general problems of the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact had been informed by other drivers that the brake lights failed to illuminate as intended while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that the brake lights randomly illuminated while driving. The traction control warning light was illuminated intermittently, causing the cruise control to become inoperable. The contact stated that as an independent mechanic, he had replaced the brake sensors twice; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control (esc); however, the failure persisted. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure might be related to the brake sensors. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

This is in reference to gm recall number: 13036 - I noticed that from time to time the service traction warning comes on, service esc warning comes on, my cruise control stops working suddenly. I didn't think anything of it until I finally noticed my brake lights were illuminated in my back window without my foot being on the brake pedal. I replaced the sensor on the brake pedal hoping that would fix it and it did not. I looked up my VIN for active recalls and for some reason it's saying there are none. This is clearly the recall that is listed. I'm worried I'll be driving and someone may either rear end me or get confused thinking I'm braking when I am not. Very unsafe. I'm just unsure what to do. Any help would be appreciated as I need a vehicle and can't be without one.

My 2010 chevy Malibu randomly started having electrical problems a few weeks ago. My gauge cluster lights will not turn on and I cannot see my blinkers or other information I need in the gauge cluster. The gauge cluster lights wont come on so I cannot see how fast I am going at night. The brake lights illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed. The car is difficult to get out of park. After researching the problems I found that gm has issued recalls for the bcm on Chevrolet Malibus recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured may 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012. I then contacted my local chevy dealership and they told me my vehicles VIN does not fall under the recall they issued so I would have to pay to have the problems addressed. I explained to the dealership that this is a well known issue and how unsafe that it is and they then told me “there is nothing we do about it. ”. I do not feel safe driving the vehicle and I feel that these issues that it is having will put my life at risk and others because these malfunctions will obviously increase the risk of a crash. I feel that it is wrong to have a customer pay for repairs on a part of a vehicle that has recalls and is a crucial safety component.

The headlights will repeatedly stop working. I got both headlight bulbs replaced and two months later the passenger side low beam light was flickering. It would sometimes come back on if a bump in the road was hit or if it was tapped then it went out completely. This is very costly and unsafe to be driving at night with. It is most likely a problem with the headlight assembly. I have had the vehicle inspected multiple times and there was not anything reported to me. I can not afford to keep spending hundreds of dollars over and over again on the same issue. This is a continuous issue that I have seen in many other chevy Malibus and this needs to be fixed immediately.

Passenger side low beam headlight wiring harness connector keeps melting even after replacement. Noticed online that many owners are experiencing the same issue. Replaced harness multiple times and same issue reoccurs after two to three weeks of use.

I drive down the road and the brake lights come on I hit the brake then they go off. Randomly when I drive service esc service traction come on but as soon as I turn the car off and back on it is gone. Cruise control stopped working as well.

Dealer not assisting in recall repairs that weren’t corrected.

The brakes are doing the same thing that was recalled and repaired back in 2014. They are illuminating while driving down the road and turn off while I hit the brakes. I have been pulled over several times and cannot get my car inspected without getting this corrected. I have bought several parts trying to repair this but the parts are not correcting the problem. Cruise control, stability control and sever other functions are not working either all of them are related to the same recall issued back in 2014. Is there any kind of warranty on the recall that was repaired?.

The issue is that there are times when the brake lights kick on when I’m not braking and they stay on and when I brake they turn off. I’m at risk and so are the people who drive in back of me. The lights kick on and they don’t know when I’m actively braking. I took it to the merle stone a year ago now and they “fixed it” but it still occurred. No warning lamps/lights. It was my moms car before it became mine and she’s told me that when she drove it, it was already happening before it was gifted to me so I can’t pinpoint exactly when it started happening. I’ve searched the internet and I’ve came upon stories of other people with this same make and model have the same issue. I currently don’t that the invoice of when they “fixed” the issue but I could always contact the merle stone and get a copy emailed (hopefully) if needed.

I purchased the car for my mother on 10/20/2015 from mike savoie Chevrolet in troy, mi. At the time I had a concern because there was a message being displayed on the car “service esc”, I was informed by the dealer that it was a false message and there was no issue with the car, we should just disregard but if we had any problems to let him know moving forward. At that time we did not have issues with anything else. There was about 80,000 miles on the odometer when we bought it, there are only about 95,300 now. Recently the brake lights have been coming on when the brakes are not applied, we have taken the car to a mechanic three times for this issue but he has been unable to duplicate it, as a result he felt that the brake pedal sensor was at fault and replaced it, but the issue still exists, a wasted $200! my 17 year old grandson is now using the car, the issue occurred again today and I discovered that this issue may be associated with a recall which also includes the “service esc” message which has been on the car since I bought it. However, when I enter the VIN it shows no open recalls. Apparently it was not fixed and the dealer should have fixed it before I bought it or I should have been notified of the recall. I am very concerned about my grandson’s safety and will need to switch my car with him so that he can be as safe as possible! not only do the brake lights come on when not applied, but you need to tap the brake to turn them off at that point other drivers are not aware that the brake is being applied. Taking the car back to the repairman today. Please help. Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

My 3rd brake light works intermittently. I have bought my car just over a year ago from a pre-owned dealership.

Service electronic stability control light comes on and brake light comes on and off at times.

The component that has malfunctioned or failed is the pigtail for the low beam headlight on the driver side. The safety issue is that I am driving with one headlight reducing the visibility of the road. The problem has been reproduced because this is the second time that I had to change the headlights. The vehicle was not inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representative because the price would have been more than $300. There are no warning lamps or messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to failure. It occurred two years ago. And once again this year.

Low beam head lights keep going out, no matter how much I get them fixed. I can bang on the front end and sometimes they'll come on, but sometimes not. Tired if replacing and or fixing them, every few months! also my svc tire monitor light keeps coming on and say low tire pressure and my tires are not low. . . . . .

While commuting to work from home on a main intersection a power reduction occurred causing the vehicle to lose power, speed, and the abilities to function normally close to work I parked in the nearest parking lot and scheduled a repair at a automotive shop. . . After inspecting it a mechanic replaced throttle body, gas pedal and air intake hose costing $860. . Upon pickup about 5 minutes into driving a power reduction still occured upon reinspection and no codes in a diagnostic check my mechanic informed me he wasn't able to solve the problem. . . I than had the car towed to a local chevy dealership who than ran a diagnostic check and did a few minor repairs and a cluster instrument coming out to $910. . Upon pickup from certified dealer a power reduction again reoccurring I had to pay a extra $100 to have it towed back to the dealer ship for repair for it being extremely dangerous to transport it manually feeling the headache and the pain of costly repairs for a problem without a definite possible way of repairing I feel its a safety issue that has been over looked by gm chevy now knowing the story of the power reducing in many gm vehicles I forsure would never recommend this auto maker.

Repeating headlamp failure. Bulbs have been replaced three times in past year. Both bulbs (driver and passenger sides) have been replaced during service though only one had failed, in hopes of extending time between the next required service. Headlamp bulb replacement on this vehicle is complex, requiring removal of the front-end/bumper assembly to access the lamp assembly, usually requiring body shop expertise and cost (>$200+) versus a quick diy job or local service mechanic. Internet searches indicate many customers with similar problems, pointing to a failed design by Chevrolet with the daylight running time circuitry causing high currents leading to high temperatures and overheating/melting/deformed connectors, pigtail and wiring components. A vehicle without two working headlamps is an operational, citational and safety hazard, thus disabling the vehicle. This design problem must be addressed by recall.

Vehicle goes into power engine reduced mode/esc off/ service traction control mode. The car loses speed and goes about 20 mph the rpm go crazy and car shakes violently. It has happened for the past 3 years and it happens while iddle, while driving it, while the ac is on or off it happens all the time. Ive replaced the throttle body twice, accelerator pedal 3 times, battery, map sensor, knock sensor, battery terminals, power train relay, spark plugs, cleaned all the corosion and its been at the chevy dealer numerous times for this same issue and still the car is not fixed. Ive spent so much money and even chevy cannot find whats wrong with this car. Its happened while on the highway, streets, while turning or stopped at a light. All my electrial dosent work. My passenger low beam light keeps blowing out and my speakers keep going in and out. There needs to be a recall on this car. This is just unacceptable and very dangerous.

The passenger side low beam light stops working approximately every 6-8 weeks. I have owned the car for 6 months and have replaced the same bulb 4 times. I know I am not alone as the internet forums are filled with other Malibu owners reporting the same issue.

Head light low beam light blow out every 2 months. I have to get this replaced. This is very expressive. The whole bumper have to be removed.

My low beam lights keep going out. I have changed the bulbs 4 times now with oem bulbs and also the wiring harness. At first it was the driver's side only now it's both.

Low beam on the passenger side is dim when it works and goes out often. Sometimes it comes back on out of nowhere. It's been happening for the last 7 months. I've changed my bulb about 6 times in that time frame.

I've taken my car to get the driver side low beam light replaced 3 times in one year. Come to find out the lights were not blowing out. . There is a shortage with the light plug. High beam is fine. . Only the low beam keeps going out.

Head light continues to burn out every two years.

Car has been having all the problems since I got it , and now just by doing research I seen that they had a lot of these cars recalled.

The bulb on the drivers side has gone out multiple times. Have had to pay $150 plus bulbs each time as you have to take the bumper off. Even after replacing the bulb this time it didn't work. Multiple people have reported this.

The stop lamps come on all by themself, if the lamps are illuminated they will turn off when the brake pedal is pressed. This also affects the traction controls and stability control, the warning light illuminates on the instrument panel. Also cruise control becomes inoperative. Gm has acknowledged this and has an extended warranty for this problem. However they've capped it at 150,000 miles which puts me out of warranty. When I spoke to gm they admitted this and said because I wasn't the original owner I wouldn't be notified. They don't want to help!.

Passenger low beam socket burns out I've replaced the harness twicin last six months with a few new bulbs.

The passenger side low beam light has been replaced 5 times in a matter of 2 years goes out comes back on then off for a long period of time hit a bump and it may come back on but not all the time.

Passenger side head light has went out four times in the last 12-months.

The head light low beam keeps blowing something needs to be done it cost too much money to keep replacing and it is a very common complaint if u google it with the low beam head light keeps shorting out or whatever it's doing it's a safety issue and a it's a problem bc people can get pulled over and it's not fair too the people buy this cars and not knowing about this chevy needs too own up it's cost people alot of money that some people don't have to keep spending on there mistake and it could cause a fire and people have kids.

Tl-the contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving the front passenger head lamp failed to illuminate. In addition, the electronic stability control warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to flag Chevrolet at 1000 e belvidere rd, grayslake, IL 60030 where the contact was unaware of the diagnosis however, the head lamp was replaced. The contact mentioned the head lamp failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000. Ak.

My car brakes lights keep going off and my Chevrolet Malibu 2010 car hesitates when driving .

Dashboard cluster is out and goes in and out as well as the digital gear change. It started giving me transmition issues and now anything digital is completely out.

Service air bag soon alert intermittently comes on and goes off sometimes when restarting, other times after driving 15 - 20 minutes. Had stayed on for 1 1/2 hour drive but when restarting was off. Driving has been highway miles. Can come on upon starting and while driving. Dash board lighting goes off while driving, highway miles. Sometimes does not turn on until 15 minutes of highway driving then go off again later. Dial is setat brightezt point but not bright.

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 45 mph, the driver side head lamp and passenger side high and low beam blinker lights failed without warning. The lights were replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.