When I walk up to my car all I smell is gas and my gas tank doesn’t last as long as it should the first half of my tank is gone within 2-4 hours the second half last a couple days . I just had a child and I wanna make sure I can get these things fixed . I just purchased this car like 3 months ago from a dealership .. he’s been giving me the run around so I’m trying to see what I can do
2008 Chevrolet Malibu driver assistance problems
74 complaints (7% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 100,000. 5 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 74
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- typical mileage
- 100,000
- crashes
- 5
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Automatic emergency braking1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Chevrolet Malibu driver assistance problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu driver assistance
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Electronic stability control (ESC)
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.
- Risk
- Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020 (Chevrolet), 1‑800‑762‑2737 (Pontiac), 1‑800‑553‑6000 (Saturn). GM's number for this recall is 13036.
Recall number 14V252000 · Recall details
What 2008 Chevrolet Malibu owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Service ESC service traction light came on the steering wheel locked and I almost wrecked there has been a recall for this but it closed and the dealer won't fix it no recalls have been fixed open or closed can u please help me get the fixed
Keep getting a message saying 'ESC off' , 'traction control off' comes and goes. Sometimes seems like the vehicle is stuck in a gear makes a loud roar. Starts to vibrate while driving at certain speeds. Having a problem with brake light staying on a even after replacing switch. I have the recall problems for this year/model car but VIN doesn't seem to meet the qualifications.
My car's check engine light has been on and flashing for the past two weeks. I have had my car repaired several times by autobody shops. A diagnostic test have never been done before today. My car is pulling to the right. The rack and pinion was replaced last year. I hit a deer and according to the repair shop I only had body damage. Six months later they are telling me I need to replace my engine. I have replaced the brakes on this car more than seven times. I am in the process of getting the rotors replaced. Then every four months I have to get my tires replaced.
My vehicle has been running just fine until the other day when my vehicle out of nowhere went into 'limp mode' and I couldn't go over 20 MPH. The notifications on my dash were 'eng pwr reduced' and 'service ESC'. After looking online for possible causes, it is very clear that engine power reduced and service electrical system is an extremely common problem with chevy malibu's from older models to newer 2016-2018 models). Not only is it common, but most people that experience the same issue I did, end up spending thousands trying to fix the problem. Repairs range from changing the throttle body to sensors to battery cables & terminals. A few get lucky but for the majority of malibu owners, the problem returns within days or if they're lucky, they get a couple of months before the error codes come back. All one has to do is search the forums of cargurus.com or youtube for videos to find the countless posts of chevy malibu owners all experiencing the same problem. I personally read of many accounts where owners were on the highway when all of a sudden they have the engine power reduced. This is a huge safety concern and eventually someone or multiple people are going to get killed when they lose power at a high rate of speed. Chevy is undoubtedly aware that there's a problem and are choowing to turn a blind eye instead of issuing a recall. What's it going to take for gm to admit there's a problem? Multiple deaths? Mechanics, even those that work for gm know there's an issue but don't know how to fix it permanently. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I can't afford to pay thousands for guess work. I shouldn't have to even consider it because gm knows there's an issue and aren't doing anything about it. Before people get killed, an investigation needs to be conducted & a recall issued!
Random lose of electric power steering, on highway at freeway speeds.. The steering wheel will lock and cause you to be unable to keep the car in control.. I've contacted general motors after being advised this was and is a known issue and in most cases is covered under recalls and extended coverage. They said this vehicle wasn't covered
Esc warning light, service ESC, ESC off, service traction, traction off lights are continuously coming on when driving, front end shudders/shakes when this happens and I lose speed.
I was driving my car and my power steering light came on while on the highway and the wheel became hard to turn
I will be driving down the road and my ESC light comes on and it causes my brakes to engage by there selves it has happened several times now
My car was showing service ESC I looked it up and found that there was a recall on that so I took it to dealership in june to be repaired and while I was driving on a city street the car started running funny and the service ESC light came on again
Questions about the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu driver assistance
Does the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu have driver assistance problems?
Owners have filed 74 complaints about the driver assistance of the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, 7% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2008 Chevrolet Malibu driver assistance problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 100,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu driver assistance?
Yes, 1 recall: 14V252000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Chevrolet Malibu have the most driver assistance problems?
The Chevrolet Malibu model years with the most driver assistance complaints are 2009 (264 complaints), 2010 (244 complaints) and 2011 (183 complaints).
Other 2008 Chevrolet Malibu problems
Steering 460Electrical 233Lights 106Brakes 89Transmission 86Engine 74Locks 71Airbags 64Fuel system 54Acceleration 42Body 21Suspension 15Wheels 10Seats 8Tires 8Visibility 8Seat belts 4
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2008 Chevrolet Malibu?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history