general problems of the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

On March 4, 2026, my wife was driving the vehicle when she suddenly lost power steering. The steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn, creating a dangerous situation that could have resulted in serious injury. She was able to safely pull over and contact me. I carefully drove the vehicle home. The vehicle was taken to jeff wyler Chevrolet of columbus for diagnosis and repair. The dealership confirmed that the problem involved the power steering system. The repair cost was $1,513. 03. After researching the issue, I discovered that this 2012 Malibu is subject to a special coverage related to the steering torque sensor. General motors had reportedly sent notification letters to owners, but we never received one. Had we been aware, we would have addressed the issue immediately. This defect represents a significant safety risk, as sudden loss of power steering could cause an accident or serious injury.

I was driving and the steering wheel locked, the whole steering column has to be replaced it brought up a code saying torque input sensor I've only put 10,000 miles on this car and have only had it for 11 months.

The “service esc” light came on while I was driving on the freeway causing the steering wheel to lock up and I couldn’t turn the wheel. It was really stiff after it said “service esc” and “esc off”.

The power steering assist has cause the steering wheel to move to its let by its self when not holding the steering wheel. I must hold the steering wheel firmly to keep it strait when driving. If I would let go the car will abruptly turn left and possibly drive off the road or hit a car, pedestrian, or whatever is in the way. It started with uncontrolled vibrating at a stand still motion. The car is 165,000 miles that's 15,000 miles from the recall. The car has been repaired a couple times I think only to have the same power steering assist internal parts break down and fail multiple times. I believe the amount of power (amps) the power steering assist draws is needed is to much and the system fails within a short time. The alternative hydraulic version on the v 6 doesn't put so much stress on the electrical system. This could be also why the headlights bulb sockets melt and why I see a 15 volt constant charge is being created from the charging system. Ruining the alternator and battery. Putting high levels of amps on the wiring. Leading to malfunctioning components that is filed for complaints. A major safety hazard for others. Fires and uncontrolled crash since the power steering assist moves the car into dangerous life threating crashes.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact received notifications of NHTSA campaign numbers: 14v252000 (electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control (esc) and 15v269000 ( seat belts); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at 50 mph, the steering wheel vibrated and seized. The "esc" and “traction control" warning lights were illuminated. The contact used a scanner and diagnosed the vehicle with steering failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was made aware of the issue and wanted to charge the contact for the parts. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Loss of power steering assist while driving. Safety issue puts driver and others at risk. Problem confirmed to be known by dealer service bulletin 15356. Special coverage has expired however many vehicles with issue still on the road. Esc light accompanies failure, restarting the vehicle resets system and allows function for short period until loss of steering while moving occurs again. Request gm extend the special coverage to all vehicles still in service or recall.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the electronic power steering assist was not functioning properly, requiring an increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The service power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the power steering control module and power steering torque sensor. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to technical service bulletin: 15356; however, the vehicle had previously been repaired in 2019 and again in 2020, under the special coverage program. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 130,000.

As I was driving my vehicle last Sunday the "power steering and the service esc" warnings came on my dashboard as well as the "traction control light" I audible sound came on and I lost power steering. When I went to drive my car to my service station everything worked fine for a few blocks the problem came back. I drove it to my local service mechanic and his scan tool gave an error code of co545. I did some research on this issue and found that gm put out a special coverage #15356 for the power steering sensor. This coverage expired in 2021 however my vehicle did not have this problem until last week. My car only has 60,000 miles on it. Yesterday I took my vehicle to the gm dealer that I purchased my vehicle from and the said I have to pay $200. 00 for them to diagnose the problem (which I understand) but the service writer told me that gm will probably not replace the parts needed because their "special coverage" expired in 2021. I am asking if the government can force gm to recall. I thank god that my wife nor my daughter was not driving the vehicle when this happened or they may have been hurt or worse fighting the steering wheel to keep the car going straight until I could stop it saftly.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated, and the message "esc off" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced an intermittent loss of power steering while driving. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as intended; however, the failure initially became a persistent failure upon restarting the vehicle and then became a permanent failure. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for a tire replacement, the contact was also informed that the steering failure was related to Chevrolet special coverage number: 15356. The contact was referred to the dealer, who informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.

Esc went out on vehicle on the interstate.

1. While driving I will lose all steering capability and get a esc off 2. Physically difficult to turn the wheel when going around turns and this happens we would be unable to control the vehicle 3. The problem has produced itself by the dealership and there is a bulletin that provided coverage incase this happens but did not happen until after coverage expired and should have been a recall. 4. No has not been inspected by anyone else 5. Lights that came on were traction control and a notification stating esc is turned off on the dashboard marquee.

After reaching 120,000+ miles on this vehicle I have been receiving the following warnings on the driver information screen in this order: power steering service esc esc off as a result of these warnings the steering wheel becomes stiff and very hard to turn either left or right at low speeds.

While driving the car, the power steering system will randomly stop working. While driving in a parking lot the power steering stops working , the car becomes hard to steer. Esc (or ecs?) disabled light comes on and the power steering light comes on on the msg center. This leads to possible loss of control of the car leading to possible collisions.

While driving I made a left turn and the vehicles steering wheel became stiff. . . Hard to turn, while on coming traffic was headed my way. Almost got in an accident. Had to force to steering wheel to pull over to the side. They were a bunch of messages that said power steering esc.

I was driving and my power steering went out. I got it home turned it on and the power steering came back but the wheel keeps twitching. Tried to start it again and the power steering was out again.

Attempting to pull out of my parking lot, I was suddenly unable to steer my car. Immediately warning lights went on in the dashboard the car would not move. Luckily, I was not in the middle of the street or driving down the highway as I would have lost control of the vehicle. I had the car towed to meineke and they reported that the power steering assist motor had failed. Prior to the incident, no warning signs had come on in my car.

While I was making a right turn, I experienced a sudden loss of steering, the steering wheel became completely stiff and almost imposible to maneuver. The panel message was service eps and esc off. According to information in this website, there was a special warranty extension, which expired on 2022, which covered this specific issue (the problem is related to the electric power steering assist (eps), the steering column torque sensor or the eps motor/controller). The special warranty code was 15356. I have taken my car to the dealership in the past for maintenance and other safety recalls, but I was not alerted about this very dangerous issue. I called gm today, and they said I was not alerted because this was not a recall but an extended warranty. This sounds like a lack of due diligence on gm´s end to address an issue that is extremely dangerous. I am now afraid to drive this car.

The power steering warning comes on, my steering wheel becomes very hard to turn…after turning the car on and off a few times, the warning goes away and the steering seems to go back to normal. It has been happening for a couple days now!.

My engine.

The steering wheel power goes off, warning with "power steering" service esc" and traction off. Making it almost impossible to steer. This should be covered by chevy because everyone has the problem.

The electric steering has malfunctioned and the esc has shut off and my steering has gone out it only has 138000 miles I know there was several recalls for this steering issue in several chevy Malibu’s. I don’t understand why mine was not recalled. It’s the same problem that the ones that were recalled were having. Please let me know if it is recalled or why this problem is still happening. Thank you.

The steering wheel begins to jerk while driving straight, causing involuntary and abrupt movement to the sides and poses risk for collision. The power steering mechanic intermittently loses ability to function causing difficulty in controlling the vehicle.

The car strated with like a glitch on the steering wheel. I didnt know what it was maybe I thought it was a tire but it would do it while at a stop or parked. Know when I turn it on it started with the steering wheel being hard not being able to move easy. Know it does the same but it shows on the message center "power steering" I have to turn it off and on for a while. Then it will be "normal". The glitch on the steering wheel is more. I don't know what to do or if there is a recall.

Service esc service traction esc off light comes on and off randomly.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The vehicle was restarted and worked as designed. The service esc power steering message was displayed. The traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column and steering control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified via email but there was no response. The contact stated that the failure was similar to NHTSA campaign number: 14e044000 (steering). The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 118,472.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel locked without warning. The contact stated that after multiple restarts, the power steering functionality returned. Over time, the contact stated that the failure would occur while driving at various speeds without warning. The contact had spoken with the dealer and was informed that her vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14e044000 (steering). The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and she was referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 179,000.

The electric power steering and esc systems. It is or was under recall for this type of vehicle. The steering becomes hard and vehicle shakes the tire rotation is being read wrong by computer. It doesn't want to stay 9n the road. . . The stability of vehicle is compromised.

I'm a single parent and I can't afford to take my car to the dealership I love my car I have had my 2012 chevy Malibu for over 6 years n I hate to just have it park at home knowing that, that's car was my everything. It started having problem with esc . When I would come to a stop then taking off it would break on its one I was told it could be my throttle body so I went n buy one n now the idle is too high now I can't get it to fix. Pls help me out I'm my car that I love so much.

I contacted this agency back in March 2022 about my power steering going out while driving after I was told there was a recall on this issue already. This agency told me my VIN number was not included in this recall but will start an investigation to see if it can be included. Considering this is an safety issue and a recall on this same issue has been established. I have yet to hear anything back from anyone about this matter. Not a letter, phone call nor an email. This is a safety issue! there is a recall on this already! I thought this agency was created for consumers to protect them from issues with transportation that involved their safety? I called and spoke with a rep name darlene who was extremely rude and obnoxious so I'm making this report again. Can I get any assistance from this agency? it is getting pretty scary to drive this vehicle with my wheel locking up and the repair is extremely high. I'm not sure why my VIN was not included, but after doing some research, I'm having the exact same problems the other cars under this recall are having. My number has changed since my initial report. The new number is listed below. My old number is 586-443-6416.

Esc traction control /power sterering light turned on my wheel was hard to steer. Lost control . If I turn off it works for a few minutes but then goes back to hard. . Unable to steer.

The electric power steering locks up due to a faulty steering angle sensor. When it locks up you can not steer the vehicle at all. This has happened several times. Which has nearly caused an accident everytime.

My electric steering motor and torque sensor is going out. I first noticed it starting to go out about 2 months ago in November. I was turning to pull into a parking spot at the grocery store and all of a sudden my wheel locked up and check esc flashed across my dashboard. I almost side grazed the car on side of me on my way turning in. I had to turn the wheel really hard to straighten it up. . So when I got into the parking spot and turned the car off and turned it back on it was working again and didn’t do it for a while. So fast forward 2 months later in January it started back doing it again. I was backing out of my driveway and all of a sudden the steering got really hard and again service esc flashed on the dashboard and I almost backed up into a car that’s parked on the street behind my driveway. I had to turn really had and in the middle of the street I had to turn the car off and back on to reset itself . The next day was driving and and when I stopped at a stop sign my steering wheel started shaking left to right uncontrollably and ever since the the steering wheel just shakes even while sitting still so I made an appointment with the dealership that I got the car for checked it out and did a diagnostic test and the mechanic told me I needed a torque sensor and steering motor. I have the papers saying that’s what’s wrong with it and after doing research I found that that car model had a recall with the exact same thing my car is doing but when I put in my VIN number it’s not listed as a recall and my car isn’t drivable and I think it should be recalled . As of now it has only been looked at by the dealership. And it’s available for inspection upon request.

I been having the same problem for a year now. . Constantly putting it in and out the shop and no one can find out what’s wrong with it. . The engine will loss it control and stop working in the middle of traffic which almost caused me a wreck several times. The Chevrolet dealership hasn’t done anything to help but charge me to look at it and they didn’t fix the problem. I have three kids and it has been a safety issue which is our only way to work and school. The car will skip constantly in the middle of traffic and several times someone almost ran into the back of my car. It will say engine power reduced, service traction and service sec I have spent ton of money trying to fix the issue and I have read several people have had the same problem.

I have an ongoing issue in which the power steering on my 2012 Malibu locks up and it's extremely hard to rotate the steering wheel to make turns. . . . It has happened on numerous occasions from being parked from a cold start to recently actively happening while driving on the road/highway. The computer dash display pops up saying power steering then says service esc.