general problems of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

Hybrid power train issues. Haven't drove the car for more than a week and a half. Apparently was fixed but obviously was not. Could be the gcm or generator.

78153 miles 2013 Malibu econotec never 1 problem until out of the blue timing chain eats thru plastic and metal tensioners with metal and plastic shavings going into engine delillo chevy huntington beach CA along with my mechanic confirmed engine replacement here lies my hazard and or product defect timing chain causes stalling idling compete shutdown rpms up and down no engine light comes I was on the freeway and on streets car completely stalls I have to shift in nuetral and pray it’s starts almost getting rear ended 3 times if this is not a safety issues wow you got to kick me I’ve read numerous reports of same issues and still no recalls plus 78,153 miles and I’m to replace the engine I’ve never heard a mechanic say old is that engine it’s how many miles this is my safety complaint.

In July 2023, my husband was driving on the highway when the car suddenly decelerated itself. A system error message came up saying service stabilitrak and reduced engine power - he couldn't go more than 40 mph. We took it to the repair shop and they determined the high pressure fuel failed and the engine was running off the lift pump. They replaced the high pressure fuel pump with gasket and pressure line. Then, in late September 2023, the car turned off while my husband was driving (while he was stopped). He was able to turn it back on and drive it home. There were no warning lights/messages. We took it to the repair shop, but there were no error codes and they were unable to determine the issue. Next, at the end of October 2023, when coming to a stop the vehicle shut off again - almost every time my husband would come to a stop. When this happened, it still had power (because the radio was still on), but he had to shut vehicle off completely and restart it each time. There were no warning lights/messages. We took it back to the repair shop. Again, no codes were stored in ecm/tcm. This time, they test drove it while monitoring the data. They determined that the torque converter clutch was hanging up. They also experienced some long shifts and occasional slippage and determined that the transmission would need to be replaced. The issues above are just the most recent issues. Aside from regular brakes, tires, and oil changes, other work I’ve had done on the car includes the repair/replacement rear suspension toe link recall (three times), water pump, brake booster vacuum, a/c compressor, timing chain, guides, tensioner, cam actuators, intake and cam actuators, exhaust cam solenoid, exhaust manifold bolts with associated hardware and gaskets, thermostat (twice), battery (twice), spark plugs, and back left hub assembly. I have still have the documentation for all of the above.

My 2013 chevy Malibu eco 2lt has 120,000 miles on it. I purchased the vehicle at 68,000 miles from the only owner of the car. I have had the car 6 years and kept up on all maintenance. While I was driving in a 45mph zone my vehicle’ s interior lighting started flashing. My dash flashed then said service stability track, car went blank then back on said service power steering flashed again and said service battery charging system and then went completely dead. When I got to the bottom of the hill to turn off main road my brakes had locked up in the rear and I had no power steering and wheel locked could not turn wheel. Vehicle would not allow me to shift into neutral so I could be pushed out of traffic and I had no flashers or any power. Battery was 1year old. My biggest concern is that the vehicle never alerted me with a service engine light. There was no indication that my alternator was not responding. And mechanics and dealership service shop are wanting thousands of dollars for possible parts and labor without a clear idea of what the exact issue is. I believe that this issue was recalled but since my vehicle was not manufactured in a specific state was never repaired. I believe that my gcm has a malfunction that was to be replaced and reprogrammed with the appropriate software!!.

I was trying to see if I could get a recall for a new motor because my motor makes weird popping noises when driving and reversing also a recall for suspension front and back shocks and springs because those are also making bad horrible noises.

My wife and I bought this beautiful 2013 chevy Malibu. Upon the first couple of days we had to take the car back to the dealer cause it was repeatedly shut down on us. The used car dealership never fixed the problem. As I done my research on this à2013 chevy Malibu it has 9 recalls and these recalls been issued since 11-13-2013. These are all the recalls on 2013 Chevrolet Malibu by national highway traffic safety. Suspension 12-22-2021. Suspension 08-12-2021. . . . Suspension 12-10-2020. . . . . . Electrical system tran 7-5-2016. . . . . Visibility 03-23-2015. . . . Electrical system seats 11-13-2013. . . Electrical system software 5-7-2012. Please tell me how to go abought all these defects.

My car charging system keep coming on I changed the alternator 2 times it worked for a while. While driving it went dead I was 4 hrs from home. Took my son to a football camp in tallahassee at fsu. On way him voltage dropped from my battery but the aux battery say it’s charging the emc is not charging my battery under the hood. It’s recalls for my year I have under 100,000.

Gm reclassified a known safety defect affecting over 300,000 vehicles as a “special coverage campaign” instead of a recall. This has allowed them to deny timely repairs and loaner vehicles, leaving owners without safe transportation. I have been without my vehicle since August 2021. I began actively trying to repair it again in June 2025, and the dealer has had it for the past week with no resolution. Both benton Chevrolet and gwatney Chevrolet in arkansas have refused to coordinate a loaner despite gm’s ability to authorize one. My family is displaced, and this is a safety hazard. Gm case #75422001.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle would stall without warning. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted but offered no assistance. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 185,195.

My car continues to lose power and with it comes so many electrical issues. Brake assist wont disengage, no power beyond engine idling, and the service battery charging system continues to pop up even though it and the battery in the trunk were replaced by the dealer. I've had this car for a month and it's given me nothing but problems.

Loss of power a lot. Auto stop feature makes a strong fuel smell. Burning and smoke coming from front right side under hood. Bought this car a month ago.

Tl the contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the contact attempted to shift into park however, an error message "please shift to park" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact manipulated the gear shifter until the gear shifter engaged into park. The vehicle was taken to independent mechanic and was informed that the transmission gear position selector needed to be replaced. Chuck nash Chevrolet Buick GMC located at 3209 n. Interstate 35 frontage rd, san marcos, TX 78666, (512) 253-8815, was contacted and made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 15v245000 (power train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

My car jerks when slowing sometimes like im dropping it down in first gear.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with an unknown warning light flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle also stalled while making a turn. The contact called valmark Chevrolet located at 725 I-35 south, new braunfels, TX 78130, (830)-214-1742, and was informed that the vehicle was repaired in 2013 under an unknown recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Loss of power of car it kill my factory battery had buy a new one and power steering is not working.

When stopping the vehicle I transmission in the park position. Vehicle message center keep saying to place car in park. Must move shift lever between 5 -20 times to finally get it to stay in park position. Problem is intermittent so mechanic has trouble diagnosing problem. Car only has about 50k miles on it.

I purchased a 2013 chevy Malibu 53,000 miles in October of 2018 from bob pulte Chevrolet. The car ran great until almost a year to the date of purchase, at 72,534 miles, issues began. While stopped at a red light, foot on brake, I looked down at the dashboard and noticed the rpm needle had dropped to 0 & the car had stalled. I put the car in park, turned the key off and then back on to start the car. It sounded as if it didn't want to start but ultimately did. I continued driving and it happened again at the next red light. I took the car to the nearest repair shop which was firestone, to have it checked & was told the alternator and battery needed replaced. The following week the car stalled as it had 1st time & then sporadically again and again when I slowed down approaching a red light, stop sign & when pulling into a parking space. Each time the car stalled it was difficult to start again. I took the car to a different firestone for a fresh set of eyes. This time the car stalled when their technician drove the car. A fuel system cleaning was recommended & done. The next suggestion was to replace the throttle body. A few days later, the car stalled again. When the car does stall I would lose power to everything except the radio. The lights shut off, doors stay locked & the car cannot be steered. I next took the car to the bob pulte Chevrolet dealership & discussed the problem with them. After having the car for two days, they advised the car did not stall when they drove it, there were no codes, no check engine light on & without that there was nothing they could do. The next day when I pulled into a parking space at work, the car stalled again. I called bob pulte again-they said they would update the ecm module and reprogram the throttle body and everything that goes along with it - believing firestone was unable to do it. The car continues to stall.

Tl- the contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, the vehicle completely shut off without warning. The contact was able to coast the vehicle off the highway and attempted to have the engine jump started. Once the vehicle was jump started, the vehicle had complete electrical failure;also, the key would not eject from the ignition switch. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the mechanic informed the contact that the battery was drained and charged the battery. The next day that the vehicle was repaired. On his way back home from the mechanic, the contact had pulled into his driveway when the vehicle experienced the same failure again. After the failure occurred, a check engine warning light flashed. The contact called a local Chevrolet dealer(hall Chevrolet Buick GMC 385 w dallas st, canton, TX 75103 903-567-8148) where he was informed that there are no recalls on the vehicle and offered the contact no further assistance. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 129,000. Jo.

The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu turns off or completely DE-energizes during operation. On three occasions over the last 2 weeks, the vehicle has turned off or completely DE-energized while traveling speeds of between 10 and 35 mph. On one occasion, the vehicle turned off or completely DE-energized while in stop and go traffic. On two separate occasions, the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu has turned off or completely DE-energized in the middle of a turn. This occurred once in the face of oncoming traffic during a left turn at an intersection and once during a right turn.

Both the transmission and engine went out at the same time. I took it to apple valley motors in martinsburg wv, a chevy dealership. They contacted the third party warranty company (portfolio) and they made the dealership replace the transmission with a junkyard transmission. But when I took it in the check engine light was on and I assumed that it was on because of the transmission. But also assumed that because it was a dealership with special trained technicians that they would check all the codes and clear them before they returned the vehicle to me. Well they didn't and the check engine light was still on when I picked it up but thought maybe I had to drive it a couple miles to reset the light. Well the light did go out but came back on about a week later and when I took it back to the dealer they called the warranty company and they said that because now that the extended warranty that I had, expired 8 days prior that there is nothing they can do. I called both gm and chevy and explained the situation and neither one will assist me with the problem only because the power train warranty expired even though I have less than a 100k on it. They gave me a case number but in the end they said there is nothing they can do. No way should both the engine and transmission go bad at the same time especially with less than 100k on it. This is in addition to another complaint that I just filed with you regarding the car loosing all power while I am driving. That problem happened on both the highway at over 70 mph and in the city at slower speeds. In addition to the transmission and engine going ou, 30 days prior the hydrolic transmission lines blew out while I was on the highway and I had to have it towed and it cost me about 900. 00 out of pocket because it was was not covered by the warranty.

The charging system went completely dead while driving. I had no power steering everything went black no speed, no lights, I couldn't even turn on my hazards while I was sitting in the middle lane of the interstate hoping I wouldn't get killed because of this. Why is there no warning to let you know your battery and charging system is dead. Why is this not a recall from chevy? please advise.

While driving on the highway my car will just shut down completely then turn back on. Sometime the radio will go out with power steering, etc. It just shuts down for no reason. We've replacement the battery cable several months ago as we had the exact same problem and it worked for about 6 months. If I use my turn signal sometimes it will shut down and turn back on. Did it about 20 times today on the way to work. With my two small children in the car with me. I am usually driving around 65 to 75 mph when this happens.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. While the vehicle was stopped at a traffic light, it began to hesitate and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who found the following three codes: p0089, p228d, and p0016. The vehicle was taken to keller motors (located at 700 Cadillac ln, hanford, CA 93230, (866) 882-6546), but they were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 109,133. The VIN was invalid.

Tl- the contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park and the key was pulled out, the vehicle rolled and crashed into a wall without warning. There was no injury. A police report was filed. The case number was not provided. The vehicle was damaged and was drivable. The vehicle was taken to four different dealers, including the victory Chevrolet dealer (866-900-6224, located at 717 rhyne rd, charlotte, nc 28214) where the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. . The vehicle was also taken to and independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000. Fe.

My Chevrolet Malibu eco keeps stalling I almost had a accident.

Tl the contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving 50 mph, the contact switched gears and the vehicle made a knocking sound. Also, when the contact shifted into reverse or while the vehicle was at a stop, the knocking sound was heard and the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The contact scheduled an appointment with tom gill Chevrolet (7830 commerce dr, florence, ky 41042, (859) 371-7566). The manufacturer was contacted and suggested the contact call NHTSA and schedule an appointment with a dealer. The contact researched online and stated that the power train control module within the electronic control module could be the cause of the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 100,267.

The mechanic states it may be a condition in which the generator control module (gcm) may not function properly. The battery wouldn't hold a charge and then suddenly it was charged and driving as normal, the battery indicator light was on the entire time. They cannot find anything wrong with it now, but stated there was a recall and thinks that is what is wont with my vehicle. Also the stop/start feature is not working at all on the vehicle. It acts like it will cut off intermittently.

Tl the contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the transmission gears were slow to change over when needed, and then the gear would change over abruptly. As a result, the vehicle would surge at a high rate of speed. There were two unknown warning indicators illuminated: one on the instrument panel and the other for the transmission gear shift. Koepp Chevrolet (13221 us-87, la vernia, TX 78121, (830) 253-8000) was notified of the failure and indicated that the vehicle would need to be diagnosed to determine if the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 33,150.

Water pump failure.

Car starts idling up and down while stopped at light. When the car is given the gas to go it will not pick up speed it stalls and car completely turns off in drive. While parked in parking lot I put the car in reverse and it would not move and that has happened 5 times. The engine light comes on and I have taken it to 4 different mechanics to put the diagonstic test on it and it comes up with idle sensor, change it and 2 days later car starts jerking and will not go over 35mph and finally dies. While driving 55mph on the hwy the car looses speed and wont go over 35 mph. Nobody is allowed to drive this car until chevy fixes it, and it will sit in my yard until then because my family is more important than a piece of metal. I wont sell it because of this danger either. I crank it up every month but it has not been driven in 2 years.

Tl- the contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle sould on occasions shut off and the instrument gauges and electronics would turn off and on. In addition the "service power steering" message would illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer mike haggerty gm(9100 s. Kenton st. Oakline ill) who diagnosed that the transmission module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 70,000. Jft.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving various speeds, the rpms decreased and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle would only restart after receiving a jump start. In addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and battery charge, stability track, and service power steering warning messages appeared on the instrument panel display. The contact mentioned that the failures occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 61,212.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle would not crank, but the battery was fully charged. The contact also stated that the key did not come out of the ignition and the gear shifter would not shift. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 108,000.

Car randomly losses power at any speed. During this time, I am unable to control the car. The power steering is off. This happened to my wife as she made a left turn on a green light on bell road, az (a busy road). There is no way that this should be taken lightly.

My Chevrolet Malibu shut off on me in the mid of the way and I almost go into a accident with my children. Took it to the dealership and they can't find out why my car is doing this.