2011 Chevrolet Malibu Engine Problems
- 138
- 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 138 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 2 indicate fire
What owners report
- engine light · 34 records
- engine power · 33 records
- failure mileage · 26 records
- check engine · 25 records
- throttle body · 23 records
- service traction · 22 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 57 |
| 30–60k mi | 33 |
| 100–150k mi | 23 |
| 1–30k mi | 8 |
| 150–400k mi | 5 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. While driving 65 mph, the esc warning light illuminated and the vehicle lost power. The failure recurred in cold weather numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine management and ignition sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage…
ODI 10818370
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
ODI 10678226
Engine · Traction Control System
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the service traction warning light illuminated as the vehicle stalled. Also, the contact stated the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,909.
ODI 10639017
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
2011 malibu was acting like it was not getting enough gas or bad spark plugs. Then the check engine light came and other indicator lights. Had a diagnostics ran and said that the fuel pump had a pin hole. Replace the fuel pump, got a tune-up ran good for a couple of days. Went to start the car again and it once again started acting as if it was not getting enough gas and engine light once again came on, service esc,…
ODI 10638115
Engine · Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
On august 6,, 2014 i had taken my 3 kids to the lake @ dreher island state park. Upon getting ready to leave i put on brakes to see what my son asked me.for no reason the car started moving forward & i couldn't get it to stop get the wheels to turn as it was very hard & pushed the emergency brakes & it kept going till it went in the ditch on a concrete terracotta causing it to bend a piece of what was told to me the…
Crash reported
ODI 10625805
Engine
I am having problems with my 2011 malibu lt. It will randomly read "service traction" and "reduced engine power" and come to a stop. It is unpredictable and very very dangerous. I cannot afford to keep taking it to chevrolet. They have the codes but said they have to replicate it. If you google malibu loses power, service traction. You will see many coming up with the same issue and no one can fix it. Very…
ODI 10666978
Engine
I was driving on hwy 35n on my way to my sister's house and the engine light came on saying engine power reduced. Out of nowhere, my vehicle would not go faster than 5 mph. The speed limit on that part of 35 is 70 mph. It was dark and i had my two year old daughter in the car with me. With cars speeding past me i put my hazards on and pulled onto the shoulder. My daughter was very shaken as was i. Called my brother…
ODI 10588799
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
Since march 2014, i had instances where the chevy malibu i was driving warned me on the dash that i needed to service the esc. It would tell me esc turned off and traction control turned off. This message would disappear when i turned the car off and restarted. It started doing it more frequently so i called gmc on august 2nd. I had to wait 2 weeks until they could get me in to the dealer. This whole time my car was…
ODI 10669408
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the service engine, esc, and traction control indicators illuminated intermittently on numerous occasions. A mechanic replaced the spark plugs, cleaned the oil sensor screen, and stated that the failure code indicated a misfire. The vehicle was repaired, but the failures recurred. The service engine indicator blinked and the vehicle stalled. The…
ODI 10605170
Engine
Tl*the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle restarted however, the failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.
ODI 10701129
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
I was driven in highway 40 mph suddenly i lost control of the cars' speed because the engine stopped responding to its normal functions. This ultimately lowered my speed down to 11 mph. This almost resulted in me getting involved in a high speed collision with the vehicle behind me. *tr
ODI 10566184
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
While driving on the highway the displayed showed low traction, service esc, reduced power engine. After quickly pulling over to the side the car began violently shaking and pressing the gas pedal resulted in no engine power. *tr
ODI 10565903
Engine
While driving on the highway the display showed low traction, service esc, and engine power reduced. The engine power was reduced and i was almost rear-ended by a truck. After pulling over to the side the engine began shaking at which point i turned off the engine. The same issue happened again a couple of days later. *tr
ODI 10566999
Engine · Fuel/Propulsion System · Power Train
Car suddenly decelerated and started sputtering. Engine acted like it was going to quit and did not have any power. Would not get over 15mph. Put me in a very dangerous situation in rush hour traffic. I am very lucky no one was killed. Decelerated at a very fast rate. Dealership diagnosed the problem as the throttle body. The throttle body had to be replaced for $675. Was not covered under the 100k powertrain…
ODI 10564890
Engine · Power Train
Sitting at intersection, foot on brake, waiting for light to turn green, felt sudden power surge, thought someone hit me from behind, lights on dashboard read: reduced engine power, service esc, service engine icom appeared. Light turned green, had to cross 5 lanes of state highway. Car would barely move, light turned red, pulled to side of road as best i could account 5 ft snow piles alongside road. Minus 6 degrees…
ODI 10564177
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
I called and made a complaint yesterday regarding my vehicle dropping from 60 mph to 30 mph in the midst of morning traffic. I took the car to the dealership and was told that i need to let the car sit idle whenever this happens for a moment and then it should reset and be fine. Well, this happened to me 4 times this morning, 3 of those times my two children were in the car with me. The roads were slick this morning…
ODI 10563241
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
2011 chevrolet malibu. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle goes into "limp mode" while driving. Engine light, low traction warning and engine power reduced light would display. *smd the consumer stated the vehicle would automatically and instantly lose power down to 25 mph. The vehicle would shake rather violently. The incident occurred over a period of 2 weeks. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and a diagnosis…
ODI 10574535
Engine · Power Train
My wife was driving our 2011 chevy malibu with 42,000 miles on snow-covered roads. All of a sudden, warning lights lit up, including "service esc", "engine power reduce" and the car began in jolt. This caused her to swerve into the other lane and just missed getting broadsided by a semi truck. We let the car sit for a couple of hours in a parking lot. We then took the vehicle to the dealership, who indicated it was…
ODI 10561617
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
Luckily i was stuck in wall to wall traffic due to bad weather on my way home from work. I attempted to hit the gas to inch forward and my car starting shaking and seemed to be idled up. My check engine light came on and my dash read engine powering down,service tracking system and my car would go no faster than 20 mph. The part isn't covered under warranty on a 3yr car and i have to pay $388.00 to have this fixed.…
ODI 10559125
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
I was driving my [redacted] too work , rush hour and unpleasant weather. As i was driving the car just slowed itself down, started to tremble and the ;engine power reduce / service traction warning lights came on. I was almost rear-ended since car just decided to reduce its engine power. I pulled over for a few minutes, turned car off and restarted but the engine light stayed on. Car started to run smoothly, and…
ODI 10558780
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated when she started the vehicle the engine power reduced warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle lunged forward and stalled. The dealer replaced the throttle body. The failure recurred and the warning light (ssible) illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 77,400 . The vin was not available.
ODI 10588666
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
Vehicle started shaking, low traction control message, esc message, reduced engine power message. Car wouldn't go over 15 mph, was unable to drive home with this issue. Was lucky to be on an outer road with no traffic then this happened. Had car diagnosed, found the throttle body had to be replaced -- know of two other individuals with same issue in the past 6 weeks, one on a malibu, and one on another chevy…
ODI 10558333
Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
This has happened to me 6 times now. The first time this happened, i was about 70 miles outside of atlanta going 70 mph on the highway surrounded by 18 wheelers. Suddenly my traction light and service engine light came on and the reduced power notification came on, the car slowed to about 10 miles an hour very suddenly and the car was shaking violently. The 18 wheeler behind me could not stop fast enough and the…
ODI 10585210
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Engine
I was driving this vehicle on one of the main highways where there is a lot of traffic and several lights appeared first it was the service esc, engine power reduced, and service traction light, along with my check engine light, and traction light, the car then dropped from a speed of 65 to a speed of 20 and would not go on the highway this almost got me killed. I feel that gm should look into this issue as there…
ODI 10558491
Air Bags · Body · Engine
I was going onto a exit an hit a guardrail on the drivers side, the car spun and i ended up sideways. The airbag deployed but did not inflate. I sustained broken ribs, a facial hematoma and multiple contusions. I was wearing my seatbelt at the time of the accident. *tr
Crash reported · 1 injury
ODI 10554926