Three problems related to speed control cable have been reported for the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu based on all problems reported for the 2011 Malibu.
Update on complaint #'s 1144041 & 11172602. On 2/8/19, I was 2 blocks from work when messages displayed for (service ecs, reduced engine power, check engine light). I drove right from work to the dealership, which was 9 miles away, with my hazards on and at a max speed of 25 mph. I drove it into the bay and told a service advisor that I was told to bring it back while the problem we keep trying to fix was actually happening. He tried to get someone to come hook up the code reader to it but was unable to so he turned off my car. I received a voicemail mid-day Monday 2/11/19 to say that because my battery had been out of my car too long, they had to relearn the throttle body assembly. I left a message to specifically say that the last time the battery had been out of my car to my knowledge was 3/2018. When they called back, their conclusion was that the battery had not been installed or secured properly which caused them to have to relearn the throttle body assembly. On 2/19/2019, it happened again but they could not read a code when I brought it in, so was again sent to come back when it was occurring so they could hook up the code reader while it was happening. On 3/5 I drove my car to them while it was displaying the messages and running rough. They again tried to put the blame on the battery. Even though the codes where p2176 and p2135, the recommended fix was new battery and battery cables ($733). I still had warranty for that battery as it was installed nearly a year ago after the first incidence, so I went back to that auto shop. He did not find anything associated to battery but did find gm bulletin from 2012 (pip5019). He re-crimped throttle body circuit pins after doing a pen out test at ecu. It is now 3/25 and no other issues! hoping we have found root of the problem. No thanks to dealer or chevy customer care. . .
I was driving down a side residential street, when I went to park noticed that the car was stuck in reverse. I wasn't able to put the car in park. The shifter began shifting into different gears and felt as there was no catch. I turned the car off because I didn't know what had happened. The key was stuck in the ignition, because couldn't put the car in park. I exited the car and the car started to roll backwards and hit the car behind me. I applied the emergency brake and the car still rolled in reverse. So I unhooked the battery cables and applied bricks behind the tires. I had a mechanic come to see what happened and he stated that this had been a recall on prior years of this model, but not the year of my car. I am afraid to drive the car and I went to the chevy dealership in which they nothing about this part, but state many people have complained and nothing has been done. It is unsafe with this defect. The cable comes off the hook and you will not be able to apply a shift to any gear and the car will accelerate regardless. I don't want to put my infant in this car knowing that is a defective part that chevy should fix. Not to mention the car seatbelts are a malfunction. Chevy this really needs to be looked at for this year make and model.
As I was driving my 2011 chevy Malibu home to tulsa ok from arkansas my car dropped speed, I lost my power steering, the reduced engine power light came on, service traction esc light came on too. When this happened I was on the highway driving 65 mph and then the car lost speed down to 15 mph. I was almost hit on the highway. I made it off the highway and stopped at a store but could not figure out what was wrong. I made it home barely and the next morning my car started and I've had no problems until Monday Dec. 22nd when I was leaving work to go home the same thing happened. I stopped and turned my car off for a little while then when I restarted it it was fine. Had no more problems until christmas eve when my fiancã©e and I were headed to texas to be with relatives. We had to pull over about 5 times due to the car having the same issues. My fiancã©e looked under the hood to see if he could figure out what might be wrong and all he found was that our battery cables were loose on one side. We finally decided to stop and buy a new battery cable. We made it to texas and had no problems until we were headed back home from texas. We made it about halfway home when we had the same problem. We had to pull off the road about 15 times total. Each time we just turned the car off for a moment. We would get back in the car and make it about 10miles down the road when the same issue started again. My fiancã©e finally thought maybe our battery was going bad. We stopped and bought a new battery for $120 and replaced it. At first we thought this fixed the problem but only made it about a mile when the problem happened again. We would pull off the road and turn the car eoff and it would run good for a mile or two and we would have to pull off the road again. We didn't think we were going to make it home but we finally did.