2011 Chevrolet Malibu Power Train Problems
- 89
- 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 89 stored complaint records:
- 2 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- failure mileage · 17 records
- check engine · 11 records
- engine light · 11 records
- needed replaced · 10 records
- notified failure · 10 records
- failure failure · 9 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 37 |
| 30–60k mi | 20 |
| 1–30k mi | 15 |
| 100–150k mi | 12 |
| 150–400k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. While driving, the vehicle decelerated, the rpms revved, the vehicle lost power, and a speed sensor for the engine illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where a code for the speed sensor was found. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact spoke with priority chevrolet (1495 s military hwy, chesapeake, va 23320, [redacted])…
ODI 11268611
Power Train
81k miles on vehicle. Driving at residential speeds (~ 30 mph), vehicle started suddenly downshifting, engine revving, then refusing to get out of 1st gear. I would hate to think what would have happened on a highway or crowded city street!
ODI 11230360
Electronic Stability Control · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
I recently obtained my 2011 malibu lt from superior auto in bedford, in. It is a truly outstanding machine. I was pleased with the entire ecotec 2.4 engine and fuel economy. The drivetrain is a little different topic. I was looking forward to trying the new push button shift setup. It was smooth for the first 3 weeks or so. Oh by the way it barely turned 105,000 on the odometer. It started with 3rd shifting late and…
ODI 11229858
Power Train
Only 115k miles and transmission is out, this car gets all scheduled maintenance, reverse won't engage and transmission makes noises in forward. Help please
ODI 11207522
Power Train
Takata recall*** at 80000 miles i was driving and then my car would not move tried reverse with no luck ended up having to call tow company to get me out of traffic with almost being hit several times . With research found out this is common and gm refuses to fix problem witch is not right should be held responsible for making and putting faulty transmission in 2010 and 2011 malibu's
ODI 11196774
Power Train
Takata recall we were in motion going down a highway when the car just stop, we put it in reverse it moved when we put it back in drive would not move.the car is nine yrs old i was scare to death.
ODI 11186646
Power Train
Transmission computer (tcm) failed at 87,700 miles. Part had to be replaced and reprogrammed.
ODI 11180698
Power Train
The vehicle started to have problems in 2016 and the check engine light would come on and off randomly and would not completely stay on to diagnose the vehicle correctly and when it would come on it kept saying it was different sensors. After replacing several sensors that were diagnosed to be incorrect and changing spark plugs and all filters and flushing several parts out the vehicle was still not running…
ODI 11180471
Power Train
Broken part in transmission that clogged the filter. Car only has about 85,000 miles and has been taken care of since the day purchased new on 10/23/2010. Car was in motion when it quit moving. Was still running but i was stuck on the side of the road
ODI 11141585
Power Train
Driving down city street, engine speed increased and vehicle slowed to stop. Would not go forward or reverse. As traffic backed up behind me, shut vehicle off for about a minute and restarted. Vehicle then moved enough to get off roadway then stopped moving again. Towed to chevrolet dealership, they diagnosed with major internal transmission failure, transmission needs replaced. Vehicle has just over 90,000 miles,…
ODI 11097591
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the gears were grinding and made an abnormal noise. In addition, the gears failed to shift and the vehicle had to be towed to the dealer (gordon chevrolet, 1506, [redacted], garden city, mi 48135, [redacted]). The dealer diagnosed that the transmission assembly needed to be replaced. The dealer also indicated that the vehicle was 190 days out of…
ODI 11091237
Power Train
I have a 2011 chevrolet malibu with 91963 that hasnt moved since april 26 2018. There is a known defect in the 3-5-r wave plate in chevy malibus from 2009-10 that they fix in 2012 but did nothing for 2011. Mulitple repair shops have told me they have seen alot of 2011 malibus with the same problem. Gm will not aknowledge this defect. I need help.
ODI 11100172
Power Train
While driving in the city and highway, transmission started slipping, as though it was in neutral. This continued to happen with no breaks in between. Vehicle would not shift out of second gear. Tried turning car on and off. Checked all fluid levels. Tried driving in manual mode, no change. After driving for 10 minutes, conditions worsened. Was almost involved in multiple accidents due to car reducing power while…
ODI 11071985
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact shifted the gear into reverse, but the vehicle did not move. While driving approximately 35 mph, the gear shifter failed to shift into third gear. The contact was able to continue driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to casper toyota ([redacted], sandusky, oh 44870, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be…
ODI 11076545
Power Train · Unknown Or Other
On november 1, 2017, while driving home on the expressway i hear this loud revving noise, i turn my radio off and realize it is my car making the noise and than the check engine light comes on. When i was able to i pulled over to the shoulder and turned my car off in hopes of the error clearing out. After a few minutes i turned the car back on only to find that the check engine light was still on, when it was save…
ODI 11045010
Power Train · Unknown Or Other
Ever since purchasing my 2011 chevy malibu, it has always had a problem shifting. I took it back to the dealership and they tested it saying nothing was wrong. I told them it seemed like it had a hard time shifting gears especially going from 2nd to 3rd. I could be at a stop light and it acted like it didn't want to go. I was driving to work and it started to over heat and stopped shifting gears. It wouldn't shift…
ODI 11043695
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. While driving various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to wymer chevrolet in cumberland, md where it was diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The transmission was replaced and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,654.
ODI 11021591
Power Train
Driving down the highway when check engine light flashed, car "squealed", car started shaking, and transmission gave out. I could not accelerate past first gear. In the middle of rush hour traffic, had to coast off the highway to safety. No prior notification (lights, warnings, noises) that there was a transmission issue. Car just recently exceeded the 100000 mile power train warranty. Was notified it was the wake…
ODI 11001811
Engine · Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to go into drive position. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the master overhaul kit, pistons, control solenoid, and the torque converter needed to be placed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,000.
ODI 10986005
Engine · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
My engine light has been on since i purchased the car back in 2014 the dealership said it was no big deal that the light would evenually go out. Upon purchase it had 51,000 miles on it, because they had it for a few weeks due to it having hail damage the finance company wouldn't approve the loan because of problems. The car was riding ok up until a few montha ago i noticed i was loosing power it was driving slower,…
ODI 10983676
Power Train
According to dealer, a product failure occurred. A plate within the transmission broke and damaged 3rd, 4th and rear gears. Car is only 6 years and 78,000 mikes with a yransmission flush at 60,000. Dealer states it couldnt be a bad flush.
ODI 10970606
Power Train
A known chevrolet issue on their 2.4 l engine caused failure in my automobile while travelling 70 mph on i94 in minnesota. If the engine would have locked up we may have died. This issue is known to gm and has been addressed in other vehicles but the malibu they left out. Gm will not stand behind this. The timing chain, or chain tensioner, or chain guides failed causing the chain to break and lose power while…
ODI 10967751
Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
Reactor gear broke, blowing into all parts of the transmission. Broke with no warning while driving on a city street, wasn't able to speed up or move out of first gear. Also was not able to reverse. Resulted in a need for a total new transmission.
ODI 10967188
Power Train · Seats
The drivers side seat has broken. It is the right side and it is sitting lower than the left side. I have never had this happen in any vehicle i have owned. The other issue is intermittent problems with the shifting of the transmission. It is very worrisome. When you are sitting at a stop sign/light or anything and you go to take off it feels like car shuts down briefly and then it kicks in. The problem can never…
ODI 10957979
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Power Train
I was driving and the car began to shake and jerk, and then the alerts across the dash came up as "service esc", "service traction", and "engine power reduced". I took it to a chevy dealership and was told the throttle body needed to be replaced. After paying $550.00 for the repair the car seemed to work fine until recently, only two months after the initial repair the same exact thing has happened, and now the…
ODI 10944519