Owner-reported complaints naming the transmission system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The shift to park is a problem it killed my battery because the car stays on and when I was driving the car turned off in the middle of turning causing someone to almost hit me this is the 3rd time that happened to me but the shift to park has been a problem since I got this car and Chevy does nothing about it
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the gear shifter was intermittently stuck in park(P). The contact turned the steering wheel, engaged and disengaged the parking brake several times, per the Owner's manual instructions, and the gear shifter was able to shift out of park(P). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the failure recurred. The mechanic was able to move the gear shifter out of park(P) after several attempts. The mechanic was unable to diagnose the vehicle and referred the contact to a dealer for assistance. The contact contacted two dealers, who advised that there was no availability for an appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 89,992.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that there was a failure near the fuse box. Additionally, there was a grinding sound coming from the vehicle while the brake pedal was depressed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the engine warning light was illuminated prior to the failure. The ECM and PCM were diagnosed, and DTC: P0689 was retrieved. The vehicle was undrivable. An appointment was scheduled; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired due to the cost of the diagnostic test. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who checked the spark plugs, cylinders, and fuses; however, the vehicle still failed to start. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and notified of the failure; however, the contact was placed on hold. The contact disconnected the call because no one returned to the call. The failure mileage was 123,334.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that that vehicle failed to shift into park. The shift to park warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was informed that there was a glitch in the vehicle and there were no open recalls. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 91,832.
When I put my 2018 Chevy Malibu in Park i receive Shift to Park' error message. I have to keep pushing on the gear shift to get it to go into park mode. It happens frequently. I have seen numerous reports of this same problem. The last time it happened was around 9/19/22, but it has occurred since I purchased the car in 2019. It began when the car only had around 40,000. There should be a recall from GMC/Chevrolet.
When I get to a destination and put car in park it says " shift to park" like it's not in park. I have to wiggle my gear shift around for it to go away. Or when I park, I have to give it a forceful push to park.
Most the time I park now, the vehicle does NOT recognize when I shift the vehicle into PARK. The transmission control (the "stick") is positioned correctly, but the vehicle chimes and warns vehicle cannot be turned off until vehicle is in PARK regardless. I am not sure if the vehicle is literally not in PARK, or if the vehicle's system sensors simply are NOT functioning correctly. Usually some jiggling of the stick causes the car to eventually recognize the PARK is engaged, but it is never certain. So far this issue has mostly resulted in inconvenience and annoyance, so no police reports or mechanic investigations yet. But whatever the nature of this malfunctioning PARK, under the right circumstances, this issue could conceivably lead to accidents and deaths if not addressed and repaired soon. I am reminded of Anton Yelchin's SUV crushing him to death after he thought his vehicle was in PARK but the system wasn't working correctly. My vehicle is 4 years old now and this problem only began manifesting recently, perhaps 3-6 months ago. I have searched online and I have found at least two other owners of this same make and model and year have experienced the exact same problem. I suspect this issue could lead to catastrophic problems in the future if not fixed early. Please investigate before things get out of hand.
I shift my car into park and try to turn off the car, the car stays on and tells me to shift the car to park even though it is already in park. Car is having continuous transmission and emission issues that cannot be resolved by the Chevrolet dealership, resulting in paying lots of money and the engine light and emails from OnStar still appear.
My car keeps saying “shift to park” when it is already in park. I have to keep turning the car back on and off numerous times and shifting the car into another gear and back into park and wiggle the shifter to get it to read that it’s in park. I don’t know if the car is actually in park or not and will roll if I leave it. Also by turning the car on and off multiple times, sometimes 7 to 8, will ruin the starter or cause some other issues. I have not taken to a dealer yet because online reports of same issue in multiple gm cars have said they are replacing with the same faulty part.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated after parking the vehicle, the message Shift to Park was displayed. The contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact reversed, drove forward and shifted into park(P) again. The vehicle then registered that the gear shifter was in park(P). The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while attempting to park the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,400.
Getting an error "shift to park" message when parking and trying to shut the vehicle off. Have to now apply the parking brake, shift into gear, and shift back to park to get the vehicle to register in that it is in park to shut off. This error does not allow vehicles to be shut off or even doors locked which could pose a risk of a small child getting into the vehicle in these hot temperatures.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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