2018 Chevrolet Malibu: battery drain or dead battery

5 of the 701 complaints about the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu describe battery drain or dead battery.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 1%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 169 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Battery drain or dead battery by model year

2022
2
2021
8
2020
5
2019
5
2018
5
2017
6
2016
18
2015
1
2013
8
2012
2
2011
3
2010
1
2009
3
2008
2
2005
5
2003
2
2002
2
2000
1

What owners say

Filed Nov 20, 2024 · Electrical · KY

Car keeps giving a “Shift To Park” message when vehicle is already in park. Leaving the vehicle running and draining the battery, let me stranded a few times because it was dead. Tried almost everything to get it to go away but it keeps giving the same message everytime I go to park it and vehicle won’t shut off. Very inconvenient and unsafe, Doesn’t seem to be a recall or fix for this issue.

Filed Jul 13, 2023 · Transmission · MD

When the car is shifted into "Park", then I attempt to turn the car off, the car turns off partially, but the electrical system stays on and a message saying "! - Shift to Park" appears on the screen. The car cannot be turned off or locked, and it takes multiple attempts of fulling restarting the car (so the shift interlock system unlocks) and shifting gears until the vehicle recognizes that it's in park and will allow itself to be turned off fully. This issue takes at least a few minutes per incident to resolve. If it's not resolved, the car cannot lock and the battery drains.

Filed Mar 13, 2023 · Electrical · MI

When putting gear shift into park the driver display on dashboard said not in park. The car would not fully shut off causing a safety problem. Could not lock vehicle. Was draining the battery. My extended warranty covered $382.59. I paid $177.32.

Filed Feb 2, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 46,407 miles · TX

The onstar system shocked my husband. The car won't start sometimes. The dash board reads different things when attempting to start car. The vehicle was parked in the yard with nothing plugged up to drain the battery.

Filed Jul 14, 2019 · Transmission · 35,000 miles · NJ

Regarding bulletin no.: 18-na-297: historically, if a vehicle is not in "park" the neutral safety switch prevents the engine from starting. In the case of the chevy malibu, and similarly affected vehicles, this is not the case. While the display reads, "shift to park," the operator can still start the vehicle. I understand that a dead battery as a result of this malfunction is an inconvenience, but if left un-repaired, this could lead to vehicle lunging if the vehicle was left in any forward gear, or reverse. I believe that the term "neutral safety switch," has been replaced by general motors in order to avoid using the word safety. Rather, they use terms like "bcm," and "shifter assembly," to circumvent criticism of a potentially serious problem. As the average mileage appears to be just short of the warranty expiration, gm is leaving a sizable repair bill to consumers that can afford to pay it, and forcing "back yard work arounds" to those who can not. I would respectfully request that the federal safety agency look further into the issue, as well as the semantics employed by general motors. Sincerely, [xxx] redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *cc