2018 Chevrolet Malibu: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Oct 4, 2025 · Suspension · OH

I keep hearing a clunking noise in the rear of my car and it gets louder at low speeds and when I turn when stopped. I have been doing research to try to see what it could be and I am seeing that this is a common issue with this car and there's no recall. The parts alone are $200+ and then you have to pay for labor. This is ridiculous for a faulty assembly problem due to GM.

Filed Oct 4, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · OH

The rear knuckles on these cars are constantly going bad and the parts are expensive and so is the labor. So we have to pay a fortune to fix a common issue that GM should be recalling and fixing for the people who buy these vehicles. It's crazy how common this issue is and it's still not recalled. If you hear a clunking/rattling noise coming from the back of your car then it's almost certainly a knuckle problem.

Filed Sep 26, 2024 · Suspension · 75,633 miles · KY

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle made an abnormal popping and clunking sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the failure was related to TSB Number: 18-NA-136. The dealer provided an estimate for the repair, but the contact declined to pay for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the dealer had confirmed that the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The failure mileage was approximately 75,633.

Filed Jul 17, 2019 · 18 miles · MD

I purchased mt 2018 chevy malibu in october 2018, brand new. My vehicle experiences low power/hesitation at all speeds. This is especially evident when turning/pulling out onto an intersection from a stop. There is no acceleration at all. I took it to the dealer & test drove it with the mechanic. During the drive, the car displayed the symptoms and I was told it is because of the '6 speed automatic transmission and also the auto stop'. The car would not accelerate to pull out into an intersection. I put the car in park and when shifting back to drive the transmission slammed into gear and the accelerator barely responded and the car constantly revves over 5,000 RPM's.the car does not accelerate when I push the gas pedal, even when I push it to the floor and seems like the car has no power. This is a serious safety issue as I have almost been hit multiple times by oncoming traffic. A recall definitely needs to be released before someone gets injured or killed. Current problems I have had since day 1 of owning the vehicle: 1.going at a steady pace then pressing the gas, the car does not want to go. 2.taking off from a stop, the car does not want to go. 3.pulling into traffic without coming to a complete stop, I try to accelerate and the car does not want to go. 4.going normal speed and trying to accelerate, the car does not want to go. 5.revving over 5000 rpms 6.revving over 5000 rpms and not going anywhere. 7.making a turn, the car is trying to 'coast' and does not go when I press the gas.

Filed May 25, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 4,700 miles · AR

Purchased 2018 chevy malibu with 4,200 but new due to it being a dealer courtesy car on 12/18/18, on 1/7/19 the car would not accelerate while stationary in a parking lot attempting to pull out of the parking spot. I put the car in park and when shifting back to drive the transmission slammed into gear and the accelerator barely responded and the car revved to over 5,000 RPM's. I took into superior chevrolet on 1/8/19, on 1/11/19 they still did not know what the issue was and were unable to duplicate it. On 1/4/19 the dealership said they were connecting the car to a machine that would supply the smallest specs of the car to send to gm engineers, on 1/16/19 the gm engineers advised to replace the TCM (transmission control module). Tcm was replaced and the car was picked up on 1/18/19. On 5/22/19 while driving through an intersection the accelerator failed to respond again and revved to 5,500 RPM's. It took approx one minute for the accelerator to respond in the meantime I was almost rear-ended by the car behind me. I took the car back to superior chevrolet on 5/23/19 reporting the accelerator did not respond again as it had in january. The techs were unable to duplicate the issue again and the service manager drove the car home to see if it would duplicate, it did not. On 5/24/19 I was advised they updated the computer and that should resolve the problem this time. The first failure happened at approx 4,700 miles. The second occurring at approx 11,700. The consumer stated upon the 3rd failure the onstar diagnostic stated that there was an issue with the engine and transmission system.