2012 Chevrolet Malibu Engine Problems

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11768102

Incident

Aug 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the temperature gauge began to indicate the vehicle was overheating after which the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine and air bag warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pan gasket; resulting in damage to the engine, and ABS control module resulting in the air bag warning light. The contact was informed that the engine would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, who again diagnosed a failure with the oil pan gasket. The vehicle was repaired, but again the failure occurred for the third time. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 113,000.

NHTSA ID

11634893

Incident

Jan 8, 2025

Mileage

113,000 mi

The catalytic converter and exhaust manifold are suspected to be malfunctioning. These components are part of the vehicle’s exhaust system, and their failure is believed to be contributing to hesitation and skipping during operation. Both components are available for inspection upon request. The hesitation and skipping reduce the vehicle’s responsiveness, creating a safety risk in traffic. This issue could hinder safe merging, overtaking, or maintaining consistent speeds. Additionally, malfunctioning exhaust components may lead to increased emissions and pose a risk of toxic gases entering the cabin if leaks are present. Check engine light displays. The problem has been confirmed by a professional auto mechanic during their inspection and diagnosis. The components have been inspected and diagnosed by an independent service center (the auto mechanic). They have not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. No warning lamps or error messages were displayed on the dashboard prior to the diagnosis. The symptoms, including hesitation and skipping, began approximately [insert timeline, e.g., two weeks ago] and have been recurring during normal driving, particularly during acceleration or at lower speeds.

NHTSA ID

11633324

Incident

Mar 8, 2022

For 4 years the car intermittently would turn on all warning lights, shake, become hard to steer and steer in unintended directions. We paid $1500 for the dealer to fix it and we still had the problem. Today, the car will drive less then a mile and die. When we start the car all warning lights come on, the vehicle vibrates and struggles to keep speed of 5 mph or so then will die.

NHTSA ID

11601760

Incident

Jul 13, 2024

Driving down the freeway and suddenly I get reduce engine power. I had to wait on the freeway until the car started up again

NHTSA ID

11593420

Incident

Jun 10, 2024

The electronic stability control activates under normal driving conditions. Power to engine is reduced, car does not brake or accelerate appropriately with this happens. It appears to be a problem that is reported frequently and one that has been a recall on some vehicles but this VIN does not show that recall. It puts me and others at risk because the car suddenly stops going at speed and lurches when trying to stop. Scans were done at a local auto shop which indicate issues with ESC. Warning lights include ESC activated, Engine power reduced

NHTSA ID

11534505

Incident

Jul 20, 2022

As your driving along vehicle will shut off abruptly and have to remove and replace fuel pump relay until it shuts down again.

NHTSA ID

11508713

Incident

Feb 10, 2023

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The contact was able to stop and turn the vehicle off. When the contact attempted to restart the vehicle the starter motor made noises however, the vehicle would not restart. The contact stated that the check engine and several unknown lights were illuminated. The contact stated that he was able to restart the vehicle after waiting for an hour before driving to his residence. The contact stated that the failure recurred and the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with an electrical engine sensor failure. The contact was informed that the sensor need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 137,000.

NHTSA ID

11475008

Incident

Mar 13, 2022

Mileage

137,000 mi

To Whom It May Concern: My 2012 Chevrolet Malibu LS HASN'T been involved in an accident but I feel it necessary to report it! Due to issues involving my electrical system and other components of the vehicle that aren't working properly, the vehicle is inoperable! Beginning in April 2022, I have experienced issues with the vehicle starting (one day it will start and drive normally, another day it might not). Then it started stalling unexpectedly. Granted, I've had the car 10 years but I've never had these problems! It's been serviced and the problems still exist! These problems could easily cause an accident; I'm grateful I've been spared from tragedy! These issues need to be addressed and I'd greatly appreciate hearing from NHTSA!

NHTSA ID

11471426

Incident

Apr 15, 2022

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the ESC traction warning light, service traction warning light, and the reduced engine power warning light were illuminated. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

NHTSA ID

11458576

Incident

Mar 27, 2022

Mileage

140,000 mi

ESC reduced power reads across my monitor's screen. It could be numerous of these that cause this. I've done what I can afford, but no luck. I've done research & it's very common for this to happen among these. Please help me out with at least pinpointing the problem, thanks!

NHTSA ID

11457505

Incident

Mar 20, 2022

I been having the same problem for a year now.. constantly putting it in and out the shop and no one can find out what’s wrong with it.. the engine will loss it control and stop working in the middle of traffic which almost caused me a wreck several times. The Chevrolet dealership hasn’t done anything to help but charge me to look at it and they didn’t fix the problem. I have three kids and it has been a safety issue which is our only way to work and school. The car will skip constantly in the middle of traffic and several times someone almost ran into the back of my car. It will say engine power reduced, service traction and service sec I have spent ton of money trying to fix the issue and I have read several people have had the same problem.

NHTSA ID

11439225

Incident

Nov 3, 2021

This car will not start!!!! It starts when it feels like it. I’ve been stranded after work so many times for unknown reasons. Multiple mechanics have inspected car and cannot find the issue. Go on YouTube and search for this year car and you’ll find so many people in the same situation as me. The car has battery but the engine will not start. GM cars have this issue in common and it’s ridiculous GM cannot stand behind their brand. Please HELP US!!!

NHTSA ID

11427361

Incident

Jul 4, 2021

My vehicle fail to restart vehicle, but vehicle was running good before. Once I turn off the vehicle for couple of minutes when I returned back to my vehicle and tried to turn vehicle on it would not allow me to turn on lights on vehicle would stay on when taking key out of ignition. I kept trying couple of time until I open the hood to check battery move battery cables tried again until vehicle turn on. Once vehicle had turn on and put vehicle in reverse dashboard lights started turning on check engine a service warning message display and speed meter would go up and down. When going forward the steering wheel became hard to control while vehicle would go toward slowly then stop go fast and slowly again until I got home turn vehicle off. Didn't drive it anymore until two days later. The second time I was on the freeway when my vehicles speed started to significantly reduce speed very quickly. I became concern with my safety until I was able to pull over on the side of freeway car turned off. When trying to restart vehicle would fail to turn back on had to tow vehicle back home. I tried turning vehicle back on failed at first on the last try vehicle turned on but when putting on reverse or drive vehicle became undriveable thier was no movement on vehicle and speed meter would not move . I just purchased this vehicle only had 8 months with it I payed $5000 plus $600 on plates. I do make my vehicle available for inspection it is very dangerous going through this specially on highway. I checked my onstart vehicle report but it does not show that anything is wrong on the report. My insurance provider Geico car details only show it needs and oil change. I also notice that in the vehicle history shows it has an oil leak. I can not afford to pay for a mechanic at this moment my vehicle is just park at home now.

NHTSA ID

11419565

Incident

May 30, 2021

VEHICLE IS STALLING OUT WHILE DRIVING, THEN WHEN SHUTS OFF IT WILL NOT START BACK UP. FUEL PUMP WAS REPLACED, WORKED GREAT FOR 1 WHOLE DAY THEN DID THE SAME THING, LEFT ME STRANDED. FUSE BOX WAS THEN REPLACED. RAN GREAT AGAIN UNTIL RECENTLY IT STALLED OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY BUSY STREET CAUSING ME TO ALMOST BE HIT. PINS IN THE FUSE BOX WERE REPLACED, BUT I'M STILL HAVING ISSUES, IT SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO THE FUSEBOX WIRING ITSELF, BECAUSE I'M ALSO HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THINGS RAN OFF OF THAT FUSE BOX! THIS GETTING RIDICULOUS I'VE ONLY HAD THIS CAR 4 MONTHS AND IT'S BEEN THE WORST CAR YET I'VE NEVER HAD A VEHICLE LEAVE ME STRANDED. IT NEEDS TO BE RECALLED

NHTSA ID

11394685

Incident

Jan 29, 2021

Mileage

80,050 mi

VEHICLE HAS DIED ON ME 5 TIMES WHILE DRIVING.IN MOTION ONE MOMENT AND DEAD THE NEXT, SO FAR IT HAS DIED ON CITY STREETS, IVE GOTTEN LUCKY WITH IT NOT BEING ON THE HIGHWAY AS I TRAVEL THAT FREQUENTLY FOR WORK. IT HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF REPAIR SHOP FOR MULTIPLE REPAIRS AND STILL NOT CORRECTED.

NHTSA ID

11389973

Incident

Jun 2, 2020

Mileage

83,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON FREEWAY AND CAR WENT INTO ENGINE POWER REDUCE MODE, RAPIDLY SLOWED DOWN TO 35 MILES AN HOUR.

NHTSA ID

11374072

Incident

Sep 22, 2020

Mileage

180,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO START THE VEHICLE HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START-UP WITH AN ABNORMAL CLUNKING AND BANGING SOUND COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN WAS SLIGHTLY DETACHED AND BECAME LOOSENED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HEISER CHEVROLET WEST ALLIS (10200 W ARTHUR AVE, WEST ALLIS, WI 53227; (414) 327-2300) AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN FAILURE HAD CAUSED ADDITIONAL ENGINE DAMAGE. THE FULL DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS STILL PENDING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE 85,000.

NHTSA ID

11372359

Incident

Oct 23, 2020

Mileage

85,000 mi

ENGINE STALLS WHEN SLOWING DOWN OR WAITING FOR TRAFFIC LIGHT. CALLED MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC CHECK. HE SAID ECS NOT FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY. I WAS 10 MILES FROM MY HOME WHEN THE CAR STARTED TO STALL AND IT STOPPED 6 TIMES BEFORE GETTING HOME. ENGINE HESITATED, HAD TO PUMP ACCELERATOR TO GET IT GOING AND STEERING WAS DIFFICULT. IS THERE A RECALL FOR THAT PROBLEM?

NHTSA ID

11352313

Incident

Aug 28, 2020

Mileage

117,676 mi

ENGINE LOSSES POWER SHUTS OFF WONT RESTAT

NHTSA ID

11351429

Incident

Aug 12, 2020

Mileage

81,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND LOSS MOTIVE POWER WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT VEERED TO SHOULDER OF THE ROADWAY. THE CONTACT TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON WHICH FAILED TO START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BACK TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT WENT TO CHEVROLET OF MONTEBELLO (310 W WHITTIER BLVD, MONTEBELLO, CA 90640) HOWEVER, WAS INFORMED THAT NO RECALLS WERE ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 200,031.

NHTSA ID

11350609

Incident

Aug 11, 2020

Mileage

200,031 mi

I WAS DRIVING AND IT SAID ENGINE POWER REDUCED .COULDN'T PICK UP SPEED. *TR

NHTSA ID

11328614

Incident

Jun 12, 2020

Mileage

10,000 mi

"POWER STEERING" MESSAGE COMES ON RANDOMLY AND THE POWER STEERING GOES DEAD WHILE I'M DRIVING. THIS SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS MALIBU AND SHOULD BE A RECALL. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ONLINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THIS HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE A RECALL PURCHASED VEHICLE IN 2013 SINCE THAN HAS HAPPEN CLOSE TO 10 TIMES. *TR

NHTSA ID

11324081

Incident

Apr 18, 2020

Mileage

130,000 mi

MY VEHICLE HAS 86,200 MILES ON IT AND I HAVE TO HAVE BOTH HEADS REBUILT BECAUSE OF A BURNT EXHAUST VALVE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD MULTIPLE TIMES THAT THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING AT THIS LOW MILEAGE ON THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE IDLES REALLY ROUGH WHEN IN PARK OR NOT IN DRIVE OR MOTION. WHEN STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT, THE "SERVICE TRACTION, SERVICE ESC, ESC OFF" COMES ON. THIS GOES AWAY ONCE YOU START DRIVING AGAIN. *TR

NHTSA ID

11323654

Incident

Oct 1, 2019

Mileage

85,000 mi

WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AND CAR MESSAGE CENTER DISPLAYED ENGINE SPEED REDUCED THEN IT DISPLAYED WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF THE FIRST MESSAGE ENGINE DISABLED . CAR WHILE NOT START.

NHTSA ID

11323101

Incident

May 2, 2020

Mileage

220,000 mi