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2016 Chevrolet Malibu engine complaints

Page 6 of 11: complaints 131 to 160 of 305, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2016 Chevrolet Malibu engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Mar 26, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 65,851 miles · MI

I was driving on a secondary road going about 45 MPH when all of a sudden my car decelerated to 20 MPH in a matter of seconds. The dash showed me an "engine power is reduced" message and my check engine light came on. I was able to safely pull off the road and was able to get home safely. I turned the car off for about 10 minutes and restarted it and it seemingly is fine now but this is terribly unsafe. To my knowledge there is no recall or any word on this from gm.

Filed Mar 26, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 50,000 miles · NJ

I was coming to a stop at a traffic light. I received an alert on my dash "reduced engine power" and my check engine light came on. My car became much less responsive to pressing on the accelerator and seemed to be having trouble going more than ~30 MPH. An inspection of the problem gave the error code p2138 as the source of the issue.

Filed Mar 18, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 52,000 miles · OH

When I was driving home from work tonight. I was taking the ramp to get on to the highway and my car gave me a warning that the engine power was reduced and my check engine light came on and my car was immediately reserved to only going 20 MPH. This is very unsafe as I was trying to merge onto the highway.

Filed Mar 13, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 42,000 miles · NJ

While riding on the highway at 70mph I experienced a total loss of power. The car warned me and the engine light came on. I could not accelerate beyond 30 MPH. When I had it checked with a code sensor it told me there was an issue with the throttle position sensor. The code was p2138. This created a very dangerous situation on a quick moving highway.

Filed Mar 11, 2021 · Engine · 74,400 miles · NE

While driving on the highway at accelerated speed dash will say reduce engine speed it will drop to 30mph and will not increase, mind you I'm on the highway with other cars and 18 wheelers. Fortunately I was able to pull over and sit this has happened more than once, and reading the complaints I'm not the only one. Thankfully this was not resulting in a accident/ death. My concern is why haven't this been recalled! Someone needs to look into this matter. Due to the fact that next time someone may not be as fortunate as the rest of us. Chevy needs to address this issue before it turns tragic. They have multiple complaints.

Filed Mar 8, 2021 · Engine · 78,000 miles · NJ

I was driving on the parkway and my car suddenly made a clunking noise with a notice that popped up saying reduced engine power and dropped down to 20 MPH. I was able to safely pull over, but this was extremely dangerous and I almost got hit on a 4 lane road high speed road. I was not able to accelerate my car past 20mph. The check engine light remained on even after pulling over and restarting my car after 30 minutes. My car is out of warranty and will not be covered.

Filed Mar 1, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · IN

While driving at a high rate of speed, my engine reduced light came on and would not allow me to drive over 32 MPH. This could have caused an accident with severe injury considering where I was driving. I have seen many others complain about this, why hasn't it been recalled, when will it be recalled?

Filed Feb 22, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 70,000 miles · MO

As I was driving at a high speed my engine power reduced light came on and my car speed slowed down drastically. When diagnosed it said it was the accelerator position pedal. This is very unsafe and almost caused a wreck. From what I hear this is common with the mabilu and needs to be recalled seeing that someone could lose their life.

Filed Feb 20, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 45,000 miles · CA

Car showed a "reduced engine power" notification and could not accelerate over 15 MPH.

Filed Feb 17, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 87,577 miles · MD

As I was exiting the highway the just slowed to a crawl . The screen said reduced engine power and wouldn't allow me to accelerate past 15 - 20 miles per hour. Luckily there were no cars following behind me at the time . I pulled over shut the car off and issue continued. I plugged up a code reader and got p2138

Filed Feb 10, 2021 · Engine, Transmission · MO

I noticed an oil leak in my garage and drive way from my vehicle which is an environmental and safety hazard. I have taken the vehicle to the manufacturer's dealership and an independent shop and their conclusion for the cause of the oil leak is from a head gasket and upper oil pan gasket leak. This vehicle is 4.5 years old and has 78,000 miles on the vehicle and should have not presented an issue like this early in its life expectancy. The leaking head and upper oil pan gaskets causes environmental concerns of oil not being disposed of properly that could affect our wildlife and food supply. The safety concern is that there are no other signs of this failure thus it is a safety hazard for the occupants of the vehicle and commuters along side the vehicle.

Filed Jan 23, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · 77,000 miles · IN

Driving on the expressway when my car got a message on the dash saying 'reduced engine speed' . I went from 60mph to 10mps within seconds, this is a serious life threatening problem when driving. Once it slows completely down it stops and I have to turn off my car and restart it just for it keep happening. When I took my car to a chevy dealership they told me 'everyone with a malibu is having these problem last and they can no fix it cause the can't figure out the problem. They also informed me with all the malibu's having the same exact problem is should be a recall. I went to a another chevy dealership and was told the exact same thing. Chevy want us to enjoy the car but will not go the extra mile to do recalls on them when they know it's a big problem. My car also be stuck in 'shift to park' when it's already in park, I have to constantly restart my car and turn it off for the message to go always and my car is off, which is ridiculous because if you leave your car in shift to park that will completely kill your battery. Also, when I start my car it sound like a bunch of water just moving around but it's nothing leaking but you can hear the water once you start the car. The brakes on the car do not last long enough! I went to get some brand new brakes in october and was told from two different car shops that I need new brakes . These problems is ridiculous and dangerous and could be fixed by recalling the cars and fixing the problems .

Filed Jan 21, 2021 · Engine · 56,000 miles · IN

Engine light came on and vehicle displayed " reduced engine power". Vehicle lost acceleration and I had to pull to the side of the road. After turning off vehicle, waiting a minute, and restarting vehicle it ran ok for 5 minutes. Sometimes it runs longer before the light comes back on and I lose power again. This is dangerous!!!

Filed Jan 20, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 72,000 miles · WI

Was driving on highway at 60 MPH and dashboard lit up with warning engine power reduced mode and car went into low speed. Tried accelerating car would not go beyond 20 MPH

Filed Jan 16, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 80,000 miles · MD

I was driving one day and all of a sudden, I have seen 'engine power reduced' warning on the dashboard. This warning reduces the car speed considerably and therefore slow the car no matter how fast you are going. I took the car to a chevy dealership to get it checked and they told me that one of my intake valve was defective. I had it replaced and paid for the service. I left and the same day the warning came back again and slowed the car. The speed can go from 60mph to less than 10mph in few seconds. Stepping on the accelerator pedal again doesn't help the car increase speed. I have researched online and many other drivers have similar issues. I took the car back to the dealership to have them diagnosed it again. Unfortunately they have not detected the cause of the warning 'engine power is reduced'. They told me they don't know what to do and are asking me to replace my engine. I think this is absolutely ridiculous.

Filed Jan 4, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 100,000 miles · PA

Engine power reduced, this has happened countless times, since the vehicle was purchased in january 2017, it has been to bryner chevrolet in jenkintown, pa, where it was originally purchased more times, than I can count. Each repait costing more and more. I'm assuming chevy is waiting for someone to die, before they actually fix it. Imagine being on a major highway and going from doing 65 to 20 unexpectedly. The person behind me had to swerve into another lane to keep from rear ending me.

Filed Jan 2, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · 82,000 miles · GA

I just experienced the check engine light on and reduced power alert on christmas eve: 12/24/20 this was so scary on highway and had to drive on the reduced power with my flashers on and terrified as car's wizzed past me! I was worried that I would breakdown and couldn't get home. I did make it home and was shaken by the experience. I have a 2016 chevy malibu and the dealership quoted $350 to fix it. It is still there as didn't have funds to fix it. Dealership said it is an issue with gas pedal not reading in system correctly. This is a huge safety risk because it happened while driving on highway going 60 MPH, and it dropped speed to 35 MPH! This is so dangerous! Especially because it happened at night in a secluded area. This is super scary for a woman driver thinking I was going to breakdown at any moment. I have been driving uber since covid and no work available in my regular job. Since I don't have my car, I can't drive to make any money to fix it. I was unable to work on uber's biggest night of the year on new year's eve, losing out of a $500 night. Gm should pay to get this fixed and for lost revenue due to unable to work.

Filed Dec 30, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 98,000 miles · LA

When the car goes into the auto stop mode it completely dies and the light. No dash lights, no dome light, no hazard lights, literally nothing works. This has happened 3 times so far, and all three times I was in the middle of traffic. I'm not happy, I have had trouble out of this car with other issues sense I gotten it back in july of 2020

Filed Dec 30, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 79,510 miles · TN

I was driving downtown when car engine warning light came on and it slowed down then shut off, luckily the car behind me didn't hit me. I was able to pull over. I've had it towed 2 time one mechanic said: I needed a motor. I bought a code reader replaced both batteries. Next code p2138 reduded engine power. It a defective throttle control accelerator pedal position sensor. I towed it to gm dealership they are trying to sell me a motor and will not acknowledge, pedal problem because there is no recall only special coverage adjustment #n192188250 global safety field investigation dcs5117 global warranty.

Filed Dec 28, 2020 · Engine · 44,690 miles · NY

Driving the car you smell a burning smell upon parking it turned out the heat shield on car was burning and disintegrating. I have photo but won't load ,,,

Filed Dec 10, 2020 · Engine, Fuel system · 43,500 miles · NY

Driving the vehicle and then tapping the brake to come to a stop at a red light it will automatically go into auto stop and then shut everything off even though this is an automatic car to restart the car it's like a standard it has to roll backwards before you can go forwards, the fuel issue is I've already gone through three tanks of gas and this is supposed to be a great car on gas especially on the highway I'm barely getting a 150 for each full tank of gas. The 47 hw and 27 city for gas milage is more like 27hw and 10 city ....

Filed Dec 9, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 40,000 miles · TX

Over the last 6 months we have had to replace the battery on two occasions. Each time the entire charging system was checked with no faults identified. Recently, last 3 months, on multiple occasions vehicle will stall while in motion. This has occurred at various speeds from accelerating from a stop to at highway speeds. When vehicle stalls ability to control the vehicle is dramatically reduced; especially hazardous when in heavy traffic. On other occasions all accessories AC, radio, wiper blades, etc will all turn off and not restart until the engine is turned off and restarted. Another frequently reoccurring issue is the sound you normally hear when a turn signal is engaged will stop - this usually precedes the engine stalling. On most of these occasions the engine will restart - twice it required a jump start. On numerous occasions we receive various fault lights/messages that too were unfounded. Most frequent referencing the stability tracking. Restart the engine and fault is cleared only to return at later time. All of these issues are extremely hazardous and places my family and I in danger each time we operate the vehicle. Although there are numerous write ups detailing this systemic problem with multiple years of the chevy malibu gmc and chevy will not acknowledge the problems and continue to levy charges and collect monies from owners for what probably should result in a recall in order to affect requisite repairs.

Filed Dec 4, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 30,000 miles · AZ

When placing my vehicle into the park position and trying to turn my engine off a message states to put the vehicle into the park position before the engine will shut off. The car stays on until it goes off by default which causes a draw on the battery. This issue has been happening consistently for the past two years and when I take it to the dealership I am told that they cannot duplicate the issue.

Filed Dec 1, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 65,000 miles · DC

I get routine service to my car & my engine is clicking, loudly. The check engine light continuously goes on & off & I was told by chevrolet service department that they could not even run a diagnostics to see what the problem is because the check engine light was off when I got to the dealership. Sometimes 'service battery charging system' will illuminate but it too picks and chooses when to illuminate. Sometimes it shows 'battery saver activated' and this is the third battery I've purchased! The entire car will stall/shut off but the green light is illuminated to show the car is on but when I accelerate it won't budge! Dangerous considering my car could stall at anytime and cause a collision. I've nearly gotten t-boned twice coming out a gas station entering a road because my car stalled in the middle of the street while traffic was coming from both directions! A service man at the chevy dealership asked me was I experiencing issues with my auto start/stop when I told him what was happening. Yes! My car picks and chooses when it wants to do it. And when it does 'restart' the entire car reboots, the locks re-click, lights flicker, it'll be in drive and roll backwards until the ignition turns over! Chevy or at least the service techs are fully aware of an issue and won't fix it. Sometimes the car just won't start, all the power will go out. What happens when I'm out & the entire electrical system and engine won't start after at least starting 20 minutes prior! I've already got new pistons, a new alternator, 3 new batteries & get the routine maintenance. I have a mychevy account & every month my diagnostics report, shows an issue! If I'm in an accident & my child or I are injured, who is liable because my car decides to malfunction in the middle of a busy highway? Chevrolet for neglecting to service my car because the freaking check engine light isn't on!

Filed Nov 21, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 250 miles · NC

When the vehicle comes to a stop at a light, the vehicle shuts off while in drive, however the lights & radio remain on in the car & the start button still shows the car as 'on'. The engine will not rev & the car will not move forward when in drive. When attempting to turn the car off then on again, the car will not restart without a jump. When attempting to cut the car on without a jump, the doors lock & unlock on their own and all of the lights in the car, along with the lights on the dash, flicker on & off and there is a clicking noise but the car doesn't cut on.

Filed Nov 20, 2020 · Engine · 62,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact called on behalf of a friend who owns a 2016 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while accelerating after being idle. The contact stated that the vehicle vibrated abnormally while idling. The contact took the vehicle to vann york chevrolet buick (321 eastchester dr, high point, nc 27262; (336) 841-4133) and was informed that the rod bearing failed and that the engine was blown. The owner was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted by the dealer and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

Filed Nov 5, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · IL

When I place the car in park it does not register that it is park and a 'shift into park' error comes up. Everything stays on in the car and the battery drains if it's not corrected. It can take several attempts to get it to recognize it is in park. Must keep turning the car in and off until it senses it's in park. It has taken up to 10 times until it finally senses it.

Filed Sep 28, 2020 · Engine · 1 miles · CA

I own a 2016 chevy malibu premier I bout it on the same year with 3 thousand miles in it ever since I been having problems with the car in 2017 the car had over 10 thousand miles in it n water was getting inside the vehicle so I took it to dealership n they sed it was a weather strip of the back window second time same year it was an electrical problem of the seats 3rd problem it was suspension now this is 2020 november 27 n now the car has 74 thousand miles in it n the car shakes wile on drive mode just on drive mode n the weirdes thing is that there's no check engine light nothing everything sims to be wrong I need help I do think it's factory made

Filed Sep 21, 2020 · Driver assistance, Engine · 65,000 miles · GA

Stabilitrak code appears on dashboard - causing low or no acceleration, shaking when still and while in park. Meter reads as a 'misfire code'; total tune up was conducted (replaced all plugs & wiring/coil pack); was stable for about 3 days and then 'stabilitrak' code reappeared with car shaking again.

Filed Aug 13, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 109,000 miles · CA

The vehicle is driving normal and suddenly shuts down for no apparent reason. Upon parking, you try to start the car, and it won't. Wait for approx. 30 mins and the car starts but a bit rough first and then drives.

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