Exterior Lighting Problems of Chevrolet Malibu - part 1

Okay so my car had 2 recalls but the they were not repaired the same problem reoccurred . Which was the car engine not turning on and electrical problems etc. I don’t really know how to explain it but yes it’s having the same problems .

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

My instrument cluster isn't working correctly. Some days I go out to start my car and the instrument cluster works. As I'm driving down the road my instrument cluster just stops working. My speedometer doesn't work, my rpms, the lights, temperature gauge and gas gauge just stops working. It's very scary and my transmission doesn't want to shift and my engine power is bogging down. This is really dangerous and I feel like my life is in danger. I pull off the road and shut my 2013 chevy Malibu off and restart it and sometimes it comes back on and instrument cluster works but start driving and the instrument cluster stops working again. I have had my mechanic try to figure it out but so far I haven't been able to find out where the issue is so I haven't been able to fix it. My brakes have also been not engaging properly. I have had to replace my brakes 3 times so far after I got the brakes fixed for the 3rd time I haven't had very many problems. I also had to replace all my hubs as well as the brakes. Also something electrical isn't functioning correctly and when I shut my car off it makes a clicking noise right after I turn my car off. I'm a member of a chevy Malibu group and there are thousands of people from all over the world with the same issues that I'm having with my vehicle. No warning lights have came on for any of the problems I'm having with my car. Please look into this and help me,us that are having these issues thank you for your time. The next question of what date I can't really answer because it's been multiple dates. The question below about what mph I was going I can't answer because my mph wasn't working.

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I'm having to replace the low beam headlight in my car more times than a lil bit! I hate that I'm constantly spending $60+ everytime on headlights cause of I replace one side imma replace the other! I have brought the replacement harness for the lights and the low beam still blows!.

See all problems of the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

Two months ago while driving on the highway at 60 mph at night my headlights shut off with no warning leaving only my running lights, turn signals, brake lights and hazards lights functioning. Neither hi or low beams would function. Yet no warning or service lights appeared on the dash. Local mechanic replaced both the headlights bulbs and connectors on both sides. 3 weeks later it happened again, this time when I started my car the headlights failed to turn on. So I contacted a local chevy dealer (rob eck chevy) who said there was no recall or investigation. . . So I took it back the mechanic and had him fix it again. Just a few minutes ago today when I went to go to work yet again the headlights won't turn on. Checked through a plethora of forums about the Malibu both fan sites and manufacturers sites and have found that this is an extremely common issue for 2008-2014 Malibus, as this is an extremely dangerous failure/malfunction for both the driver and everyone else on the road I am stunned that there's no recall or at least an investigation into this as with this many occurrences with so many owners it's virtually impossible to be owner fault ergo it must be a product defect or a manufacturer defect. . . . Please do what's right for the safety and well being of others not what's right to protect the rich lining their pockets.

While driving at night with the lights on, the rear taillights are bright all the time. When you press the brake pedal, the rear taillights go dim or completely dark. Brake lights are working opposite what they should be doing. Fixed once with local mechanic. Fixed second time at dealership with a 'technical service bulletin' and now it is having the same problem for third time.

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Rear high mount brake light is loose allowing water to leak I. And around the electrical connections, rear speakers in vehicle have moisture around them, potentially causingin a short and fire hazard.

The third break light above the rear windshield doesn't have proper rubber seals which cause water to leak into the housing and the break light to short out, and also water to leak throughout the upper interior and into the truck causing rust and mold.

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact had been informed by other drivers that the brake lights failed to illuminate as intended while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that the brake lights randomly illuminated while driving. The traction control warning light was illuminated intermittently, causing the cruise control to become inoperable. The contact stated that as an independent mechanic, he had replaced the brake sensors twice; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control (esc); however, the failure persisted. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure might be related to the brake sensors. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

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Electrical problem causing the passenger side low beam to keep burning out. Fourth time in one year. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This issue causes a safety concern because you can be driving down the highway at night and all of a sudden you have no headlight.

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The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed, and the lights became inoperable. When the brake pedal was released, the lights returned to normal functionality. The contact also stated that the cruise control failed to engage as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and it was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control (esc). The contact stated that the failure recurred after the repair. The dealer informed the contact the recall repair was a one-time free repair. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer covered under the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

This is in reference to gm recall number: 13036 - I noticed that from time to time the service traction warning comes on, service esc warning comes on, my cruise control stops working suddenly. I didn't think anything of it until I finally noticed my brake lights were illuminated in my back window without my foot being on the brake pedal. I replaced the sensor on the brake pedal hoping that would fix it and it did not. I looked up my VIN for active recalls and for some reason it's saying there are none. This is clearly the recall that is listed. I'm worried I'll be driving and someone may either rear end me or get confused thinking I'm braking when I am not. Very unsafe. I'm just unsure what to do. Any help would be appreciated as I need a vehicle and can't be without one.

Passenger and or driver side low beam headlight continues to go out. Mechanic has found connector keeps burning out the socket. Light is fine but connector is shorting out. Fire and safety issue. This issue is on a lot of Chevrolet Malibu and needs a recall fix.

Passenger headlight keeps going out. Have had to replace 4 times in 3 years. Difficult taking off entire bumper.

The brake light stays on the whole time.

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Passenger side headlamp burned out took off bumper to inspect and the wiring pigtail to the headlight has melted causing it to malfunction so now in order to make it work you have to disconnect the daytime running lights so that the melting stops this is supposedly happened to a lot of Malibu's why there isn't a recall on this fire hazard is beyond me and it is a safety issue cuz you can't use your daytime running lights any longer. This issue has not been reported because upon investigation it's been reported many times and nothing gets done about it you have to pay for it yourself. This will be the last gm product.

Chevy, and many gm vehicles love to illuminate the white “reverse” lights when parked. This is a fundamental departure from what it means when these *white* lights are illuminated, I. E. , the car is in reverse and pedestrians and other vehicles should prepare for the vehicle to back up. However, with the above auto manufacturers, that rule is broken and now there are tens of thousands, or millions of vehicles on the road, and myriad parking lots/garages where these fundamental tenets for the expectation of a potential vehicle behavior has been broken. The notion that this is a “safety” feature to illuminate the area around the vehicle is inherently flawed. Other automobile manufacturers have seemed to fare just fine without this departure of what white lights mean on the back of a vehicle. When something has a long-standing specific meaning (I. E. , I might go in reverse), and then that rule is changed, or augmented in ways that are non-uniform across automobile manufacturers, it renders the original intended purpose to be futile. At what point will somebody become severely injured and/or die because the white lights of a chevy were ignored, and a car, did in fact, go in reverse. Going in reverse is now the exception when white lights illuminate on these cars, not the rule, and this is a terrible “feature” for alerting others about the intended behavior of the vehicle. The NHTSA should clarify the intended purpose of when white (reverse) rights are allowed to illuminate before the meaning of these lights becomes even more degraded.

See all problems of the 2022 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

The front exterior low beam bulbs / wiring harness keeps burning out. I have replaced them twice already and they have blown again. What is going on already a headache just to even get to the headlights, now have to spend more money to repair.

Passenger low beam keeps going out within a couple days charged wire harness and bulbs keeps happening.

2013 chevy Malibu LS headlight found shorted and was causing other electrical issues. . Read more...

Headlight lowbeams going bad every 4 or so months. Always divers side first. My electrical auto guy said he couldn't locate a problem with the bulb being burnt out.

See all problems of the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu 🔎.

On March 18, 2024, I noticed that water began to enter the car when it was in the carwash. I opened a claim with the insurance company and an investigation was carried out that lasted approximately 3 months. On June 11, the body shop received my car to diagnose and provide a quote to the insurance company for the necessary repairs due to this water damage. The workshop considered it to be a problem in the upper rear brake light and mentioned that this is a Chevrolet recall on these cars. The insurance company called me and told me that I had to go directly to the dealer to have the necessary repairs made to my car that were caused by this water problem. However, I cannot find information about this recall online.

Bulb - third brake light assembly: replace the third brake lamp asm. Its broken. Common issue with chevy Malibus 2016-2018. The bulb in the back of the rear window which is an added indicator that the vehicle is braking. Cars are almost crashing my car when I break to turn. I have a young son in the car and this is dangerous especially if this is a common issue amount chevy Malibu drivers. There is a gm forum where numerous people are complaining about being given $400-$700 repair estimates when it should be a recall from the manufacturer.

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My brake lights constantly go out. My fuses keep blowing. Every time I try to adjust my mirrors the fuses blow for the mirrors and brake lights. Also my headlights keep blowing and the headlight harness has been changed and everything. It is very dangerous not having brake lights, or being able to adjust my mirrors.

My 2010 chevy Malibu randomly started having electrical problems a few weeks ago. My gauge cluster lights will not turn on and I cannot see my blinkers or other information I need in the gauge cluster. The gauge cluster lights wont come on so I cannot see how fast I am going at night. The brake lights illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed. The car is difficult to get out of park. After researching the problems I found that gm has issued recalls for the bcm on Chevrolet Malibus recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured may 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012. I then contacted my local chevy dealership and they told me my vehicles VIN does not fall under the recall they issued so I would have to pay to have the problems addressed. I explained to the dealership that this is a well known issue and how unsafe that it is and they then told me “there is nothing we do about it. ”. I do not feel safe driving the vehicle and I feel that these issues that it is having will put my life at risk and others because these malfunctions will obviously increase the risk of a crash. I feel that it is wrong to have a customer pay for repairs on a part of a vehicle that has recalls and is a crucial safety component.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the brake pedal, the third brake light failed to illuminate intermittently. Additionally, the contact stated that the third brake light would randomly illuminate while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the third brake light was defective. Additionally, the local dealer and an unknown dealer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist due to the vehicle mileage. Additionally, the manufacturer informed the contact that the recall repair of NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control) was previously performed on the vehicle, and that the repair was one-time free of charge. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

I have a 2009 chevy Malibu that is under the NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000. The recall fix on this vehicle was performed but did not fix the issue and when contacting the local gm dealerships (multiple ones) I was told that the recall was closed on this vehicle and they refused to help at all. This is a very deadly issue the brake lights staying on until you press the brake pedal then they go out when stopped can cause a fatal accident these vehicles need to be properly fixed or repurchased by gm. This is a recurring issue with these vehicles.

Passenger side low beam headlight bulb connector melted/burnt. Caused low beam to go out on occasion - hit a bump and it switches on/off.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that she became aware that the trunk was damp and wet. The contact stated that after having a flat tire, she noticed mold on the rear windshield. There was half-inch of water in the trunk. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the third brake light was leaking, and water was leaking into the vehicle. The mechanic informed the contact that the headliner and rear seat was wet. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

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The headlights will repeatedly stop working. I got both headlight bulbs replaced and two months later the passenger side low beam light was flickering. It would sometimes come back on if a bump in the road was hit or if it was tapped then it went out completely. This is very costly and unsafe to be driving at night with. It is most likely a problem with the headlight assembly. I have had the vehicle inspected multiple times and there was not anything reported to me. I can not afford to keep spending hundreds of dollars over and over again on the same issue. This is a continuous issue that I have seen in many other chevy Malibus and this needs to be fixed immediately.

The brakes light keep going out they won’t blink the won’t turn on fuses are blowing.

Noticed the rear center mounted stop lamp was cracked on the left side and found there was a substantial leak of water into the trunk from said lamp. This particular vehicle is the hybrid which makes this dangerous as the water is dripping over the high voltage battery. Vehicle has not yet been inspected.

3rd brake light cracked on both sides.

Passenger headlight caught fire while driving.

I noticed some staining in my vehicle head liner and a nasty musky smell about an hour after I washed my vehicle. I do know there is a recall on the third brake high stop lamp for same model different VIN associated. My vehicle has the same problem and this can cause malfunctioning to the rear of the vehicle due to the water leaking into the car and on the wiring ov the vehicle. Seats get wet, headliner is stained and gets wet, rear deck gets soaked as well. 3 of my bolt fasteners have broken and I have a temporary fix on it.

Passenger side low beam headlight wont work. Replace fuses relays and wiring harness. Ive read online where this is very common with these cars and even replacing the headlight assembky isnt a sure fix.