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
The electric power steering assist motor is malfunctioning, almost causing an accident, the steering wheel is "twitching" the steering will give out unless i restart the car. Most of these are on recall but unsure why my car wouldn't be. Almost caused a serious accident on highway.
ODI 11171797
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Esc light came on while driving on 01-21. Morning of 01-22 was complete loss of power steering while trying to leave driveway. Ecs light remains on and power steering never returned even after 20 miles of highway and rural road travel. Extremely dangerous. Furious that only certain vin #s are part of recall when it clearly affects the vast majority of vins for this model year.
ODI 11171308
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the electronic stability control off and traction control warning indicators kept randomly flashing. Also, the steering wheel made an abnormal noise and vibrated during the failure. The vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign numbers: 14v153000 (steering) and 14e044000 (steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not…
ODI 11171579
Electrical System · Steering
Vehicle was in drive but stopped in a drive thru. Service esc, power steering light came on. Power steering went out and wheel would not turn. Turned off car. Problem went away after restarting.
ODI 11170997
Steering
The power of steering does not work. When driving or when i turn the car on the power of steering stops working. I looked online and notice a lot of people had the same problem. Why was their never a recall on this?
ODI 11172478
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving various speeds or while stopped, the steering wheel shook. Also, the power steering failed when the vehicle was started. The contact shook the steering wheel a couple of times to get it to operate. The failures recurred several times. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was…
ODI 11220186
Steering
Loss of power steering while driving on a curvy backroad (sr 724). I returned the car to my house and switched vehicles. Later i took the car to the garage for repair --there was no power steering problem. Upon looking up the code, the garage said it was the steering shaft torque sensor. Garage (autopro, inc - shillington, pa 19607) replaced the part. Issue seems very similar/the same as recall 14v153000 which was…
ODI 11171221
Steering
Driving, power steering freezes, cannot change lanes, or turn. It will suddenly turn into old school power steering, and i can muscle it home. This is a known safety issue p, due to median of error. They seem to think all of the other 2009 malibu's do this, but not mine. What a ridiculous notion. I am a single mother, nursing student, hoping i had bought a really nice car. Now i fear my death daily.
ODI 11171771
Steering
This car first belonged to my mother and i borrowed it once to go out of town to pittsburgh which introduced me for the first time to the problem with the power steering because of what i thought the cause was extreme cold. Now i have transferred over the title and the car is supposed to be my daily reliable source of transportation but the power steering stops working and gives a service warning regardless of…
ODI 11176376
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Power steering and service esc/traction light comes across the dash as i'm driving randomly. When this happens my steering wheel becomes stiff and hard to turn. I can turn the car off and back on and it'll be fine but it does come back eventually.
ODI 11170376
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
My esc light came on randomly while in park and i lost power steering. Shut the car off and then back on it was fine, light went away. A few days later driving down the highway esc light comes on, wheel begins shaking and lost power control, tried to pull off and turn the car off, like before, the light will not go off. No power steering at all in my car for about 3 days.
ODI 11166384
Steering
The power steering goes out causing an electrical stability concern which is very dangerous and has nothing to do with my own upkeep. The car is in motion at the time that the stability of the steering wheel gets really stiff. This increases accidents
ODI 11166810
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving 45 mph, the power steering indicator illuminated and the power steering seized. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
ODI 11165578
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to turn in either direction. In addition, the check power steering and service esc messages displayed. The vehicle was taken to cambe chevrolet ([redacted], knox, in), but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure continued. The manufacturer was…
ODI 11197180
Electrical System · Steering
The car has the 2.4 4 cylinder with the unreliable electric power steering unit that shuts off almost everytime the car is driven.it shuts off and the car must be turned off then restarted before steering is restored.it goes off under all driving situations sitting,in motion,turning,going forward or backing up.on city streets or major highways..it happens at all speeds and all weather conditions ...
Crash reported
ODI 11175844
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
The power steering message comes on when you start the vehicle and then says esc off. Steering wheel won't turn. Turn the car off and most times if u turn the steering wheel while starting the car it will go off. Other times it takes 2 to 3 times of restarting. Tonight driving home the power steering light came on and the steering went out. Had to pull over and turn off the car and restart it. The steering wheel is…
ODI 11172415
Steering
I have no power steering when it goes out the steering wheel will shake and service esc message will appear in the message box on the dash it happens as soon as i start the car!
ODI 11170907
Steering
A week ago when starting my car and trying to leave the steer wheel locked up and it displayed 'power steering' on the dash and was dinging at me. I put it in park, shut it off, and turned it back on and it was gone. Thinking it was just a fluke deal, i didn't bother to check into it. Yesterday while driving on the freeway, the same thing happened. I was able to get off the freeway and put it in park at a stop light…
ODI 11162959
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Powersteering starting periodically going out and esc notification would appear. Eventually it completely quit. Called chevrolet and was told my car is not part of the recall for that issue.
ODI 11182306
Exterior Lighting · Steering
Power steering keeps going out makes it hard to drive straight and make tight turns and my low beams on my headlights keeps going out too. But there is no recall on my car at and it is really dangerous to drive with my family in it.
ODI 11160946
Steering
The power steering shut off mid turn and the service esc light came on. The issue went away after turning vehicle off and back on.
ODI 11157270
Steering
Power steering failed while driving. Power steering and service esc warnings flashed on dashboard. Vehicle very difficult to steer.
ODI 11160645
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Steering
The esc was turned off making it difficult to steer the vehicle. There was a recall for this issue but my vehicle was not included. How is that possible?! I have also had issue with the fuel pump, headlights and arm bars. I bought this as a used vehicle 3 years ago and have had nothing but mechanical issue after issue. Poorly manufactured vehicle. Including having to change out the entire fuse box.
ODI 11166245
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
When driving down the highway power steering will quit working and it becomes extremely hard to steer(very unsafe condition). By turning off the ignition and restarting, steering will be fine until it happens again(which it does, can happen at any time, again very unsafe)
ODI 11171137
Electrical System · Steering
After driving the car one mile from home steering became difficult and a message appeared in the dic power steering. I pulled the steering wheel with two hands to get to the side of the road, turned the car off and when turned on the message was gone but the steering was still awkward and not as smooth as it should be
ODI 11156441