Problems with 2009 Chevrolet Malibu ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I have had so much trouble with the 2009 chevy malibu i bought it brand new no miles thinking i was going to be stress free but it has given me the most headaches ever. i have had to replace the shift gear and that my head lights have had to been replace at least once a year since i got it the headache about that is that the whole bumper has to be removed to have them replace. i also had to replace the catalytic converter. i don't think i will ever purchase another chevy car. *tr

The rear right door won't unlock unless done manually .this is a safety issue in case of an emegancy. the left door cannot be locked from the button i have to reach over drivers side to lock the rest of the doors. the remote will not lock doors or remote start because the power switch will not lock on drivers side. *tr

I have had problems with the battery, wiring problems and lock problems. i am hoping that the wiring repair took care of that problem and the battery problem, but the lock problem persists, and it is a safety issue! i had no luck getting the dealer to fix the lock problem. it needs to be a required recall to fix. recently i heard of another recall for my car, called the dealer, they said no there wasn't any, but then i got a letter in the mail saying there is a recall. what is a consumer supposed to do???? *tr

The brake lights on my daughter's 2009 chevrolet malibu come on while she is driving & her cruise control stops working. she took her car into the dealer & 2 other people were there with the same complaint. the service dept. said it was fixed but the same day as she picked it up, it happened again. while driving down the highway @ 70 mph with the cruise on, the brake lights come on and stay on until she presses the brake pedal. the brake lights go out while she is applying the brakes & come back on when she releases the brake pedal. also, she also can no longer set her cruise control. after the vehicle has been parked for a few hours, the cruise & brake lights work properly. anyone following her, especially @ night, might assume that she is stopping while driving & driving whilst stopping. i am concerned that this could cause a fire if the problem is electrical in nature, (both taillight bulbs have recently burnt out or shorted out & been replaced). i am very concerned that this could cause a serious accident. *kb

Door locks randomly locked and unlocked. i could be driving or the car could be parked and the door locks would go up down up down. if it locked, there was no way to open it, i was stuck in the car. i felt it was such a hazard that i just had to remove the fuse that operated the door locks. *tr

Driving down the road the dash light will just go off and on, the power door locks stop working the power windows stop working the radio will just turn on when it wants to and the volume control will not work so when it turns on its at the peak volume. this is extremely dangerous. chevrolet will not do anything about it. its past its warranty. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the vehicle would down shift while accelerating. as a result, the vehicle would suddenly decelerate. in order to shift the vehicle back into its proper gear, the contact had to shift the vehicle into manual mode and use the optional pedal shifts. the contact also stated that the brake lights would illuminate when the brake pedal was not being depressed and the traction control and electronic stability control lights intermittently illuminated on the instrument panel. an authorized dealer was notified and the contact was informed that the body control module may need to be replaced. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed. the failure mileage was 59,000.

While driving down the road the brake lights turn on. if i touch the breaks they go off. this happens most often when it rains, snows or if driving with the air conditioning on. the cruise control stops working at the same time. i have had this into a local dealership on three occasions where i have been told "we have to experience this in order to correct it." i am aware that many other malibu vehicles experience this as there have been rumors of this becoming a recall for many months. this has been going on for a couple years for my car and i was under warranty when i had it in and not corrected. i try not to think about it now that it is out of warranty, but because i am expecting my first child and this is a safety concern i am becoming more worried. what will it take to get this corrected? how could they prove that the brake lights didn't come on when someone stopped to turn and then was hit? please help! *tr

Cruise control disengaged. third brake light came on and brake lights came on. would not go off. after a period of time ( 30 minutes or so ) the brake light went off. people have told us numerous times we had no brake lights. this has happened a lot of times since then. dealer said they couldn't find anything wrong.

In march, 2011, i began having problems with the doors not opening from the inside. i unhooked the battery terminal to reset the computer then the windows started working again. in april my driver's window would not go up. i replaced the 30a fuse and got the window to go up. once i tried to use one of the other windows, the fuse blew again. now my windows will not go up or down without blowing a fuse. the switch in the driver's door was replaced and the relay was replaced with no resolution. my windows will not work at all and yesterday, july 19, my doors began acting up again and will not open from the inside. i feel like i'm going to get trapped inside this vehicle. *kb

Car will not start, door locks lock and unlock w/out prompts, light flash on and off, radio goes on and off, & interior lights dim. these symptoms occurred twice before ... once in the fall and once about 7 days ago. previously (summer 20101) the power windows would not function - dealer stated it was a pinched wire. i also noticed a few weeks back the instruments could not be read during the day w/out turning on the headlights.

I have a 2009 chevy malibu the power locks has been locking and unlocking while the vehicle is in motion causing safety issues for me and my young children that are passengers in my vehicle. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that the key failed to release from the ignition. in addition, the gear was difficult to shift. the contact had to apply force in order to shift the vehicle into park. the vehicle was taken to the dealer on two occasions. the technician was unable to duplicate or repair the failure. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the contact also stated that the power steering warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. the technician diagnosed that the ignition switch, the steering column, and the parking brake wire needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failures. the failure mileage was 50,000. the vin was unavailable.

Brake lights come one when driving and brake pedal is not pressed. brake lights go off when brakes are pressed. been to the dealer 3 times and they put some gel on the bcm connection as per a safety bulletin from gm . it fixed problem for a week . problem has returned 4 times now . i think nhtsa should take my car to the test track and prove that a safety recall should be made on this vehicle. nhtsa did once prior take my chevy tahoe 1997 to the test track and proved that gm had indeed had an electronic issue. so please come get my car and test the brake light switch or bcm . it is unsafe and thousands have complained about the same item on the internet . i indicate in the form the first time it happened , it has never worked for a long period of time matter of facti took it to service facility today 7/24/17 again :[xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

I bought this car in june 2010 and the first thing to happen was the battery exploded in 09/2010. a few months later a my car was broken into because i did not realize that when i lock my doors that all locks but 1. the next thing that happend was the front head light shorted out, not the actual head light but the socket that the light goes into and that happend around 03/2012. around january 2013 i was stopped beside my daughter school and a man pulled over and told me that my brake lights had been on for a few miles. i did not realize this and could not see this unless i was driving at night. i rarely drive at night but when i was driving at night i noticed when you get to a certain speed the brake lights will come on and and then go off if you tap the brake and then come back on and stay on until whenever they decide to go off. sometimes they will be on when you crank up the car. it concerns me because what if they brake light fail all together. it seems like there is some kind of eletrical malfuntion with this car. i have researched online and find many people have the same issue with lights coming on in the care at sporadic time times as well as the brake light issue. i called gm, they took the info but offered no assistance. i really believe a recall or some type of investigation should be done on this. i know people that have gotten behind the same car i drive and they see they brake lights continously on like my car. this is very dangerous. *tr

While driving, the car will appear to think that the brakes are being applied. the brake lights will all activate, and cruise control will cease working. when the brake pedal is depressed, the brake lights turn off. the brakes still stop the car, but the lights and cruise control appear to be not calibrated to the brake sensor. also, sometimes 3 warnings appear in the dash display: esc off, service esc, and service traction, though it is not necessary for the problem to occur. this happens very intermittently, but once it starts, it usually doesn't go away. i've had the problem repaired about 6 times, but it keeps coming back. i am out of options, as the repairmen seem to not know what is wrong with the car. *tr

I have a 2009 malibu, recently experiencing electrical problems with the windows. this problem creates a safety risk for me and my family. the windows will not go up or down, the repair shops states there was a blown fuse which they said was replaced. windows worked for a while. same problem occurred in same day. car remained in shop for a week. drove car for about a week problem occurred again, this is a safety hazard, hope real problem is discovered. also complained about squeaky brakes but there was no problem found. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that the brake lights had an intermittent short circuit. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the brake pedal actuator needed to be adjusted twice; however, the failure recurred. the power locks failed and don't work from the inside of the vehicle. the contact was not included in nhtsa recall campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system , electronic stability control , exterior lighting , service brakes, hydraulic , vehicle speed control). the vehicle was scheduled to be inspected and repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 10,000. updated 09/16/14*lj the consumer stated he believes the bcm is faulty beyond a bad connection; causing the power locks to malfunction. updated 1/15/15*js

I was coming up to the railroad tracks and stop sign to take a left. the car just quit. i kept trying to start it and nothing happened, no click, nothing but about 5 min. later it started again. i was about a mile from home so i took it back home and later, after dropping my daughter off, that day took it to george gee, where i had bought it and had my oil changes and any issues done, it didn't do it so they said there was nothing they could do.. i have had the car do this 4 times since ive owned it and bcuz it isn't all the time the dealer service ctr says there is nothing they can do. when i had issues with the locks they said the same thing.. the locks would lock and unlock all the time when i was driving. they finally said they would replace something in the drivers door that worked for about 5/6 months started doing it again but by then my warranty was up and they were expensive so i took it to a 'small guy garage' they had to replace all 4 accuators in the doors. there also was a problem in the tranny which was under their 5 yr. tran. warranty. it has not run properly since but they 'cant find anything wrong!' oh yes and i was also told by one of their other dealers in post falls that they wouldn't help me bcuz 'i didn't have a relationship" with them. i believe that they have never fixed any of the issues correctly and also that they have known of these issues with this car and still would not make it right. *tr

Third brake light works when it wants to.this is a on and off problem. i believe this to be a safety problem g.m. should address this problem or a least tell owners how to fix.

Intermittently the front driver door only partially unlocks when placed in park resulting in the door not being able to open from interior and only partially pulled open from outside. once door is open it will not close/latch. front and rear locks on passenger side do not respond to key fob and must be manually locked/unlocked. passenger front and rear doors lock when placed in vehicle is placed in gear but do not unlock when placed in park. *tr

My service engine light has been on continuously because of my ignition switch is malfunctioning; at times it locks up disallowing me to be able to start my car or remove my keys. i have had issues with the camshaft actuators and has since been replaced on the engine; but this car is still malfunctioning. also, my low beam headlight will not come on, on the passengers side of my vehicle after the bulb has been replaced. all of gm cars made between 2008-2012, needs to be recalled for these issues not just some but all! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. the contact was driving 60 mph when the vehicle began to jerk abnormally followed by unintended acceleration. the dealer reloaded the transmission software. the contact stated that after repairs, the vehicle would not properly shift gears and when downshifting, the vehicle would abnormally accelerate. the contact was able to apply the brakes to stop the unintended acceleration. the dealer reloaded the transmission software a second time but to no avail. in addition, the contact stated that the power windows would intermittently fail, the fuel level gauge was inoperable and the air conditioner would not engage. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the contact was awaiting the rebuilding of the transmission and repairs to all failed components. the failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was 25,000.

From day 1, the right rear door lock actuator hasn't worked. after we got it fixed, the left rear door lock actuator also stopped working. gm has provided partial coverage for our repair costs, but nothing for our inconvenience. (my husband had to take 4-5 hours off work each time to bring the car to the dealer for the repairs).

When first got car doors locked and unlocked with remote for apps 1 week. then over appx month stopped working 1 door at a time. at this point the power locks inside (on door) do not work and lock/ unlock intermittently and even if i can unlock manually my drivers door it still stays locked even when lock is in fully unlocked position. quite scary for someone that drives alone at night and my doors are unlocking themselves. god forbid i do get into an accident and need to get out of the car quickly. also this makes it so my panic does not work on my fob. yes i've changed batteries multiple times. also my power steering has been cutting in and out while moving most often during turns. what happens if i am moving on a highway and i cannot steer correctly? feeling very unsure of my safety at this point.

I noticed when i would use the right turn signal that after completing the turn the signal would not shut off. it would make the "click" sound but the light would still flash. this happened about 50% of the time. the dealer replaced the turn signal switch today and it seems to be ok. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. while driving 65 mph, the tire pressure monitoring system warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a sensor needed to be re-learned. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred and low pressure, check svc was displayed across the message board. in addition, the contact stated that the defroster failed to function. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the contact was aware of nhtsa campaign number: 08v634000 (visibility); however, the vin was not included. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 53,000. updated 09/25/15*lj updated 10/13/15*jb

My malibu 2009 has locks opening and closing often when driving. remaining open is a big safety concern. my dealer and gm pretend not to help unless they are in car when they see and hear it happening. my son also has the same problem on his new malibu 2009. desperate for help. we have little children often in car and the locks are open., when this happens. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet malibu. while driving approximately 60 mph, the emergency steering control warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. also, the vehicle failed to start properly on multiple occasions. in order for the vehicle to start properly, the battery had to be disconnected until the vehicle reset. in addition, the doors failed to lock. the dealer stated that there were multiple electrical malfunctions that needed to be repaired. the vehicle was repaired, but the failures recurred multiple times. the contact was uncertain what components were replaced. the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. the contact stated that the vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign number: 14v252000 (electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic, vehicle speed control). the approximate failure mileage was 81,000.