2020 Chevrolet Malibu Driver assistance Problems

While driving, the brakes became hard and the vehicle was difficult to stop. The brake pedal required excessive force, brake assist was reduced, and the stopping distance increased, creating a serious safety hazard. The check engine light had been illuminated for approximately two years before the brake failure occurred. In January 2024, I reported brake-related concerns to a Chevrolet dealership while the vehicle was under warranty, but the root cause was not diagnosed. In November 2025, after the brake pedal became hard, an independent repair facility inspected the vehicle and determined the brake problem was caused by a failing engine vacuum pump. They advised that the vehicle be repaired by a Chevrolet dealership. By January 2026, the brake condition had worsened to the point that the vehicle was no longer safe to drive and had to be towed. A Chevrolet dealership later confirmed that the engine vacuum pump had seized and damaged the camshaft, requiring replacement of both components. The vehicle remains inoperable. The failed vacuum pump caused loss of brake assist, resulting in a hard brake pedal, reduced braking ability, and an increased risk of a crash. I believe this represents a serious safety defect because failure of the vacuum pump significantly impairs the driver’s ability to stop the vehicle safely. I understand GM has issued service information regarding vacuum pump failures on this engine, and I am submitting this complaint because I believe other drivers may experience the same dangerous brake failure.

NHTSA ID

11748641

Incident

Oct 31, 2025

May 7, 2026 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 RE: Safety Defect Complaint – Brake System / Vehicle Control Concerns 2020 Chevrolet Malibu Dear NHTSA, I am submitting a safety complaint regarding persistent braking and vehicle control issues involving my 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. Prior to December 31, 2025, the vehicle exhibited jerking during braking, all dashboard gauges go to the left, warning lights, reduced power (20-25mph), and inconsistent braking behavior. This situation happens without warning, at any given time, even in the flow of traffic. An independent inspection indicated the brake system was in proper condition, suggesting a more complex underlying safety issue. The vehicle was taken to Reed-Lallier Chevrolet for diagnosis and remained there for approximately five months. During that time, I was not provided documentation confirming completion of a brake system diagnostic or a clear resolution path. Due to the extended delay without diagnosis, I no longer feel safe operating the vehicle. I am also concerned that prolonged inactivity without proper repair may have worsened the condition and increased risk of failure. Given the nature of the symptoms involving braking and vehicle control, I request review for potential safety-related investigation. Vehicle Information: 2020 Chevrolet Malibu VIN: Mileage:

NHTSA ID

11736449

Incident

Dec 31, 2025

Reduced Engine Power Light: The car limits acceleration, often accompanied by a check engine light. Stalling or Hesitation: Engine stalls or acts sluggish when accelerating, particularly in traffic. Limp Mode: The vehicle restricts speed, making it difficult to accelerate. The car stop working in the middle of the freeway and I was in the car with my child when it stop acceleration all gages in the car were going crazy, car was shaking bad finally car turn off. I was able to make it to the emergency lane of the freeway. There's similar complaints for 2020 Chevy Malibu but no recall has been done. Per my research it looks like a lot of this type of vehicles have problems with throttle body causing Engine stalls. Do the right thing and open up a vehicle recall, thank you!

NHTSA ID

11728914

Incident

Mar 31, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the RPM was unexpectedly elevated while driving, and the vehicle was hesitating. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the throttle body needed to be cleaned. While driving approximately 35-40 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle shuddered with white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The contact stated that the engine warning light was flashing with the reduced power message displayed. Upon research, the contact associated the failure with Technical Service Bulletin: PIP5812. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who associated the failure with the turbocharger. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11715468

Incident

Feb 4, 2025

Mileage

80,000 mi

Got this car Oct 16 2025 and check engine lights on the place in Greenbriar dreka passed emmission and the shop explicit auto sold me car for 7500 been having problems with car since owner told me to do what I need to do no refund nothing in writing saying as is this car needs axles ball joint lower arm control and more car not safe for me and my kids this car go get emission passed so when u take title to DMV you can get a tag for a car that not passing emissions also purchase a second car same day Oct 16 2025 and this car need oil pump oil sensor brake sensor brake caliber and more and explicit auto wont fix cars the man that sell these cars are on Instagram and dolufree and explicit auto is the name of both Names if you look you'll see light on in every car he post and sell to people for high price and no results when you bring car back every car sold from them need to be investigated. We need help I have two cases that I cannot drive and I was charged 13,500 for both cars and this is illegal for someone to use someone else access and get these cars and sell them under someone else license the address for business have a old national address but cars being sold at 2263 metropolitan pkwy and I don't know what to do at this point

NHTSA ID

11711718

Incident

Oct 16, 2025

While driving the cars speedometer and all gages will stop working, or they will constantly move up and down on their own, it will also not accelerate to speed limit in a timely manner.. when stopping the car it will brake extremely hard on its own and throw me forward it will also give a warning message on the dash that the power steering isn’t working and to drive with caution. When parking the car and it is in park a message on the dash will appear saying shift to park.

NHTSA ID

11693916

Incident

Oct 11, 2025

Getting engine power reduced messsge in shop 4th time now in 3 weeks, 2 service bulletins, now they want to put new engine, found over 800 complaints about same issue on car complaint.com website and more on Reddit of same issue . Car wouldn’t go more than 5mph extremely traumatic on highway my son won’t get back in the car he is too scared.

NHTSA ID

11673603

Incident

Jul 15, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH and approaching a stop light the braking system malfunctioned when pressing the brake pedal causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of a second vehicle. The contact indicated that the vehicle did not reduce speed when pressing the brake pedal and the collision avoidance feature did not activate. A police report was taken at the scene. The police officer also confirmed no skid marks at the crash site. During the crash, the contact sustained injuries to the left arm and right shoulder that did not require medical attention. Both the driver and front seat passenger of the second vehicle sustained undisclosed injuries and were transported to the hospital. The vehicle was towed away and later deemed destroyed by the insurance company. The cause of the failure has not yet been determined. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 57,000.

NHTSA ID

11629724

Incident

Dec 6, 2024

Mileage

57,000 mi

My vehicle will not shut off. It states "shift to park". Sometimes it takes 30 minutes of trying to get the car to shut off. Since this began, we were on a road trip, it's causing issues with accelerating on the highway & I believe it's damaging the transmission. 2020 Chevy Malibu had other models under recall for this same reason. I called Chevy dealership & they said they cannot help me. They told me to contact General Motors. I have a [XXX] baby, I'm [XXX] & lost my job after maternity leave. This should be resolved as it's causing me anxiety to drive it with my child in the car. Please help me. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11614252

Incident

Aug 1, 2024

This issue started at approximately 19,500 miles. While accelerating to enter a highway or to pass a vehicle going less than 55mph on a two-lane, Service ESC light appeared on dash. Loss or power was also immediate and if I tried to accelerate to maintain speed, engine was very rough in responding with no acceleration. Engine continued to run. Within 30 seconds or so, acceleration is restored, and check-engine light was flashing. Check-engine light stopped flashing after a minute or so. Initially, this only occurred occasionally during fast acceleration as mentioned above. Lately this has happened during continuous acceleration, such as using cruise control, while climbing a low incline hill (~15˚). Over the past year or so, Chevy dealer has replaced, pistons, fuel injector, and did a carbon cleaning of engine. No solution yet.

NHTSA ID

11548459

Incident

Dec 23, 2021

Since last year I am having this problem in this car, even after parking the car, it is giving an error of "shift to park', I have already taken it to the car dealership twice to fix this problem and still the problem is not getting fixed in the car. Not even that I live in California and while coming back from Vegas last year, this car suddenly stopped working while on the freeway, luckily I was near truck station so I stopped the car. This is a new car and I didn't even drive 36000 miles on it and it is giving me problems. This car is a serious problem and I would request nhtsa to please step in and take action regarding the manufacturers.

NHTSA ID

11533872

Incident

Oct 23, 2022

While driving on many occasions the last incident happened Friday April 28th 2023. My 2020 Malibu lost all communication on 231 Hwy. All dash gauges went haywire power dropped on vehicle RPM was accelerated but vehicle speed would not change engine light and traction light came on. I then had to pull over brakes made a loud thud noise when stopping. Turned vehicle off sat for about 15 minutes and restarted my vehicle engine light was still on but I was about four miles from home turned my hazard flashers on and made it home. When the car loses power it gives me NO warning at all it just happens. I've taken it to both Chevy dealers in my area Mr. [XXX] at Gilland GMC Ozark, Al explained to me that yes he saw the codes where car lost power and because they couldn't pinpoint the problem GMC had to be called and he was told that GMC has a team of engineers working on the Loss of Control problem but at this time they don't know anything. I'm risking my life on every day driving this vehicle in which I do have an extended warranty on but they can't fix what they can't find but yet KNOW for Fact that there is a problem. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11519714

Incident

Apr 28, 2023

Vehicle through a "service engine" and lost partial power. The vehicle slowed considerably and was not able to accelerate as expected. Fortunately, this was rush hour traffic and it was slow. Normally, the traffic moves at 60 MPH plus or minus 5 MPH. The loss of power on I10 can be extremely unsafe. The dealer revealed that our car had a scan code P0299. They cleaned the Thottle Body and stated it was the likely problem. However, they said they tested the crank case pressure and it was at 0 PSI, instead of the expected vacuum. There was no indication, that crank case pressure or the PCV was the root problem. I pointed out that crank case should be measured in INH2O. I think they mis diaganosed and were trying to lead me to replace the PCV, and ultimately the turbocharger itself. I think it is probably a sensor or perhaps another component. I took my car away from the lot and will report any other incidents or findings.

NHTSA ID

11509405

Incident

Feb 16, 2023

Shift to park error, No power to car, reduced engine power, camshaft positioning error, brakes failed (completely went hard unable to press) almost causing crash.

NHTSA ID

11497874

Incident

Dec 14, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS message was displayed, and the ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the mechanic performed an oil change and tire rotation; however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure due to the warning lights no longer being illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,300. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALERSHIP RESOLVED THE ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11463540

Incident

May 4, 2022

Mileage

8,300 mi

The contact owns 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started shaking and inadvertently decelerated. The contact stated that the Service ESC and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer nor independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

NHTSA ID

11454867

Incident

Oct 30, 2021

Mileage

19,000 mi

Was traveling at about 58 mph down the highway when all my warning gauges starting going off. My digital dash went blank and the car started accelerating on its own. I kept hitting the brakes trying to make it slow down and I could hear the abs function and feel it thru the brake while trying to slow down. After about a 1/2 mile of fighting the car the dash turned back on the check engine light stayed on and the car stopped trying to accelerate but wouldn’t change gears and was stuck at 3500 rpms when I limped it off the road and had a tow truck come get it.

NHTSA ID

11437929

Incident

Oct 23, 2021

This is an intermittent issue and hard to reproduce on demand. I have evidence in the form of multiple videos that may be provided anytime. Videos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zubc5ilgahayvxa/AABf3M1mLBikxQswv17Yn-YQa?dl=0 In the middle of driving on freeways, highways, or regular roads, the car will quickly slow down to a very low speed, around 5 mph causing other drivers to have to quickly swerve out of the way before wrecking into me. The power steering will also intermittently fail, as it becomes difficult to turn the wheel during these times. The car will also not accelerate at my will like it should at this time. Check engine lights will show up, as well as other warning notifications on the dash board. Some of the warnings include "Service Power Steering. Drive with Care", "Fuel Level Low", and "Service ESC". The car will also intermittently show all gauges in the zero/off/empty position. The car will also say "Shift to Park" when trying to turn it on, even though it is already in shift. I have sent the car back to the dealer 5 times to date and am about to pick it up again today as they have called me and said "it's ready" again. Each time they take the car, they do not address the issue. The first time I took it in, they just performed a recall repair for the camera and suggested the problem may be fixed from that. They claim they cannot fix something they cannot reproduce but I suspect they do not want to spend the time/hours/money it will take to figure out the problem since it is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty. It is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty but Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena TX refuses to repair anything and claim there is no evidence of the problem even though I've emailed them multiple videos of the problems happening. Auto Nation in Houston TX is who has the car now. It was recommended to me by General Motors to try another dealer. This is where I'm at currently with the situation.

NHTSA ID

11436835

Incident

May 6, 2021

Speed reduced, reduced engine power , hard breaking and noise ,engine light one , all gages flash, service esc! On dash

NHTSA ID

11427291

Incident

Jun 1, 2021

Unknown. Started vehicle for one minute and stalled. It is available for inspection. Safety was at risk cause I thought car wasn't going to start and stay idling. Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealership.vehicle has not been inspected by dealership. There were no warning lamps or messages. This initial problem appeared on 5-20-21.

NHTSA ID

11418266

Incident

May 24, 2021

Vehicle slowed down alot by itself upon driving and when pushing the gas pedal the vehicle would not go any faster. I had to pull over in someones driveway to get out of the way of multiple cars behind me! Car is available for inspection. My safety was very much in danger cause what happened to the car could have caused cars to hit me from behind! The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealership. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealership. There were no warning lamps or messages.

NHTSA ID

11418212

Incident

May 22, 2021

Acceleration slowed down and didn't want to speed up when gas pedal pressed. Car is available for inspection. Safety was at risk cause a car could of hit me. Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealership. Vehicle has not been inspected. There were no warnings or symptoms. Problems appeared 5-20-21, 5-22-21, and 5-23-21.

NHTSA ID

11418210

Incident

May 23, 2021