Loss of electric power steering assist. Has happened literally dozens of times. Can be driving or at a stop and the power steering assist will go away, the dash will chime, and messages will be displayed saying "power steering", "service ESC", and "ESC off". After that point there will be no steering assist until the vehicle is restarted. Seems to be the same symptoms as cars affected by the power steering recall, however my VIN shows that my car is not part of the recall.
2009 Chevrolet Malibu driver assistance complaints
Page 9 of 10: complaints 221 to 250 of 264, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Driving vehicle around a curve when ESC light came on and lost power steering. Parked car over night and waited for dealership to open. After research, realized the vehicle has a recall number of 14v252 which may root of the problem. When I turned on the vehicle to take to the dealer, the light was off and power steering returned. While driving to the dealer, light came on and lost power steering again.
While driving my 2009 chevy malibu, I abruptly got a warning message on my dash board which contained the phrase engine power reduction at which time my car completely shut off in the middle of a busy highway. The car had no response even though all the battery operated items were working the car still would not turn over. After further research it has come to my attention that a large group of individuals have had this happen and this error message come up.
While making a left turn at less than 20mph, vehicle lost traction, causing car to skid and leave roadway, and subsequently hit a cement culvert. Earlier the same week, the rear brake lights were intermittently illuminating when the brakes were not being applied. Vehicle required towing and repairs. Passenger in vehicle suffered lower back injury. Two weeks after accident, owner received recall 13036 notification.
I have to change head lights 3 times. Only can take to dealer ($150.00). When having tires replaces and brakes. The ABS/ESC/traction control alarms lights stays on while driving. I contact chevrolet now for last three years. I was told because my car is out warranty they will not approval repair. I recently taken car to dealer recall # 13036. That my car would be approval for loaner. Chevrolet/ dealer. All warranty have expires that would not approval for repairs there's no one to bill or pay for repairs and loaner. I will be taken this public. As a consumers and would like to stay a purchaser of gm/chevy to warn everyone of their practices.
Esc and traction control would not engage. It stated it needed servicing an dash info center. Took car to dealer and first they could not find the problem. After 4 hours they call and said the front wheel hub had to be replaced. Code # c0040, right front hub was dropping signal.. This was done at a cost of $636.70 to me. A car with 16,000 miles, don't think this should happen. Just received a recall notice on this car from gm, so far I have not been notified of any fix for this recall./ recall # 13036. I feel gm owes me some money for this repair.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the brake lights failed to illuminate when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact mentioned that the brake lights illuminated when the vehicle was in motion. In addition, the traction control and ESC warning indicators illuminated continuously. The contact received a recall notice for the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control); however, the part needed for the repair was unavailable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000.
I was coming to a stop and because my brake lights do not illuminate when brakes are applied, the person behind me nearly hit me. This was just the first of seven near collisions. I rarely drive my car now because of the overwhelming feeling of danger when I do drive it. Every time I get in to my car to go somewhere, I get in with the thought of I may never see my husband or children again. It is an awful stress. Gm has done nothing to help me except tell me they understand.
When driving, service ESC and service traction show up on dash. When that appears the brake lights come on without applying brake and when brake is applied the brake lights don't come on. I spoke to chevrolet and they said it was under recall but I had to take it into a dealer and have it checked to make sure that was the problem at a cost to me and anyway they can't fix it because they don't have the parts. So what are they waiting for? I am afraid to drive it and it is my young daughters car she drives to school. I don't want her to drive it but it is the only means of transportation for her. This is ridiculous knowing that it is recalled an nothing to be done about it. Until when, its to late or someone gets hurt.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact received a recall notice for the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control); however, the parts needed for the repair were unavailable. The dealer could not provide an estimated date for arrival. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the brake light illuminated when the brake pedal was not depressed and failed to illuminate when the brake pedal was depressed. In addition, the contact stated that the ESC traction control and the cruise control independently disengaged. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle would hesitate when shifting gears. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the federal safety agency campaign: 14v252000 (brakes, exterior lighting, electronic stability control) exceeded a reasonable amount for the recall repair. The dealer stated that the part was not available. The manufacturer was made aware of the delay. The contact had experienced the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the currently mileage was 90,000.
Beginning on april 15, 2014 my car flashes ESC off, service ESC, service traction. This happens often and it turns off the traction control in my car and causes the cruise control to cease function.
The brake lights come on without pressing the brake pedal. When you push on the pedal the lights go out. While on the speed control will not work. Several other issues with the bcm. Gm announced a recall on this vehicle on may 15, 2014 but the federal safety agency website letter on that date letter nvs-215ks / 14v‑252 stated that gm must notify the owners within 60 days. It has been 60 days and there has not been a notification. This issue has been in the shop under warranty approx. 5 times and I have had to also repair the same issue. Now the car is not drive able because if I place it in park it will not go in reverse. This is also due to the same bcm problem. If they (gm) has 60 days, why have they not recalled this vehicle? I took it to the gm dealer and gave them the recall number found on the internet and was told they have no information about it. How can I get this information but their own dealers can't.
Brake light turn on without braking, brake lights don work while braking, traction control becomes disabled, cruise will not activate, will not come out of park.
While driving the vehicle, the service light came on for ESC/traction control and also my brake lights came on while my foot was on accelerator, I applied the brake and the brake light turned off, but when I accelerated again the brake light came back on after a few seconds. On different occasions while driving on the freeway the same thing happened and I was unable to engage the cruise control. When I turn off the car and restart it, the service light turns off but only momentarily. It eventually comes back on. Extremely irritating, inconvenient, and dangerous!
At first, only the ESC light would come on and the car would begin to miss and skip. Took to the dealer, they "could not duplicate". Happened again, this time all the electronic lights (ESC, power steering, traction control, brakes, etc) would light up and blink. When this is happening, the car will jerk and misfire, and slowly picks up speed while jerking. As soon as the lights go off, the card drives perfectly fine. Took to dealer again, was told that they saw all the codes, but could not find any problem, cleaned the wire leads and that was that. Several weeks later, started up again. This time, all the lights come on, nearly every electric light warning you can think of, and all of the gauges drop to zero. The car jerks into gears, sometimes the power steering doesn't work, very hard to turn, and on top of that, the air conditioning stops working. It's so random and intermittent, as soon as the service ESC light goes off (along with all the other warnings). The car drives like its brand new, air works perfectly fine, power steering works perfectly. The sad part about it is that I had taken my car in a couple times, while I was still under warranty, and the dealership, 'could not duplicate, couldn't find problem, now it is happening more often than naught, especially in warm weather. This very cold winter, the problem did not occur not once, as soon as the weather warmed up, the problem occurs. Sometimes everyday, sometimes it'll go a week and the car drives perfectly. Only when these lights come on, does the car begin to misfire, jerk, air stops working. This is a very odd problem, and I have seen several stories on the internet of other folks having this same problem with chevy malibus. This should definitely be a recall issue; the potential for harm is great, esp, when these lights just pop on while driving the expressway or in bad weather.
My power steering and service ESC light would come on. My steering wheel would lock up. Gm stated they would not reimburse me for my issue even though there is an recall out for the same issue.
My brake light would come on for no apparent reason then goes off when I touch my brakes. This has happened at least 6 times that I know of. Also, my stability control light comes on once every couple of months and said it needs maintenance. When I call the dealership and the run my VIN they say my car is not listed.
I was driving and my ESC light came on and I had a difficult time steering my car in the worse traffic I could be in. I was lucky enough I got off the side of the road before I hit someone and put it in a ditch. Also, lucky enough it was me driving and not my [xxx] year old daughter. I called the dealer and they got me right in to get it fixed, but I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. However, when I contacted gm I was told I would be reimbursed for this and I would get a letter as of april 28th. I noticed it was moved to may 28th and as of today I have still yet to be notified? Does someone have to be injured or killed to get an actual response from someone? Updated 1/9/2015 *js parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
My wife was driving and the "service ESC / service traction" came on, on my 2009 chevy malibu. There was a slight roughness on the engine. We took it to the dealer and they said they could not find any problem withthe vehicle and we paid the diagnostic fee. It has appeared several times after that but not often. I called chevrolet about it and they said that there is no recall on my vehicle. I saw a recall ( recall id 103629) on electronic stability control for 2009 chevy malibu but they said my vehicle was not included on the recall list. My main concern is the safety of my family and my wife. I have read several concerns of people who own this vehicles and what happened with them.
While driving at 70 MPH with cruise control engaged, the third brake light in the rear window would randomly come on causing the cruise control to shut off. Soon after this happens I get warnings on the dash to service the ecs and traction control system. It has been getting gradually worse and with the brake light activating, could cause drivers behind me to think I am stopping when I am not. This problem was mentioned in an article in USA today a couple of weeks ago, that gm will be issuing a recall for.
After filing two complaints with you, and receiving a recall alert from you, I am being told by gm that my vehicle, a 2009 malibu built between the years specified in your recall notice, is not included in the recall you alerted me about. How is this possible? The referenced recall # 14v252000, as he experienced the same malfunction, as described in the recall. The consumer has invoices, that date bate to 2011, where he had to take the vehicle, back to the dealer several times, for an inoperable cruise control and ESC lighting illuminating. Updated 07/16/14
When driving the alert will sound alerting that engine power has been reduced. The electronic stability control is then turned off and traction control is lost. When the accelerator is pushed it hesitates before accelerating.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and there was a delay in response. In addition, the ESC active warning light illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number: 14v252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control). The approximate failure mileage was 135,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Power steering motor failure warning light appeared on dash, traction control disabled warning appears. Happens very often at startup, making steering difficult and disabling traction control. Has occurred while driving, causing difficult steering. If vehicle is turned off and restarted, works properly approx. 50% of the time.
Hello, my car's service traction and service ESC light turns on intermittently. When this happens the brake lights behave in the opposite way, I.e. They stay on during normal driving, turn off when I press on the brake pedal, and turn back on when I release the brake. The cruise control does not work whenever this happens. I do not experience anything different while driving and I believe this is a sensor/circuitry issue. I had this repaired at the dealer the first time (august, 2012) where they performed the tsb fix of adding grease to the ESC connectors. This problem has recurred several times, and I even had the brake light switch replaced, and it now occurs whenever it rains. I read through the forums and news websites and found that this is a common problem in a lot of chevy vehicles. This is a serious issue as it might lead to accidents when someone driving behind my car sees that the brake light turns off when I press the brake pedal. I would like gm/chevrolet to help me out here and fix this issue without making me pay for it but they have not responded positively. The dealership charges $130 just for doing simple diagnostics. But this issue is something pretty common to a lot of chevrolet cars and is not a wear related issue. This is an defect that is a safety risk that needs to be addressed. Gm or chevrolet should take responsibility to fix the issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while approaching a traffic light, the service traction control warning message illuminated. There was also a loss of power steering. The contact had to turn the vehicle off; however, she was able to restart it. The failure occurred intermittently and while traveling approximately 30 MPH the failure recurred. The contact was able to coast the vehicle onto the emergency lane and restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number: 14v153000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,720.
While driving the elec. Stability control light came on and steering became difficult due to the power steering assist motor giving out. When this happen, the steering wheel would inadvertently move back & forth. The sensor in the motor and in the lower steering column both went out. This was an extremely expensive repair not to mention that I was traveling down a busy interstate and could had a severe accident.
Esc light stays on has been replaced 3 times. Causes traction control not to work properly also brake lights fail to work or will stay on and or stay off. Have reported to chevy dealer in traver city michigan they say nothing is wrong.. But something is wrong ... Or not right I never know if my tail lights or brake lights are going to work and traction control...
Re-occurrence of a prior complaint. Driving my vehicle on a local highway when the service traction and service ESC displays came on. Car began to sputter as though it were going to stall. Coasted to the side of the highway, and after idling for a minute the displays returned to normal. After driving about 2 miles further, it happened again. It continued to happen throughout the rest of my drive. The next day, it ran fine for about 10 miles or so, and then began stalling again and began to lose some braking and steering. Last time this issue occurred, the brake lights also locked on leaving the drivers behind me thinking that I was braking. Last time these alerts were displayed my vehicle died completely and had to be serviced. Now, it seems to be progressing towards the same result. Gm will not acknowledge that there is an issue, but hundreds of malibu and hhr owners since 2008 seem to disagree. I once again contacted the dealership that gave me the explanation of it requiring hundreds of dollars to diagnose. Seeing that this has been occurring for at least 5 years, I would imagine that gm is aware that there is an issue. Unfortunately, it always seems that it takes the death of several drivers before there is a response. One driver in a printed chat with a gm rep stated that the issue caused his vehicle to crash due to the loss of ABS and power steering, and his airbag failed to deploy. Isn't a loss of braking, steering, air bag, brake lights and acceleration a safety concern?
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