2010 Chevrolet Malibu Power Train Problems
- 104
- 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 104 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- failure mileage · 18 records
- engine light · 13 records
- check engine · 12 records
- needed replaced · 12 records
- wave plate · 11 records
- traction control · 10 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 46 |
| 100–150k mi | 19 |
| 30–60k mi | 12 |
| 1–30k mi | 10 |
| 150–400k mi | 4 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electronic Stability Control · Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. After a complete stop with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle failed to accelerate without warning. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, but could not be diagnosed due to no warning sensors. A day later, an unknown indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent auto shop where it was confirmed that the transmission failed and…
ODI 11048602
Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle lacked forward momentum. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the wave plate…
ODI 11030773
Power Train
Transmission completly went out with no warning crossing a busy intersection. No lights came on, no noises, would barely go then jerked and excelleration noise as if i reved engine up but i didn't then pulled into parking spot and it wouldnt go into gear and would not move. When started later that day it ran fine and 2 minutes from home it did the exact same thing but now will not move at all and just whines. I read…
ODI 11030733
Power Train · Steering
Power steering failed for the second time on september 10, 2017. I had to replace the steering column in november 2016 for the same condition. There is a recall for chevy malibus up until the 2009 model year and clearly there is a weakness in the 2010. This failure was while i was parked in a tight spot and couldn't get out. I restarted the car until it recalibrated, but it will undoubtedly go again. Repeat of…
ODI 11023678
Power Train
While in motion on the freeway, my vehicle began would not speed up when i stepped on the gas. The car revved up but it would not speed up. I continued to slow down as cars approached me from behind. I was afraid they might hit me so i moved to the side of the road. I tried to accelerate while on the side of the road but it would only rev up and not move. I switched the gearshift several times between park, neutral,…
ODI 11047193
Electronic Stability Control · Power Train
Since i drove this car off the lot in 2010, once every six months or so, this car will suddenly downshift greatly reducing the speed. It is the equivalent of engine braking. It was under an unfixed recall when i purchased it. The dealership, parkway chevrolet, made multiple attempts to fix the problem, but it still persists to this day. Given the sudden deceleration that this causes, and the only resolution is to…
ODI 10995337
Power Train
Transmission shifter cable came loose from the transmission. Placed the car in park but it continued to move. Cable is missing center piece (clip?) that holds it to transmission lever. This car was recalled and "fixed" for this condition less than 4 years ago. Obviously their repair is inferior......if indeed it was done as they claim. Original recall number is 12v460000.
ODI 11020060
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. While attempting to accelerate, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to the reichard chevrolet dealer located in brookville, oh to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the wave plate located in the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was currently being repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure…
ODI 10993155
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. While driving 60 mph, the gear shifted into neutral without warning and the vehicle began to slow down. The contact was able to coast the vehicle off to the side of the road. The vehicle was shut off and the contact waited for five minutes. The vehicle was able to restart and operated normally; however, the failure recurred another day. In addition, while at a complete…
ODI 11010924
Power Train
I purchased this car brand new in 2010 with 5 miles on the vehicle. The car was serviced regularly at my local dealership. I first reported that the transmission occasionally "bumped" when the vehicle had around 30, 000 miles. After checking out the car, i was told they didn't see an issue. I replaced the timing chain approximately 90,000 when i took her in for her 100,000 service. Within 4,000 miles of this…
ODI 11001428
Power Train
Transmission suddenly failed while driving on a street. Car only had 70,000 miles. Later discovered it was due to a broken gear shaped part of the transmission. Shows bad quality, should not fail at 70k miles.
ODI 10978864
Power Train
Almost caused a major accident when trying to accelerate into 65 mph traffic and rpm's red lined and i am not going anywhere and i almost get hit from behind with on-coming traffic. No 3rd or 5th gear. Also, found no reverse once i was able to get to safety. Turns out to be a failed 3-5-r wave plate. Scary stuff when you are red lining and going nowhere! Sent information to chevrolet as it turns out this is a known…
ODI 10960375
Engine · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
I was driving and then came to a stop to pull on a major highway. When i turned on the high way my malibu wouldn't accelerate and acted as if it was in neutral, as a semi pulled up behind me i had to put it almost in a ditch so i wouldn't get hit. My mechanic says its the 3,5,r wave plate and that he looked at all the malibu forums online and found out that many people have had this happen. I contacted gm and they…
ODI 10939209
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. While driving the vehicle, it lost power and shut off. An hour later the vehicle was able to restart, but shut off again after approximately three minutes. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch wave plates (3rd, 5th, and 10th) failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 40,006.
ODI 10940186
Power Train
While driving down the highway in traffic, the transmission started to act like it was going into neutral, slipping shifts without power in the flow of traffic. With intermittent transmission power this caused a serious situation in traffic. I was luckily able to get out of traffic and limp it home. This transmission has 94,000 miles on it. I took the car to the chevrolet dealer, they took the transmission apart and…
ODI 10945297
Power Train
Vehicle hesistates and aquire high acceleration then jerks hard into first gear.
Crash reported
ODI 10925101
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted on the first attempt. The failure recurred and the vehicle failed to shift into gear. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission had a design flaw and needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the…
ODI 10927487
Power Train
I took my car to the chevrolet dealership to diagnose a check engine light. The car was suddenly losing power when accelerating and the reverse gear would, at times, fail to engage. The loss of power occurred at speeds above 20 mph. The dealership said that the problem is with the transmission's 3-5-reverse gear. After doing some research, i found that others have had this exact problem with this car. In 2015 gm…
ODI 10965988
Power Train
On august 21, 2016 i place my car in reverse to back up out of a parking space in a residential parking lot. Then i attempted to place my car into drive to pull off and the gear shift moved but my car started rolling backwards. So immediately stepped on my emergency brakes so the car would stop. I look at my gear shift and saw it was still in reverse. I played with the gears moving the level back and forth but the…
ODI 10897616
Power Train · Service Brakes
As i pulled out from work, i noticed that as the car should have been going into second or third gear, the rpm's just revved. I was heading down a hill at the time, and when it got to around 30-35 mph, the gear caught (thank goodness because it was starting to get a bit scary at that moment) and was able to be driven like normal. I had a few stop lights along the way home, and each time that i came to a complete…
ODI 10898540
Power Train
As i pulled out from work, i noticed that as the car should have been going into second or third gear, the rpm's just revved. I was heading down a hill at the time, and when it got to around 30-35 mph, the gear caught (thank goodness because it was starting to get a bit scary at that moment) and was able to be driven like normal. I had a few stop lights along the way home, and each time that i came to a complete…
ODI 10897832
Electronic Stability Control · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
I was getting on i10 as i began to merge onto the interstate my car came to crawl did it start to gain power allowing me to merge onto i10 safely. So i thought. As i was reaching 70mph the car stalls ( no steering no engine power) on my dash board it read reduce engine power service traction ! Wth out of know where this happen the dash didnt read that till my car stalled and all power was loss. Mind u i have a…
ODI 10886292
Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
Takata recall my car started to slow down to 35 to 40 mph in the middle of traffic and i call to see if there was a recall and i was told for some models but not mine and it's doing the same as the other cars it's not safe.
ODI 10892983
Air Bags · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
First repair, airbag service required. The dealership claimed it was a loose wire. 2nd repair, esc maintenance required, traction service required, engine power reduced, vehicle will not leave neutral. If gas is applied vehicle jumps and shakes. 3rd is same as 2nd and 4th visit is same as previous except when i received ownership of the vehicle it could not make it out of the parking lot. After mentioning the lemon…
ODI 10876506
Power Train
Will not shift into park, checked and found plastic tabs that hold transmission shift cable together were broken as indicated in gm recall notice 12106c. Contacted dealer and was told this recall does not affect my car's vin. (see attached photo)
ODI 10871272