The vehicle is experiencing an apparent fuel-system malfunction. The vehicle has a very strong raw gasoline odor, significant difficulty starting, and appears to be consuming fuel at an abnormally high rate. After filling the fuel tank completely, I drove approximately 20 miles at most and the fuel gauge decreased by approximately one-quarter of a tank. The engine oil also has a strong gasoline odor, indicating that fuel may be entering the engine oil. The exact failed component has not yet been diagnosed. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The strong raw gasoline odor and apparent rapid loss of fuel create a concern for a fuel leak and potential fire hazard. The vehicle also has difficulty starting and shuts the engine off when the automatic stop/start system activates while stopped at a traffic light. This creates a safety concern because the vehicle may not restart normally when traffic begins moving. I am concerned that the vehicle may have a fuel-system defect similar to the high-pressure fuel pump/fuel-line issue previously recalled on certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Malibus. No. The problem has not yet been diagnosed or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The symptoms have been personally observed while operating the vehicle. This was my first step as this happened at 10:30pm. No. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or another official representative. I am reporting the problem because of the severity of the symptoms and the potential safety risk. There were no warning lamps or messages that I noticed before the problem occurred. The first symptoms were a very strong gasoline odor, unusually rapid fuel loss, and significant difficulty starting the vehicle. The vehicle also shuts off completely when the automatic stop/start system activates while stopped at a traffic light. These symptoms began recently.
Chevrolet Malibu fuel gauge problems
227 of the 19,367 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Malibu describe wrong fuel gauge reading, most of them for the 2007 model year.
- owner complaints
- 227
- worst model year
- 2007
- typical repair cost reported
- $700
- typical mileage
- 75,000
By model year
Often reported together
Check engine light 87Fuel pump 23Stalling 13ABS 10Won't start 7Power steering loss 7Warning lights 6Steering noise 4
Trouble codes mentioned
P0463 7P2119 1P0461 1C0561 1B0561 1
What owners say
“Steering assist is reduced, drive with care” is showing up for a couple second and disappearing. When that happens my car seems to shut off and the steering wheel stiffens and pull to either the left of right side. All this happens while driving. After the 3rd time of it happening within 10min, my gas fuel level dropped but when back up to the “original” level
My instrument cluster isn't working correctly. Some days I go out to start my car and the instrument cluster works. As I'm driving down the road my instrument cluster just stops working. My speedometer doesn't work, my rpms, the lights, temperature gauge and gas gauge just stops working. It's very scary and my transmission doesn't want to shift and my engine power is bogging down. This is really dangerous and I feel like my life is in danger. I pull off the road and shut my 2013 Chevy Malibu off and restart it and sometimes it comes back on and instrument cluster works but start driving and the instrument cluster stops working again. I have had my mechanic try to figure it out but so far I haven't been able to find out where the issue is so I haven't been able to fix it. My brakes have also been not engaging properly. I have had to replace my brakes 3 times so far after I got the brakes fixed for the 3rd time I haven't had very many problems. I also had to replace all my hubs as well as the brakes. Also something electrical isn't functioning correctly and when I shut my car off it makes a clicking noise right after I turn my car off. I'm a member of a Chevy Malibu group and there are thousands of people from all over the world with the same issues that I'm having with my vehicle. No warning lights have came on for any of the problems I'm having with my car. Please look into this and help me,us that are having these issues Thank you for your time. The next question of what date I can't really answer because it's been multiple dates. The question below about what mph I was going I can't answer because my mph wasn't working.
My gas gauge hasn't been working for a few years and I was wondering if there was a recall on that, it seems that a lot of chevy malibus has had this problem
Service ESC ABS I just had a 2009 Chevy Malibu and now a 2020 and I’m having the same exact issues loss of power steering braking and at first my gas gauge was off check engine light came on now today “Service ESC w ABS LIGHT” on dashboard
Car shuts off while driving.Will start up when fuel gauge gets power also windows ,radio,lightening work airbag light&service engine soon light on
Vehicle goes into near stall instrument panel goes as if you were starting the vehicle gauges go up down then back gas gauge said no gas on full tank , brakes felt as if was gone abs system not responding , engine rough , road had minor to moderate pot holes "Rawsonville Road" when stopped vehicle while running gave msg put in park to shift . , vehicle was in drive once put in park it would not come out of park or realize it was in park . the issue i have been able to determine so far is on the vehicle fuse panel under hood it is connected to the main service disconnect for the entire wire harness "pin connectors male and female over 30 pins , it is held by 2 locking handles all with plastic tabs for the latching , this is failing under driving conditions and coming loose enough to separate contact from 1 or more pins normally on the drivers side . to fix the issues I had to disconnect the service disconnect and reconnect it while securely fastening the handles verified correct and happened again on testing down a dirt road service appointment is thursday -9-7-2022 at mark chevrolet in wayne michigan , i contacted gm and they said it had to be fully tested through a dealer i informed gm this is a major issue and not something i will be paying for it is likely a recallable issue i have seen alot of issues with malibu 2019-2022 having similar issues and are likely caused by the same issue if using this same service disconnect and fuse box likely nullifying the TSA's used for shift to park etc as others have stated and documented those issues repeat . the vehicles modules lose communication with the vehicle via intermittent service disconnect on the wiring harness . "network errors " support this via obd code reader as well as the powertrain hard fault code and the various pending fault codes prior to having to physically disconnect and reconnect the service disconnect fully to restore vehicle function and bring to safe location instead of on side of busy road
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the fuel gauge reflected EMPTY even though the tank was FULL. Additionally, the speed gauge was not operating correctly, and the temperature gauge was not functioning. The contact also stated she depressed the brake pedal to the floor but failed to stop. The contact stated she used the parking brake to stop the vehicle before it seized. The contact stated when shifting gears to park, she heard an abnormal noise and the vehicle began to hesitate. The contact stated it took 2 hours to properly turn off the vehicle. The contact left the vehicle overnight at that location and stated the following morning she was able to restart the vehicle and drove to her work. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact stated an independent mechanic came to the work parking lot and was informed it was an electrical system failure and was referred to the local dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated she continued to experience the failure. The contact called the local dealers AutoNation Chevrolet Laurel (500 Washington Blvd, Laurel, MD 20707: (240) 339-3932) & Sport Chevrolet (3101 Automobile Blvd, Silver Spring, MD 20904: (240) 293-0442) and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
This is an intermittent issue and hard to reproduce on demand. I have evidence in the form of multiple videos that may be provided anytime. Videos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zubc5ilgahayvxa/AABf3M1mLBikxQswv17Yn-YQa?dl=0 In the middle of driving on freeways, highways, or regular roads, the car will quickly slow down to a very low speed, around 5 mph causing other drivers to have to quickly swerve out of the way before wrecking into me. The power steering will also intermittently fail, as it becomes difficult to turn the wheel during these times. The car will also not accelerate at my will like it should at this time. Check engine lights will show up, as well as other warning notifications on the dash board. Some of the warnings include "Service Power Steering. Drive with Care", "Fuel Level Low", and "Service ESC". The car will also intermittently show all gauges in the zero/off/empty position. The car will also say "Shift to Park" when trying to turn it on, even though it is already in shift. I have sent the car back to the dealer 5 times to date and am about to pick it up again today as they have called me and said "it's ready" again. Each time they take the car, they do not address the issue. The first time I took it in, they just performed a recall repair for the camera and suggested the problem may be fixed from that. They claim they cannot fix something they cannot reproduce but I suspect they do not want to spend the time/hours/money it will take to figure out the problem since it is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty. It is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty but Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena TX refuses to repair anything and claim there is no evidence of the problem even though I've emailed them multiple videos of the problems happening. Auto Nation in Houston TX is who has the car now. It was recommended to me by General Motors to try another dealer. This is where I'm at currently with the situation.
ALL ELECTRICAL INSIDE CAR GOES OUT OR ON AND OFF WHILE DRIVING. ALL DASH GAUGES, SPEEDOMETER, GAS GAUGE, RADIO, HEAT/AC, TURN SIGNALS, ETC. CAR STILL RUNS BUT NOTHING ON INSIDE WORKS. I do not know if this control outage effects the ABS or Steering. It only last for a few seconds. It has happened several time will drive 50 to 70 MPH. I've let off the gas and try not to panic. Everything comes back on and I continue home. I'm scared to drive my car
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.
- Risk
- A damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1‑800‑521‑7300, Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, or GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.
Recall number 18V358000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly: filler pipe and cap
- What is wrong
- Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with requirements of fmvss no. 301, "fuel system integrity." the fuel fill fitting is not properly secured to the fuel tank. In that condition, fuel leakage would exceed the permissible amount in an fmvss test. Fuel leaks may occur, particularly after refueling or when the tank is more than half full.
- Risk
- If an ignition source were present, a fire could occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the fuel tank and replace it if necessary.
Recall number 99V302000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chevrolet Malibu fuel gauge
Which Chevrolet Malibu years have wrong fuel gauge reading problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2007 (66 complaints), 2006 (49 complaints) and 2005 (28 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix wrong fuel gauge reading on the Chevrolet Malibu?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $700 (median of 18 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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