2010 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.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN ESC LIGHT CAME ON AND COMPLETELY LOST POWER STEERING ON THE HIGHWAY WHERE THERE WAS SNOW AND ICE. HAD TO PULL OF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ALMOST GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT.
ESC LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS
WHEN I STARTED MY VEHICLE, AN INDICATOR LIGHT IMMEDIATELY REPORTED A NEED TO SERVICE MY ESC AND MY POWER STEERING WAS DISABLED. AFTER RESTARTING THE VEHICLE, IT SEEMED TO CORRECT ITSELF. NOW, WHEN DRIVING, MY STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES WHEN THERE IS NO TORQUE APPLIED TO THE WHEEL AND MAKES A CHATTERING NOISE PERIODICALLY. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WEEK NOW.
ECSLIGHT COME ON AND THEN YOU LOSE POWER STEERING AND GET A ERROR SAYING POWER STEERING IF YOU TURN CAR OFF AND MAKE ON IT AGAIN LIGHT GOES OFF AND THE POWER STEERING COMES BACK CAR WAS ON HIGHWAY THIS AS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIME IN THE LAST TWO SATS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL WARNING INDICATOR DISPLAYED "OFF" AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THREE INDEPENDENT MECHANICS. THE FIRST INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE FAILURE WAS AN INNER TIE ROD FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO A TIRE SHOP WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A TIRE ROD AND SWAY BAR MALFUNCTION. THE BRACKETS ON THE SWAY BAR WERE REPLACED, BUT THE ISSUE PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO A THIRD INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE WITH A POSSIBLE RACK AND PINION MALFUNCTION. THE MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONTACT OF A RECALL AND WAS ADVISED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A GENERAL MOTOR DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 152,000.
TAKATA RECALL. THIS RECALL HAS BEEN CLOSED, BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. GM WAS SAID TO HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM IN MAY,2014. VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN IN AFTER THE RECALL DATE, AND TOLD ITS CLOSED. PROBLEM STILL OCCURS, NOT FIXED. TOLD BY CHEVY THAT IF THERE IS MORE REPAIRS TO BE DONE, IT IS NOT COVERED BY RECALL AND I WILL HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET. SAME PROBLEM IT HAD BEFORE BUT THE BCM WAS NEVER REPLACED. I WAS DRIVING AND LOST ALL POWER STEERING. WARNING CAME ACROSS STATED POWER STEERING & SERVICE ESC. HAD TO STOP, SHUT OFF ENGINE, START CAR, PROBLEM WENT AWAY FOR 2 MINUTES AND HAPPENED AGAIN. I HAD MY DAUGHTER WITH ME AT THE TIME. SCARY.
THE POWER STEERING DISENGAGES RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING. THE RESULTING EXTRA WORK REQUIRED TO TURN THE CAR, LEADS A CAR THAT IS INCAPABLE OF SAFE TRANSPORT BY MOST PEOPLE. I WAS ON A CITY STREET THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, PREPARING TO GET ON THE INTERSTATE. THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND MAY OR MAY NOT BE PRESENT EACH TIME THE CAR IS STARTED.
AT FIRST, WHEN STARTING VEHICLE, DIC WOULD DISPLAY SERVICE ESC AND POWER STEERING. TURNING VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON WOULD USUALLY CLEAR THE PROBLEM, HOWEVER, WHILE DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD RANDOMLY START MOVING AN INCH OR SO TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT. AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS, WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE SERVICE ESC AND POWER STEERING MESSAGES WOULD DISPLAY AGAIN, AND POWER STEERING WAS LOST. THIS STARTED HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY TO THE POINT WHERE I CAN'T COMPLETE A TRIP WITHOUT THE POWER STEERING DROPPING OUT. RESEARCH SHOWS GM IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND MY VEHICLE WILL BE FIXED UNDER GM SPECIAL COVERAGE 15356, SINCE I AM UNDER 150,000 MILES. HOWEVER, I FEEL THIS IS HAPPENING TO ENOUGH TO WARRANT A GENERAL RECALL.
ESC LIGHT IS COMING ON AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS UP AND WON'T TURN WHILE DRIVING AND ALSO WHILE PARKED. SHUTTING OFF CAR THEN TURNING BACK ON SOMETIMES RESETS IT BUT THE STEERING COLUMN IS ALSO VIBRATING AND ALMOST FEELS AS THE STEERING WHEEL IS GOING TO FALL OFF. STEERING WHEEL IS ALSO TWITCHING EVEN WHILE AT A STOP. MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN VERY WELL TAKEN CARE OF, ALL OIL CHANGES DONE ON TIME SND REGULAR MAINTAINCE.
I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK AND I HAD TO STOP TO GET GAS. EVERYTHING WAS FINE. I PULLED AWAY FORM THE PUMP AND PROCEEDED TO THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY. WHEN I LEFT THE PARKING LOT TO PULL INTO TRAFFIC, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN. I WAS DRIVING LESS THAN 5 MPH. THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT WAS ON, ESC MESSAGE, AND SERVICE POWER STEERING SYSTEM WERE ACTIVATED. I DROVE BACK HOME AND WENT TO WORK IN MY OTHER VEHICLE. 162,409 MILES. I PURCHASED THE CAR BRAND NEW IN FEBRUARY 2010. ALL OIL CHANGES AND TIRE ROTATIONS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AT A CHEVY DEALERSHIP. I'VE ONLY PURCHASED TIRES, TWO BATTERIES, AND WINDSHIELD WIPERS FOR MY CAR UNTIL LAST WEEK. THAT WAS THE ENGINE COOLANT SENSOR. UNTIL NOW I ALWAYS BRAGGED AND SAID THAT MY MALIBU WAS THE BEST CAR EVER BECAUSE I NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES WITH IT.
I WAS AT BURGER KING DRIVE THRU AND WHEN I GOT DONE ORDERING I TRIED TO PULL AROUND AND MY POWER STEERING LIGHT CAM ON AND MY ESC LIGHT . I COULD NOT TURN IT WAS VERY HARD I HAD TO TURN OFF MY CAR AND IT FIXED IT SELF. THIS BETTER BE A RECALL BEC WHY DO I GOT TO SPEND MY MONEY TO FIX THIS IT'S BS
THE TRACTION CONTROL & SERVICE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) LIGHTS WERE COMING ON. ALSO, THE STEERING COLUMN ANGLE SENSOR WAS FOUND TO BE CORRODED, WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED THE LIGHTS TO STAY ON.
I WAS DRIVING ON SR-512 NEAR PUYALLUP, WASHINGTON. I WAS JUST MOVING TO THE RIGHT AT THE BASE OF THE FREEWAY ON-RAMP, WHEN MY ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING WENT OUT. AT NEARLY THE SAME TIME, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVATED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. EACH OF MY WHEELS BEGAN BRAKING INDEPENDENT FROM ONE ANOTHER. THIS LATEST FOR APPROXIMATELY 10-SECONDS AND DID NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. THE POWER STEERING ALSO RETURNED TO NORMAL FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME. LATER THAT SAME MORNING, I WAS AT A STOP SIGN AND WAS WAITING TO TURN RIGHT. WHEN TRAFFIC CLEARED ENOUGH FOR ME TO BEGIN MY TURN I TURNED THE WHEEL TO THE RIGHT. ALMOST AT THE SAME MOMENT THE STEERING WENT OUT AGAIN, AND I HAD TO FIGHT TO COMPLETE THE TURN. HAD I BEEN AN ELDERLY PERSON, WITHOUT SUFFICIENT STRENGTH TO FORCE THE STEERING WHEEL TO TURN, I WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY CRASHED INTO THE CARS WAITING TO TURN LEFT AT THE INTERSECTION IN QUESTION. THE STEERING PROBLEM HAS PERSISTED EVER SINCE AND GOTTEN MUCH WORSE OVER TIME. I'VE NOTICED IF I STOP THE CAR...TURN OFF THE IGNITION...AND RESTART THE CAR THE ELECTRONIC STEERING RESETS AND WILL BE FINE FOR UP TO 10-15 MINUTES. BUT THE PROBLEM ALWAYS RETURNS. I LOOKED ONLINE AND SAW THAT MALIBUS FROM 2004-2009 EXPERIENCED THIS SAME PROBLEM AND WERE RECALLED. I WENT TO MY LOCAL CHEVROLET DEALER AND ASKED IF THEY WOULD EXTEND THE RECALL PROTECTION TO COVER MY 2010 MALIBU AND I WAS ADVISED THEY WOULD NOT. THIS IS A REAL SAFETY PROBLEM, AND WHILE I CAN'T AFFORD THE $2,000 REPAIRS TO GET IT FIXED, I CAN'T IMAGINE TRYING TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE WHEN WINTER ARRIVES AND THE ROADS TURN ICY. THIS PROBLEM WOULD MOST CERTAINLY CAUSE AND ACCIDENT. I HOPE YOU CAN INFLUENCE CHEVROLET TO EXTEND THEIR EXISTING MALIBU RECALL TO COVER THE 2010 MODELS THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS AS THOSE MODELS FROM THE PREVIOUS SEVEN MODEL YEARS. THANK YOU.
I WAS DRIVING WITH MY SON AND HIS FRIEND (BOTH IN THE BACK SEAT THANKFULLY!) DOWN A HILL (MAYBE 10-20 MPH) TO A STOP LIGHT WHEN I HEARD A PINGING NOISE AND NO LONGER HAD CONTROL OF STEERING. THE POWER STEERING AND ESC WARNINGS WERE SHOWING ON THE DASHBOARD AND STEERING WAS EXCEPTIONALLY HARD. I WAS ABLE (BARELY) TO MAKE THE TURN AND PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURNED THE CAR OFF (VERY HARD TO DO AT A SLOW MPH). I WAITED ABOUT 10-20 SECONDS AND TURNED IT BACK ON AND IT SEEMED FINE. I HAD AN APPOINTMENT FOR AN OIL CHANGE THE NEXT DAY AND PLANNED ON ASKING THEM TO CHECK IT. LATER THAT SAME NIGHT, I WAS DRIVING AT ABOUT 35 MPH WHEN THE SAME THING HAPPENED ON A MAIN ROAD. I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT (NOT EASILY) AND TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON, BUT IT DID NOT RESET ITSELF. THE NEXT MORNING I TOOK MY CAR FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE POWER STEERING IS ELECTRICAL AND THAT THEY WOULD HAVE SOMEONE LOOK AT IT THE NEXT DAY (IT WAS SUNDAY AND I NEEDED TO WAIT UNTIL MONDAY). MONDAY MORNING THEY CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THAT I WOULD NEED TO BRING IT TO THE DEALER FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE POWER STEERING MOTOR AND THAT THEY'VE SEEN THIS MULTIPLE TIMES WITH GM CARS. I BROUGHT IT TO H&L CHEVY IN DARIEN, CT WHERE I BOUGHT IT AND THEY TOLD ME THAT ALTHOUGH THERE IS A LARGE RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE, THAT MY CAR IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR IT EVEN THOUGH IT'S THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM!! I SEE ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE THAT THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS WITH A 2010 MALIBU AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO GET THIS COVERED BY GM -- IT'S RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE FOR A SINGLE PARENT (OR ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER!) *TR
MY 2010 CHEVY MALIBU LOSES POWER STEERING AT LOW RATES OF SPEED WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS MOVED IN EITHER DIRECTION. THIS HAS PUT MY FAMILY IN DANGERS WAY ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. GM/CHEVY RECENTLY HAD A RECALL TO FIX THE ISSUE I AM HAVING HOWEVER THEY WILL NOT COVER THE 2010 MODEL UNDER THE RECALL. THE 2008-2012 MODELS OF THE CHEVY MALIBU USE THE SAME ELECTRONIC STEERING PARTS HOWEVER GM FEELS THEY ONLY NEED TO RECALL THE 2008 AND 2009 MODELS. THIS IS URGENT THAT THIS BE ADDRESSED WITH GM AND IS A MATTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY. I ALSO WILL BE WRITING MY LOCAL AND STATE REGULATORS IN THE HOPES THAT THIS MAY SAVE LIVES AND DOCUMENT MY COMPLAINTS. PLEASE SEE GM RECALL BELOW. AGAIN THIS DOES NOT COVER THE 2010 MODEL EVEN THOUGH IT USES THE SAME PARTS! THIS HAS BEEN INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED BY 2 CERTIFIED GM MECHANICS AS WELL AS 2 LOCAL MECHANICS. IF WE LOSE ONE MORE LIFE BECAUSE OF GM'S CARELESS ACTIONS THEN OUR SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK. I CAN BE REACH DIRECTLY BY EMAIL OR AT [XXX]. PLEASE HELP. IF POWER STEERING ASSIST IS LOST, A MESSAGE DISPLAYS ON THE DRIVER INFORMATION CENTER AND A CHIME SOUNDS TO INFORM THE DRIVER. STEERING CONTROL CAN BE MAINTAINED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WILL REVERT TO MANUAL STEERING, BUT GREATER DRIVER EFFORT WOULD BE REQUIRED AT LOW VEHICLE SPEEDS, WHICH COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH. MODELS SUBJECT TO SAFETY RECALL ARE THE: CHEVROLET MALIBU: ALL MODEL YEAR 2004 AND 2005, AND SOME MODEL YEAR 2006 AND MODEL YEAR 2008 AND 2009 VEHICLES SERVICE PARTS INSTALLED INTO CERTAIN VEHICLES BEFORE MAY 31, 2010 UNDER A PREVIOUS SAFETY RECALL DEPENDING ON THE VEHICLE, GM WILL REPLACE FREE OF CHARGE EITHER THE POWER STEERING MOTOR, THE STEERING COLUMN, THE POWER STEERING MOTOR CONTROL UNIT OR A COMBINATION OF THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE POWER STEERING MOTOR CONTROL UNIT. *TR PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *CC
WHILE DRIVING THE SERVICE ESC LIGHT CAME ON AND MY VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER STEERING. I PULLED OVER, TURNED CAR OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN, POWER STEERING CAME BACK TO NORMAL AND LIGHTS WENT OFF ONLY TO COME BACK ON AND LOST POWER STEERING AGAIN. NOW I CAN HEAR A CLICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE STEERING WHEEL IS JERKING. I WILL BE CONTACTING GM ABOUT THIS AS I SEE THIS IS HAPPENING TO SEVERAL 2010 CHEVY MALIBU OWNERS. I HAVE CONTACTED THE DEALER WHO I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM TO NO AVAIL. NOT GOOD! *TR
WE WERE DRIVING ON OUR WAY HOME FROM CHURCH MY WIFE AND I AT 45 MPH WHEN WE LOST THE POWER STEERING IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT NOTICE.THE ESC LIGHT CAME ON. IT WAS A MIRACLE I WAS ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AT THE RATE OF SPEED THAT WE WERE GOING CONSIDERING I AM A [XXX] YEAR OLD DIABETIC. THANK YOU JESUS! *TR PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
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Quick Summary
The 2010 Chevrolet Malibu has 42 STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.