general problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

The rear knuckles on these cars are constantly going bad and the parts are expensive and so is the labor. So we have to pay a fortune to fix a common issue that gm should be recalling and fixing for the people who buy these vehicles. It's crazy how common this issue is and it's still not recalled. If you hear a clunking/rattling noise coming from the back of your car then it's almost certainly a knuckle problem.

I was informed the vacuum pump went bad and rendered the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle would lose acceleration, shut off during auto stop and caused me to block traffic. The brakes also locked up, which almost caused me to crash in a residential neighborhood. I tried to see if there was a recall on this but I was told the recalls were handled in January of 2020 but I started driving the vehicle between July and August of 2020. This incident I'm reporting just happend 3 weeks ago. I realized there are many other issues regarding this matter and need this addressed because this almost caused bodily harm. The dealership wants me to pay for repairs on a vehicle that seem to have defective parts that jeopardise customer safety and is not being rectified.

[xxx] , hard brake vacuum pump something’s wrong car won’t push down break information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Vacuum pump stopped working and shattered into my engine. Breaks suddenly stopped working while driving.

Shift to park.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal was firm while depressed, and the vehicle failed to immediately stop. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brake vacuum pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 104,000.

I am writing to formally report a serious safety concern with my 2018 chevy Malibu related to the brake booster vacuum pump. My vehicle has exhibited dangerous symptoms, including a hard brake pedal and reduced braking power, which I’ve now learned may be connected to a known defect affecting 2013–2022 Malibu models. These issues have significantly compromised my safety and that of others on the road. I’ve had to deal with sudden braking difficulties, and the repairs have caused financial stress I was not prepared for. I am now aware of the pending class action lawsuit (johnson v. General motors llc) that details this same problem.

My breaks locked up on me pulling out of my driveway. The break pedal was hard to press down and I had to step on the braks really hard to stop .

Loud knocking or banging noises, the check engine light turning on and/or other driving performance issues, such as reduced propulsion cranksaft.

I am filing a complaint regarding a brake vacuum pump failure in my 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The failure of the vacuum pump led to a complete loss of brake assist, making the brake pedal significantly harder to press. This issue directly resulted in a complete loss of braking ability, which posed a serious safety risk while driving. The vacuum pump in these models is camshaft driven, and its failure caused damage to the camshaft. This issue is documented under gm technical service bulletin pip5835 and is known to affect certain 2016-2022 Chevrolet Malibu models equipped with the 1. 5l lfv engine. The brake failure due to this issue could have led to a life-threatening accident, and I am deeply concerned that other drivers may experience this same risk. Despite reaching out to gm and the dealership, goodwill assistance was denied for this known defect. I believe this is a major safety hazard that needs to be addressed immediately. Vehicle mileage ~120,000 repair estimate: $2106 for camshaft, vacuum pump, and related components incident: the brakes became unsafe leading to a dangerous life threatening driving situation.

My car brakes kept locking up and it was hard to get my car to finally stop today. There was no brake sensor or warning light. Should there be a warning light or sensor on my desk board to tell me something is wrong with my brakes ?.

Brake vacuum booster exploded into the engine.

I repeatedly get a “reduced power to engine” alert on my dash which causes my car to decelerate and I lose my power steering. This last time, the alert popped up on my dash, my car decelerated, and then my brakes would not work. I could not push the brake down to stop my car and ended up in a ditch. My brakes are now hard and I cannot start my car because of it. I have already had the recall for this issue fixed in the past but this will be the 3rd time I have brought my vehicle in for the same problem. I had diagnostic codes ran on my car soon after the accident happened and have attached the pictures to this form.

While driving the speed suddenly reduced and brakes locked up on me. I was lucky enough to be able to veer to the left and get off the busy street without crashing into anyone or anything. When I stopped the car cut off and would not start back up even with a jump. This happened to me twice before and they did a recall on the same part. I need ot fixed again. I also had to replace the battery every time including this time.

Brake pedal became hard to press down and could not stop car without having to jam down on the pedal. Per dealership the vacuum pump malfunctioned causing metal to enter engine.

Defective vacuum pump damaged camshaft, reduced engine power, and caused loss of brakes while driving.

While driving th vehicle the component that ruptured was the vehicles vacuum brake booster pump which connected directly to the engine. The ruptured caused shards of metal to be launched into the engine resulting in no brake power and needs an engine swap. There was a recall on this model vehicle for the pedal sensor malfunction that results in the cars engine going into a reduced power mode abruptly and suddenly while driving. This malfunction has occurred on this vehicle and I was not aware of this vehicle models recall history but it stated that the recall was successfully closed out in 2020. I purchased my 2018 chevy Malibu in the year 2021 and the issue still persist. I am not confident that the recall on this vehicle was either fully completed or successfully fixed before purchasing. The car is now at the dealer and the repair team explains the vehicle needs a new engine. I questioned about the pedal sensor malfunction and asked if it was possible that this malfunction sending the vehicle into a reduced power mode so suddenly could have effected or cause wear and tear on brake booster pump connected to the engine. The dealers repair team wasn’t confident in saying it wasn’t possible. This is likely a design issue and if a recall was completed and I was sold a vehicle uninformed of this potential issue but the malfunction still persisted I do not believe I should have to cover the full cost of repairs for this chain of events. This malfunctioned put me at danger and if it had occurred while my wife and 3 children were in the car it could have been life threatening not only to us but the other drivers around as well. With the engine reduced you can’t accelerate and with the booster pump ruptures mid drive you lose all brake power. It is hard to understand the faulty design in this but I have read reviews that others have had the same issue so I do not believe I am alone in this.

Driving normal. Upon application of brakes, brake pedal became stiff and brakes did not function normal. Had to apply immense pressure to stop and it sounded like brakes kept locking up. Vacuum pump that supplies vacuum for engine with turbo to function, along with the brake booster to be able to apply normal braking power, was destroyed. The inside of the vacuum pump is in pieces and part of the bushing that connects into the engine was broken. Caused by faulty vacuum pump, or faulty cam shaft. If this had happened while in traffic, it is likely a crash would have happened. Damage caused to the vacuum pump resulted in metal pieces in the engine block as well.

Car does not recognize when the shift is on park. States to put car in park despite it being in park. Could take up to 10 minutes for the system to finally recognize the gear.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the message "engine power reduced" had displayed and the vehicle would not properly accelerate past 30 mph. Also, while pressing the brake pedal the vehicle did not immediately stop and the pedal was hard when pressed. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was unknown. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

I was driving down the highway and took the exit and went to hit the brake pedal and it was hard to push down. Took it into a shop for diagnosis/repair. Mechanic found that vacuum pump for brakes came apart. There is currently metal in the engine that I cannot afford to fix after already paying $500 for the new vacuum pump.

I was driving my small child to school and my car had a service message pop up that said engine power reduced and then my brake pedal became stiff to the point where I could not push it down at all to stop at a red light. Luckily by quick thinking I push down my emergency brake to avoid from hitting other cars. From doing research this is not the only complaint about this same similar situation on this car (2018 chevy Malibu LS) it's ridiculous. It's going to cost me over $2000 for parts and for labor.

Vacuum booster pump failed while driving on the highway with my girlfriend and her small child in the car and this common problem for this specific Chevrolet motor and endangered our lives significantly. Over 500 complaints on NHTSA website. No recalls to date. $4,000 damage. Filed official complaint and requested that Chevrolet cover the costs.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 mph, the braking system failed, and the brake pedal became firm while depressed. The "engine power reduced" message was displayed, and the vehicle went into limp mode, causing the vehicle to decelerate. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the braking system vacuum booster pump had failed and needed to be replaced, along with the camshaft and crank case which were damaged during the failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 107,000.

Service stabilitrak warning will pop up on my dash. The car loses power. Push on the gas and it sputters. Had it serviced by GMC 2 years ago and now it is happening again. More frequent in colder weather. There are thousands of reddit posts about this same issue from other 2018 chevy Malibu owners. GMC refuses to acknowledge it is a quality or performance issue on their end.

Just now getting to walmart my shift to park message came on my 2018 chevy mailbu.

Today again shift to park message came on.

Again today my shift to park message came on to some odd noise help me please.

I was driving the vehicle on a busy road and a message came up on the display above the steering column saying engine power reduced. I went to brake and was unable to push the pedal in as it was extremely stiff. There were vehicles around me and I tried to use both feet and stand on the brakes and was able to get a little bit of movement but the car still didn't slow down. I had my significant other and brother-in-law in the car and we were all horrified we were going to get into an accident. I turned the hazard lights on and was able to steer to avoid hitting several vehicles and when traffic finally cleared I was able to get over and off the road into a gas station that was uphill and allowed us to slow down and finally stop because I put the vehicle in neutral tried the parking brake which got us to a complete stop and shut the vehicle off. There had been no previous issues with the brakes or messages such as the one that came up right before this issue occurred. The vehicle had to be towed and the repair shop told me the cam driven vacuum pump failed which caused the brake booster to not function. When this failure occurred, it damaged the intake and exhaust camshafts, crankshaft, and several other components. The cooling system and oil to be flushed out as I was told there was metal debris from the damaged parts caused by the vacuum pump failure in the fluids which had been all completely flushed and changed including cooling system, transmission fluid, and oil change the total cost of repairs as a result of the vacuum pump failure setting off a domino effect of damage was $3536. 40.

I was driving on the interstate at 75 mph and I went to hit the brakes and they didnt work I had to take my feet off the gas and let it stop on its on and it was scary. I glad to be alive. And when I put the car in park it stated the I needed to shift to park and I couldnt cut the car off so after calling someone to come get me from off of the side of the ride. I had to keep putting the gear in park for it to go in park anf the message went away but it keeps coming on.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed with the brake pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard, the vehicle failed to reduce speed. As a result, he collided with the vehicle in the right lane on the rear driver's side. No air bags were deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed, but no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the engine vacuum pump, resulting in a lack of vacuum for the brake booster. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA campaign number 18v576000 (service brakes, hydraulic), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

My brake vacuum pump seized while driving in the far left lane on the freeway. My car began to lose power and my rpms dropped and rose back up quickly making my car lunge forward and back quickly multiple times. My check engine light came on and a warning saying my engine was losing power flashed across the dash. I exited the freeway and pulled over to a safe location, when attempting to stop my car I noticed that the breakes were stiff and would not move and I had to push the emergency break to stop the car completely. I had my car full of family members and all of us were extremely sacred and worried for our safety and those of others around us as the speed was no longer under my control.

While driving on the highway my dashboard displayed a warning of “reduced power steering “, engine light came off and on, loss of speed , and “stabilitracking” light came on. Brakes also vibrated badly as if they were unable to hold a grip. I was unable to accelerate and was really in danger. The car was taken immediately to the dealership where they replaced the battery and told me it was repaired. On my return from the airport the next morning at 4:30 the same lights and warnings displayed on the dash once again and I had it towed immediately to the dealership. We are now 3 days in and I have gotten no explanation as to what is going on with my vehicle.

Cam-driven brake booster vacuum failure without warning. My engine died, my brake pedal and steering wheel stiffened, while in moderate traffic. I had use excessive brake force to slow my vehicle to a stop. Currently have 78,012 miles as it is sitting in the repairs shop. This is the first time it has happened, but I worry it may happen again because upon further research, it is a very common part failure.

While picking my kids up from school my car suddenly lost braking ability and I heard a weird noise under the hood. Like it needed an oil change. Tension from the brakes and couldn’t stop when tried. Definitely gained anxiety from this event. I did get the part replaced however I’m concerned for the engine and any possible damage that may have been caused. I still have the original part to the vehicle as well.