2009 Chevrolet Malibu Steering

Power steering intermittently went out while driving. It is unsafe and can cause a wreck

Loss of Power Steering Assist while driving, increasing risk of crash, occurred on 3/8/24. No warning of failure, but upon failure the dash indicated Power Steering malfunction. When able to schedule into repair shop, system error codes indicated the Electronic Power Steering Motor Control Module and Steering Column required replacement (shop mechanic said these parts have worn out). Vehicle has not been repaired due to excessive cost ($1400 parts, plus $385 labor and shop supplies, plus sales tax). Vehicle only had 96,227 miles when malfunction occurred and has never been driven hard. Malfunctioning parts are still in vehicle and are thus available for inspection upon removal. Vehicle is still in use and probably poses an elevated and unnecessary risk to the general public and occupants of this vehicle due to poor manufacturer design and/or quality assurance. I have driven the vehicle 11 miles to date, without re-occurrence of malfunction (yet).

Power steering intermittionly turns off and on

In 2012, I was driving down a somewhat of a curvy road when all of a sudden when approaching a curve, the car would not turn!!! I was headed straight for a tree as well as traveling into opposing traffics lane. Fortunately, no one was coming. Eventually the steering came back which sent me back in the other direction as I was pulling on the wheel trying to get it to turn. This sent me over a curb that was on my side of the road, resulting in damage that had to be repaired at a collision center. I was scared to drive the car after this because of what happened, but everyone I talked to said there wasn't nothing wrong with the car. I started driving it again and everything was fine, until in 2022 as I was pulling into my mother's driveway, and it happened again!! I started the turn and boom no steering and ended up in her front yard. I haven't drove it since because I am terrified it will happen again. Today I decided to look into if anyone was having the same issue as I, and I found that my car was under a GM special coverage 15356 which has now expired. This should have been a RECALL!! If I wouldn't have thought to look into the problem I would have never known. Not only am I out money for the repair from the first incidence this could have ended poorly not just for me but other drivers around me as well.

Loss of power steering while driving nearly causing an accident, very dangerous situation.

The power steering randomly goes out while I'm driving and triggers esc off. This creates a seriously dangerous driving situation as I have very little control of the vehicle. Why hasn't this been recalled. It's a seriously unsafe design that can kill someone.

Intermittent loss off power steering while driving, usually in cold weather conditions. Absolutely no warning. This is EXTREMELY dangerous, especially when the driver is an elderly woman without the arm strength to steer the car without assisted power steering.

2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO LOSS OF POWER STEERING.

The power steering stops working then the light comes on and reads power steering. This has happened multiple times so far. An example is when I was turning from one street to another. No other cars were coming or I may have hit them due to no steering at all. I was able to let it coast into the edge of someone's yard. I turned the car off. Then about 3 minutes later I turned it on and it worked again. 2nd time was at a food drive thru rounding the building. Turned off and back on and it worked. 3rd time in my driveway backing out. Again no one was near my car when I backed out onto a 55 mph road.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH the contact heard a chime and then the "Service Power Steering Loss SC" illuminated. The contact was able to steer the vehicle using extra effort to drive the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact continued driving and the power steering failure reoccurred. The contact pulled off the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact stated that that failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V153000 (Steering). The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 226,000.

When accelerating the car glides to the right even tho you’re holding the steering wheel straight there’s not any play in the steering that i can observe. When you are driving it is unpredictable which way you feel the said “ gliding motion “ when braking I would say that it usually glides to the left but at times it’s caught me off guard and I vear off to the right the esc service light is now on also I made a appointment for safety inspection at a local dealership

Electric power steering failure (EPS). I looked on the website and shows a recall but I called my dealer and said my VIN does not come up. I have loss of power steering. driving down the road it will stop working or when in a parking lot trying to maneuver around. Warning lamps are on. Steering is very difficult. I do not feel safe having anyone drive my car because it is so hard to steer when it stops working. It will catch you off guard and when you are in traffic it could be fatal. Loss of steering has been happening for about 6 months but has gotten worse the last week to the point I cant even drive and feel safe.

Electronic power steering goes out randomly while driving highway speeds. Traction control light and ESC light go on when this happens.

I purchased this car used on 3/27/2023. The previous owner took good care of the car and had any recalls issued taken care of. On 4/10/2023 the power steering went out. I had the Power Steering Control Module replaced on 4/17/2023 at a cost of $1,154.36 at my local Chevrolet dealer. Upon research on the Internet I found that some Chevrolet Malibus were issued a recall for this problem. This car should have been issued a recall and this problem taken care of years ago. I need for Chevrolet / GM to address this. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his wife was backing out of the driveway, the power steering failed without warning. Due to the failure, his wife hit a pole on their property. The contact's wife was not injured, the air bags did not deploy due to low impact, a police report was not filed, and no property damage was reported. The contact went to assist his wife after the failure and used excessive force to steer the vehicle back into the driveway. The contact called the dealer and informed him that the vehicle was not under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V153000 (Steering). The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 76,500.

Unknown when I try to turn the steering locks up and then it lets go it’s like grabbing not wanting to let me turn

The power steering went out when my son was driving. He was barely able to get out of the road for safety purposes. We took it to a dealer and they are recommending a whole new steering column and sensors. They say this is very common on these models. In looking at a $1,500-$2,000 fix and from what I researched this is very common with these models but only some were 'recalled.' Seems to be a way bigger issue. Im lucky my son wasn't in an accident.

I was pulling out of my alley onto a main street and my power steering went out I had to pull over I shut the car off and restarted it and it came back. When this happened got a message on dash ESC active and service power steering.

The contact's daughter owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was taken to an independent dealer, where it was diagnosed as EPS System failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed as power steering assist failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

Loses power steering and switches to manual steering, making it hard to steer.

My power steering Assist is beginning to fail again. In January 2020, I had my power steering Assist motor replaced. Now, just over 3 years later, the power steering is failing again. This can be extremely dangerous if it fails while on the freeway.

While driving vehicle on highway a sudden loss of power steering happened. A message did appear on the dash stating “service powering steering system ESP”. I immediately turned off the highway as I was very afraid of what had happened. I got a ride from a friend and left the car on the side road overnight. After researching what happened it is a very common issue with this year, make and model. Since I researched it was a loss of power steering I knew I had to get it serviced and knew it would be difficult to steer under manual steering. I was able to drop it off at a local AAA service center. The service center contacted me the next day and said this particulat steering column has been recalled by GM. I called GM and they said my vehicle was not recalled by the VIN I had. I called the service center back and they called a certified GM technician and again stated the steering column had been recalled. I decided to go ahead with the repair the service center had to get a remanufactured GM steering column and that’s what was replaced. I am requesting an investigation to why my VIN was not part of the recall and I would like to request reimbursement by GM. The NTHSA campaign id# is 14V153 and the GM technical bulletin that was issued for my year make and model is bulletin 14116 and 14116B.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH and exiting a highway exit ramp, the steering wheel and column started to shake and vibrate abnormally. The contact stated she drove the vehicle to a nearby independent mechanic. The contact was able to place the vehicle in park P) and turned off the vehicle. The contact returned to the vehicle to drive to a maintenance bay however, the power steering function was unavailable. The contact stated she observed an unknown warning light. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the independent mechanic determined that the steering motor and the steering angle sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was driven back to the same mechanic who diagnosed that the u-joint on the steering shaft had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The independent mechanic researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14E044000 (Steering). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.

At the time I bought my Chevy Malibu Hybrid in 2009, I was not aware nor was it made known to me by the dealership or the Sales Rep. that the steering mechanism was electronically controlled and not hydraulic. Had I known that to be the case, I would have reconsidered the purchase. In September of 2015 GM issued a notice informing me and those who were owners of my particular vehicle equipped with electric power assist (EPS): "... the steering column torque sensor or the EPS motor/controller may cause the vehicle to suddenly lose EPS ...The vehicle will revert to a manual steering mode, which requires greater driver effort to operate at low vehicle speeds." GM's resolution: 10 year warranty from date of purchase or 105,000 mile whichever occurs first. About two years after the warranty was issued, I started experiencing an intermittent failure with the steering upon starting on extremely cold mornings though not while driving. Once the car warmed up the steering problem went away. But because it was not continuous and difficult to replicate and thus to diagnose, the dealership as well as GM found that it would be hard for my unique problem to be covered by the warranty. I verbalized my complaint to GM on Oct. 15, 2016. Additionally, I was told by the dealership, if a diagnostic code (ESP) could not be found at the time the vehicle was bought in, a fee of $119.00 for diagnostics would be owed at that time. Note: A total failure of the torque sensor is the only time a code is present therefore I was reluctant to bring the vehicle in. The warranty expired for my vehicle in 2019. Recently, within a year or two, the steering has failed me while driving - twice, intermittently. When failure does occur on a car with this type of steering it is extremely difficult to steer and very dangerous especially at low speeds. Therefore, my plea is for NHTSA to issue a recall, not a limited warranty for this kind of safety issue. The estimated cost to repair: $1,500.