There are 36 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2006 Chevrolet Malibuin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Mailbu. The contact stated that the engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Sound Radio where it was diagnosed that the transmission and an unknown censor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not call the contact back. The failure mileage was unavailable.
ANTIFREEZE LEAK WATER PUMP AND WATER INLET TUBE .
ENGINE HAS BEGUN MALFUNCTIONING FOR NO REASON. EXPERIENCED PROBLEM 5 TIMES IN PAST WEEK. 1) VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH ON FREEWAY. TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON SIMULTANEOUSLY. RADIO INDICATED "REDUCE ENGINE POWER". I RELEASED GAS PEDAL. RADIO THEN INDICATED "ENGINE DISABLED," AND ENGINE SHUT OFF. COASTED TO A STOP. TURNED KEY TO "OFF" POSITION. TRIED TO RESTART, BUT WOULD NOT CRANK (EVERYTHING WAS COMPLETELY SILENT). TRIED TO CRANK AGAIN A MINUTE LATER. ENGINE STARTED WITHOUT HESITATION. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, BUT IMMEDIATELY WENT OFF. DROVE STRAIGHT TO MECHANICAL WITHIN 5 MILES. THERE WERE NO CODES TO READ. 2) VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING 30 MPH ON CITY STREET, MOVING FORWARD. TRACTION CONTROL AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. RADIO READ "REDUCE ENGINE POWER" AND WITHIN A FEW SECONDS CHANGED TO "ENGINE DISABLED" AS ENGINE SHUT DOWN. STOPPED CAR. WOULD NOT CRANK. REMOVED KEY AND WAITED ONE MINUTE. CAR CRANKED AND DROVE WITH NO PROBLEM AND NO INDICATOR LIGHTS. 3) VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY IN DRIVEWAY. TRACTION CONTROL AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. RADIO INDICATED "REDUCE ENGINE POWER" AND THEN "ENGINE DIABLED". ENGINE SHUT DOWN. TURNED KEY TO "OFF" POSITION. WAITED ONE MINUTE. CAR STARTED AND RAN WITH NO PROBLEM AND NO INDICATOR LIGHTS ON. 4) SAME INCIDENT IN SAME ORDER WHILE TRAVELING 45 MPH ON SERVICE ROAD. 5) HAPPENED IN SAME MANNER WHILE TRAVELING 70 MPH ON FREEWAY.
I PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT AT WORK AND IT SAID ENGINE POWER DECREASING AND THEN STARTED MAKING STRANGE MESSED UP NOISES AND I COASTED INTO THE PARKING LOT IT DIDN'T DIE BUT IT WOULDN'T LET ME GO ANY FASTER. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE AUTO PARTS STORE AND HAD THEM PUT A SCANNER ON IT. OF WHICH IT SHOWED MULTIPLE CODES ALL RESULTING IN THE SAME ISSUE THE MASS FLOW SENSOR. I WAS TOLD THAT SINCE IT HAS HAPPENED ONCE IT'S LIABLE TO KEEP HAPPENING MAKING MY VEHICLE UNRELIABLE AND I AM A SINGLE MOM.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 24 MPH, THE VEHICLE VIBRATED WHENEVER THE GEARS WERE SHIFTED. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.
OUR 2006 CHEVY MALIBU LOW COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON. IT WAS CHECKED AND COOLANT WAS PUT IN THE VEHICLE. IT CONTINUED TO COME ON. IT WAS TAKEN TO OUR REGULAR CHEVY DEALER IN MARCH 2015 WHO MISDIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AND REPLACED THE COOLANT RESERVOIR. THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT CAME BACK ON AND WE WERE LOOSING MORE ENGINE COOLANT IN JUNE 2015. IT WAS TAKEN BACK TO OUR DEALER. WE WERE TOLD IT HAS A CRACKED HEAD GASKET AND THE LEAK IS INTERNAL. THE CHEVY DEALER RECOMMENDED THE ENTIRE ENGINE BE REPLACED AS A PRECAUTION BECAUSE IT HAS OVER 100, 000 MILES. OUR 2006 CHEVY MALIBU HAVE BEEN MAINTAINED WELL AND KEPT UP WITH ALL MAINTENANCE. . AND FOR THE GASKET TO BE LEAKING IS BEYOND US. THE LEAK COULD NOT BE SEEN TO THE VISIBLE EYE. THE ONLY WAY WE KNEW THEIR WAS A LEAK WAS BECAUSE THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON, WHICH WAS THE REASON WHY WE TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC. WE ARE DISAPPOINTED WITH THE MISDIAGNOSE OF OUR VEHICLE AND WITH THE PROBLEM. THE CHEVY DEALER DID REFUND US FOR THE MISDIAGNOSE OF THE PROBLEM BUT NOTHING ELSE WAS OFFERED OR DONE. NOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO BECAUSE WE NEED OUR CAR.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT OFF AND THE ENGINE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARDS DOWN A HILL. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED OR DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000. UPDATED 02/24/15*LJ UPDATED 6/10/2015 *JS
WHILE DRIVING THE CAR WILL START SLOWING DOWN AND IT SAYS ON THE DASH "REDUCED ENGINE POWER". IT HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING AND ALSO WHEN STARTING FROM A STOP. VEHICLE ALSO STALLS OUT WHEN COMING TO A STOP. VEHICLE DOES THIS WHEN IT IS COLD OUTSIDE. VERY DANGEROUS THAT THIS HAPPENS WHILE MY WIFE IS DRIVING OUR CHILDREN. NO ONE CAN EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS HAPPENING.
I BOUGHT THIS CAR USED ON SEPTEMBER 22,2014, AS I WAS DRIVING HOME THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND I SPOKE WITH DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY CLEANED THE CAR. IF IT IS STILL ON IN A COUPLE DAYS, BRING CAR IN. WELL I HAD MY MECHANIC LOOK AND HE SAID THERE WAS A BULLETIN OUT ON IT FOR MASS AIR FLOW UPDATE, WHICH IS WHAT THE CODE WAS WHEN HE PUT THE GADGET ON IT. I CALLED BERGER CHEVY AND THEY SAID ITS A CUSTOMER PAY. SHOULDN'T BE IF THIS WAS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. THE AIR MASS FLOW IS RUNNING LEAN, BUT I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY THIS, SHOULD I? THEY ARE SAYING 98 BUCKS. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING UNKNOWN SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE 109,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, BUT IT STALLED AGAIN. THE FAILURE OCCURRED FIVE TIMES. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC STATED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 122,000.
MY CAR STALLS AND YOU CAN SMELL GAS. IT HASN'T BEEN WORKING IN THREE WEEKS NOW. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED, BUT THE ENGINE INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED DAILY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 73,000.
WAS DRIVING AT 45MPH AND CHEVY MALIBU STALLED. WAS ABLE TO START BACK UP BUT STALLED AGAIN AND HAS YET TO RESTART. TOOK TO MECHANIC AND TOLD THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND THERE HAS YET TO BE ANY RECALLS. *TR
THE VEHICLE STOPS RANDOMLY IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING. THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT COMES ON AND THE CAR STOPS WITH NO WARNING. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES TO MY 21 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND HER 4 MONTH OLD BABY. THERE ARE NO CODES DETECTED TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM. THE CHEVROLET SERVICE REPAIR CENTER HAS HAD THE CAR FOR 2 DAYS AND ADVISED THAT THEY CANNOT LOCATE THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE ON INTERNET FORUMS AND I AM SURPRISED NO ONE HAS BEEN CALLED. MY DAUGHTER HAS TO DRIVE ON THE INTERSTATE TO ATTEND CLASS AND THE VEHICLE HAS STOPPED ON HER. THEY ARE NOW RELEASING THE CAR BACK TO ME WITH NO RESOLVE. CHEVY OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT CARE TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AS IT IS A COMMON ONE WITH SEVERAL OF THEIR VEHICLES. IF I SELL THE CAR, I AM LITERALLY SELLING A DEATH TRAP TO SOMEONE ELSE. BELOW ARE LINKS TO NUMEROUS FORUM DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS ISSUE. HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO DIE BEFORE CHEVY ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE? HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/CHEVROLET/MALIBU/2006/ENGINE/ENGINE_RANDOMLY_SHUTS_OFF.SHTML HTTP://WWW.FIXYA.COM/CARS/T3656645-GOT_CODE_P2176_CHANGED_OUT_TPS_STILL_GOT HTTP://CHEVROLETFORUM.COM/FORUM/MALIBU-15/ENGINE-POWER-REDUCED-20768/ HTTP://WWW.CHEVYMALIBUFORUM.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=10085 HTTP://WWW.JUSTANSWER.COM/CHEVY/6S938-CHEVROLET-MALIBU-MAXX-LT-2006-CHEVY-MALIBU-MAXX-LT-70000.HTML HTTP://WWW.FIXYA.COM/CARS/T11683460-ENGINE_POWER_REDUCED_2006_MALIBU HTTP://CHEVYFORUM.ORG/CHEVY-FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=20618 HTTP://CHEVY-MALIBU.AUTOFORUMZ.COM/REDUCED-ENGINE-POWER-MESSAGE-05-FTOPICT202902.HTML. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
I FILED A COMPLAINT LAST YEAR IN REFERENCE TO THE RANDOM STOPPING ISSUE ON MY 2006 CHEVY MALIBU. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL VEHICLES HAVE BEEN RECALLED, THE MALIBU'S AND IMPALAS HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKED AS THEY HAVE THE SAME ISSUES AS THE OTHER RECALLED VEHICLES. I HAVE A VEHICLE THAT IS A LITERAL DEATHTRAP AND THE CHEVY SERVICE DEPARTMENT HAS ADVISED ME THAT THEY CANNOT DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE. IF YOU REVIEW THE VARIOUS CAR FORUMS, THE RANDOM STOPPING ISSUE IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH ALL CHEVY VEHICLES MAKE IN THIS TIMEFRAME. THE DEALERSHIPS OFFER LITTLE ASSISTANCE IN RESOLVING THE ISSUES IF NO CODE IS GENERATED. THE VEHICLES ARE ENGINEERED TO STOP IN THE EVENT OF ALMOST ANY MINOR ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE. I AM A SINGLE PARENT THAT PURCHASED THIS CAR FOR MY DAUGHTER IN COLLEGE. SHE HAS COME HOME IN TEARS MANY TIMES DUE TO THE VEHICLE STOPPING ON HER WITH NO WARNING AND ALMOST BEING HIT SEVERAL TIMES. I HAVE SPENT ALMOST $1500 TRYING TO DETERMINE THE ISSUE THAT CHEVY COULD NOT DIAGNOSE. I HAD TO PURCHASE ANOTHER VEHICLE FOR MY DAUGHTER WHILE THE MALIBU IS LITERALLY USELESS AND SITS ON MY DRIVEWAY. I WOULD HATE TO EVEN GIVE IT AWAY KNOWING OF THIS ISSUE. IF I SELL THIS VEHICLE TO SOMEONE ELSE, I AM SELLING A DEATHTRAP THAT COULD CAUSE ANOTHER FAMILY A MAJOR TRAGEDY. I FILED ANOTHER COMPLAINT WITH GM AND WAS JUST TOLD AGAIN LAST WEEK THAT THEY VEHICLE CANNOT BE DIAGNOSED. THEY WENT BY THE INFORMATION FROM THE FIRST DIAGNOSTIC AND DID NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN. PLEASE ENCOURAGE GM TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND RECALL THESE VEHICLES OR BUY THEM BACK AS THEY ARE USELESS DEATHTRAPS. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NOT BEING ABLE TO DIAGNOSE A VEHICLE. THEY ARE MERELY HIDING BEHIND MORE DEFECTS THAT THEY ARE UNWILLING TO DISCLOSE. *TR
THE WORST CAR I EVER HAD IN MY LIFE WILL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER ONE IT IS THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER A/C COMPRESSOR IS FROZEN HAD IT REPAIRED AND NOW IT IS BREAKING ALTERNATOR BELT THIS BELT WORKS THE ALTERNATOR AND COMPRESSOR HAD IT REPLACE TWICE IT BROKE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD LOST MY STEERING IN STEERING WHEEL ALMOST WREAK I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THIS DARN CAR AND IN DANGER MY LIFE AND KIDS LIFE THE CAR ALSO WILL COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN GOING DOWN THE ROAD I THINK CHEVY SHOULD NOT HAD PUT ANY OF THESE CARS ON THE ROAD I MISS MY HONDA NOW AND THE NEXT CAR WILL BE A HONDA ITS SAD THAT AMERICANS CANT BUY AMERICAN MADE CARS WITHOUT THEM HAVING ALL THESE DEFECTS. *TR
SE ESCUCHA UN GOLPETEO POR ABAJO DEL VOLANTE, ME COMENTAN LOS MECANICOS QUE ES LA COLUMNA DE LA DIRECCION Y LA CREMALLERA . EN REALIDAD ES MUY FASTIDIOSO YA HACE RATO QUE SE ESCUCHA. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD LOOSE POWER AND WOULD STALL WITHOUT WARNING. A LOCAL MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS DEFECTIVE AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 105,000.
Showing 1–20 of 36 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026