2012 Chevrolet Malibu
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 906 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 11th highest complaint count among 26 Malibu model years with reports.
Of the 2012 reports, 50 involved a crash and 13 involved a fire. 35 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Seat beltsMay 8, 2015
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured April 8, 2010, to October 11, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cables that connect the seat belts to the vehicle at the outside of the driver seat and the front passenger seat may be bent from being sat on while entering the vehicle. This repeated bending may result in the cable breaking.
If the cable breaks, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the outboard lap anchor mounting bracket and inspect the flexible steel cable, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on November 16, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15031.
Campaign 15V269000 on NHTSA.gov
SteeringJul 21, 2014
Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain replacement intermediate steering shafts sold under the Dorman, OE Solutions, and Solutions brand names, part numbers 425-167, 2425167, and 7-3074, for installation on 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6, and 2007-2009 Saturn Aura vehicles. The affected steering shafts may have a yoke that inadequately supports the u-joint bearing resulting in a premature failure.
A joint bearing that fails prematurely may cause separation of the u-joint resulting in a complete loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dorman will notify owners, and dealers will refund the purchase price or replace the steering shafts, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact Dorman customer service at 1-800-523-2492.
Campaign 14E044000 on NHTSA.gov
Electrical system, wiringMay 14, 2014
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.
Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). GM's number for this recall is 13036.
Campaign 14V252000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: steering
191 reports, newest first. Show all
Steering, Jul 14, 2020
STEERING WHEEL STICKS ON OCCASION AND IS HARD TO MOVE. SOMETIMES IT WILL JERK SIDE TO SIDE IN A SHAKING MOTION BEFORE STICKING. MY CAR GOES OUT OF LANE.
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), May 27, 2020
FOR A LONG TIME NOW, A YEAR, I'VE BEEN GETTING THE ESC WARNING EVERY TIME I TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. IT JUST A NUISANCE ALARM. IT SHUTS OFF THE ESC. NOW HOWEVER EVERY TIME I START THE CAR LATELY AND I'M GETTING THE POWER STEERING WARNING, I MOVE THE WHEEL A LITTLE AND IT GOES AWAY. I'M AFRAID IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE AND I'LL START LOSING MY POWER STEERING. GM WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY SAY THE VIN NUMBER ISN'T PART OF THE RECALL. I HAVE A 2012 WITH THE 2.4L. IT HAS 73,000 MILES ON IT. THE RECALL IF THAT'S WHAT IT IS (# 15356: SPECIAL COVERAGE ADJUSTMENT - LOSS OF ELECTRIC POWER STEERING ASSIST - (AUG 28, 2015).*DT*JB
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), Engine, May 11, 2020
"POWER STEERING" MESSAGE COMES ON RANDOMLY AND THE POWER STEERING GOES DEAD WHILE I'M DRIVING. THIS SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS MALIBU AND SHOULD BE A RECALL. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ONLINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THIS HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE A RECALL PURCHASED VEHICLE IN 2013 SINCE THAN HAS HAPPEN CLOSE TO 10 TIMES. *TR
Steering, May 7, 2020
"POWER STEERING" MESSAGE COMES ON RANDOMLY AND THE POWER STEERING GOES DEAD WHILE I'M DRIVING. THIS SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS MALIBU AND SHOULD BE A RECALL. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ONLINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THIS HAS OCCURRED IN APRIL 2020 AND MULTIPLE TIMES IN MAY 2020. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), Apr 22, 2020
AT RANDOM I WILL BE DRIVING DOWN ANY ROAD AND THE POWER STEERING, TRACTION CONTROL, ECS LIGHTS WILL COME ON AND I WILL LOSE POWER STEERING. I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND COMPLETELY STOP AND TURN OFF IGNITION AND WAIT A FEW MINUTES AND TURN BACK ON AND THE PROBLEM IS RESET. THIS HAPPENS AT RANDOM WITH NO PATTERN.
Steering, Equipment, Electronic stability control (ESC), Apr 6, 2020
2012 MALIBU LOSES POWER STEERING AND ESC LIGHT COMES ON. VERY DANGEROUS. DON'T THINK 2012 MALIBU IS COVERED UNDER RECALL 15356, BUT IT SHOULD BE . PEOPLE WILL DIE ... PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE. *TR
Steering, Mar 23, 2020
WHEN IDLING IN PARK MY STEERING WHEEL WILL SHAKE BACK AND FORTH. AND THEN I KEEP LOSING MY POWER STEERING FUNCTION. AND THEN I HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR AND IT WILL COME BACK ON. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR 2 DAYS. WITH THE ESC LIGHT IN THE POWER STEERING LIGHTS COMING ON ON INTERMITTENT.
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), Mar 14, 2020
ESC LIGHT COMES ON EITHER RIGHT AS I START THE CAR OR ONCE I START DRIVING AND I LOSE POWER STEERING HAVING TO STOP SEVERAL TIMES TO RESTART MY CAR. I FEAR DRIVING MY KIDS IN MY CAR BECAUSE IF THIS ONGOING ISSUE.
Steering, Mar 4, 2020
STATIONARY STEERING WHEEL SHAKES, ESC OFF LIGHT THEN IT'S SAYS POWER STEER STEERING WHEEL IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO MOVE
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), Feb 23, 2020
FOR ABOUT THE LAST TWO WEEKS WHEN I TURN MY CAR ON A ESC POWER STEERING MESSAGE HAS ILLUMINATED THE DASH. I HAVE TO TURN MY CAR OFF AND BACK ON SEVERAL TIMES TO GET THE MESSAGE TO DISAPPEAR. TONIGHT WHILE DRIVING THE SAME MESSAGE CAME ON. I ENDED UP HAVING TO PULL OVER SEVERAL TIMES DURING MY DRIVE EACH TIME LOSING POWER STEERING! VERY SCARY AND VERY UNSAFE. WHEN I SEARCH MY VIN NUMBER THERE ARE NO RECALLS ON IT, I FEEL THERE NEEDS TO BE BEFORE SOMEONE IS HURT OR KILLED IN A ACCIDENT.
Steering, Feb 23, 2020
2012 CHEVY MALIBU RECENTLY TURNED 98,000 MILES. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A TURN AFTER STOPPING FOR A STOP SIGN AND THE POWER STEERING SERVICE, ESC LIGHT COMES ON. THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME STIFF AND VERY HARD TO TURN. WAS ABLE TO GET CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TURNED ENGINE OFF AND ON AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE. VERY SCARY, I HAVE READ THAT THIS HAPPENS A LOT WITH THESE CARS. HOW CAN THERE NOT BE A RECALL???
Steering, Feb 16, 2020
I WAS DRIVING MY CAR A FEW DAYS AGO ON A CITY STREET AND AFTER I MADE A TURN, THE POWER STEERING SERVICE ESC LIGHT CAME ON AS WELL AS THE TRACTION CONTROL PICTURE. MY STEERING WHEEL GOT SUPER STIFF AND IT WAS EXTREMELY HARD TO TURN IT. AFTER I PULLED OVER AND TURNED MY CAR OFF, I TURNED IT BACK ON AND EVERYTHING WENT BACK TO NORMAL. THERE IS A RECALL FOR THIS BUT I CHECKED ON THE GM RECALL WEBSITE AND PUT IN MY VIN BUT MY CAR IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL WHICH DOESN'T SEEM TO MAKE MUCH SENSE IF OTHER 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU'S HAVE BEEN RECALLED BECAUSE OF THIS.
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), Feb 15, 2020
MY ESC COMES ON WITH TRACTION EMBLEM AND POWER STEERING LIGHT. I THEN LOSE ALL POWER STEERING WHILE IN MOTION.
Steering, Feb 7, 2020
ON 2/5/2020 WHILE DRIVING TO WORK MY STEERING WHEEL STARTED TO TWITCH WHILE DRIVING . AFTER I ARRIVED TO WORK AND PUT IT IN PARK THE STEERING WHEEL WAS SHAKING BACK AND FOURTH. NOW AFTER WORK I COME OUT IT HAD NO POWER STEERING ESC LIGHT ON AND A MESSAGE POWER STEERING PROBLEM. TOOK VIN TO DEALER NO RECALL FOR MY CAR. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE GM ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SYSTOMS. THERE ARE RECALLS OUT THERE FOR THIS PROBLEM. 2012 MALIBU INCLUDED JUST NOT MINE. VERY DANGEROUS
Steering, Feb 3, 2020
THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING. SERVICE ESC LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER. AFTER TURNING OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTING THE CAR, THE POWER STEERING CAME BACK ON. NOW IT IS GOING IN AND OUT. SOMETIMES I CAN STEER AND SOMETIMES IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
Steering, Feb 1, 2020, crash
SAME POWER STEERING PROBLEM. THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING GOES OUT SOMETIMES MIDTURN. IM AN ADULT MALE AND IVE HIT THE CURB A COUPLE TIMES IF THIS HAPPENED TO A FEMALE OR CHILD IT COULD CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. IM SCARRED TO DRIVE IT. G.M. NEEDS TO STOP SELLING THESE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING UNITS. MINE IS 2012 MALIBU JUST TURNED 100000. THE ESC LIGHT COMES ON AND SAYS POWER STEERING ON DASH.
Steering, Jan 26, 2020
THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING. SERVICE ESC LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER. AFTER TURNING OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTING THE CAR, THE POWER STEERING CAME BACK ON. NOW IT IS GOING IN AND OUT. SOMETIMES I CAN STEER AND SOMETIMES IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. I HAVE LOOKED IT UP AND THERE IS A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM BUT MY CAR DOES NOT SEEM TO BE PART OF THIS RECALL.
Steering, Jan 23, 2020
THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT AND MOTOR FAILED. I WAS ALMOST KILLED. THEY SAID IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER ANY RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTY. THE PART NUMBER IS 20821325. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MALIBU. NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS ON THE 2012
Steering, Electrical system, Electronic stability control (ESC), Jan 9, 2020
DRIVING MY VEHICLE WITH MY 3 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER IN THE CAR. TURNED THE WHEEL AS I WAS TAKING A TURN AND THE POWER STEERING COMPLETELY STOPPED. THIS FORCED ME TO APPLY THE BRAKE BECAUSE I ALMOST WEMT OFF THE ROAD!! I SEE THIS ISN'T THE ONLY INCIDENT INVOLVING THE ESC AND POWER STEERING!! VEHICLE CURRENTLY HAS "SERVICE ESC" AND "POWER STEERING" MESSAGES DISPLAYED IN THE INFO MESSAGES.
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), Dec 29, 2019
I BOUGHT A 2012 MALIBU FOR MY DAUGHTER WHO IS 15 YEARS OLD. NICE CAR, BUT WHEN SHE WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING LOT, "SERVICE ETC" ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH AND SHE COMPLETELY LOST POWER STEERING. HIT A CURB.
Steering, Suspension, Electronic stability control (ESC), Dec 16, 2019
CAR WOULD SHIMMY AND SHAKE. NEW TIRES NEW BREAKS ETC. MADE APPOINT. TO FIX RECALLS WHEN POWER STER. WENT OUT. PUT NEW PS ON AND IT DIDN'T FIX PROBLEM. WENT BACK AND FORTH TO DEALER. HAD CAR DIAGNOSED AND SERVICE MANAGER SAID THERE WAS A RECALL FOR SO CALLED GM, REP SAID THEY WOULD FIX AND REINBURSE FOR THE WORK ALREADY PERFORMED, GAVE A CASE NUMBER. CAR SAT A DEALERS WEEKEND. TODAY GM REP SAID THEY WOULD ONLY PAY 5% AND DENIED OTHER REP HAD SAID THEY'D FIX. NO POWER STEERING ON CAR AND IT'S DANGEROUS TO DRIVE DUE TO MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND I'M EXPECTED TO COVER COSTS WHEN I'VE ALREADY SPENT NEARLY 1000 ON IT AND IT'S STILL NOT FIXED. PLEASE HELP
Steering, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Dec 3, 2019
164,00 MILES. TEMP 34 F. DROVE CAR 3 MILES AND STOPPED AT INTERSECTION. PUT SIGNAL ON AND ATTEMPTED LEFT TURN. STEERING BECAME LOCKED. BREAK AND ACCELERATOR WENT TO LOWEST POSITION NEAREST FLOOR. ENGINE STAYED ON BUT CAR WOULD NOT MOVE EVEN AFTER LIFTED FOOT OFF BREAK AND ATTEMPTED TO PUSH ACCELERATOR. . PUT IN PARK. STOPPED ENGINE. RESTARTED. NO CHANGE AFTER START. AGAIN PUT IN PARK PUSHED ON BREAK TURNED IGNITION IT STARTED. WAS ABLE TO DRIVE AND STEERING BACK TO NORMAL. NO NOTICEABLE PROBLEM AFTER THAT.
Steering, Dec 2, 2019
THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING. SERVICE ESC LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER. AFTER TURNING OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTING THE CAR, THE POWER STEERING CAME BACK ON. I HAVE LOOKED IT UP AND THERE IS A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM BUT MY CAR DOES NOT SEEM TO BE PART OF THIS RECALL.
Steering, Nov 19, 2019
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED, THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATED AND FAILED TO STEER. IN ADDITION, THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE LOCAL DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 147,000. THE VIN WAS INVALID.
Steering, Nov 12, 2019
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE POWER STEERING ECS ACTIVATED WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN. THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14E044000 (STEERING). THE CONTACT CALLED VICTORVILLE CHEVROLET (LOCATED AT 15425 DOS PALMAS RD, VICTORVILLE, CA 92392, (760) 475-9098) AND INFORMED THEM OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 204,000.