There are 13 owner-reported fuel system complaints for the 2011 Chevrolet Malibuin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and was diagnosed with needing the fuel pump replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 153,400.
STARTING PROBLEM TOWED AND WORKED ON ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. MECHANIC REPLACED FUEL PUMP, ECM RELAY, ETC. ALL FIXED THE PROBLEM TEMPORARILY.MECANIC REFUSES TO WORK ON THE CAR NOW, CAN'T FIND THE PROBLEM. WE KNOCK ON THE FUSE BOX IN THE TRUNK AND GET IT TO RUN BUT NOW DIES RANDOMLY. THE LAST TIME I DROVE IT, IT DIED IN A BLIND INTERSECTION AND I WAS ALMOST T-BONED.
I JUST BOUGHT THIS CAR, USED FROM A FLEET SALE. THE FUEL PUMP WENT OUT AT JUST OVER 50K MILES. ALL FLEET MAINTENANCE HAD BEEN COMPLETED. I WAS DRIVING THE CAR ALL DAY, IT WAS RUNNING FINE, AND RAN INTO A STORE. WHEN I CAME BACK OUT AND WENT TO START THE MALIBU, IT FIRED UP, ALL OF THE LIGHTS CAME ON, BUT IT WOULDN'T TURN OVER. IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WASN'T GETTING GAS. YOU COULD HEAR IGNITION FIRING AND STARTER ENGAGING.
WHEN DRIVING WITHOUT WARNING MY VEHICLE WILL SAY SYSTEM SHUT DOWN AND THEN ENGINE POWER REDUCED AND THE IT WILL SHAKE VIGOROUSLY AND TURN OFF. THIS HAPPENED TO ME ON THE HIGHWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF A SNOW STORM AND I WAS ALMOST HIT BY A SEMI. I HAD TO SWERVE OFF THE ROAD DOWN INTO A DITCH. IN THE WINTER IT HAPPENS ALMOST EVERYDAY. NOT IN WINTER MONTHS IT HAPPENS AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT WAS ON 7/11/17. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF POSTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND NO ONE CAN SEEM TO FIND OUT WHAT THE ISSUE IS EVEN AFTER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BEING SPENT.
CHECK LIGHT WITH EVAPORATIVE LEAK AT LESS THAN 5 YEARS AND APPROX 97800 MILES. DEALER REPLACED HEAVILY CORRODED FUEL PUMP MODULE, AND A WEEK LATER THE FUEL TANK ITSELF, ALSO DUE TO HEAVY CORROSION. DEALER PROVIDED DISCOUNTS AND FREE LOANER, I HAVE NO COMPLAINT WITH DEALER. MY COMPLAINT IS WITH CHEVROLET FOR NOT PROPERLY DESIGNING THESE PARTS WHICH WERE HEAVILY CORRODED IN LESS THAN 5 YEARS. I AM OUT A SUBSTANTIAL SUM, ABOUT $1600, AND HAVE LOOKED ONLINE AND THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INSTANCE. A FUEL OR VAPOR LEAK IS CERTAINLY DANGEROUS AND I ASSUME IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL EMISSIONS REGS. I HAVE CONTACTED CHEVROLET AND THEY WILL NOT EVEN RESPOND TO EMAIL. I WAS HOPING FOR SOME COMPENSATION AS I AM A LONGTIME/MULTI CHEVY OWNER. WHILE NOT AN IMMEDIATE SAFETY ISSUE, IT SEEMS A FUEL LEAK IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS PROBLEM, AND I WANTED TO LOG A COMPLAINT SO NHTSA CAN DETERMINE IF A MANUFACTURING/DESIGN DEFECT EXISTS. I DON'T BELIEVE I HAVE THE ONLY MALIBU WITH THIS PROBLEM. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.
WHEN EXCELLERATING FROM A SITTING POSITION THE ENGINE DOESN'T EXCELLERATE AT THE SAME TIME. THERE IS HESITATION FROM STEPPING ON THE GAS TO ACTUALLY MOVING AND ONCE THE EXCELLERATION KICKS IN THE CAR PROPELLED QUITE FAST ALMOST LIKE A STICKY CHOKE.
IN JUNE 2015, VEHICLE STALLED WHILE TRAVELLING AT 35 MPH. COULD NOT RESTART WITH JUMP.CAR WOULD TURN OVER BUT SHUT RIGHT DOWN ON STEPPING ON ACCELERATOR. REPAIR SHOPS HAVE FAILED TO PINPOINT PROBLEMS. GM REPORTS THEY HAVE BEEN LOOKING INTO THE PROBLEM. INTERNET RESEARCH SHOWS PROBLEM IS COMMON. HAVE SMALL CHILD AND IF CAR STALLS ON MAJOR HIGHWAY IT WOULD BE A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE WHICH COULD CAUSE DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY. IF GM IS AWARE OF PROBLEM ARE THEY WAITING FOR A FATALITY BEFORE DOING SOMETHING. REPAIR SHOPS HAVE NO SOLUTIONS, GM HAS NO SOLUTIONS. WHAT IS THE CONSUMER TO DO. I DO THINK THIS SITUATION WHICH APPEARS TO NOT BE ISOLATED BE INVESTIGATED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.
I FEEL THERE IS A SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THE 2011 CHEVY MALIBU FUEL SYSTEM WHICH MAY BE CAUSING THE ENGINE TO STALL, FAIL WHILE IN MOTION, OR JUST WONT START AT ALL.....THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE FOR MY VEHICLE SINCE SEPT 2014.MY VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND HAS BEEN TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER MANY TIMES FOR WHAT SEEM TO BE THE SAME ISSUE. WHEN VEHICLE ARRIVE AT DEALER, IT SEEMS TO WORK JUST FINE WHICH MAKE MAKES IT HARDER TO DETECT THE ISSUE. MY VEHICLE WILL BE AT THE DEALER WEEKS AT A TIME TO GET I DONT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS OR BRING BACK WHEN PROBLEM WORSENS.IN TRYING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE ISSUE MY CAR HAS HAD THE RELAY SWITCH REPLACED TWICE, THE JUNCTION BLOCK ASSEMBLY REPLACED, SEVERAL RECALLS REPAIRED IN BETWEEN, AND NOW THE FUEL PUMP WHICH WAS REPLACED IN MAY 2015. AS OF TODAY, JUNE 23RD 2015, MY CAR IS STILL DOING THE SAME EXACT THING AS BEFORE. STARTING ON MINUTE, DOESN'T START THE NEXT OR JUST STOP WHILE IN MOTION. THERE'S A SERIOUS ISSUE SOMEWHERE AND IVE SPENT WAY TOO MUCH MONEY TO BE GETTING THE RESPONSE "I JUST DONT KNOW" WHICH ISN'T THE ANSWER.
CAR STARTS AND THEN DIES.WILL THEN CRANK BUT NOT FIRE.AFTER SEVERAL TRIES IT STARTS BUT JUST SPUTTERS TIL YOU STEP ON GAS.IT HAS DONE THIS ON 4 OCCASIONS.THE DEALER HAS CHANGED THE FUEL PUMP,PURGE VALVE AND CAM SHAFT CONTROL SOLENOID.IT STILL HAS THE SAME PROBLEM.
THE INSTRUMENT PANEL TOLD ME THAT I LOST ENGINE POWER. THE ERROR MESSAGE SAYS "ENGINE POWER REDUCED/SERVICE TRACTION/SERVICE ESC". MY CAR LOST POWER FROM EX: 40 MPH TO 30 MPH, AND COULDN'T GO ABOVE 50 MPH DEPENDING ON THE GRADE OF THE ROADS. IT WOULD CLIMB SPEED VERY SLOWLY. THIS HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES IN TWO WEEKS. I HAD TO DRIVE WITH MY HAZARD LIGHTS ON UNTIL I PULLED OVER SAFELY. I WOULD HAVE TO SHUT OFF THE CAR FOR A FEW MINUTES. SOMETIMES IT WOULDN'T TOTALLY RESET; SOMETIMES IT WOULD. IT COMES BACK ON UNEXPECTEDLY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START OR WOULD IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF ONCE STARTED. ALSO, WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL PUMP WAS FAULTY. THE FUEL PUMP WAS REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 68,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. IN ADDITION, WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30-45 MPH, THE VEHICLE DECELERATED AND STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE HOWEVER IT FAILED TO ACCELERATE OVER 20 MPH. THE WARNING LIGHTS FLASHED AND THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO UNLOCK THE VEHICLE TO EXIT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRICAL FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 54,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 58,800.
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