2018 Chevrolet Malibu Other Problems

I repeatedly get a “reduced power to engine” alert on my dash which causes my car to decelerate and I lose my power steering. This last time, the alert popped up on my dash, my car decelerated, and then my brakes would not work. I could not push the brake down to stop my car and ended up in a ditch.

While driving my check engine light comes on and then I have a warning come on my screen on the dashboard that my car is shutting down power. So while I’m driving, at any point in time my car shuts down the power and I have to quickly pull over wherever I am so that I do t get into an accident Then shut my car off and wait a little bit and then turn it back on and keep driving.

My vehicle showed up on a Carfax report as being in an accident in Tennessee on 10/15/2020 when the vehicle was in Iowa on that date. The Chattanooga police report shows this VIN# on a 2002 Chevy Minivan owned by Enterprise Car Rentals with Colorado license plate 266XFH. My vehicle is a 2018 Chevy Malibu sedan purchased from Enterprise March 26, 2019.

Two times my vehicle has displayed engine power is reduced while driving on the highway. When this occurred, my vehicle would not accelerate well and my vehicle speed was automatically reduce to about 20 MPH almost causing a crash with the vehicle behind me. The engine light stayed on the entire day even after powering down my vehicle.

While driving my car at 70mph on the highway my car completely shut off on me and started back up. This was very scary, thankfully I was in the far right lane and no one was behind me at the time. I was thinking it was a battery issue but after getting my battery checked that seemed to not be the case.

Narrative from driver: "on tuesday september 22, 2020, at approximately 10:45 am, I left my residence located in boca raton, fl with my gsa vehicle (tag g10 3884v) to drive to the mobil lube oil express (mobil) located at 90 nw spanish river blvd, boca raton, fl. The mobil is approximately 3 miles from my residence. I drove directly from my residence to the mobil and did not make any stops.

I am the first owner of a 2018 Chevy Malibu. This car was displayed on the showroom floor. Shortly after purchasing this vehicle a new “computer” was needed.

12/27/2021 I started my car to leave work & noticed a loud tap. I've worked for dealerships in the past & was part owner of my own repair shop for many years. Popped the hood, checked the oil level which was good, & figured I'd be fine to drive it home to park it & then hook the scanner up.

While driving, on October 16, 2021 my car shut off and stopped working unexpectedly, while I was still in traffic. It would not start up again, and the steering wheels locked. Luckily, some pedestrians helped push the car to a safer spot.

When put in park, vehicle does not recognize it is in park upon engine shut off and will not cut the electric signal to the car. Sometimes restarting the engine works but I have had to drive at least a block recently to get the electric signal to cut off. It has occured several times in my vehicle starting on december 24th 2020

I came to a stop at the traffic light. When green light came on the car stalled, would not restart. After 5th attempt car restarted.

I started the car and reversed out of a parking space. After shutting the car in drive, I pressed the gas and the car barely moved. I pulled off to the edge of the parking lot and put the car in park, turned it off, waited a minute or 2, and restarted the engine.

I purchased mt 2018 chevy malibu in october 2018, brand new. My vehicle experiences low power/hesitation at all speeds. This is especially evident when turning/pulling out onto an intersection from a stop.

Takata recall my car stalls when I'm at the light. It take about 10 seconds before it get in full speed.

Shift to park error message appears on dash after turning off the vehicle. I have to turn back on the vehicle and take it out of park and shift it back and forth from park to drive then back to park to get the vehicle to turn off. This first January 2020.

Shift knob found grounding inside shifter..had to pay out of pocket. $1087 to have shifter replaced!

The back up camera cuts out while backing up. The lines vanish and leave only the picture. The check engine light comes on with the throttle body being the culprit.

The car is saying “shift to park” on the dash panel as if the car is not in park. Sometimes this continues to read to the point it will not let you shut the car off and then you can’t get out of the car. This is a safety concern as well as an issue with the car wanting to continuously run.

Continuously receiving warning for "ENGINE POWER REDUCED," causing check engine light to stay on, as well as a loss of power.

Ever since 2020 I’ve that shift to park issue. Luckily my car was under warranty the first time and was resolved only for the problem to reoccur again within 2 years. I then I got It fixed again in 2023 only for it to occur again less than a year later.

I am writing to formally report a serious safety concern with my 2018 Chevy Malibu related to the brake booster vacuum pump. My vehicle has exhibited dangerous symptoms, including a hard brake pedal and reduced braking power, which I’ve now learned may be connected to a known defect affecting 2013–2022 Malibu models.

While driving 65 MPH on the highway My car displayed a message saying reduced engine power. The car dropped down to 40 MPH and continued to drop down. I was able to navigate to the shoulder of the road and turn the car off.

While driving on highway, check engine light came on as well as message saying "Engine power reduced". Car immediately decelerated on the highway and brakes pedal became rock hard and unable to press.

I recently purchased this vehicle used from the dealership. I have noticed that when I shift to park and turn the vehicle off it pops up the warning “Shift to Park”. It takes multiple attempts of turning the car back on and shifting back and forth to get the car to actually shift to park.

After shifting gear into park, notification on instrument panel reads Shift to Park. The vehicle does not completely turn off. This happens intermittently and is becoming more frequent.

Shifter sometimes does not recognize it was put in park. Trouble getting it to recognize park and turn off electronics. Class action law suite may be in the process with multiple models.

I was driving around 50 MPH and the car began to sputter and it wasn't getting in gas. It slowed down to 20 MPH and I had to stop on side of road. It behaved as if it were out of gas, but it had a qtr tank of gas.

Malibu would not recognize shift into park. This happened multiple intermittent times. Had to take it to dealership to be repaired on 9/6/22.

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

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.

We have had this car since 2020 & frequently the "reduced engine power" warning comes on & the car will not/or very slowly accellortate. Along with the engine light on.We have hooked it up to a computer many times but nothing solves the issue. Lately it has been staying on constantly. Huge safety risk as my two children are in the car daily & we do take main roads/highways! When this comes on, the car will not remote start as well, also this is random in doing so, it has came on when I 1st start the car in the morning, while driving at 35mph, stopped at a light, or turn on any time I turn the car on. Doing some research and many others have had issues as well as their engines giving out at 60,000 milles (ours is at 57,000) & nothing resolved for them either. This is a huge safety issue and needs recalled. Us malibu owners should not have to pay to get this looked at constantly nor worry about owing on a car that could give out at any given time. We keep maintenance up on our car and this is the only constant issue we have that cannot be fixed.

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.

Check in light is on. They told me it was something with the idle sensor the fixed it. Not even 24 hours later it’s back on they tell me it the vacuum pump & it cost 800 buck.

Vehicle is constantly telling me to shift to park when the vehicle is clearly in park. Also, the battery will die if this shift to park message isn’t resolved. I’ve already had to replace my battery twice and the dealership keeps telling me they can’t find anything wrong with it.

I always get rattling noise during gas paddle pressed while driving. Once I start put foot on gas paddle, rattling noise starts and when foot remove then it stops. it does not matter what is the speed and whether I am accelerating/de-accelerating.

I do not know what component or system that failed or malfunctioned because I am not well versed on the different parts of an automobile. The problems started this past week around October 26, 2021.

My shift to park came on my 2018 Malibu and was repaired by sands Chevrolet of surprise less then a year later it came on again. I called about them fixing it and was told that because my warranty expired I would be responsible for the cost of the repair.

I was driving along this morning at 70mph and all of a sudden I get a warning that engine power is reduced and I drop to 40mph in spite of pressing the accelerator, while the people behind me are rapidly coming up on me. I was able to get off on the side of the road before anything bad happened, but what if I hadn't? This makes me fear for my safety.

I have a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu . Lately after I park my car it’s comes up on my screen to Shift to Park. But the problem is that my vehicle is already in park mode.

Shifter wouldn’t shift to park position, so car wouldn’t turn off. Sometimes took over a half hour of trying to get this to work. Used part 84687729 control and 84733196 harness.

Over heating light came on while driving on I -71 about 10 mi before columbus oh. I stopped and saw coolant pouring out . I purchased antifreeze and made it to the nearest garage.

When put in park a message shows shift to park. I have to shove it into park before car would turn off. When stopping and making turns there is a sloushing sound (water) coming from the dash.

Sometimes when I put the car in park & try to cut the car off, the warning signal indicates that I need to shift to park.

Receive intermittent 'shift to park' light on dashboard once car is placed in park and will not completely shut off. Driver must pull shift back to drive, then neutral then reverse and back to park before the 'shift to park notice shuts off' . If not repaired this can ultimately drain battery or even damage battery.

There is a safety recall on the 2018 malibu remedy listed is dealer will reprogram ecm software to correct the error. I made the appointment for the recall. Hours after the appointment a technician from the murfreesboro tn chevy dealership called me and said I have to pay a diagnosis fee for them to repair the recall although the issue they want to charge the fee is the recall!!!

I bought this car last aug. First the left blinker did not work properly. It goes on but doesn't retract back.

I was driving down the road and the car stopped running coming up to an intersection I about got hit by a truck and the car would not restart I then pushed it out of the intersection and walk to the nearest dealership they said there is not a remedy for my car as of right now and I'm still waiting I don't feel safe with me about getting hit driving the vehicle let alone one of my four small children in the car

Shift to park

Shift to park issue

the dashboard displays “shift to park” when I try to turn off my car even though it’s in park

when you put it in park it tells you to shift to park, even if it is already in park

My vehicle will randomly tell me to "shift to park". Happens at least daily. I bought my car in October 2024 I do plan to take it in with my limited warranty.

It has been a known issue that chevrolet has issue with their shifter assembly creating "shift to park" messages and not allowing the car to turn off. My car has gone through this issue twice now and why should people who own chevys be penalized for their defective parts?

I'm getting Shift to Park error messages on my dashboard when I have already shifted my car to park. The gear shift is locked until the message clears or you wiggle the gear shift. According to GM Authority.com, this is a known issue for 2020-2023 Chevy Malibu cars that can cause the car not to start.

The gear shift keeps saying shift to park when it is in park and there is no recall on this issue on my car but other malibu vehicles and mine is doing the same thing as others

Purchased this vehicle and within first days display said "shift to park" even though I put the car in park. Next problem, put the car in reverse, display said "service rear vision camera." these are significant safety problems for driver and others.

UNKNOWN - When try to park, the Shift to Park fails. The car will notify me to shift to park when it is already in park. All electrical is still on when I walk away.

To whom it may concern, Chevy has had major recalls on their “shift to park” error. This is a very common recall according to much research and they are refusing to fix mine. They are claiming my vehicle is not one of the recalled.

Car does not recognize when the shift is on park. States to put car in park despite it being in park. Could take up to 10 minutes for the system to finally recognize the gear.

Shift to park coming on every time that I am trying to park... And I have to start and stop about 4 or more times before it will go off ...

Sunroof…I was driving down the road on march 12,2024 at 2pm and was doing 35 MPH and had my sunroof open and all of sudden the glass cracked and broke a little at me a little going into my eyes while driving I was the only one on road and nothing was around nothing flew and hit it it just broke and was like what the hell..

I put the car in park and got a message shift to park. I then wasn’t able to shut my car off. The car is only 6 years old!

The car's Reduced Engine Power light comes on and the engine drops power. It just happens at any time while driving. I've had oil changes done, engine cleanings done but nothing changes.

Vehicle will not stay started will stop when ever even while driving. I haven’t driven the car in 8 months because it’s not safe.

Service Stabilitrak warning will pop up on my dash. The car loses power. Push on the gas and it sputters.

When I shift car in park, it won’t let the car turn off and keeps saying “shift to park”

Vehicle will not shut off when in park. Vehicle displays a "Park to Shift" message although Vehicle is in park. This causes the vehicle to not shut down completely and if it takes to long to shut off the battery will die.

when turning off it says shift into park have to restart and shift again to park has been recurring more and more. rear makes a rubbing/popping sound when driving and backing up. took it to the shop they tell me it's a defect that Chevrolet knows about.

Car keeps saying shift to park after being in park. Does not allow car to turn off at all. I literally sat in the car for 30 minutes trying to get it to work.

Engine reduced while driving

P2138 throwing off code and goes into engine reduce power mode it’s dangerous

After parking car and turning off engine an error “Shift to park” displays. Only way to resolve is to turn car back on, put in different gear and then back into park, or keep pushing shifter up while in park to force into place and get car to recognize it’s already in park.

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.

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.

Car displayed steering assistance reduced about 2 or 3 times whole driving and I wasn't sure what that meant because it popped up and disappeared so quickly. So a few days later it never appeared again.

The car is in park but the car won't turn off, it's saying shift to park

Shift to park appears. Helpless in car cant shut off. Car has only 33,000 miles on it.

Ecm needs fixing

When car is placed into park and engine is turned off a 'shift to park' message appears on the dashboard. Vehicle is already placed in park and is not detecting it

When I put my car in park. Then turn engine off. The car says I need to put in park

I was driving along like normal and the car just stopped running. We cannot get it to start. We tried jumping it, but no luck.

When my car is in park, my system is not picking up that it is in park which means I cant turn off the vehicle which will cause the vehicles battery to die. You have to literally jam the shifter in order for the car to read it, which eventually doesn't work either.

The vehicle has a message that pops up on the dash saying "shift to park" when the car is already in park. This does not allow you to turn off the car. This happens when the car is stationary and parked.

Get "shift to park message" it wont turn vehicle off.

When I put the car in park the shifter does not fully engage resulting in the inability to park the car or turn it off. The message on the dash says "shift into park" even though the shifter is actually in park.

The shift sensor isn't being triggered when vehicle is in park. I have a friend with the same vehicle and same problem. Have looked it up on youtube and many others also deal with this problem.

The car is in park but a warning pops up that's says shift to park and the car won't turn off because it thinks it's not in park

The ecm and battery sensor malfunctioned on dec 9. I found out that gmc has known about this for sometime. September 6, 2019 is documented on your site.

I was driving to my destination and started to feel my car like jumping when it was accelerating also everytime I park it stutters when I put it in park. I also heard on the news that there was a recall on malibu,so I checked the VIN number and it should there was a maintenance recall on my car something about the engine

The air conditioning works when it wants to! I believe this is a safety issue for a driver , driving in 100+ heat. The chevy service department said this is a problem with the malibu and cruse.

'engine being reduced' popped up while I was driving on the highway. My speed was then slowed down to 20mph. This is very dangerous!!