2009 Chevrolet Malibu Steering Problems
- 519
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 519 stored complaint records:
- 6 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- power steering · 149 records
- steering wheel · 57 records
- turn steering · 15 records
- hard turn · 15 records
- steering goes · 13 records
- steering light · 12 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 171 |
| 150–400k mi | 123 |
| 60–100k mi | 122 |
| 30–60k mi | 31 |
| 1–30k mi | 19 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle started to shake. The vehicle had to be restarted to unlock the steering wheel. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the torque sensor needed to be replaced and stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa…
ODI 10691151
Electrical System · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, the steering wheel seized. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the electrical power assist system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
ODI 10684068
Steering
2009 chevy malibu when battery is on prior to starting car occasionally showed power steering and esc and to service both. Now it has been occurring while driving and resets itself if car is shut off and also continues to occur in battery mode. Vin is not part of the recall list yet its manufacture date was within the guidelines for the recall. *tr
ODI 10672886
Steering
Power steering started failing at low speeds, would have to really crank wheel and eventually restart the car. Took it to the dealership, where they told me it was a "thermal error" from me cranking the wheel too much (i don't turn the wheel any different that i did the last 4 years with the car). Now its gotten worse- everytime i turn on my car the wheel is locked, and the power steering and service esc lights come…
ODI 10692981
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Steering
I was driving at around 45mph and suddenly lost power steering assistance, making it difficult to steer, and increasing the risk of a crash. The problem persists. There have already been multiple recalls for this issue but my car is not included in these recalls. *tr
ODI 10679208
Electrical System · Steering
There is a power steering problem as is goes off on the freeway while driving, as well as there is a recall on the break lamp turns on and off while driving. Attempted to contact multiple dealerships as they couldn't not find the issue relating to this problem.
ODI 10681260
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving 20 mph, the steering wheel seized without warning. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing, but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000.
ODI 10681026
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Loss of electric power steering assist. Has happened literally dozens of times. Can be driving or at a stop and the power steering assist will go away, the dash will chime, and messages will be displayed saying "power steering", "service esc", and "esc off". After that point there will be no steering assist until the vehicle is restarted. Seems to be the same symptoms as cars affected by the power steering recall,…
ODI 10671974
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving approximately 5 mph, the power steering and the esc warning lights illuminated. The steering wheel became difficult to turn. The failure was persistent. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The contact stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate…
ODI 10693798
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated and it became difficult to steer the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving at a lower speed. The failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was…
ODI 10661875
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While making a left turn at approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel seized and the check engine, traction control, and esc warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician stated that the torque angle sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the…
ODI 10689518
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Pulled into parking lot and as i was pulling into parking place my steering went out, traction control light came on and service esc message flashed across the screen. A power steering message also flashed acrossed the screen. This has happened to me alot and i am afraid it will go out when i am on a busy highway and i will be killed. My car has the electric power steering and i have read many other complaints about…
ODI 10683652
Steering
Power steering went out and on the digital display it stated power steering failed contact dealer immediately. *tr
ODI 10658691
Steering
I had just left the expressway and was waiting to enter traffic. When it cleared i started up and lost power steering. This also happened two days before on 11-12-2014. The first incident was this last february. I called chevrolet and they said that my vin. Number did not show up on the recall for loss of electronic power steering but yet i see that 2008 to 2009 malibus are under this recall. This information is…
ODI 10655118
Electrical System · Steering
Twice in past 5 days while traveling at slow speed, the power steering went out completely - very dangerous. Turned off ignition and restarted engine and it was fine again. *tr
ODI 10659454
Electrical System · Steering
As i was driving down the street my steering wheel locked up and i was unable to move it to safely pull over to the side of the street. I just had to stop in the middle of the street and turn my car off and then back on. It then reset it and i was able to drive again. The "service esc" light came on and then "power steering" light came on. This is not the first time this has happened. It has happened before right in…
ODI 10654128
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
The wheel turn triggers the esc to turn off. Sometimes mid parking lot. Sometime mid highway on ramp at 45 mph. Some days i can go without having any issues. Other days i can't get the steering to come on. Worst is when i am in mid turn and it triggers. Very frustrating and annoying to just buy a car and have it be so unsafe that we can barely use it. Called dealer but was told i would have to pay $109 to diagnose…
ODI 10680763
Steering
So far, i have lost power steering 3 times while driving. This is the exact issue for which the 2009 chevrolet malibu has already been recalled. However, my 2009 was manufactured in a month not covered by the current recall. This is an extremely dangerous defect as it can result in an accident or loss of life. *tr
ODI 10662326
Electrical System · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving approximately 40 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn without warning. In addition, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer stated that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). The failure mileage was 68,000.
ODI 10659176
Steering
I pulled into a parking lot and my power steering stopped working. I could barely turn the wheel. The car did not stall, the power steering just stopped working. I managed to pull into a parking space and turned the car off. When i started the car the power steering started working again. All i could think of was - what if it happened on the thruway! I took it to my dealer and they had to replace the torque sensor.…
ODI 10654151
Steering
Turning out of a shopping center parking lot the power steering stopped working. *tr
ODI 10651830
Steering
I had pulled into the gas station, and my gas cap is on the passenger side. The only available pump that was open, in order for me to use it i had to pull up and reverse to get on the side of the pump to which i can fill gas on. As i was turning my wheel back into place, the steering wheel itself got stuck and seemed really hard to turn. As i tried to move my car, i got an error on my driver information center that…
ODI 10650701
Steering
I was pulling out of a parking lot and my power steering light came on along with a chiming sound. My steering wheel locked up and i couldn't turn the wheel. The same thing happened again about a month later and a third time about another month after that. I have read that there are recalls for the power steering for other 2009 chevy malibus but for some reason there is no recall with my car's vin number. I drive on…
ODI 10669108
Steering
I lost my power steering. The dealer had to replace it. My son who has a 2004 chev malibu had a recall for the same problem and i can't understand why there hasn't been a recall on the newer ones. I had to pay $400 - it could have been a disaster if i was on the thruway. Luckily i was in a parking lot when it happened.
ODI 10733119
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving and making a right turn, the steering wheel seized without warning. The contact powered off the engine while in traffic. The vehicle was restarted and was able to drive normally. Three minutes later, the failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel failed and advised the…
ODI 11145044