2019 Chevrolet Malibu
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 191 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 21st highest complaint count among 26 Malibu model years with reports.
Of the 2019 reports, 8 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 7 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Seat belts, critical fastenersAug 20, 2021
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.
An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Dealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
Campaign 21V649000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: electrical system
62 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Electrical system, Jul 31, 2023
The vehicle has failed to shift to park. I have pulled the vehicle into a parking spot on multiple occasions and placed the shift knob into park. A message on the screen pops up after I turn the car off, that says "Shift Vehicle to Park." I then have to start the car again and backup and pull forward attempting to get the car to engage into park.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Jul 18, 2023
Unknown cause of issue. Vehicle states a notice to “Shift to Park” after it has already been shifted in to park and prompted to turned off. The electricity in the vehicle will not shut off until the notice disappears which doesn’t happen unless the button on the shifter is pressed multiple times. This issue will cause the battery to die in the vehicle if not treated, which in turn, will leave myself and any passengers stranded where the vehicle is.
Electrical system, Jun 30, 2023
SERVICE ESC flashed on my dashboard along with the car jerking when braking. Car has not been abused as this a new development. Check engine light stays on. Service ESC and LOW FUEL appear at the same time the brake jerk happens. Car has less than 50k miles despite being used everyday. Car does not perform accurately with the ESC not working.
Electrical system, Jun 28, 2023
Shift to park switch malfunction. Switch is bad
Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 16, 2023
Check engine light lit up on the dashboard. Did not go away, took car to dealership next day. Turns out that the fuel pump system (P & A Fuel Pump & Sending System) was faulty and also needed an ECM update to the programming system. The fuel pump breaking down confuses me because the car will only be 4 yrs old at the end of May, with only a little bit over 31,000 miles on it. This system should not have needed replacing this soon in the cars usage.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Apr 5, 2023
GM 2019 Chevrolet Malibu - Report Shift to Park Issue - Mileage 13,784. I would like to report a Shift-to-Park problem I had with my 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. Approximately two weeks prior to this service call I started experiencing a problem with Engine Start/Stop button and “shift to park” message on instrument panel. Pressing Start/Stop button would not turn off engine. It took several attempts to completely turn off engine. Two weeks and issue was getting progressively worse. Finally on Wednesday, March 29th and having started driving errands, I could not turn off engine at all. I could not get out of the car without warning beeps going off. I immediately drove to Dealer Service as I felt unsafe to drive. Dealer Service performed and I picked up car on Thursday, March 30, 2023. They replaced shifter switch and installed jumper harness. Again, I do want to report issue as this car has only 13,784 miles. Thank you,
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Mar 24, 2023
Vehicle cuts off daily. This has been going on for months. A message shows up saying put the car in neutral to restart. Battery and alternator have been tested more than once and they are not the issue. The car cut off while I was in traffic driving across a bridge! I had to get help pushing the car to the side of the road. This particular time the car would not start back up without a jump. Majority of the time while at a red light, it cuts off. After replacing rotors, brake pads, and brake pump, braking is still rough with screeching and grinding leaving lots of brake dust on the wheels. At times the brakes go all the way down.
Power train, Electrical system, Mar 18, 2023
2nd time putting car in shop to fix the parking sensor. When you place the vehicle in park get a alert to place vehicle in park. Had it repaired once and problem is back. Have to shift to park several times before it will work properly. Already paid once to repair it and the dealer said it's a common problem. I think a recall is needed. I called the dealer and the service advisor said a new support bracket is needed. I called GM to complain and they said they issued a service alert to it's dealers on how to fix it. But refuse to cover the cost of repair. I feel a recall is a fair solution. I can not safely park the car with out worrying if it truly is in park.
Electrical system, Jan 26, 2023
all gauges shut off and turn back on while driving tire says it is flat and it is not car shuts off completely, resets, and turns back on while driving braking system not working code steering wheel jerks off to the side aggressively on its own while foot is on brake car hesitates to start up and hesitates to accelerate sometimes there are warning messages sometimes no warning steer assist turns off and shows message and jerks my wheel sideways AC control board only works half the time entertainment and GPS system blacks out randomly and doesn't turn back on the unpredictability is dangerous. the performance of this vehicle is unacceptable. having not one chevy service center properly repair this issue poses a extreme safety risk as the car's power toggles randomly and has to be restarted Multiple Chevy service centers have not given me definitive diagnostic. no one has fixed the issues. they only get worse daily. the service centers charge me money to "grease wires" and send me home every time.
Electrical system, Air bags, Seat belts, Dec 12, 2022, crash
I bought the car from Variety Auto in Abingdon VA, and then I had the accident on May 3rd 2022 I took it to the collision center and then after they repaired the body they noticed the airbag lights and the restraint system lights came on also, and when Ramey’s started doing the work for the air, module and wiring harness and air bag they noticed that the wiring harness was not working properly and the air bag was cut completely out they put diodes in the wiring to keep the lights off, they sold me the car saying that there was no airbag deployed but we later found out that it was, and also when I had the accident it didn’t deploy and that’s why is because there wasn’t a airbag in it to start with, if you need anything else we have all the proof of deception by someone and if you need anything else here is my phone number [XXX] you can call me anytime, thank you!!! I tried to up load all the pages and everything but it would only let me do the first Paige, so if need these let me know and I can probably get them faxed to you, thank you!!! INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Electrical system, Dec 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while using the Auto START/STOP feature, the vehicle would sputter before accelerating as needed. The contact stated that the failure only occurred during hot weather conditions with the vehicle on an incline. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the battery and the battery terminal had failed. The contact stated that the battery was replaced; however, the contact was unaware if the battery terminal had been replaced. The failure had increased in frequency despite road or weather conditions. The contact stated that occasionally while driving, the vehicle shuddered and lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continue driving. The vehicle also displayed a driving assist reduced power message. The contact had returned the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired a second time. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,500.
Power train, Electrical system, Nov 24, 2022
The electrical system was refusing to acknowledge that my car was in Park & kept giving me a “Shift to Park” message on my dashboard. Took 3 or 4 tries of starting & shutting off the car for it to go away. Took the car to the Dealer & turns out that a faulty shifter was the problem. The gear shifter had to be replaced, but not the shifter harness underneath the shifter.
Electrical system, Nov 12, 2022
When you park the car and shift the car into park a message appears on the dashboard stating "Shift to Park" the car does not think it is in park and is telling you to put it into the Park Gear to turn off the car. You can not shut off the car as long as this message is displayed on the dashboard. Sometimes turning the car on and off 5+ times may get the message to go away but as time has gone on it has been harder to get the message to go away. At times we have been stuck in the car for over 10 minutes trying to shut off the car.
Electrical system, Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 11, 2022
I have no Brake Lights when applying the Brakes and cruise control no longer works due to Service ESC message on display. I was advised by replacing the battery this would clear the ESC but it did not. I believe the service ESC message is tied into the brake lights and cruise control not working.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Sep 28, 2022
This car is displaying a shift to park on the dashboard. I have read several complaints and even lawsuits filed about this matter on the internet. Why hasn't this been recalled to fix on these vehicles it drains the battery and you aren't able to put the vehicle in park or lock the doors or anything
Electrical system, Sep 16, 2022
After shifting into park and turning off the car, a warning message to shift into park comes up. Pressing on the button on the shifter several times eventually gets it to stop.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Sep 15, 2022
Numerous times while driving my car both my son and I have experienced the same issues. Trying to get on the highway and pressing the gas pedal the car isn’t responding appropriately to the level of which the gas is being pressed. It isn’t accelerating appropriately. Than at stoplights or just trying to make a left hand turn from a stop position. You take your foot off brake and press the gas to go and it rolls a bit and you’re pressing the gas to go and the car isn’t responding. It’s just sitting there. Like paused. Then all of a sudden the car engages and takes off. It is very dangerous to not have the car respond to pressing the gas. And I don’t want to get into an accident because I’m trying to make a turn and get hit cause I’m just sitting there. Rather than it going when I’m pressing the gas. I am not getting any codes popping up on the dash. So the dealership has nothing to look at other than me saying this is happening to me and my son. I’m finding issues similar to this on previous models. But nothing on the 2019 that I can find. And with no error codes registering. But the issues occurring is highly concerning to me. There isn’t just one date this has occurred. This has happened now many times over the last 6mos.
Electrical system, Sep 13, 2022
When I shift the car into park the computer does not register it is in park. Still says place vehicle in park when you open a door. Have to shift it several times before it will read in park. I took it to the dealer and was told it is a common issue. They bent a bracket forward and got it to read for now. The tech said its a poor design flaw and GM should be replacing the sensor bracket but refuse to issue a recall on it.
Power train, Electrical system, Service brakes, Sep 7, 2022
Vehicle goes into near stall instrument panel goes as if you were starting the vehicle gauges go up down then back gas gauge said no gas on full tank , brakes felt as if was gone abs system not responding , engine rough , road had minor to moderate pot holes "Rawsonville Road" when stopped vehicle while running gave msg put in park to shift . , vehicle was in drive once put in park it would not come out of park or realize it was in park . the issue i have been able to determine so far is on the vehicle fuse panel under hood it is connected to the main service disconnect for the entire wire harness "pin connectors male and female over 30 pins , it is held by 2 locking handles all with plastic tabs for the latching , this is failing under driving conditions and coming loose enough to separate contact from 1 or more pins normally on the drivers side . to fix the issues I had to disconnect the service disconnect and reconnect it while securely fastening the handles verified correct and happened again on testing down a dirt road service appointment is thursday -9-7-2022 at mark chevrolet in wayne michigan , i contacted gm and they said it had to be fully tested through a dealer i informed gm this is a major issue and not something i will be paying for it is likely a recallable issue i have seen alot of issues with malibu 2019-2022 having similar issues and are likely caused by the same issue if using this same service disconnect and fuse box likely nullifying the TSA's used for shift to park etc as others have stated and documented those issues repeat . the vehicles modules lose communication with the vehicle via intermittent service disconnect on the wiring harness . "network errors " support this via obd code reader as well as the powertrain hard fault code and the various pending fault codes prior to having to physically disconnect and reconnect the service disconnect fully to restore vehicle function and bring to safe location instead of on side of busy road
Power train, Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 1, 2022
The car stalls out an sometimes deads an say no key fab. The ecm has been reprogram even before the car was sold to me back in 2019.
Electrical system, Engine, Jul 17, 2022
Throttle body hose comes lose causing car to stall or shut off while driving, engine light come on saying engine power reduction issues
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 13, 2022
https://autoforums.carjunky.com/Automotive_Repair_C1/General_Discussions_F5/2019_Chevy_mailbu_LS_constantly_changing_spark_plugs_P209221/ That’s the mechanic forum I posted with my issues. It’s gotten so bad the vehicle is stalling out while driving and in busy roads and the highway. Here is the service bulletin: https://www.tsbsearch.com/Chevrolet/PIP5598#:~:text=Summary%3A,Cranks%20But%20Does%20Not%20Run%22
Electrical system, Service brakes, Engine, Jun 29, 2022
Driving along the interstate the car suddenly lost power. I was able to pull over and restart car and drive like nothing ever happened. Then once I parked the car at my destination the car would not start 10 minutes later leaving me stranded in an unfamiliar city. When trying to start the car it would click and the DIC would display Batter Saver Active following EMS following Power Steering. No check engine light was on in the vehicle before this incident. I was stranded in an unfamiliar city with no one around to help. After asking a random stranger for a jump the car started and allowed me to get home. No dealership can convey the problem with the car, everyone says there's nothing wrong with it. I have had the vehicle for about one year now with no problem up to now. The car often backfires and even completely cuts off at red lights (not from the auto stop feature). This is dangerous.
Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Engine, May 22, 2022
Numerous accumulated problems, all have complaints already on NHTSA site here. First, Start/Stop malfunction, when it is active when stopped vehicle will stall when it tries to restart when you take your foot off brake and it’s troublesome to restart at times, when that happens lights on dash all come on (warning lights) and radio/entertainment resets as well. Second, the traction control light on dash is on. The warning displays to have traction control system serviced, cruise control is disabled as a result, it’s been to the dealer for both above problems the start/stop problem they say they can’t get car to duplicate although it happens to us almost daily if not numerous times per day. This morning driving home from work the intake charge tube that attaches to intake keeps popping off and engine goes to reduced power mode on highway or wherever driving not safe at all. Saw a voluntary recall from GM going to contact dealer about tomorrow when open. Stereo resets often, completely shuts off and resets while driving at random. I also get the rushing/sloshing water noise other people have reported as complaints when coming to a stop, I read in forums that it’s something to do with low coolant but not low enough to turn on low coolant warning light. GM really needs to address this stop/start and traction control needing service light problems as I read all over the internet of owner’s complaints of same problems I have. Dealerships don’t want to do anything with the cars unles the issue a recall because it comes out of their pockets. So many complaints I read owners keep reporting that dealer “cannot reproduce identical problems” because they don’t want repairs coming out of their pockets only out of GM. I’m going to start filing formal complaints with GM until they get tired of hearing from me and fix some of this stuff or deem it a lemon and get rid of it finally.
Electrical system, Apr 25, 2022
“Shift to Park” message appears on dash information screen and prohibits the vehicle from fully powering off and can cause battery to fully discharge. This appears to be a known problem, as referenced in GM TSB 19-na-206.