2010 CHEVROLET MALIBU Complaints

I purchased the car for my mother on 10/20/2015 from Mike Savoie Chevrolet in Troy, MI. At the time I had a concern because there was a message being displayed on the car “Service ESC”, I was informed by the dealer that it was a false message and there was no issue with the car, we should just disregard but if we had any problems to let him know moving forward. At that time we did not have issues with anything else. There was about 80,000 miles on the odometer when we bought it, there are only about 95,300 now. Recently the brake lights have been coming on when the brakes are not applied, we have taken the car to a mechanic three times for this issue but he has been unable to duplicate it, as a result he felt that the brake pedal sensor was at fault and replaced it, but the issue still exists, a wasted $200! My 17 year old grandson is now using the car, the issue occurred again today and I discovered that this issue may be associated with a recall which also includes the “Service ESC” message which has been on the car since I bought it. However, when I enter the VIN it shows no open recalls. Apparently it was not fixed and the dealer should have fixed it before I bought it or I should have been notified of the recall. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT MY GRANDSON’S SAFETY AND WILL NEED TO SWITCH MY CAR WITH HIM SO THAT HE CAN BE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE! Not only do the brake lights come on when not applied, but you need to tap the brake to turn them off at that point other drivers are not aware that the brake is being applied. Taking the car back to the repairman today. Please help. Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

Car will not start. There is a recall for this, but my car seems not to be included. Turn the key over and over....battery is good....will not start.....after 50 or so tries, occasionally it will start, but when you get to your destination, you have to pray it will start again. Sometimes it will....most times it won't. This is a problem with a recall. Dealership will not fix it under the recall without the car being on the list. A little help from y'all would certainly help me. I'm 73, retired, on fixed income. Cannot afford to pay a Dealership to fix this when it is a known problem. Please help....

The steering wheel has started freezing to where it is difficult if not impossible to turn. When this issue occurs I will see the STEERING ESC light notification appear with a chime. Stopping the vehicle and turning the engine off then on clears the issue for the moment but will occur again, almost daily. In doing research I encountered GM Service Bulletin No.15356 which identifies this as a known issue. My car currently has 174,000 miles on it so it is outside the range specified in the bulletin. Being as this is a known safety issue why was a safety recall not issued. This seems to be a very serious issue yet not being handled as such.

Was driving. My speed was about 60mph car swerved into left lane slightly when I went to move back into my lane I had no power steering and I think lights on dash stated power steering esc. Pulled over at gas station and read a forum about this. It stated if I turned off car and restarted car i would have power steering again. It did. Next day started car at home and didn't have power steering again. Shut it off restarted car and again steering was back.

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering would fail intermittently without warning. The contact would have to shut the vehicle off and restart the vehicle to regain power steering abilities. The failure had occurred a total of two times. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.

Electrical power steering went out on highway. Loss partial control of the wheel!

While driving home from work on a busy parkway my daughter lost control of her 2010 Chevy Malibu (due to loss of power steering), after almost getting hit by another car she struggled to steer the car to the side of the parkway but turning the steering wheel was extremely difficult. She called me and I was able to drive it home but the power steering worked on and off. A warning message flashed [ Service Power Steering - ESC off ] My daughter doesn't recall seeing the warning light before the incident. I took the car to my mechanic, he said I was better off going to the dealer because it was a big electronic problem with power steering but he wasn't sure how to troubleshoot it. This could have ended a nightmare.. And, I am very upset after doing research on the Electronic Power Steering Assist problems and recalls for the Chevy Malibu and other GM vehicles over the past 10 yrs it is quite troubling and what really angers me is they don't have a recall for her car which is ridiculous after you spend a little time researching the 2010 Malibu customer complaints due to the power steering failure.

“Engine Power Reduced” comes on suddenly, alongside numerous other lights (check engine, service traction, ESC, etc). This causes the vehicle to reduce speed in traffic, increasing risk of collision. Other models of Chevy Malibu have been recalled for this same issue (faulty throttle sensor).

While driving the power steering goes out and a warning message pops up that says ‘Service ESC’ and ‘ESC Off’. It is near impossible to turn the wheel when this happens. I was able to turn the car off and back on, and the power steering returns/messages go away, but the same problem happens on and off.

Power steering loss 3 times within last 2 months. ESC steering error. Probably an unprotected voltage surge of power steering torque sensor. The first time this happened I almost hit the wall.