hard. Malfunctioning parts are still in vehicle and are thus available for inspection upon removal. Vehicle is still in use and probably poses an elevated and unnecessary risk to the general public and occupants of this vehicle due to poor manufacturer design and/or quality assurance. I have driven the vehicle 11 miles to date, without re-occurrence of malfunction (yet).

Loss of power steering while driving nearly causing an accident, very dangerous situation.

Electric power steering goes out while driving. Very hard to steer!!!! major safety concern. Traction control and esc don't work while this problem occurs.

I brought car told dealer of air bag light on to service and tire monitor light I had my steering lock and esc light on dealership did nothing to comply to safety of this called don't return calls.

The power steering randomly goes out while I'm driving and triggers esc off. This creates a seriously dangerous driving situation as I have very little control of the vehicle. Why hasn't this been recalled. It's a seriously unsafe design that can kill someone.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 mph the contact heard a chime and then the "service power steering" "loss SC" illuminated. The contact was able to steer the vehicle using upper arm strength to the shoulder and stopped the vehicle. The contact stated that he turned the vehicle off and on and the power steering regained functionality. The contact stated that he continued his trip on the highway and the power steering failure reoccurred. The contact stated that he pulled off of the roadway and repeated the action he had previously used and regained power steering functionality. The contact stated that that failure was intermittent but recurring. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and was not repaired. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 226,000.

See attached document for complaint.

Intermittent loss off power steering while driving, usually in cold weather conditions. Absolutely no warning. This is extremely dangerous, especially when the driver is an elderly woman without the arm strength to steer the car without assisted power steering.

The power steering stops working then the light comes on and reads power steering. This has happened multiple times so far. An example is when I was turning from one street to another. No other cars were coming or I may have hit them due to no steering at all. I was able to let it coast into the edge of someone's yard. I turned the car off. Then about 3 minutes later I turned it on and it worked again. 2nd time was at a food drive thru rounding the building. Turned off and back on and it worked. 3rd time in my driveway backing out. Again no one was near my car when I backed out onto a 55 mph road.

My power steering continues to go in and out while driving. There is a “service esc” light on the dash along with multiple other lights. I see this among thousands of other 2009 Chevrolet Malibus, yet they are not recalled. I feel this is a serious safety warning for everyone who has one or might get one in the future.

Electronic power steering goes out randomly while driving highway speeds. Traction control light and esc light go on when this happens.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while attempting to turn the steering wheel to the left or the right, the steering wheel seized and failed to operate as needed. The contact aggressively maneuvered the steering wheel to regain normal functionality. The air bag warning light was also illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 184,553.

The car suddenly turns off while driving shutting down the power steering making it difficult or impossible to maneuver. It is a death trap. This happened 3 times today may 5, 2023 losing power while driving is a major safety issue that is putting innocent people's lives at risk.

I purchased this car used on 3/27/2023. The previous owner took good care of the car and had any recalls issued taken care of. On 4/10/2023 the power steering went out. I had the power steering control module replaced on 4/17/2023 at a cost of $1,154. 36 at my local Chevrolet dealer. Upon research on the internet I found that some Chevrolet Malibus were issued a recall for this problem. This car should have been issued a recall and this problem taken care of years ago. I need for Chevrolet / gm to address this. Thank you.

My steering wheel shakes and jerks while driving and when I start the car. Also, my car steers and pulls to the left while I’m driving until the electric power steering light comes on and then the steering locks up and I am unable to turn the steering wheel to make a turn which can lead to a crash because I have to force the wheel in order to turn. I was driving on the highway and my steering locked and I pulled over safely and tried turning the car off and on. This has turned the electric power steering light off and I was able to turn the wheel but my steering wheel still shakes and jerks and the car pulls to the left. To add, a few minutes later my steering locks up and the electric power steering light comes on again and I am unable to turn the steering wheel. A couple of days ago I was coming off of an exit and the power steering light came on and I could turn the wheel to make the turn, almost causing an accident. Fortunately, I was able to force the steering to make the turn. *this has been a reoccurring issue. I will post the date below for the latest occurrence.

When accelerating the car glides to the right even tho you’re holding the steering wheel straight there’s not any play in the steering that I can observe. When you are driving it is unpredictable which way you feel the said “ gliding motion “ when braking I would say that it usually glides to the left but at times it’s caught me off guard and I vear off to the right the esc service light is now on also I made a appointment for safety inspection at a local dealership.

My vehicle can overheat at times and the thermostat won’t work. That’s during the summer and winter so the temperature could rise above normal and I wouldn’t know because of the electric problems. It’s happened too many times to count. The esc sign comes on across the dash for me letting me know there are issues with power steering and traction. I can drive on my way to work and on the highway and it happens randomly. It’s dangerous and scary I have to pull over on the side of the road to turn it off and on. Sometimes more than three to four times before it acts normal again. I tried to go to gm because my car has the symptoms of the cars being repaired in the recalls. But I’m told there are none for my car but yet the car still locks on me. It jumps too as it’s accelerating.

As I'm driving down the road my vehicle will engage the brake without warning while I'm in a curve or turning and it's extremely dangerous. I had a 18 wheeler behind me and my car came to an abrupt stop without warning as I was getting onto the interstate.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his wife was backing out of the driveway, the power steering failed without warning. Due to the failure, his wife hit a pole on their property. The contact's wife was not injured, the air bags did not deploy due to low impact, a police report was not filed, and no property damage was reported. The contact went to assist his wife after the failure and used excessive force to steer the vehicle back into the driveway. The contact called the dealer and informed him that the vehicle was not under NHTSA campaign number: 14v153000(steering). The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 76,500.

Unknown when I try to turn the steering locks up and then it lets go it’s like grabbing not wanting to let me turn.

When I am going down the road the vehicle comes to a complete stop in a curve sometimes and it's dangerous. Only the bright lights work on the vehicle. The esc activates and turns off a lot when you least expect it.

Electric power steering failure, while driving service esc and power steering came up on the dash along with a traction control indicator. The only symptom prior was a shakey steering wheel which was assumed to be mechanical. Problem persists on and off even with resetting system powering off and then back on.

I was pulling out of my alley onto a main street and my power steering went out I had to pull over I shut the car off and restarted it and it came back. When this happened got a message on dash esc active and service power steering.

The contact's daughter owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 55 mph, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was taken to an independent dealer, where it was diagnosed as eps system failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed as power steering assist failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

The power steering went out when my son was driving. He was barely able to get out of the road for safety purposes. We took it to a dealer and they are recommending a whole new steering column and sensors. They say this is very common on these models. In looking at a $1,500-$2,000 fix and from what I researched this is very common with these models but only some were 'recalled. ' seems to be a way bigger issue. Im lucky my son wasn't in an accident.

Electric power steering failure (eps). I looked on the website and shows a recall but I called my dealer and said my VIN does not come up. I have loss of power steering. Driving down the road it will stop working or when in a parking lot trying to maneuver around. Warning lamps are on. Steering is very difficult. I do not feel safe having anyone drive my car because it is so hard to steer when it stops working. It will catch you off guard and when you are in traffic it could be fatal. Loss of steering has been happening for about 6 months but has gotten worse the last week to the point I cant even drive and feel safe.

Loses power steering and switches to manual steering, making it hard to steer.

The power steering just stopped working. Not really safe to drive. I did research and found that many gm cars have had this problem. No warning messages came on prior to the problem happening. I think this is a sensor problem with this car.

While driving vehicle on highway a sudden loss of power steering happened. A message did appear on the dash stating “service powering steering system esp”. I immediately turned off the highway as I was very afraid of what had happened. I got a ride from a friend and left the car on the side road overnight. After researching what happened it is a very common issue with this year, make and model. Since I researched it was a loss of power steering I knew I had to get it serviced and knew it would be difficult to steer under manual steering. I was able to drop it off at a local aaa service center. The service center contacted me the next day and said this particulat steering column has been recalled by gm. I called gm and they said my vehicle was not recalled by the VIN I had. I called the service center back and they called a certified gm technician and again stated the steering column had been recalled. I decided to go ahead with the repair the service center had to get a remanufactured gm steering column and that’s what was replaced. I am requesting an investigation to why my VIN was not part of the recall and I would like to request reimbursement by gm. The nthsa campaign id# is 14v153 and the gm technical bulletin that was issued for my year make and model is bulletin 14116 and 14116b.

Bought a 2009 Malibu (2. 4 engine with electric power steering) a few weeks ago. Pulled into my driveway today and the power steering goes out and the traction control light comes on and service esc message comes across the message center. Turn the car off and back on and the light goes out, power steering comes back for a second then the light trips again and it's out again as soon as I turn the wheel. It’s absolutely insane and I can’t even drive it half the time. I’m a nurse and a mother of two. This is the same recall in many of the same year and vehicle type, and we have snow. Severe snow. It can kill me. The esc light traction control abs power steering and check engine loght are all on because of this deathtrap of an electronic steering system you have.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph and exiting a highway exit ramp, the steering wheel and column started to shake and vibrate abnormally. The contact stated she drove the vehicle to a nearby independent mechanic. The contact was able to place the vehicle in park p) and turned off the vehicle. The contact returned to the vehicle to drive to a maintenance bay however, the power steering function was unavailable. The contact stated she observed an unknown warning light. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the independent mechanic determined that the steering motor and the steering angle sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was driven back to the same mechanic who diagnosed that the u-joint on the steering shaft had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The independent mechanic researched online and related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 14e044000 (steering). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at 5 mph and making a turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The vehicle alarm engaged. Additionally, the message "service esc" was displayed. The contact pulled into his driveway and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated upon restarting the vehicle later, the power steering responded as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that they could not repair the vehicle under NHTSA campaign number: 14v153000 (steering) as an unknown technical service bulletin number had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 81,230.