85 complaints reported

2009 Chevrolet Malibu STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
85
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
1

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2020

WHILE DRIVING AT SPEED, STEERING INTERMITTENTLY STOPS WORKING, AND ESC POPS UP ON INFO SYSTEM, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL VEHICLE. WHEN I TURN VEHICLE OFF AND ON AGAIN STEERING WORKS AGAIN, FOR INDETERMINATE AMOUNT OF TIME.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 2020
Nov 2020

POWER STEERING GOES OUT AND THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT COMES ON AND SERVICE ESC MESSAGE COMES ACROSS THE MESSAGE CENTER. TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AND THE LIGHT GOES OUT, POWER STEERING COMES BACK FOR A SECOND THEN THE LIGHT TRIPS AGAIN AND IT'S OUT AGAIN. I HAVE LOST POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING DOWN A HIGHWAY AND ALSO WHILE BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY. IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE THIS CAR. IF I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN AND I LOOSING POWER STEERING, I HAVE TO SLOW DOWN AND PULL OVER TO TURN OFF THE CAR AND HOPE THAT POWER STEERING TURNS BACK ON.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2020
Oct 2020

DRIVING AT ABOUT 60 MPH ON A STRAIGHT AWAY, CAR LOST POWER STEERING AND SENSOR LIGHT SERVICE ESC/POWER STEERING STARTED FLASHING. THE STEERING FELT NO DIFFERENT PRIOR TO LOSING, NO NOISES. DROVE IT THIS WAY UNTIL I REACHED MY DESTINATION ABOUT 4 MILES AWAY. CAR SAT FOR 4 HOURS, TURNED IT BACK ON AND HAD REGAINED ALL STEERING AND NO WARNING LIGHTS CAME BACK ON. I HAVE NOTICED THAT FOR ABOUT THE PAST 4 YEARS, DURING THE COLDER MONTHS, THE SERVICE ESC/SERVICE TRACTION NOTIFICATION WILL RANDOMLY POP ON FOR NO OTHER REASON THEN THE COLD AND I LOSE TIRE TRACTION. PRETTY POSITIVE THIS IS WHAT CAUSED ME TO SLIDE OFF THE ROAD 2 YEARS AGO. WHENEVER I HAVE TAKEN IT TO DEALERSHIP FOR ANALYSIS, THEY CLAIM THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG, BECAUSE THE LIGHT POPS OFF AS QUICK AS IT COMES ON. I HAVE ALSO SPECIFICALLY ASKED ABOUT AND LOOKED UP A RECALL FOR THIS, AND WHEN MY VIN IS ENTERED IT SHOWS THAT IT IS NOT NEEDED. I FOUND THE RECALL FROM 2014 FOR THE POWER STEERING ISSUE, SO EITHER THE PRIOR OWNER HAD IT FIXED AND IT DIDN'T LAST, OR IT WAS NEVER DONE TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE SOMETHING IS DEFINITELY WRONG HERE. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A MAJOR ISSUE AND THE FIRST TIME I HAVE LOST MY STEERING. I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR 7 YEARS, STAYING ON TOP OF ALL REQUIRED MAINTENANCE AND THEN SOME. GM NEEDS TO GET A FIX FOR THIS!!!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2020
Oct 2020

OUR 2009 MALIBU JUST TURNED 67,000 MILES TODAY AND THE ECM STARTED FLASHING SERVICE STEERING AND NO TRACTION CONTROL ON A TWO-HOUR DRIVE HOME. AFTER LIMPING HOME BY PHYSICALLY MAN-HANDLING THE STEERING WHEEL TO MAKE A TURN, WE MADE IT HOME. SEARCHED ON-LINE FOR POSSIBLE ISSUES AND FOUND A MULTITUDE OF OTHER 2009 MALIBU OWNERS FACING THE SAME IDENTICAL ISSUE. CHECKED THE GM WEBSITE FOR ANY POSSIBLE RECALLS AND NONE WERE FOUND. THE SAME WAS TRUE WHEN CONTACTING A LOCAL GM DEALERSHIP. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD THAT COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH THAT, WILL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN IF NOT FIXED. GM NEEDS TO STEP UP AND CORRECT THIS ISSUE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2020
Oct 2020

DRIVING ON A MAJOR EXPRESSWAY. THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. NOT ALLOWING ME TO STEER OR CONTROL THE DIRECTION THE CAR WAS TRAVELING IN. HEART RACING, I SHIFTED THE CAR IN NEUTRAL.TURNED THE IGNITION SWITCH ON AND OFF SEVERAL TIMES, WHILE STILL TRAVELING AT 55 MILES PER HOUR. THE ABILITY TO STEER CAME BACK. THIS IS MY DAUGHTER,S CAR . THE CAR HAS SAT WHILE SHE REPAIR THINGS THE DEALER SUGGESTED TO REPAIR, BEFORE THE STEERING COULD BE CHECKED. A MODULE CONTROL SENSOR WAS JUST REPAIRED THIS WEEK. JAN.6,2020

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2018
Sep 2020

POWER STEERING FAILS OFTEN IN COLD WEATHER BUT HAS GROWN TO HAPPEN IN WARMER WEATHER AS WELL. GETTING WORSE OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 3 YEARS. HAPPENS BOTH IN MOTION AND STATIONARY. USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL BUT NOT ALWAYS. THERE ARE RECALLS FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH OLDER MODEL MALIBUS AND OTHER GM VEHICLES BUT NOT THIS MODEL EVEN THOUGH OTHERS HAVE REPORTED THE SAME ISSUE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2018
Aug 2020

I LOSE POWER STEERING WHILE I'M DRIVING. I HAVE TO STOP AND RESTART MY CAR. AFTER DRIVING A FEW MINUTES THE LIGHT COMES ON AND SAYS ESC AND I LOSE POWER STEERING AGAIN.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2020
Mar 2020

CAR WAS DRIVING FINE, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT. ESC LIGHT CAME ON AS WELL AS THE POWER STEERING AND TRACTION LIGHT. BECAME ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN THE WHEEL. ESPECIALLY WHILE GOING SLOWER.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 2020
Mar 2020

ESC DISPLAYS ACROSS DRIVER INFO CENTER WHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, FOLLOWED BY NO POWER STEERING. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT, SEEMS TO HAPPEN IN WET/COLD WEATHER. BASED ON FORUMS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND REQUIRES A STEERING WHEEL SENSOR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2019
Feb 2020

DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE YESTERDAY AND STARTED FEELING SMALL JERKS IN THE STEERING WHEEL. LIKE SOMETHING ON THE OTHER SIDE JERKING IT IN MY HAND. NOT ENOUGH TO MOVE THE CAR JUST IN MY HAND. NOW TODAY GO OUTSIDE, CRANK IT AND STEERING WHEEL WILL NOT MOVE. THE ESC AND POWER STEERING INDICATORS CAME ON.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 2020
Feb 2020

VEHICLE HAS HAD POWER STEERING ASSIST QUIT TWICE ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS WHILE IN A TURN ON COUNTY ROADS. COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER STEERING MID TURN. MOTOR HAS BEEN REPLACED ONCE AND IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2019
Feb 2020

MY VEHICLE HAS LOST STEERING AFTER STARTING SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE LAST WEEK. MY INFO SCREEN DISPLAYS AN ESC AND POWER STEERING MESSAGE AND MY STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED IN PLACE. ONCE THE CAR IS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED THE MESSAGES GO AWAY AND STEERING IS BACK TO NORMAL. I HAVE FOUND A RECALL RELATED TO THIS ON CERTAIN VEHICLES OF MY YEAR/MAKE/MODEL AND ALSO MANY FORUMS OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES. HOWEVER, WHEN SEARCHING BY VIN IT SAYS MY VEHICLE HAS 0 RECALLS. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED WHEN MY VEHICLE IS STOPPED, OR IN PARK MY STEERING WHEEL WILL SHAKE FOR A MOMENT AND THEN STOP.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2020
Feb 2020

WHILE SITTING IDLE MY STEERING WHEEL SHAKES ERRATICALLY. SOMETIMES WHEN I START THE CAR THE SERVICE ESC AND POWER STEERING SHOWS ON MY DASH, WHEN I TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN IT WILL NOT APPEAR AGAIN AND THE STEERING IS BACK. THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES WHILE DRIVING IF I TURN THE STEERING WHEEL SLIGHTLY TO ONE SIDE IT STOPS. IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN WHEN IT IS VERY COLD OUT.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2020
Jan 2020

DRIVING AND ESC COMES ON AND POWER STEERING SHUTS OFF. PULLED TO SAFE PLACE, WHICH WAS HARD WITHOUT POWER... AND TURNED CAR OFF BUT IT HAPPENED AGAIN SHORTLY THERE AFTER.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2020
Jan 2020

POWER STEERING HAS QUIT WORKING UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING.. ELECTRONIC TRACTION CONTROL HAS QUIT WORKING ALSO AT THE SAME TIME.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2020
Jan 2020

POWER STEERING SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING, STABILITY CONTROL SHUT DOWN, LOSS OF TRACTION CONTROL

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2019
Dec 2019

OVER THE PAST WEEK, MY VEHICLE WAS SENDING ME A ESC SERVICE MESSAGE AND I NOTICED THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY POWER STEERING. THIS HAPPENS WHEN MY CAR IS TURNED ON. THE POWER STEERING TURNS ITSELF TO MANUAL STEERING MAKING IT HARD TO TURN. I HAVE TO TURN THE CAR OFF RESETTING IT TO MAKE THE POWER STEERING WORK AGAIN. WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION THE STEERING WHEEL IS PULSATING AND I'M AFRAID IT WILL GO INTO MANUAL STEERING. I BROUGHT IT DOWN TO MY MECHANIC AND HE INFORMED ME IT WAS A TORQUE SENSOR. HE THEN SAID HE DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THERE WAS A RECALL BACK IN 2014 (BULLETIN 14116B.) THIS BULLETIN EXPLAINS THE EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS MY CAR IS HAVING. HE CALLED HURD CHEVY IN JOHNSON RI AND THEY TOLD HIM THERE WAS A RECALL. I THEN CALLED HURD AND THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. I THEN CALLED THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT MY VEHICLE (DIAMOND CHEVY, AUBURN MA) AND SPOKE TO AN ADVISOR NAMED SEAN. HE TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL BUT THE SPECIAL EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED 3/25/19 AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. I THEN CONTACTED GM ON THEIR WEBSITE AND EXPLAINED TO THEM THE SITUATION. THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. THE PROBLEM IS, I NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING NOTIFYING ME OF THIS RECALL. IT SOUNDS LIKE DIAMOND KNEW ABOUT THE RECALL BUT THEY NEVER CONTACTED ME OR FIX IT THE LAST TIME I WAS THERE FOR MAINTENANCE. NOW I'LL HAVE TO PAY OVER $500 OUT OF MY OWN POCKET TO HAVE MY VEHICLE FIXED. I HAVE PROVIDED BULLETIN 14116B AND THE PAPERWORK MY MECHANIC RESEARCHED AND GAVE ME.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2019
Dec 2019

POWER STEERING WILL WORK WHEN IT WANTS TO SOME DAYS IT WORKS ALL DAY OTHER DAYS IT WONT WORK AT ALL AND SOME DAYS I LOOSE POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING MY POWER STEERING LIGHT AND SERVICE ESC LIGHTS COME ON WHEN POWER STEERING FAILS THIS IS A SCARY PROBLEM TO HAVE WHEN TRANSPORTING MY 4 KIDS

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2019
Dec 2019

THE CAR WILL DISPLAY AN ESC SERVICE LIGHT AND THEN THE POWER STEERING WILL GO OUT ONCE THAT HAPPENS. WHEN YOU TURN THE CAR OFF THEN BACK ON THE LIGHT GOES AWAY AND THEN THE POWER STEERING WILL GO OUT AGAIN AND THE ESC SERVICE WILL DISPLAY AGAIN.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2019
Dec 2019

WHILE DRIVING, I NOTICED THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD PULSE, ESPECIALLY WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL LEFT. AFTER ABOUT 3 OR 4 DAYS, I LEFT WORK(12/17/19), AND "POWER STEERING SERVICE ESC" SHOWED ON THE DASH DISPLAY. SINCE THAT TIME, THE POWER STEERING HAS BEEN INTERMITTENT. MOST TIMES IT GOES OUT WHILE I'M DRIVING.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2019
Dec 2019

TODAY I LOST POWER STEERING AGAIN (ALSO HAPPENED 2 TIMES ABOUT A MONTH AGO). I WAS DRIVING IN DOWNTOWN MADISON WI TODAY WHEN IT HAPPENED, VERY UNSAFE SITUATION. GM'S WEBSITE SAYS THERE WAS A RECALL FOR SOME 2009 MALIBUS IN 2014, BUT WHEN I JUST CALLED GM NOW THEY SAY MY VEHICLE WASN'T INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. BUT OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH MY VEHICLE. BASED ON ALL THE OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THE WEBSITE, GM SHOULD BE FORCED TO RECALL THESE VEHICLES AGAIN! THIS TIME, ALL OF THEM.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2019
Nov 2019

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS POPPED UP ON THE DASH 'POWER STEERING' 'SERVICE ESC OFF' 'BRAKE LIGHT' 'SERVICE AIR BAG' AND THE STEERING WHEEL BECOMES VERY HARD TO TURN. TRYING TO GET THE CAR PULLED OVER TO THE NEAREST PARKING LOT TO MY LEFT I WAS ALMOST T-BONED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE BECAUSE THE TURNING PROCESS WAS SO HARD. AFTER PULLING INTO THE PARKING LOT AND TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF THEN BACK ON IT GOES AWAY THEN ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS POP ON AGAIN. THIS TIME AFTER A FEW SECONDS EVERYTHING ON THE DASHBOARD GOES BLANK INCLUDING THE RADIO AND THEN THE CAR DIES OUT DRAINING THE CARS BATTERY COMPLETELY.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2019
Nov 2019

I HAD A POWER STEERING LIGHT COME ONE, AND MY ESC LIGHT COME ON. THESE LIGHTS CAME ON WITH NO WARNING AND DISABLE THOSE FEATURES WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, GOING 57 MPH, AFTER A MAJOR ICE AND SNOW STORM. I AM UNABLE TO CONTROL MY VEHICLE WHILE IT IS ON THE ROAD.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2019
Nov 2019

MY STEERING WHEEL WOBBLES/SHAKES EXTREMELY DURING STOP OF VEHICLE AS WELL AS IN DRIVE. AT ONE POINT IT SAID POWER STEERING SERVICE ETC. I CAME ACROSS RECALL #14V153000, DEALERS AND WEBSITE SAYS NOT FOUND ON MY VEHICLE. I AM WONDERING WHY THAT IS SINCE MY PROBLEMS ARE THE SAME AS THE ONES STATED ALONG WITH THE SAME MAKE, MODE AND YEAR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2019
Oct 2019

AFTER PULLING AWAY FROM ESPRESSO STAND THE POWER STEERING ON 2009 CHEVY MALIBU COMPLETELY FAILED W/OUT WARNING. THIS OCCURRED AS I WAS JUST GOING INTO A RIGHT HAND TURN IN A PARKING LOT AT APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 10MPH. I NEARLY HIT THE DRIVERS DOOR OF A VEHICLE IN THE INTERSECTION AS THEY WERE TAKING A LEFT TURN INTO THE PARKING LOT. THE STEERING WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND REQUIRED BOTH HANDS. I CAME TO A STOP AS I COMPLETED THE TURN, JUST BEFORE THE PARKING LOT EXITED TO A SIDE ROAD. THE TRUCK BEHIND ME WAS HONKING AND MY VEHICLE WAS BARELY POSITIONED SAFELY ON 'MY' SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY. I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO TURN RIGHT ONTO THE ROADWAY AND PULL AS FAR OFF TO THE SHOULDER AS I COULD. THE SHOULDER; IS ABOUT TWO CAR LENGTHS LONG BEFORE IT TURNS INTO A SIDEWALK. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN EASY TASK HOWEVER, DUE TO THE STEERING I COULD BARELY GET OFF THE ROADWAY- MY FRONT TIRES ALL BUT RESTING ON THE START OF THE SIDEWALK. THE MESSAGE CENTER ON MY DASH READ "POWER STEERING" FOLLOWED BY "SERVICE ESC" AND THE ESC/ TRACTION CONTROL INDICATOR LIGHT ON THE DASH WAS LIT UP. I CALLED FOR HELP & THEY ARRIVED WITHIN MINUTES. WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCESS THE POWER STEERING UNIT AS IS LOCATED UNDERNEATH THE ALTERNATOR, AND REQUIRES REMOVAL OF THE ALTERNATOR. ABOUT 30 MIN AFTER INCIDENT I MOVED CAR BACK SEVERAL FEET - STEERING WAS STILL HARD. I TURNED IT OFF. A FEW MINUTES LATER I TURNED BACK ON. STILL GETTING MESSAGE, BUT DECIDED TO DRIVE THE 5 MI BACK SINCE ONLY 2 TURNS WERE NECESSARY. ONE PERSON HELPING WAS IN FRONT AND ONE PERSON FOLLOWING. IT WAS UNEVENTFUL HOWEVER WARNING INDICATORS WERE STILL ON & STEERING EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. 3HRS LATER I TURN CAR ON TO GET MILEAGE AND NOTICED THAT INDICATORS ARE OFF. TESTED THE STEERING- IT HAS RESUMED TO NORMAL. VEHICLE IS DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 8MI HM. MESSAGE DISPLAYED TWICE DURING THIS DRIVE. VEHICLE HAD PRE-TRIP INSPECTION 1WK PRIOR. 108K MILE

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2019

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2009 Chevrolet Malibu has 85 STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.