Problems with 2013 Chevrolet Malibu ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Dashboard instrument cluster flicks on & off while driving highway, side street or stationary no difference. car acts as if it is being started over & over while driving. check engine, stability control & other warnings flash. bell dings over & over. now 6 months later, instrument cluster doesn't work at all. no speed/oil/gas indicators. dealership & mechanic shop can't find anything wrong during diagnostics. no codes.

Safety risk: the entire electrical system shuts down while the car is in motion. radio and dashboard lights go out and the power steering fails. this malfunction occurs randomly both on highways, street driving (stop-start), while making left or right turns and reversing out of parking spaces. i have taken the car to the dealer from which i purchased the vehicle (schumacher chevrolet in clifton, nj) 3 times and they claim they cannot replicate the problem on test driving. on the 1st visit they said it was the radio and replaced a part. on the 2nd visit they said it was the battery, which was replaced yet the problem persists. my malibu is currently in the shop and they called and of course, they don't know what the problem is. in addition to the electrical failure, the "service front camera" light will display and after the last event, i selected the voltage reading on the electronic dashboard panel and watched the voltage meter fluctuate from 13.6 to 14.1 as i was driving, and it remained at 14.9 while stationary. this problem is extremely dangerous and i pray that no driver gets hurt before chevrolet takes action to figure this problem out. i had no idea that so many other 2013 vehicles were similarly affected. i am going to report this issue to general motors and i hope others continues to do the same.

Car keeps powering off while driving inside panel lights turn off then car powers do and goes back on

Purchased car certified pre-owned. first winter entertainment display and warning lights started to flicker randomly, and car would not reliably start. took to dealership and they were unable to recreate the symptoms. the following winter the entire electrical system began failing upon engaging it while in motion. for example: using the the power windows, engagement of the traction control in slippery weather, using a turn signal, were all capable of shutting down all electrical options in the vehicle including the power steering. nearly caused a couple accidents. the service stabiltrak light would also come intermittently come on. brought to dealership again, they cleared the dash lights and reset a sensor that was showing bad in a diagnostic scan. car ran smoothly for a few months. showed symptoms again over the summer(lights flickering and loss of touch screen momentarily). dealership was unable to recreate again. now this winter the car is completely messed up again, same exact symptoms as last time. power steering loss, full electrical loss while in motion, sometimes randomly, other times as a direct result of engaging with the electrical system as i described before. a aaa worker noticed the burning of electrical cable housing coming from the battery, i pointed this out to the dealership but they don't seem interested in it. based on the consistent complaints about this vehicles electrical system, this car needs to be recalled and gm seriously investigated. they've already had to settle hundreds of death law suits due to this exact issues they claimed was a faulty ignition switch in the cobalt, yet this exact problem exists heavily in other models and the issue continues to be rampant in 'fixed' ignitions in the cobalts. this is a dangerous public health issue, gm needs to be held responsible

Instrument cluster will stop working while driving, or not work at all. it goes completely dark, with no readout. speedometer, fuel gauge, temperature, tachometer. nothing works. vehicle has 54,000 miles on it.

My 2013 chevy malibu has been having power and/or electrical issues. i have took it to the dealership numerous of times, but the issue is still ongoing. when i steer left or right, my car powers down and the steering wheel locks. some times the car radio screen and dashboard lights flashes on & off. the only way to make it stop is to turn the car off and back on. i can be driving down the road and the car will shut down and power off on its own. it is extremely dangerous, but that is the only transportation i have right now. i am not sure what is going on and i have seen numerous of complaints from people with the same issues. please investigate.

The cluster panel will power off while driving and stay off. after fuses and bulbs are replaced, same issue persists. when passenger seat is in rear position, the cluster will flicker momentarily. this result will trigger randomly whether stationary or in motion.

The sunroof electrical switch malfunctions. after opening, the roof does not close properly and stays partially opened.

Radio screen blacks out

Fuse caused low voltage power steering going on and off wiyhout the steering service light coming on. the steering became loose. hard to control when driving. i could not get part for over a week.

While driving the car informed me that i had an accident and onstar called. this happened several times. in order to stop the flashers i would have to pull over and restart the car. i informed the dealer and they have been testing , calling gm, and repairing for 6weeks. they keep telling me it is fixed and i drive it and the same thing happens again. this has been going on for 6 weeks now and it's still at the dealer. they can not seem to find the issue. the last time i tried to drive the car in addition to to the other problems the car would stop all together. this seems like a major saftey issue to me.

While the vehicle is in motion the radio screen would flash off and on followed by lose of power steering the car was parked and towed to a local dealership to be inspected

My malibu's dashboard will go out while driving the vehicle. no speed, odometer readings, fuel, temperature or digital speed display works. it will come on and work fine but will randomly go out while driving. sometimes during start up the dash will not even start up with the car. this is a problem that customers should not be liable to fix. i have no aftermarket parts on this car and it has never been involved in a crash.

Charging system engine light keep coming on. all lights come on dash board come on then go dim. car shuts down on you while driving and steering wheel locks up. i almost crash into a light.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. while driving various speeds, the vehicle would shut off and the instrument panel gauges and electronics would turn off and on. in addition, the "service power steering" message illuminated. the vehicle was taken to mike haggerty gmc (9100 s. kenton st., oakline, il) where it was diagnosed that the transmission module was faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failures and did not assist. the failure mileage was 70,000.

This 2013 chevy malibu is like a metal death trap, in my opinion. i'm noticing a lot more issues with the electrical system. the car (as i'm driving) will completely shut off; the radio will first shut off, my dashboard will go black, and my steering wheel will lock up. usually i can tell when it's going to happen, because when i'm at a light, i can just see the lights on my dashboard flickering, so if i have time, i will turn it on and off real quick. sometimes when i do that though, my car won't turn back on. but, when it does work, it's just a temporary fix and will start again once i start to drive. this will happen multiple times a day. i will try to turn, and my steering wheel will just lock where i cannot control my car as i'm driving. several times this has almost caused an accident. when i'm on the highway going 65-70 mph, i can't control my car for 5-10 seconds, let's just say it's one of the scariest moments that you can have while operating a vehicle. one time it happened, i almost hit a man on his bicycle. i've called chevy, they don't know what's wrong. apparently there's no open recalls or bulletins for this issue. when i take it to get it checked, they can never find an issue. does someone need to get seriously injured or killed for chevy to address this?

This is my second complaint considering this issue. loss of power steering, radio goes black, gauge cluster goes black. since my last complaint this has occurred no less than 15 times with two very close accidents. this is becoming a very dangerous vehicle. and i plead with you to open a recall thank you. it has now occurred on both city roads and highway speeds. it seems to get worse when the turn signal is used.

This is my second report. the vehicle loses power steering and the entire gauge cluster goes dark. almost caused a wreck today. it happened twice today and once yesterday. this is getting out of hand. needs to be recalled immediately. thank you

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. while attempting to start the vehicle, the key was placed in the ignition, but failed to turn over. the contact stated that the key was stuck in the ignition and the anti-theft system locked up. as a result, the battery was drained and the contact became locked in the vehicle. the contact had to exit through the trunk. the anti-theft light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the anti-theft failed to allow the vehicle to start. the dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unavailable.

Car is causing the battery to go bad. when the battery goes bad the whole car starts acting up; lose power steering, steering wheel locks up, dash lights flicker until turned off, in dash screen turns off before car dies. after i bought the car three months later my battery went bad (car started acting funny and gradually declined in quality over a week's time) i replaced the battery and now 2 years later the battery is bad again. this is a dangerous car to be in as the whole car dies while driving and the steering wheel locks up on the highway. this happens while driving. it has happened on the highway, interstate, parking lot and city street. two different batteries should not go bad before there life time. i believe this has something to do with the car itself and also the car should not be designed for the steering wheel to lock up and remain solely on the normal battery.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. while driving in inclement weather, the defroster and air conditioning unit ceased to function. the vehicle was taken to phillips chevrolet (1730 torrence ave, lansing, il), but was not diagnosed due to limited staffing. the contact stated that the battery was replaced and the fuses were checked, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 49,519.

For about a year now s 'service airbag' light has been on, no one who tests it can see what the issue is. when anyone sits in the passenger seat, the dash turns off, all lights on it, stereo, all gauges cease to function as well as the a/c. has been taken to numerous dealerships & shops with no conclusion besides that 'it's an electrical issue' that should be recalled. i notice many people have electrical system issues with this make & model when i searched for a recall, astonishing that nothing is being done & vins experiencing the problem aren't on the recall lists. the airbags in the car are fine according to mechanics, no reason the airbag warning light should appear & incredibly frustrating that i cant have a passenger in my vehicle, especially during arizona summer weather, not to mention the danger posed by no gauges being visible

Car radio turns to black along with dashboard cluster display, steering may or may not work depending on the severity of the computer restart. in severe restarts the radio is neither on nor are any climate control options. the problem seems to occur during low acceleration or at idle.

While driving my chevrolet 2013 malibu ltz my stabiltrack light and service power steering pump light came on my dash immediately afterwards when driving at low speeds any where from zero to thirty miles per hour the car will randomly lose engine power and will stall but the electrical system will stay on but the head lights go out and the power steering will go out making the vehicle hard to turn. the car dies just about every time i am either accelerating from 0 mph to any low speed unless i slam on the gas pedal. in bumper to bumper traffic im restarting my malibu every 3 seconds after it dies. it's is so dangerous if i have to turn and their is oncoming traffic cause the car could just die in the middle of the turn and be smashed by oncoming traffic. this happens on the street on the highway anywhere im driving . car was taken to dealership where they held it for 2 weeks and said it was a oil pump solenoid valve being stuck. as soon as i drove off the lot i didnt even get around the corner and the car died at a low speed and the stability light came on along with the power steeri my pump and check engine light. vehicle has to been taken in several times for cam shaft position sensor failure also. car failures have been common since the date i purchased this vehicle

The radio/navigation in my vehicle randomly turns off. i began a search on the web to see if this is a serious issue only to find that this is a frequent occurrence and it could lead to more dangerous problems, yet chevy won't recall it and the nhtsa doesn't seem to want to get involved. here is the link from others with the same or similar situations regarding electrical (radio/navigation) among other things that occur after the radio/navigation appear to begin failing: https://www.carcomplaints.com/chevrolet/malibu/2013/electrical/electrical_system-2.shtml the problem started 3 days ago. i thought it was only a navigation system issue. then the touch screen (radio and navigation) go blank and only some of the items reappear. the radio has turned off on its own at least three times. the clock wasn't appearing on the screen. the clock then read 23:32 but it was actually 7:45 p.m. is it going to take death or serious injury for attention? the vehicle has done this when i start it and while i'm driving. not all of the menu items reappear on the touch screen after the problem starts. so far, i have not had any other electrical issues, but this is scary, and i will file additional information if things get worse.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving at any speed, the instrument panel flashed off and on. in addition, the contact attempted to make a turn and the steering lost power. the service warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer at: george matick chevrolet, 313-531-7100, where a multi point inspection was performed and the power steering module was also reprogrammed. the failure recurred. the same dealer was contacted and a diagnostic testing was recommended but not completed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall and referred the contact to the nhtsa. the failure mileage was 63,060.

While getting on the expressway the car cut off on the ramp while going 24mph. i was unable to turn on hazard lights, nothing at all would work. i could not immediately restart the car. i could not remove the key either. i had to wait approximately 3 mins for the car to light up and then i could restart the car. on the way home on the ramp on the expressway the car lost power steering and jerked to the left. the enigine did not stop this time. in this case fortunately there were no injuries.

7/31/17 my car wouldnt start dashboard said service battery charging system-attempted to charge battery (which was at 83%) my father jumped my car the steering wheel became hard to turn but it started and within 5 miles the whole electrical system shut down had the car towed to the dealership (8/1/17-at this time i also opened a case with gm due to an open recall that my vin didnt fit but issue was very similar) after 4 days of waiting (8/4/17) they said it was just my battery-they replaced my battery and 8/5/17 2 days after picking my car up my check engine light is on and today is the soonest they could do a second diagnostic on my car so i will be dropping it off..fyi i called gm 08/03/17 to ask that they tow my car to another dealership since the one i paid to have it towed to was taking so long to get to it and was told by a senior advisor, aleetha, that they received an email from the customer relations manager on 08/01/17 stating that the lower control arm was the issue and they werent going to cover it i advised that i had just spoken with the dealership and was advised that they hadnt even taken a look at my car needs to say aleetha told me i wasnt car savvy enough to know whether the lower control arm was affecting my electrical system (i had my lower control arm replaced 11/2016) and there was nothing she could do i asked that we do a conference call with the customer relations manager and she stated she would call me right back with her on the phone and i never heard back from her. i called the dealership right back and was told that they never contacted gm with that information because my car still hadnt been looked at.

I was driving down my driveway and my radio was shutting off and on and then my vehicle would die and the key would lock up, i had to sit there for a minute before it would finally start back up.this has happened twice already. luckily i was in my driveway when it happened

Purchased this 2013 malibu lt in august of 2016. after about a month, i started experiencing power failure and power steering loss while driving. on some occasions, the electrical issues and power failure is triggered by engaging the turn signal. searched youtube and discovered that dozens of other 2013 malibu owners are experiencing the exact same issue. the scary part of this issue is that the car stalls out completely without warning while driving at any given speed. and when this happens, the power steering goes out as well. this has happened about a dozen times since about a month after purchase august 2016; the last experience was on this past friday, july 7, 2017.this is very dangerous as i have already experienced two near-miss accidents. i've read several posts of others who have spent money on diagnosis and repairs only to discover that the problem reoccurs. i don't have the money to waste on fruitless repairs as i'm still paying a note plus full coverage insurance on this vehicle. i don't know how many complaints that it will take for something to be done about this serious problem, but something needs to be done in a hurry.

When driving the car the radio panel, air conditioning, control panel and power steering goes out. when driving over 45 mph on the highway, the engine will not stop. however, when driving 45 mph or below on city streets, the car will shut completely off and i will have to restart the car. everything goes complete off. this has been an ongoing issue for several months now. the car has had this issue while in traffic and i was hit from behind. fortunately, we were pulling off from a stop light and the impact was not enough to cause an injury. i have researched on youtube and online and there are several other consumers with this exact same issue. also, the check engine light never comes on but it does say service power steering and service stabili trak. sometimes when the car is not moving (parked) it will also cut off. once, i went to start the car and it would not start and it would not allow me to remove the key. i tried making sure the car was in park (which i knew it was because it had been parked for hours) but nothing would move. i almost had it towed and then out the blue everything popped on. chevrolet advised that they "think" it could be the battery cables and the fuse box but cannot guarantee that this will fix the issue. i have already paid 167.00 for them to "tighten" the cables and tell me what they "think" may be the issue. i also have video of the car while having this issue but it is not in the format allowed for upload. the last time it had this issue was today 07/28/2017.

Gear shift assembly had to be replaced. 464.00 at paul masse chevrolet in east providence ri. the indicator came on telling me to shift in park when it was already in park. faulty manufacturing in the part.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. while stationary, the interior lighting system malfunctioned. the contact stated that the lights remained illuminated after the vehicle was locked. in addition, while driving 35 mph, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle stalled without warning. furthermore, the battery lost power on more than one occasion, which caused the vehicle not to start. hendricks chevrolet of north carolina diagnosed that the generator in the vehicle needed to be replaced. the repair was completed, but the dealer discovered that the generator control module was also faulty. in addition, the dealer stated that a repair was performed on the vehicle in 2012. the contact discovered product safety number: 12238, which provided coverage for the replacement of the generator; however, the manufacturer stated that it had expired. the failure mileage was 58,812.

Service parking brake......can not rest code repair shop...what do you do...the parking brake is fine...the light will not turn off amber color.... help tsb with no solutions....i would like this fixed also come one after abs whas reset with wheel bearing code/replaced

The vehicle will not start. everything is dead on the car, no power no interier lights, nothing. the dealer could not seem to find a problem. the car is out of warranty now and, it continues to have the problem.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. while the vehicle was operated, the steering column seized without warning. the vehicle was taken to the long hammer auto dealer for the ignition switch. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was returned to the dealer, but a diagnosis was not determined. the contact stated that the failure occurred approximately eight times. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

I have a 13 malibu ltz but as i'm driving the car completely shuts off and comes back on in the middle of me driving. i had it sent to a shop they diagnosed it but found nothing said the key was possibly a problem. i went to the dealership and got a new key so for a month or so the issue was fine. i started driving again and as i have my blinkers on i'm getting ready to turn and the car shuts off again.. i'm in 5pm traffic this is scary but as the car shut off the wheel lock it cuts right back on. i took it to the dealership and they said my battery since it wasn't changed in awhile so i have the battery replaced. the car was fine now two months later it did it all over again.. i'm getting ready to turn and again everything shuts off in the middle of driving then cuts back on. i'm very frustrated i pay a car note and insurance and i don't have money to get this problem fixed.. there are soooo many complaints i just wish it would be recalled and fixed. it's very dangerous when this car shuts off in the middle of driving when there are other cars around. i'm scared to drive it but it's my only car and i'm paying notes on it. if i had the money to trade it in i would!! this all happened on a city street when there's cars and traffic .. sometimes it happens when i'm driving but mostly every time when i'm turning. everything shuts off the whole car it's scary.

This will be second time ocurring within two months..while driving panel lights up radio turns on for a few minutes then airbag light remains on when everythign else turned off.. took to dealership to repair and they stated it was the airbag module..replaced it and a month later same thing happened... back at dealership today

The generator control module (gcm) not function properly. causing a gradual loss of battery charge and the illumination of the malfunction indicator light. battery has been replaced due to the malfunction of module that is causing loss of battery charge.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle stalled. the battery and power assist warning lights illuminated. in order to start the vehicle a jump start was required. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam positioning sensor needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle remained at the dealer's for more diagnosis. the failure mileage was about 106,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that various warning indicators flashed on the instrument panel, including the air bag warning indicator. the dealer indicated that the vehicle would need to be diagnosed and there was no air bag recall to address the repair. the dealer replaced the battery, but the air bag, traction control, and check engine indicators randomly flashed. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was waiting on the diagnostic results. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was not available.

While driving and going to change lanes, i turn on my turn signal to change lanes and the power steering stops working, the dash gauges flicker and the radio cuts out and sometimes the motor cuts off. this also occurs when sitting still, the steering wheel will bounce if turning one direction or the other. i have seen many of these complaints online and no resolution. this also happens while turning. this happens every day.

Turning left into my driveway, (luckily not going very fast) the power steering goes out several times in a row and then the screen prompted to "service power steering". checked fluid level and it was fine. read that there are a lot of others with this same problem. my children could get hurt! and i paid too much money for this car to be unable to drive it and feel good about it! smh!!

Several times now the car radio and electrical has just shut off . shortly there after --- the steering locked up while driving. such that there was an inability to maintain control, and the steering wheel was unable to be moved at all. this happened multiple times. this vehicle was purchased for my daughter and my grandchildren. thus safety is a major concern. if indeed my daughter were to have been in a busy intersection when this happened today, she or my grandchildren could have easily been killed. chevrolet dealer refuse to do anything without a recall and have said that the diagnostic would be $100.00 to perform. in my 30 years of driving experience and my husbands 22 years of active duty army service and many mechanical fixes that we have done to numerous vehicles we have never seen something as dangerous that a manufacturer would refuse to recall. this is a huge safety issue and god forbid anything happens to my daughter or my grandchildren there is now documentation to request chevrolet fix the problem, as i will be sure to hold them accountable for their negligence. we have maintained proper maintenance, there are no fault codes that have come up that will indicate an issue that would cause the steering to just lock up straight. we had the battery checked, the battery terminals checked and we keep trying to narrow down the cause. but we are now at an impasse and this is most certainly a manufacturer's defect. this is an issue that we have found on multiple forums in common with other owners. vehicle was in motion, mid turn, city street, and unable to make the turn . would have crashed had been going faster, or had other cars been coming . *tr

Used switch to roll down passenger window, touch screen went black, came back on maybe after 30 sec or so. while driving touch screen occ black out, all electronic go out , no turn signal, no digital speed, power steering. after fueling went to start car, it wouldn't start, no lights no power at all, did this three times in one day. i hadn't had car thirty days. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that the vehicle would not crank, but the battery was fully charged. the contact also stated that the key did not come out of the ignition and the gear shifter would not shift. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 108,000.

I have had problems with this car since i bought it, loss of battery life, had it to multiple dealerships, nobody can figure out the problem, noticed a burning smell at one time, the trunk has a terrible really weird smell, i still owe a lot on this car and don't have the money to fix it or get another one, only had approx. 50,000 miles when it first started having problems, called gm, dealship replaced battery, same thing keeps happening, when i'm driving at night and the battery charge is low my headlights go extremely dim very quickly, this car is very dangerous and has left me stranded on several occasions. the car will just die right in the middle of traffic with no warning, completely dead,

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing power loss and loss of power steering. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was 57,700.

First my dash cluster went out nothing work had a new one put in after about two week it went out again had it at the dealer they don't know why. so i did not replace it this time because i don't know if it well happen again the cost to replace is on me. now i'm having motor is having a oil leak bad found out why the valevtrain oil control passages integrated has come apart and they will not cover it on warranty said that i did not change the oil when it came time to do i have it change all the time at the dealer when it come time when light come on to tell me. this is high dollar to paid for it as they said top of the motor has to be taken apart. and they would not let gm know of this. *tr

2013 chevrolet malibu (lt) has been experiencing serve electrical issues. this highly dangerous defect i have been experiencing as well yet there is no recall! first the my link/navigation/radio module would shut off and come back on. while this occurs, the battery voltage would jump down then jump back up. i called chevy/gmc and they recommended to shut the car off, remove the key, open the driver side door so the computer can reset itself. it continued to happy through the course of couple hours then finally stopped and was working from over the course of 4 days. as of yesterday the vehicle completely shut off, entire touchscreen module shut off, and turned back on in a split second. once the car turned on, the steering wheel was completely tight, almost locked, and we would barely turn into our driveway while in motion on a 25pm street. thank god i was not coming off a highway or driving fast like reports of this issue like other consumers but this is dangerous. i am terrified of this vehicle and will be taking it to chevy. there are over a hundred complaints and videos i saw after i looked up if this issue was common, which it appears to be, online. this issue needs to be on the recall list because this can cause accidents and someone can get seriously injured.