2016 Chevrolet Malibu Electrical System
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
Shift to park message and park not fully engaging. This caused the vehicle to roll back when parked on an incline.
MY SHIFT TO PARK LIGHT IS COMING ON
“Shift to park” intermittently indicated when vehicle is in park. Power will not shut off while indicated. Was repaired twice but has returned
I'm adding to a complaint where I have found recall problems in the past on the model and the problem is still there the car shows the car is in park but it shows action is required shift the car to park and it's already in park I have a video I can't upload it.i purchased the car august 2023 for 28000 with a extended warranty that isn't right Hopefully someone will investigate.
When the auto shutdown feature on the car turns off the engine at a stop light; stop sign; or other reason, sometimes the cars entire electrical system shuts down. This happened twice to me. Once at a stoplight and once when freeway traffic came to a sudden stop. You cannot open the electrical trunk to get hazard lights or jumper cables; cannot get the car out of gear or out of park to move it safely out of traffic; cannot turn car hazard lights on; or even unlock a door that is locked. On freeway incident, I was in the middle of 3 lanes and traffic quickly got back up to ~60 mph. Fortunately, I was able to get out of the car and a few hundred feet away in case someone hit my car. This happened during the day and I cannot imagine how someone would see a stalled vehicle in the middle of the freeway in the dark with enough time to stop. My battery was brand new and in perfect order. The dealership said it is a known issue and they no longer sell cars with this auto shutoff feature.
Shift to park message appears on dash screen when car is attempting to shut off ignition when shifter is in park position. Can't turn off car.
Shift to park message while in park position when attempting to shut off car; I can't cut off car without making many tries. this has happened before dealer repairing the problem and within two years dealer installing new "fix.".
The accelerates by itself while driving the car cut off and won’t crank. While driving all kind of light a signals come across the dashboard. It’s dangerous for me to drive I’ve replaced battery, alternator and map censor. My sister has a Cruze and her car is doing the something my friend has a Malibu and it is doing the same thing as my vehicle. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
my car will not go into park. i have had this problem repaired while under warrenty and now its happening again!!
Check engine light. Loss of power/acceleration and can’t go above 45 mph. Transmission control module?
While in drive and at stop sign the car starts to shut off. It can be very dangerous due to the fact it completely cuts off at while in drive. There are multiple reviews on this issue on youtube and chevy review websites regarding this issue. If I did not put my hazard lights on I could have been badly hurt and even worst. Someone came to assist me off the road and I had to call pop and lock to come jump start the car and after I did that I made it home but tired to restart the car it was completely dead. By the way I have a new battery. And not Starter or alternator issues during being tested. I am so thankful my children were not in the car. This can be a life threatening situation.
I have taken my vehicle multiple time and still the problem not fixed. Had a reduced engine problem at first and now there's a message that comes Battery charging system. replaced battery twice and replaced the alternator twice. I spent at least $2,000 trying to get my car fixed. The Charging system battery, the battery drains until it goes dead. The car stopped on a busy interstate with me in it. I had to wait on a tow truck,(while working) on the interstate while watching the trucks and cars pass by hoping that they wont hit me. After charging the battery and putting it back into the car the battery light comes on. and while the car is crank and sitting still the battery charging light comes on. the battery quickly looses power. GM realyl need to do a recall on these vehicles. Please help.
Engine needed rebuilt due to a defect, in this process vehichle computer was reset, after the reset the radio began acting oddly randomly changing inputs and radio stations and occasionally not turning on. culminating in all internal audio going out including turn signal noise and internal alarms like seat belt, and key left in vehicle, with a black touch screen. This problem is fixed by resetting the car (unplugging battery and plugging it back in)the problem is described in a recall on other similar models of this car.
WHEN AUTO-STOPPED THE ENTIRE CAR SHUTS DOWN. IT TURNS COMPLETELY OFF AND STARTS MOVING BACKWARDS BEFORE TURNING BACK ON. A DIAGNOSTIC REVEALED A PROBLEM WITH THE POWER SUPPLY TRANSFORMER AND BATTERY CURRENT SENSOR CIRCUIT. THEY ARE ERODED I BELIEVE. THIS PROBLEM OCCURS ANYTIME THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED - AT STOP SIGNS AND LIGHTS.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while pulling up to the driveway, his wife informed him that the front passenger side headlight and rear driver side brake light were not working. Part of the vehicle's radio also melted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with electrical failure and the front passenger side headlight bulb was replaced. However, the failure recurred, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the electronics turned off inadvertently and the steering wheel became difficult to move. The contact stated that the check battery charging warning light was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the battery and alternator replaced. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
When I go to shut the engine off it sometime still runs and after pressing the off button I have to go thru this off cycle many times before everything shuts down. The screen behind the steering wheel says to put it in "park" but it is already in "park". This could be a real safety problem because someone could drive the car into the garage, shut the door and not even know the engine is running!
Shift to park warning on DIC. Can't shut car down.
When I go into park and turn off my car I get a “Shift to park” message. This happens numerous times a day. Sometimes the light turns off after a few minutes by itself. Most of the time I have to wiggle the shifter or turn the car back on and go from another gear such as drive to park. I have read that this is a common issue amongst this make and model.
WHEN VEHICLE IS PLACED IN PARK, GET "PLACE IN PARK" MESSAGE ON DASH. IF NOT CLEARED, DASH LIGHTS STAY ON AND DRAIN BATTERY LEAVING DRIVER STRANDED. THIS COULD LEAD TO A VERY UNSAFE CONDITION, DEPENDING ON WHERE THIS OCCURS. DOING A SEARCH OF THE FIRST 70 CLAIMS ON YOUR SITE; 30% OF THEM ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE. WHY HAS NOTHING BEEN DONE TO RECTIFY THIS UNSAFE CONDITION? CLAIM #'S LOOKED AT: 11385598, 113384695, 11377868, 11377077,11373245, 11372867, 11367012, 11365172, 11363789. 11363275, 11361450, 11360384, 11360062, 11355051, 11353844, 11352179, 11351612, 11351422, 11350951, 11349692, 11348857. THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN # 19-NA-206 BY GM (SEE ATTACHMENT) ON THIS ISSUE, BUT IT DOES NOT COVER THE REPAIR UNDER WARRANTY, EVEN THOUGH IT EFFECTS SEVERAL YEARS AND MAKES. THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE A MANUFACTURER DEFECT OR QC PROBLEM, NOT SOMETHING INDUCED BY THE OPERATOR. THOUGH NO DEATHS OR INJURIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY THIS PROBLEM, ONE COULD SPECULATE THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME OR COULD BE. USUALLY THE QUESTION OF YOUR BATTERY BEING DEAD IS NOT ASKED AT THE DEATH OR INJURY SITE. THIS ISSUE CAN NOT ALWAYS BE DUPLICATED AT THE DEALERSHIP, SO IS OFTEN TURNED AWAY. THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE WILL DO THIS MULTIPLE TIMES AND THAN STOP FOR AWHILE, THAN ACT UP AGAIN. EACH TIME IT HAS BEEN TAKEN IN TO BE LOOKED AT, THERE ARE NO CODES, AND THE SYMPTOM CAN NOT BE DUPLICATED. DRIVE IT HOME AND IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN, OR NOT. LAST TIME IT TOOK TWENTY MINUTES OF TURNING CAR ON AND OFF, SHIFTING IN AND OUT OF PARK, ETC TO GET CAR TO SENSE IT WAS INDEED IN PARK. I AM SUBMITTING THIS REPORT FOR A FRIEND BUT WOULD LIKE ALL FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION TO PASS ONTO HIM.
WHEN PUT MY CAR IN PARK, A DISPLAY COMES ON THE DASHBOARD SAYING PUT CAR IN PARK. IT'S NOT RECOGNIZING THAT THE CAR IS IN PARK AND WON'T SHUT OFF! IT HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES WITH THE LASTED BEING 12/19/2020!
MY CAN SAYS "SHIFT TO PARK" WHEN THE AUTOMOBILE IS ALREADY IN PARK. IT WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO LOCK THE DOORS OR TURN OFF THE DRIVING LIGHTS.
I HAVE TWO PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE, FIRST IS THE ENGINE POWER REDUCE THING WHICH HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES WITH THIS CAR. SECOND IS THE SHIFT TO PARK PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN APPEARING IN MY DASHBOARD FOR MONTHS NOW..
2016 CHEVY MALIBU LS.. AT TIMES MY ENGINE WILL NOT SHUT OFF. I HAVE TO KEEP STARTING AND TRYING TO TURN OFF . AN ALERT SAYS PLEASE PUT IN PARK, I DO AND HOLD IT IN PARK BUT DIFFICULT TO TURN OFF. THIS HAPPENS WHEN I HAVE STOPPED AT THE STORE , HOME OR WHEREVER IAM GOING TO LEAVE THE VEHICLE. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES , THE WORST WAS TWO DAYS AGO AT HOME, TUESDAY , AUGUST 25, 2020
I BOUGHT THIS CAR & DID NOT EVEN HAVE IT A MONTH AND THE SUNROOF WOULD START TO CLOSE AND THEN WOULD STOP AND OPEN OR GET STUCK HALF WAY OPEN. WHEN TRYING TO GET THIS TO CLOSE THE SUNROOF WOULD CLOSE WITHOUT PUTTING BEING PRESSED. THE WIRING HARNESS FAILED AND WAS BAD.
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Quick Summary
The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu has 46 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.