2012 Chevrolet Malibu acceleration problems

Filed Feb 22, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · KY

Was driving home on the parkway and the headlights shut off on their own had to call for roadside assistance to get my vehicle home they will work on dim but brights will not work and if I drive for more than an hour and a half they will not work at all the speed sensor keeps going bad after having it replaced multiple times

Filed Jul 25, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 166,000 miles · KS

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH and following a slight right turn on the highway, the ESC warning illuminated, and the vehicle slowed down without the brake pedal being depressed. The failure was intermittent but became a recurring failure. The contact stated that the vehicle also slowed down unintentionally while making a left or right turn at slow speeds. The contact stated that in the middle of the turn, the vehicle slowed to a stop without the brake pedal being depressed. The ESC warning light illuminated while the vehicle was still in drive(D) and running. The vehicle came to a stop, and the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle continued driving. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and was diagnosed with PSCM failure. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not taken back to the dealer. The contact researched online and related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V252000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Vehicle Speed Control, Electronic Stability Control (ESC). The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 166,000.

Filed May 7, 2023 · Acceleration, Fuel system · TX

I’m having recalled issues in my car, but the car has no recall on it

Filed May 5, 2023 · Acceleration · NC

The Instrument Cluster failed while driving. No gauges on dash work and the gear shift indicator light does not work. I have read online other owners with the same complaint. This should be on recall.

Filed Mar 30, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · MN

The electric power steering and ESC systems. It is or was under recall for this type of vehicle. The steering becomes hard and vehicle shakes the tire rotation is being read wrong by computer. It doesn't want to stay 9n the road...the stability of vehicle is compromised.

Filed Mar 20, 2022 · Acceleration, Engine · MS

ESC reduced power reads across my monitor's screen. It could be numerous of these that cause this. I've done what I can afford, but no luck. I've done research & it's very common for this to happen among these. Please help me out with at least pinpointing the problem, thanks!

Filed Apr 28, 2021 · Acceleration, Brakes · 144,000 miles · VA

I brought my vehicle into a chevrolet center near me to have a 'manufacturers warranty fix' done to my vehicle on 04/17/2021, as the power steering had failed and I was able to get this fixed for free. When I turned my vehicle on and noticed the power steering notification on my dash, I tried to back my car out of where I was parked and move my wheel, but could not move the wheel. When the part was replaced, I was told that there were still sensors on my dash indicating that I needed the ESC and stability traction control serviced for my car. According to the chevrolet dealership, this had 'nothing to do with the special policy fix' and not something they would be fixing for me. After checking the for any recalls on my 2012 chevy malibu, I found one from may 2014 that described exactly the problem I was having with my vehicle: loss of vehicle stability traction control, cruise control and random illumination of brake lights. I contacted chevy once again about this recall, to which they said there 'was no recall for the vehicle, and if there was it was already fixed'. Not only was this completely unprofessional and lacking concern of safety for my child and I, I do not know where to turn to for this to be remedied. Attached is the ticket for the initial fix I had done.

Filed Apr 6, 2021 · Acceleration, Brakes · 33,136 miles · MI

The car had gm service bulletin 13036 (recall campaign 14v252) performed on september 19, 2014 and the car is experiencing the exact same conditions as described in the service bulletin[1] so the "fix" didn't resolve what is now an on going safety issue. It should be noted in the recall "why" section to owners the use of "...over time...". Therefore, the issue is known to be time dependent and the fix doesn't appear to fully resolve the issue into the future. 1: we are currently seeing the following conditions: - service brake lamps may not illuminate when the service brakes are being applied. - if cruise control is engaged, additional service brake pedal travel may be required to disengage it. - traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features, if equipped, may be disabled. - service ESC and/or traction control tell-tales may illuminate with this condition.

Filed Dec 22, 2020 · Acceleration · MO

The ESC service light came on, while I was driving then the steering wheel locked up.

Filed Nov 10, 2020 · Acceleration, Electrical · 98,000 miles · UT

While driving passenger side low beam stopped working, then came back on after a few days. Now both passenger and driver low beams are not working. High beams are fine. I always used the automatic lighting to have them turn on/off for anytime I drive. Low beams required new headlamps and melted relay, replaced that as well. Service ESC and traction control lights come on dash, then turn off, then come back on. It is intermittent and won't ever stay on long enough to have checked. Usually it happens when stopped at a stoplight and then when you start to accelerate again it goes off.