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2019 Chevrolet Malibu Brakes Problems

16 owner-reported brakes complaints from NHTSA data

16
Complaints
3
Crashes
Jan 2023Dec 2022
Date Range

Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.

Owner Complaints (16)

highSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: Mar 2026

Your brake booster vacuum pump failed while you were driving, making your brakes much harder to press. When the pump broke, a piece of it damaged your camshaft and timing chain. Fixing this will require replacing the brake booster vacuum pump and inspecting or replacing the damaged engine components.

NHTSA #: 11725379
mediumSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: Jun 2025

The vacuum pump has a tendency of breaking and when it does it affects the exhaust camshaft making the car completely inoperable. When this happened my vehicle lost all brakes and power and would not start. This happened suddenly with no warning and left me stranded in the middle of lanes of travel. This is a well known issue with the Chevy 1.5 L and is documented in the TSB Bulletin #21-NA-268. The vehicle was inspected following the TSB number provided and diagnosing via the information provided.

NHTSA #: 11669802
mediumSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: Jun 2025

Brakes got hard and reduced engine power came on and now won't crank went to the dealership and then they charge me 389 for a battery and it still didn't work they say it need a new motor

NHTSA #: 11665512
mediumSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: May 2025

Vehicle was being driven at 60 mph on the highway when the brakes weren't responding as I was entering a sharp curve. Had to stand on the brakes and manually lower the gears to keep from hitting a tree head-on. Check engine light was on. P0014, P0017, and P0556 codes were pulled before having it towed to the first mechanic. Car wouldn't start after it was parked after the initial incident. The first mechanic was unable to diagnose so the vehicle was towed to the Chevrolet Dealership. They say the brake vacuum pump malfunctioned and caused permanent damage to the engine rendering the car inoperable and I will have to have a new engine installed. The car drove fine prior to the vacuum pump failure.

NHTSA #: 11659123
mediumSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
CrashFiled: Apr 2025

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard however, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated that the failure caused the vehicle to crash into a nearby ditch. In addition, the contact stated that the failure caused severe damage to the vehicle, and the vehicle was undrivable. The contact used a code reader to diagnose the vehicle a retrieved a code for a brake booster back-up pump failure. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced an unknown recall repair however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 63,455.

NHTSA #: 11657450
mediumSERVICE BRAKES
Filed: Sep 2024

tapped the my other car on the bumper . Brake Pump is out.

NHTSA #: 11615369
mediumPARKING BRAKE,ENGINE
CrashFiled: Aug 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while at a light, the engine lost motive power and shut off. The vehicle began to roll backward. The emergency brake was inoperable. The vehicle shifted from park. The contact continued to pull the emergency brake, but it failed to respond. The contact attempted to turn the vehicle off, but it failed to turn off. The vehicle crashed into a ditch. The passenger sustained injuries to her head. The driver sustained injuries to his shoulder. The occupants did not receive any medical attention. There was no fire or air bag deployment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,800.

NHTSA #: 11610957
mediumSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Filed: Sep 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 45-50 MPH, the brake pedal was firm when depressed and the vehicle failed to stop immediately. No warning light was illuminated. The contact diagnosed the vehicle and retrieved DTC Codes for the camshaft sensor and crankcase sensor. The camshaft sensor was replaced by the contact. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the ABS vacuum pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The mechanic replaced the ABS vacuum pump. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

NHTSA #: 11545116
mediumSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: May 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH on the freeway, the braking system suddenly malfunctioned and the vehicle failed to stop while depressing the brake pedal. The contact had to drive to the side road in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the brake booster pump had failed and caused damage to the timing chain and crankshaft. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA #: 11520194
mediumSERVICE BRAKES
Filed: Apr 2023

The rear calipers on my car are again hanging up it happened a few months ago and just recently twice within a week it is going for an oil change on the 25th but gm corporation is giving me the run around I feel the calipers are not a wearable part as they claim and I do have a bumper to bumper warranty on the car still I kept on asking them if that part was covered under my warranty’s but they wouldn’t tell me that

NHTSA #: 11516716
mediumSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the “Engine Power Reduced” message was displayed. The contact attempted to depress the brake pedal, but the brake pedal was firm and hard to depress, causing the vehicle not to stop as needed. The vehicle eventually came to a stop and lost motive power and stalled. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle but the vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the mechanic stated that the brake vacuum pump and the engine needed to be replaced. The brake vacuum pump was replaced but the engine was not repaired or replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed by a dealer. The failure mileage was 87,370.

NHTSA #: 11501136
mediumSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
Filed: Dec 2022

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH and slowing for a traffic signal, the brake pedal was stiff and could not be depressed. The contact stated he heard a grinding noise coming from the front tires. The contact stated that he was able to slow the vehicle by shifting to low(L) and using the parking brake. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact had an independent mechanic diagnose the vehicle. The mechanic retrieved DTC: P0556 (Brake Booster Pressure Sensor) failure. The mechanic also determined that the brake vacuum booster pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,697.

NHTSA #: 11496472
mediumSERVICE BRAKES
CrashFiled: Oct 2022

On September 28th I was driving along the highway, went to take an exit, and the brake pedal was locked. I experienced a loss of braking, hard brake pedal and increased stopping distance. In order to get the car to stop, i had to put the car in neutral and coast into a ditch/grass. Before the brake failure there was no instrument cluster malfunction lights illuminated or any warning of imminent failure of the vehicles braking system. A mechanic has informed me that the vehicles brake vacuum pump is to blame and that it needs to be repaired immediately. This part suddenly failing with no warning caused a complete brake failure within the car and posed a risk of injury or death to me and others.

NHTSA #: 11491237
mediumSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: Oct 2022

Before my car gave out I was having braking issues and my car wouldn’t accelerate when I pressed the gas. Then later that night I was driving home with my mother and fiancée when my car illuminated “engine power reduced” and my check engine light came on. When I tried pulling over I noticed that my brakes were very hard. So I had to roll from the speed of 45 mph until my car eventually stopped. I was not able to stop at the stop sign so I just had to blow my horn to alert other drivers. Whenever I took it to the dealership they told me my brake vacuum pump exploded and blew shards into my camshaft. The repair was 1700 for the replacement of the brake vacuum pump and the camshaft. I talked to the mechanic afterwards and he said that this problem has a good chance of happening again because the part itself is defective and there are no other aftermarket parts to replace it. Then I go to pick up my car three weeks later, and was told that my engine should be replaced because a cylinder had no compression. The price of that was around 5000.

NHTSA #: 11490626
mediumSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN
Filed: Sep 2022

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently fail to accelerate above 55 MPH as the "Engine Power Reduced" message would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that an abnormal grinding noise would emit from the vehicle upon depression of the brake pedal. The contact called the dealer and was informed that she could not be given an appointment for another month. She then contacted an independent mechanic and was informed that unless the failure was persistent, they would not be able to diagnose the failure. The contact attempted to reach the manufacturer but was unable to reach a representative. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

NHTSA #: 11487134
mediumSERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Filed: Jun 2020

I WAS STATIONARY AT A RED LIGHT ON HIGHWAY 49 WITH MY FOOT ON THE BREAKS, AND WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN I LET MY FOOT UP OFF THE BREAKS AND THE CAR JUST SHUT OFF. I TRIED TO TURN THE CAR BACK ON, BUT STILL NOTHING. I WAITED A FEW SECONDS AND THE CAR STARTED BACK UP, SO I PUT IT IN DRIVE AND STARTED DRIVING, BUT WHEN I TRIED TO SLOW DOWN THE BREAKS WERE VERY TIGHT. FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF, I SAT THERE AND TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR. I FOUND NOTHING, SO I GOT BACK INTO THE CAR AND CRANKED IT AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I GOT THE CAR TO STAR CHEVROLET AND THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS THE BRAKE VACUUM PUMP. *TR

NHTSA #: 11327026

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