2018 Chevrolet Malibu Complaint Log

I shift my car into park and try to turn off the car, the car stays on and tells me to shift the car to park even though it is already in park. Car is having continuous transmission and emission issues that cannot be resolved by the Chevrolet dealership, resulting in paying lots of money and the engine light and emails from OnStar still appear.

The contact called on behalf of his daughter who owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that his daughter informed him that she had noticed moisture on the inside of the windows and the front and rear windshields. Additionally, the contact stated that the third brake light was not properly secured in place. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the third brake light needed to be replaced. The contact also stated that there was water leaking into the trunk. The contact stated that upon investigating the cause of the failure, he determined that the water leak might have originated from the third brake light. The contact stated that the failure had caused mold to develop inside the vehicle. The contact related the failure to GM Technical Service Bulletin Numbers: 20-NA-126 (Water Leak in Rear Compartment) and PIC5822E (Water on Front Floor and/or Carpet). The dealer informed the contact that the owner was responsible for the cost of the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

On 3 occasions, my vehicle has displayed the message “Engine Power is Reduced.” It has 83, 990 miles. I took it to the dealership to have them check it out, but I was told they couldn’t check it because the check engine light was no longer on. This is a problem because the warning will come on, then the check engine light turns off after the car has been turn off. The Chevy dealership says there is a three day wait for them to conduct a diagnostic, but what are the chances the check engine light will remain on? After having gone through this process on three separate occasions, the check engine light hasn’t appeared the next day. I have read about how others may be experiencing this problem and they do not have some resolution to this kind of problem. My wife generally drives this car, so I fear for her as she travels to and from work.

My car keeps saying “shift to park” when it is already in park. I have to keep turning the car back on and off numerous times and shifting the car into another gear and back into park and wiggle the shifter to get it to read that it’s in park. I don’t know if the car is actually in park or not and will roll if I leave it. Also by turning the car on and off multiple times, sometimes 7 to 8, will ruin the starter or cause some other issues. I have not taken to a dealer yet because online reports of same issue in multiple gm cars have said they are replacing with the same faulty part.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated after parking the vehicle, the message Shift to Park was displayed. The contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact reversed, drove forward and shifted into park(P) again. The vehicle then registered that the gear shifter was in park(P). The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while attempting to park the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,400.

Getting an error "shift to park" message when parking and trying to shut the vehicle off. Have to now apply the parking brake, shift into gear, and shift back to park to get the vehicle to register in that it is in park to shut off. This error does not allow vehicles to be shut off or even doors locked which could pose a risk of a small child getting into the vehicle in these hot temperatures.

Son was driving my 2018 Malibu with 90,000 miles. Check engine light came on and car reduced speed from 75mph to 40mph on interstate! Autozone reading says replace Variable Camshaft Timing Solenoid. Very dangerous situation. Chevy should have to fix this.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with ECM module failure. The dealer informed the contact that the ECM module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 46,285.

Third brake light cracks on left side, resulting in damage to the brake light and letting water leak in through the roof damaging the car's interior, including the rear curtain airbags.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while entering the vehicle, there was a warning light illuminated and a message stating: Action Required Place Vehicle in Park; however, the vehicle was already in park. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer and the vehicle was diagnosed that the harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,050.

The stability track system comes on the vehicle slows down and stops in traffic. Then it says shift to park and will not start. The computer often displays reduce engine power.

I’ve brought the car in for the same thing “engine power reduced “ and they never were able to fix has been going on since February of 2019. codes related to the engine power reduced still occurred and are occurring on my vehicle, reported it to Gm ( have the emails) they offer me $2500 for a new car but won’t put it towards fixing this car, as it’s not a guaranteed fix as the vehicle has been brought in over 4-5 times for the same engine power reduced and never fixed it. I received a letter from GM regarding they will cover anything to do with “engine power reduced “ at no charge and now they won’t fix it. The last email gm said to report it to the dealership giving me the run around. This is one of MANY almost got in an accident today on the highway cause I was going 70 and it dropped to 40 out of no where of course with the engine power reduced message. I need help, please. I been going on since I bought the vehicle in 2019. Gm is doing nothing but taken advantage of for years

I have a 2018 Malibu with a very long list of major issues. The Engine loses power constantly along with a “Engine Reduced Power” warning and check engine light. I get a constant “shift to park” message even after placed in park. All the steering wheel buttons/controls do not work. With the exception of the cruise control. Car almost red lines after the power message displays when you try to increase the speed of the vehicle. The back axle/suspension/hubs make a very loud popping sound when I back up or drive forward. Both back wheel assemblies make a very loud wobble noise when driving. Almost like the assemble is going bad. The Auto Stop/Start causes a lot of issues. It causes the car to jerk horribly and that’s when you hear the popping in the back axles the most. Idk if there is an option to turn this off in this model. But, if there is I can’t access the message center because the steering wheel controls/buttons don’t work. Also upon restart the car runs extremely rough and tries to die. The car has really bad powertrain issues. The car not only loses almost all power….. but, also acts like the transmission is slipping when taking off from a dead stop. Causing it to jerk really bad when the transmission actually catches. The brake system also seems like it has a lot of issues. Here recently the brakes seem like they don’t want to stop the car and that leads to pressing the brake pedal down harder resulting in the brake finally stopping the car in almost a dead stop. This could cause a rear end collision or a collision after your designated stopping point. Every time it rains my trunk gets soaked with water leading to a horrible mildew smell and damaged property in the trunk. Also, the steering wheel will start wobbling uncontrollably when driving down the road and then just stops. It causes a violent shake in the front end until it stops. I’m sure I missed a few things just because of how long the list is. I’m hoping for a solution to these problems.

I got the error message, "Shift to Park" after putting my car in park. Thus, my car would not fully turn off, affecting the battery. This is a known issue with various make, models, and years of Chevrolet vehicles. If this had happened anywhere but home, if would have left me stranded. The dealership confirmed it was a known issue as they have had to fix many of these vehicles. The bill was extremely pricey.

Component/System: Transmission shift control not correctly sensing vehicle has been placed in parked condition. Symptom: After parking and shutting off engine, message is displayed "Shift to Park" and car dings and lights and electronics will not turn off. Started about a week ago and was intermittent. Jiggling the transmission shift handle would always cause message to go away and electronics to turn off. Today, no amount of manipulating the transmission control handle will shut off the message. Tried to leave car in garage but lights and radio kept running. Decided to manually shut off lights and radio/info system hoping system will time out and shut down on its own. Finally got in contact with dealership who recommended I disconnect the battery cable until I can get the car into the shop. Safety concern: Though transmission can be verified as being in park, electronics will not shut down, thereby potentially allowing the electrical system to drain battery and not allowing car to be started when needed. Also, a bit concerned it was suggested by dealership I disconnect battery cable to eliminate power drain while "Shift to Park" error is occurring. Problem reproduced/confirmed by dealer: Not yet as the problem had a rapid onset from intermittent to full time over the course of a week. Having a bit of difficulty getting appointment scheduled that will get problem investigated and fixed. Loaner cars were discontinued last December and I live too far from dealership to be driven home. Inspection: No inspection has yet occurred; however, I have taken picture of "Shift to Park" message while transmission control handle is in the park position. Prior indications: There were no other signs of a problem. "Shift to Park" simply started and was intermittent over the course of a week. Jiggling the transmission control handle would quickly resolve the issue, then today, it has no impact.

Engine power reduced notification came on the dashboard and car deaccelerated down to less than 25 miles an hour on the highway on multiple occasions. On the last occasion about 2 months ago the notification came on again, the car stalled and would not start up again. This was in ongoing traffic and I could have been seriously injured if people behind me were unable to stop in time. I sat in the middle of traffic for 45 minutes until fire and rescue came and pushed my car out of the road and onto the shoulder until the tow truck came.

Experienced electrical issues and engine issues since car was purchased in 2019. The car will stall randomly if stopped at a light or moving slowly in traffic. The breaks also skip when slowing down, I taken by break check and they advised the breaks where good, just had them done 2 years ago, max. I had the batteries replaced twice in the last 2 years,there is no faulty in the battery. Right now my car is not working at all, the breaks became stiff while driving, constant error saying "Reduced Engine Power". The car would turn over but it will not hold. I took it to my local mechanic, who advised he replaced all parts that could be the issue but the car still will not run right. He states it's and Engine or computer issue. There are a few recalls already issued by chevy, my car was made in July of 2017, and the issues described is the exact same issues I'm having.

Certain @018 Chevy malibu models has a recall for asoftware problem could disable the fuel injectors And im currently having this issue where my vehicle will not start all of the time and is misfiring.

my 2018 malibu premier with 12600 miles on it, parking sensor, and wiring harness is defective. The shop tells me gm knows about it and recommends replacing them. when you park the car and turn it off it does not go into park, you can not lock the car, and the radio keeps playing. If you do not shake the shifter it stays that way. If you do not have the radio on and you get out and close the door and walk away you do not know it. They want $450 to fix it as long as all goes well.I feel there should be a recall on this since they put in faulty parts and have notified their dealers.

UNKNOWN . Stabilitrak , power steering drive with care, and steering assist is reduced drive with care light turned on . I was on the freeway with my newborn and the car was slowly giving out and suddenly stopped while in the carpool lane . Took it to the car dealer and did a diagnostics and codes u100,u0101, u0415, and u0073 popped up . This is the second time this same exact thing has happened to me same messages popped up so I took it to the dealer and codes p0300 came out and p050D came out . This malfunction could have caused a serious injury to myself or my family .

While im driving the stabilitrack warning will pop on then the engine light & immediately after my car will jerk to a almost stop. Then when I try to press on the gas peddle it will go slow but my peddle power goes to a 4. The dealership said it was my tire speed sensors so I got them replaced all to STILL have the same problem. It will also read power stirring not available & shift to park even tho I’m already in park.

Suddenly and at random times check engine light comes on with error “Engine power is reduced” car will no longer accelerate even at freeway speeds causing a very dangerous situation. Has happened several times and continues to happen. According to other complaints this is very common and reoccurring for Malibu and needs to be covered by Chevy to resolve issue.

Car was driving on major highway when the alarm went off and check engine light came on saying reduced engine power. Car dropped down to 20mph at roughly 2,000rpm's on a major interstate. No prior indicators and mechanic said one of the sensors was the issue. Reading up there is apparently a class action lawsuit with GM and nothing has been done about it. NHTSA needs to address this matter ASAP.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the traction control and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the accelerator pedal position assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,721.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the vehicle's reduce engine warning light would illuminate at various speeds. The contact would pull over unlock then lock the vehicle in order for the vehicle's warning light to no longer illuminate and to regain proper function. While driving 75 mph when the engine warning light stating reduced speed illuminated. The mph dropped to about 25 mph. The vehicle's OnStar displayed a message stating that the antilock brake system was detected and the vehicle powered off shortly after. The vehicle was towed to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the crankshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that their vehicle was not included in any recall. The failure mileage was unknown.

Shift to park error message. Sensor in the parking shift module is malfunctioning.

Doors do not lock when put into drive. Also when putting into park, car dings and error comes on stating shift to park. Doors have not locked in over 2 years, however at times it does but as of now they are not locked.

The vehicle was sent into the shop for repair four times and I continue to get a shift to park alert on dashboard after the repairs and warranty has passed I was asked to pay for the repairs when the dealership has serviced the car for over a week each time stating they couldn’t find the repair light I have contacted gm about the issue this is an act of consumer abuse I would like to be contacted on this matter

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? A defect in the cam shaft solenoids causes a notice that "Engine Power is Reduced." At that point, the engine begins to struggle to accelerate from a stop, and from increasing speed while on the highway. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The unpredictability of the defect and its affect while driving poses a large threat to safety, particularly on the highway. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes. The dealership service rep not only confirmed the defect, but also confirmed that the issue persists across multiple GM models yet no recall exists. Again, this is a KNOWN defect with GM engines, as confirmed directly by the dealership. Despite this, no remedy was offered, I was told it's neither covered by my manufacturer's warranty or recall. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes. I was given a video explanation of the issue and also told directly of these persistence of the defect across multiple lines. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning prior to the failure. The defect and "Engine Power Reduced" message both first presented in March of 2022, less than a year into my ownership of the car -- and while my car was still under its 60,000 mile warranty.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 40 MPH independently. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road for five minutes. The contact was able to continue to drive with no other issues. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred twice while driving. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

there is a issue with the chevy mailubu where a message will pop up on the dash and say engine power reduced which will significantly slow down the speed of the car and is impossible to keep up with traffic as someone who has to use the expressway everyday with a toddler in the car this is a big issue also im wondering why this isnt a recall on the the malibu because i know three other people with the same issue and we all have different year cars. chevy service team said the issue was from a pcv valve that will cause the exhaust to clog up.

Vehicle won't start and dealership determine it was the battery. Replaced battery now vehicle shuts off completely when making a complete stop. Vehicle will maintain in normal operation if shifted into neutral upon stopping. The vehicle was taken to Harper Motor Dealership where it was determine the starter was bad. After replacing the starter the next the problem remained. Took the vehicle back the next day and after three days it was determined a GM expert was needed to determine the issue. One week later and a proposed bill of $3500 to repair I decided to write this down. This appears to be a major safety issue that could cause harm or death. This has been an issue since 2013 in the Malibu and the issue has still not been corrected.

Car does not recognize when it is in park despite attempt by dealer to fix

Driving at highway speed and the speed decreased to 20 mph engine power reduced along with engine light came on extremely unsafe. Purchased Dec 10, 2018 39,000 miles . Kids and myself could’ve been hurt.

While driving at 55 miles my vehicle displayed engine speed reduced on the dashboard. My vehicle slowed down to only 20 miles in the middle of traffic And wouldn’t pick of speed.I had to put my hazard’s lights on and get to the side of the road as quickly as possible. I turn the car off than turned it back on same thing on dash engine powered reduced. I haven't took the car to the dealership yet

While driving o Leo noticed temp gauge going up. Pulled into a parking area. All my antifreeze had drained through a hole in the lower radiator hose. It had worn through because it was against a pully.

When the check engine light initially comes on, the car will go into "reduced engine power mode" which will decrease the power and speed of the car, forcing me to pull over and turn the car off and restart. This is a hazard to myself and other drivers especially when on the highway, driving at higher speeds. There has been an investigation in to GM where it was found that a few other models have this issue. This happens every time I have something repaired and the light comes back on, which has been twice in the past month. The first time this happened, I had the repair done and it was fine for a while. After the car has been off for a while and the light is still on when I start my car, for the most part the car is no longer in this mode, but it can come back on at any time.

Warning: Reduced speed, car stalled in the middle of traffic. Took to dealer ship and they charged me $279 and said it was the battery, from the looks of everyone else’s complaint, which we have the same complaint, I got ripped off. I deserve a refund and we all deserve our cars serviced.

Reduced engine power occurs while driving and will indicate a traction control issue and the check engine light will engage. The first time it happened, it was during a snowstorm on 2/24/2022, but it has occurred two other times while driving on a highway on sunny days (3/3/2022 and 3/8/2022) with no snow on the ground, road completely dry. Car speed dropped from approximately 55-60 mph to 20. I have to pull the car off the road, turn it off, and let set for at least one minute turned off before it will have engine power restored. Code for car was checked, and it was P2138, throttle/pedal position sensor switch.

engine shuts off with out warning. shuts completely off sitting a stop light and has to be put in park and restarted. shuts of in drive through and scared it will begin doing while traveling down the highway. no warning lights or nothing on. was told at dealer if not doing all the time or there was no light on indicating a failure that there was nothing could be done. very dangerous problem

The car is going slow when you put it on drive a jumps then when you press on the gas it goes real slow then it kicks in at a faster level but when am at like 30 mlp it Jenks as if it wants to lock on me

Shift to park

As I was driving down the highway at 60 mph the road was clear at the time of any debris my car suddenly had two lights on the dashboard. On the left was the traction control light and the right side was the engine light. On my computer display was the words “reduced engine speed”. My car suddenly slowed from 60 to about 30 mph in a matter of seconds. It was like I had slammed my brakes. This all happened simultaneously I attempted to pull over safety and turn the car off and restart it. The lights remained on. My car was not able to get over 27 mph There was no warning what so ever If anyone would have been behind me I would have been rear ended At this time I took it to a mechanic who put it on the computer it was coded at the pedal position sensor. He was able to save the code, clear it so I was able to drive the car and advised to drive it locally for a while in case it would do it again as it is unsafe. The closest Chevy dealer is over an hour away from my town and at the time of day it was not safe to drive the car to the dealership for confirmation.

When the car shuts off at a red light and starts back up after u take your foot off the break, it has a stalling problem. Sitting at a light, the radio was still playing. Once it was time to drive and I took my foot off the break, the car was stuck. I had to turn the car off and turn it back on in order to drive it. That is very dangerous because I was in the middle of traffic. If the car behind me suddenly moved over the car behind them could have hit me from the back, I have a 5 year old in the backseat. This should be a recall problem. Other 2018 chevys have this problem as well but my model for some reason is not on the recall list.

Vehicle continually throws reduced engine power code which includes while traveling at high speeds and winter weather. Vehicle resets once powered off to throw a code sometimes again immediately or within a short period of time rendering the vehicle virtually unusable. Difficult to get to a safe spot to turn vehicle off to attempt to re-set. This puts occupants in danger of being rear ended, stuck in snow/mud or hit from behind while pulled over trying to reset vehicle. This has been an ongoing problem since purchasing the car new. Was fixed under warrant once. Fix didn’t last long and have continuously had issues

The vacuum pump on my vehicle has gone out for the 3rd time in 2.5 years. This creates a safety issue as that the brakes stop working and it takes an extreme amount of pressure for the car to stop. This has occurred once on the freeway and twice in heavy traffic areas. This could cause an accident and potentially seriously hurt or kill someone. This has occurred once before the engine was replaced and twice since it's been replaced.

I was driving on a crowded city street in St. Louis and my car suddenly reduced power and I saw a message on my dash that said Engine Power Reduced! I could not go faster than 15 miles an hour and had to pull into a gas station. I restarted my car and still had the message. I restarted again and the check engine light was still on, but I was able to drive at a normal speed. My concern is that I was a short distance from getting on a busy interstate highway and it could have happened while I was on the highway and could have been struck by a car.

Driving on my way to work and the check engine light came on with the traction control light. A message was displayed that said the engine’s power was reduced.. My speed also decreased to about 20-25 MPH and it was hard trying to get it back about that without the car sounding all funny.

My 2018 Chevy Malibu has been working fine then all of a sudden the warning light came on and the message warning light read ENGINE POWER REDUCED While I was driving on the freeway at 60 mph dropping my speed to 25mph instincts told me to pull over, so I did! Then I tried to drive again still no power it was like a strong pullback! So I again pulled over and turned my car engine off! Let it sit a few hours before driving up to local automotive parts store to use the ODII code reader and it read the code P2138 Throttle/ Pedal Position Sensor Correlation The part to order is $120.00 I am not able to get it today so I googythe problem and found out that this is a possible RECALL ??!!??

My daughter was driving and the engine power is reduced message appeared on her dashboard. Once it appeared she couldn’t go more than 20 miles an hour and this is dangerous.