general problems of the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

I am writing to report a serious and dangerous issue that occurred with my 2020 Chevrolet Malibu lt on April 27th 2026. While driving on the interstate after work, my vehicle suddenly experienced a failure that made it extremely unsafe to operate. The brake pedal became extremely hard to press, and the vehicle did not want to slow down or stop properly. This created a very dangerous situation while I was driving at highway speeds. Additionally, I noticed that nearly all of the engine oil was gone, which is extremely concerning and may be related to the failure. Based on these symptoms, it appears the vacuum pump may have failed while the vehicle was in motion. This issue placed me at significant risk of an accident and could have resulted in serious injury. I am requesting an immediate investigation into this matter and assistance with repairs. I would also like to know if there are any recalls, known defects, or extended warranties related to this issue. Please advise on the next steps as soon as possible, as the vehicle is currently unsafe to drive.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph on the freeway and depressing the brake pedal to slow down, the brake pedal was difficult to depress, and the vehicle failed to immediately stop. During the failure, the check engine and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was slowly driven to the residence and parked. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 85,547.

While driving the brake pedal became hard to push out of no where. Once the car got to the shop it stopped cranking. The shop is stating that the brake vacuum pump is the cause of the brake pedal messing up, and that it also caused other engine damages estimating $3000. 00.

I was unaware that when I purchased this vehicle that when the oil is low, the breaks go out and the break power booster shatters. The beaks have gone out on me 2x already and thankfully I’ve only had to replace the break power booster only once. Now once the oil is changed the breaks go back to normal, there is no grinding of any sort heard, so now going forward I pay real close attention to my engine, I listen and pay attention to the feeling and sound of the breaks, once the oil begins to become low knowing it’s time for an oil change around 40% is when I start to feel a bit of the difference in the breaks and I can feel a little bit of grinding, no oil light has come on at this time nor has the oil light or any type of signal has ever come on at anytime to let me know that it was time for an oil change. I’ve checked for recalls, I’ve checked message boards, mechanics have no clue about this problem, but at least my mechanic does now!.

December 12, 2025 I had to drive 20-30 miles an hour the car would not break I had to use parking break. When I would try to stop it would continue to roll. The pedal was hard! this is very dangerous and other cars have crashed there are also class action lawsuits regarding just this! vehicle vacuum pump the bill was $5200 I am asking for reimbursement! vehicle vacuum pump engine light on tire sensor light on saw there have been more cases.

While driving the cars speedometer and all gages will stop working, or they will constantly move up and down on their own, it will also not accelerate to speed limit in a timely manner. . When stopping the car it will brake extremely hard on its own and throw me forward it will also give a warning message on the dash that the power steering isn’t working and to drive with caution. When parking the car and it is in park a message on the dash will appear saying shift to park.

My car has been malfunctioning it keeps saying shift to park when it’s park and it show esc system issue and then the brakes stop working it has been going on and off took it to lou bachrodt Chevrolet and they couldn’t fix the issue. I have done research online and it shows the same.

Vehicle vacuum pump failed I have changed it 4 times now. Saw there have been more cases.

Shift to park. Im not able to park my car. W low miles. Chevy dealer stated not under warranty. Will cost 800+ to repair. Previous known problem (17-19). It was repaired my last Malibu & was repaired under recall. Now a TSB has been issued by chevy for my 20 so they are aware. If they know it is a problem why is there not a recall? this happens often. Each time I park, I have to fight my gear shift & pray it eventually sticks. It does not seem safe. This is a new car & is unacceptable knowing the history. I can provide pictures or send estimate if needed.

Th e brakes are not working at all. We have to go slow then the brakes are hard to press. Th I s makes it keep driving anc brake pedal doesn't stop it.

A liadjustmentght came on my dashboard. State power engine reduce period then it stalls when I press my foot down on the accelerator not giving it any power to go period then when I try to break it actually pushes my foot back off and it's hard to break period and when I press the start button to turn the engine on. It turns right back off after about. Maybe four or five seconds and no I just had to have a towed to my home. The special coverage adjustment code in 182188250 is what my vehicle would apply to, but that code only covers the 2016 and 2018 models. What can I do now? because it is under that code. But the dealerships won't cover it because they're saying my model is not but twenty twenty I need help please. I have 132k miles. Good condition. Why wouldn't letter models be covered under the same act?what would make it stop if it's doing the same thing?it did for those twenty sixteen and twenty eighteen models.

Brake pedal hardened due to vacuum pump.

I was driving in the interstate at about 4pm on may 16th and the check engine light came on. Thus is nothing new because since I bought the car on Feb. 14th, 2024 the check engine light is on about 75% of the time. I went to use my brakes and the pedal was hard as a rock. I had to use both feet to depress the pedal to get the car to slow down. I brought the car to autozone and they did a scan and it showed the power brake booster vacuum sensor needed replacement. I ordered it and had a friend who is a mechanic replace it and the problem still persisted. My friend thought it was the power brake booster vacuum pump. I ordered it and he replaced it and the brakes are back to normal. My research regarding this has found that his is a very common issue with this vehicle which has lead to costly repairs for many people and has resulted in a class action lawsuit. This is a serious safety issue! when a person can’t hardly press their brakes when driving that endangers the lives of the driver, the occupants of the car and every other person on the road. Why do we have to wait for people to be killed before this is fixed?.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. The contact engaged the parking brake to stop the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the vacuum pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the vehicle decelerated to 15 mph, and the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle crashed into a building before coming to a stop. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact shifted the transmission to park (p) and turned off the vehicle. When the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, the brake pedal was extremely firm and unable to depress. The vehicle failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact did not sustain any injuries, and medical attention was not received. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the vacuum brake booster and camshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

Very hard to brake, like stepping on a brick. Have to start breaking way in advance. Also keep getting a "shift to park" alert and car won't shut down and can't get out of it sometimes.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph and approaching a stop light the braking system malfunctioned when pressing the brake pedal causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of a second vehicle. The contact indicated that the vehicle did not reduce speed when pressing the brake pedal and the collision avoidance feature did not activate. A police report was taken at the scene. The police officer also confirmed no skid marks at the crash site. During the crash, the contact sustained injuries to the left arm and right shoulder that did not require medical attention. Both the driver and front seat passenger of the second vehicle sustained undisclosed injuries and were transported to the hospital. The vehicle was towed away and later deemed destroyed by the insurance company. The cause of the failure has not yet been determined. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 57,000.

On [xxx] I was driving to work and my check engine light came on. Immediately after this I was completely unable to brake. My brake pedal became so stiff and impossible to press. I very narrowly avoided an accident. I had the car towed to an auto shop where I was informed that I had a vacuum pump failure that essentially exploded and destroyed my cam shaft and shot fragments of metal into my engine in the process. I was quoted over $12,000 in repairs. After receiving this quote I began searching online to find what could have caused this to happen. I stumbled upon a class action lawsuit for this exact same thing (plaintiff [xxx] ). In addition to the suit there were 12 pages of comments from other Malibu owners who have experienced similar issues with their vacuum pump and braking system. This issue is also noted on many car repair forums, chevy owner forums, youtube repair videos etc. Please note that when I received the check engine light on 9/5 this is the first and only time I had any indication of a potential problem with my vehicle. In the year and a half that I have owned the car there has never been any issues, warnings or check engine lights. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Faulty vacuum pump caused catastrophic engine failure. The vacuum pump exploded cracking the cam shaft sending metal shards into the engine. $12000. 00 to repair and mechanic will guarantee the work because the replacement vacuum is an only oem part. I was having braking problems prior to the vacuum pump failing. The brakes would intermittently freeze up and I couldn't get the car stop and had to use the emergency braking system to stop vehicle. Car is still at shop I can't afford the repair and I'm am still paying finance company for car. I have a disabled child and am low income. This has put hardship on me as I live in an area that does not provide public transportation. I don't know what to do.

The problems listed in my vehicle are the following • u0073: control module communication bus a off • u0100: lost communication with engine control module • u0121: lost communication with electronic brake control module • u0140: lost communication with body control module • p0700: transmission control module requested mil illumination I believe this is due to a bad design in the wiring. Also the electric brake vacuum broke which is a common problem.

The brake pump in my 2020 Chevrolet Malibu lt 1. 5 malfunctioned on 05/25/2024. My car had approximately 85,193 miles on the odometer when this occured. I was driving down the interstate on 05/25/2024 when I went to apply the brake pedal and it was completely stuck. I had to swerve into the grass on the side of the interstate to avoid collision. After I had the car towed home, I had a mechanic run a system diagnostic test on the car which showed an error/defective code for the brake pressure sensor.

I am writing to formally report a critical safety issue with my 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, which resulted in a severe accident and posed significant risks to my safety and the safety of the issue involves the brake vacuum pump, which failed while I was driving. The component is currently with the vehicle, which is stored in a parking facility, and is available for inspection upon request. The failure of the brake vacuum pump caused a sudden and complete loss of braking power while I was driving. This malfunction put my life and the lives of others at immediate risk. On the first occasion, in April, I narrowly avoided a serious collision. Four weeks later, I experienced a second instance of brake vacuum failure, which led to a severe accident. The inability to stop the vehicle safely was directly caused by this malfunction. I contacted general motors (gm) in April 2024 to report the initial brake vacuum failure. At that time, the issue had not yet been reproduced or inspected by a dealer or service center. Following the accident, I have been unable to confirm whether gm or any other party has the vehicle and component have not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives since the accident. I reported the issue to gm prior to the accident, but they have not provided any assistance or resolution. Prior to the initial brake vacuum failure in April, I did not observe any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms indicating a potential problem. The failure occurred suddenly and without warning, making it impossible to anticipate or avoid. This situation is incredibly distressing, and I believe the brake vacuum pump defect poses a serious threat to public safety. I urge the NHTSA to investigate this issue thoroughly and take any necessary steps to ensure the safety of other drivers who may be at risk.

Electrical issue , continuously losing communication to ebcm causing the car to go haywire with warning lamps on the dash board and then it brakes on its own , while driving on the highway at high speeds. This is very scary and extremely dangerous and this could eventually cause a serious accident. This has been occurring for 3 months now. I’ve had the car serviced 3 times within the last 3 months , costing me a lot of money but with no real resolution. Problem has been confirmed by independent mechanics , they stated the codes are a loss of communication to all control modules , they then reset / reprogram modules , which is only a temporary fix because it always happens again.

Engine misfire, shift to park and transmission.

Brake vacuum pump locked up causing camshaft to twist and reluctant wheel to turn which damaged the engine. I'm being quoted $10,000 to fix which was actually $1,000 more to fix but they accidentally under quoted me and have to honor the original estimate. I don't have that kind of money and still owe almost $14,000 on the car.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that an abnormal grinding sound was coming from the vehicle while depressing the brake pedal. The contact also stated that excessive effort was needed to stop the vehicle with the abs warning light intermittently illuminated on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the contact replaced the vacuum pump; however, the failure returned soon after the repair. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

Unknown coming off a ramp to slow down and brakes were hard. Have to press down to brake.

I was driving down the hwy and all of a sudden, my engine lost power and my brakes harden. I could not brake and nearly lost my life and my sons.

Car demonstrates random full vehicle power loss while in drive mode both at stop and while actually in motion and driving. Vehicle had a catastrophic loss of all break power while going downhill. Luckily while leaving the Lincoln memorial in DC driver was traveling slow enough and able to get vehicle stopped without immediate injury. Car brakes would not reengage without 3k repair to import/export value(see receipt). 2 days later check engine light returned. 2 weeks later dealer is still in discussion with gm to identify cause of engine failure.

While driving on many occasions the last incident happened Friday April 28th 2023. My 2020 Malibu lost all communication on 231 hwy. All dash gauges went haywire power dropped on vehicle rpm was accelerated but vehicle speed would not change engine light and traction light came on. I then had to pull over brakes made a loud thud noise when stopping. Turned vehicle off sat for about 15 minutes and restarted my vehicle engine light was still on but I was about four miles from home turned my hazard flashers on and made it home. When the car loses power it gives me no warning at all it just happens. I've taken it to both chevy dealers in my area mr. Matthew at gilland GMC ozark, al explained to me that yes he saw the codes where car lost power and because they couldn't pinpoint the problem GMC had to be called and he was told that GMC has a team of engineers working on the loss of control problem but at this time they don't know anything. I'm risking my life on every day driving this vehicle in which I do have an extended warranty on but they can't fix what they can't find but yet know for fact that there is a problem.

I was hearing a grinding noise when applying brakes so I had a mechanic change my brakes. He said they didnt need changing but I had him change them anyway. The noise didnt stop but we wasnt sure why it was making the noise. While driving down the highway, the break pedal became to hard to press. At that point I was in heavy traffic and had to use my emergency brake system to avoid collission with multiple vehicles. Upon taking my vehicle to the mechanic it was observed the vacuum pump had broken inside the motor. After the mechanic changed the part and cleared the broken parts out of the motor, within 6 months my breaks are acting funny again making loud noises when applying brakes. I'm terrified to drive long distances.

About 3 months ago, I started experiencing the shift to park problem where my car would turn off completely and would be still and solid but the car wouldn't register being in park.

This vehicle was purchased on February 10, 2023 under false pretenses, deceit, and fraudulent activities by frank leta Honda of missouri. Frank leta Honda and its salesman failed to disclosed that this vehicle was in a major accident prior to me purchasing it. The front-end bumper and the front quarter-panel on the passenger side were damaged. This car was re-painted with non-factory paint, and it shows. Most importantly, the procedure and process required in painting a vehicle was not followed. I even questioned the salesman whether or not this vehicle was in a major accident, and the salesman said, "no. " I had taken this vehicle to two professional auto body businesses, and two owners/auto body workers informed me without me asking that the vehicle had been in a major accident. Can you please give me a report on whether or not the previous owners of this vehicle reported an accident with this vehicle being involved in, and the original color of this vehicle. The dealer is calling it red. However, this vehicle is a deep dark burgundy.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu e2. The contact stated that while at a complete stop at the stop sign, the auto start/stop mode engaged, however the vehicle failed to restart upon releasing the brake pedal. The message "engine reduced power" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the vacuum pump had failed and the camshaft reluctor was in improper position. The dealer diagnosed that the vacuum pump and camshaft needed to be replaced. The parts were replaced. However, the failure reoccurred while driving. The contact stated while driving at 80 mph and merging lanes, the vehicle decelerated unintendedly and the message "engine reduced power" was displayed. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a second dealer, vandergriff Chevrolet (1200 w interstate 20, arlington, TX 76017), who informed the contact that he would need to tow the vehicle to the first dealer to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to tow the vehicle back to first dealer for additional diagnostic tests. The failure mileage was approximately 55,634.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 35 mph and depressing the brake pedal to slow the vehicle, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the oil change service light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the vacuum pump and engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.