2013 CHEVROLET MALIBU Electrical System Problems

Gradual battery charge loss, check engine light (MIL) illumination, and engine stall or failure to start. Burning/melting odor. Warning Lights: "Service Charging System" or battery light on dash. Electrical Failure: Vehicle stalled, won't start, has a dead battery. Noise/Smell: Burning odor, smoke from the trunk, or rattling/squealing noises. Specific Eco Model Issues: The 2013 Eco model (eAssist) has a known recall for a failing Generator Control Module but for some reason doesn't include my Vin number in the recall even tho I've experienced these same issues.

The engine light came on, later while driving the car shuts down engine reduced speed, engine power reduced. I have to restart the car and sometimes that dont help. Also the (ABS) light came on service stabilitrak, my anti brakes went out

Generator Control Module, I seen there was recalls on 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco equipped with eAssist. That is what my car is and the GCM is out of it.

Hybrid Power train issues. Haven't drove the car for more than a week and a half. Apparently was fixed but obviously was not. Could be the gcm or generator

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced several electrical failures, causing a loss of power and the vehicle to stall. The vehicle also lost power steering and braking functionality. While inspecting under the hood, the contact discovered that the battery terminals were extremely hot to the touch. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 60,000.

While driving my 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, the electrical system intermittently fails: the radio shuts off, the instrument cluster goes blank (gauges drop to zero, fuel/temperature show empty), headlights flicker off then on, and turn-signal indicators disappear. Warning messages such as “Service Theft” and “No Key Detected” appear, power steering becomes difficult, and the vehicle shakes, stalls, or even turns off completely at stop signs. Sometimes the engine continues running even after the car is shut off, overheating and producing a burnt smell. These failures began months ago, occur unpredictably, and have been witnessed by an independent shop. The loss of lights, steering, and cluster data creates a serious safety hazard, and the vehicle is available for inspection.

my power steering intermittently 'locks"Cannnot remove key from ignition.Car loses its data memory, time &date go haywire. A lot of times car wont start.I have taken it a few times to my mechanic. He has run scans, but all the codes are clear.This is the problem.He has checked the Battery&Altenator, all fine.He tried cleaning some ground wires. He feels bad charging me money because he cant fix a problem that he doesnt see.!! When the car is in the shop,the intermittent problem is not evident.!!! Very frustrating.

While my daughter has been driving our 2013 Chevrolet Malibu 2013, the vehicle continues to experience add loss of electric power. The dashboard display and infortainment system went down black. The problem first began -2019-2020 and continues to recur about once or twice a month. The most recent incident occurred on September 18, 2025, with my daughter behind the wheel. An independentc mechanic confirmed that cause is a manufacturer's defect in the fuse box located near the battery. He stated this is a widespread issue and refused to repair it, advising Chevrolet should address it. Chevrolet Waldorf kept my car for over a month but only replaced the battery, could find the issue, which did not resolve the defect. This recurring failure creates a serious safety risk to the driver, passenger, and others on the road because the car can lose power and steering at anytime. This issue was he...

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at 55 MPH, the "Service Battery Charging System" message was displayed, followed by the battery warning being illuminated. Simultaneously, the Service Stabili-trak, power steering, and ABS messages were displayed. The vehicle immediately lost steering assist, and the steering wheel became firm, and while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to slow down as intended. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road. Subsequently, the headlights turned off, the interface shut off, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the alternator was running at 11 volts instead of 13 volts. The mechanic determined that both the alternator and the GCM (Generator Control Module) needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 260,000.

I I took the car to get a smog and it didn't pass due to battery pack malfunction which leads to the alternator going out and drain the battery causing the vehicle to stall even turning off at times and the most dangerous part is it could cause a fire in the backseat and the trunk this is what the technician at the small place told me he said it's very dangerous and I need to get rid of the vehicle or fix it and there is a recall but when I put my VIN number it shows no recall but if I look up the year make and model of my vehicle it shows that every call is for that exact problem

My instrument cluster is failing

Out of no where my car would not start. I got it jumped and took it to an auto store and they checked the battery and alternator health and it all came back great. I was able to drive it home from there and two hours later it wouldn’t start again

The instrument cluster temporarily shorts out or goes blank and them comes back on and resets in a different display mode. There are various display modes having different information such as mph, fuel efficiency, etc. Several repair shops tell me that in order to diagnose the problem, the cluster has to be exhibiting the problem when they look at it. In other words, it has to be a continuous short out. It's not continuous, it's temporary and sporadic or random. This is a direct safety issue in that the driver has no reading on the vehicle speed and when the short out becomes long term or permanent the car will have to be driven with no reading of speed or engine monitoring parameters such as temperature and oil pressure. New clusters are no longer available and rebuilt requires shipping the existing cluster for exchange. This is a common problem, as...

My instrument cluster isn't working correctly. Some days I go out to start my car and the instrument cluster works. As I'm driving down the road my instrument cluster just stops working. My speedometer doesn't work, my rpms, the lights, temperature gauge and gas gauge just stops working. It's very scary and my transmission doesn't want to shift and my engine power is bogging down. This is really dangerous and I feel like my life is in danger. I pull off the road and shut my 2013 Chevy Malibu off and restart it and sometimes it comes back on and instrument cluster works but start driving and the instrument cluster stops working again. I have had my mechanic try to figure it out but so far I haven't been able to find out where the issue is so I haven't been able to fix it. My brakes have also been...

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds with the A/C engaged, the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the message "Service Battery Soon" was displayed. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to an Auto Zone, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was then taken to an unknown dealer, where it was diagnosed with a low voltage battery. No further information was provided. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,670.

Without any warning and while driving the MALIBU 2LT goes into engine reduced power mode and will not excel over 50mph. NEXT, the Service stable track warning light would come on intermittently and disable traction control. This is very dangerous. Also the MALIBU 2LT will jerk at the wheel without warning when the power steering warning comes on. Additionally, power steering fluid does not have a measuring device to see when it falls below the required amount needed. It’s basically a guessing game that costs over $120.00 to have checked with no real resolve .

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the lights on the instrument panel would dim while driving to work. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle at the job and then returning to the parking lot after a 12-hour shift, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was jumpstarted at the parking lot. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times and the vehicle was jumpstarted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 171,000.

On the backside of instrument gauge cluster the soldering goes bad and seems to be a common problem with this year of Malibu.You lose all function and lighting of cluster while driving so you have no speedometer, fuel or temperature gauges and it goes black. I would consider this a factory defect if the solder does not hold up. It can be very dangerous for the driver. The cluster would go on and off for awhile but fails to work at all now.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 30-45 MPH, the instrument cluster and the infotainment system screen display were flickering. Additionally, the steering wheel was jerking to the left and to the right, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after 5-6 minutes and continued driving; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the failure could not be replicated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer several times. The vehicle remained at the dealer, where it was being diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

While driving the car restarts as if i was just starting the car and all the light flicker on and off

Battery voltage going up and down. Car will make clicking sound. Car will shut off and start back up. Battery issue will pop up n steering wheel will lock while driving and service battery charging will pop on dashboard.

2013 Chevy Malibu LS Headlight found shorted and was causing other electrical issues. I found out the 8pin plug one of its pins showing burnt and its male mate same You can see this issue is not just one owner incident and it’s a public complaint in this public forum link [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the systems displayed on the instrument panel suddenly powered off. The radio, heater, AC, and other electrical systems also turned off independently. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle during the warmer seasons, the vehicle stalled while idling. The contact restarted the vehicle and was able to drive the vehicle. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and it was confirmed that the failure was not covered under warranty. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Not starting due to loss of power I believe it's electrical.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the instrument panel lights started flickering, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality. Additionally, when the brake was depressed, the brake pedal was abnormally firm. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and inspected. The vehicle was then towed to the residence where the battery was charged. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the generator control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.

The instrument cluster goes out. Can't see anything on the dash speed gas or anything while driving or goes out completely. Can not drive car. Not safe to drive don't know if I have gas or how fast I'm going or if I have any warnings on the car.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764000 (Suspension). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact replaced the wheel bearings; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

5/31/23, while driving uphill, car shuttered as I was slowing down at stop sign and displayed "Service Stabilitrak" & "Engine power reduced" which caused the car engine power to drop drastically. I was barely able to make it home safely with my children. On 6/1/23 tried to crank it, first time it wouldn't turn over, second time it started up. Check engine lights and messages still on, radio screen completely black (has gone out multiple times at random over past two years). Drove around the block with half power. On 6/2/23, attempted to crank three times, never turned over. Popped the hood to discover negative battery terminal severely coroded. While cleaning terminal, find battery cables possible faulty. Upon research, discovered how many thousands of others have the exact same issue, GM refuses to acknowledge to release a recall for those like me who can't afford hundreds wasted having anyone even...

My 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco 2LT has 120,000 miles on it. I purchased the vehicle at 68,000 miles from the only owner of the car. I have had the car 6 years and kept up on all maintenance. While I was driving in a 45mph zone my vehicle’ s interior lighting started flashing. My dash flashed then said service stability track, car went blank then back on said service power steering flashed again and said service battery charging system and then went completely dead. When I got to the bottom of the hill to turn off main road my brakes had locked up in the rear and I had no power steering and wheel locked could not turn wheel. Vehicle would not allow me to shift into neutral so I could be pushed out of traffic and I had no flashers or any power. Battery was 1year old. My biggest...

The Dash board instrument cluster is turning on and off randomly. loosing steering control due to electronic steering. Mechanics cant find a problem and seems to be common with this year Malibu. wont replicate at Mechanics completely random. Just had a new battery installed also and Mechanics say everything is within specs. No warning on this it just happens. 83000 miles on car and it happened about a year ago once and last two weeks several times. The front passenger seat got some water on it and the presence sensor must have deactivated the air bag system. Much to sensitive to be reliable.

Driving the vehicle it just shuts off, the will cause an accident driving down the road. It’s a major issue with shutting off an the ignition switch at that. I can’t drive it it’s parked. Along with the engine. My mechanic told me these are the troubles there should be a recall on these cars.

The contact's son owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with the brake and power steering warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where she was informed that in 2014, a software update was performed to fix the failure. The contact was then provided an estimate for the repair. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the dealer's possession. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 35 MPH, the instrument cluster display suddenly went dark, and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Later while the contact was driving 75 MPH, the instrument cluster went dark, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn, and the vehicle suddenly lost motive power and stalled. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who replaced a battery cable and the failure had not reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.

Dashboard light don't work majority of the time is started like month ago and before that started there was something on the dash I believe is said brake/stability trak And now the battery keeps dying

El tablero de mi carro se apagó y más nunca a querido prender. Y se agota la batería del carro

The gauge cluster in my car has intermittently lost power for about two years. It is now almost always off. I have been unable to have this repaired as the parts have been unavailable nationwide since I initially started having problems. I can't see any of my gauges. I have no idea how much gas I have, if my car is overheating, or if my car is having any other sort of problem.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after experiencing a hard braking failure, the vehicle started exhibiting electrical issues. The contact stated that the instrument panel lights would flicker on and off. Additionally, the vehicle failed to start up immediately. The battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the diagnostic module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was included in NHTSA Recall Campaign Number: 12V224000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 97,000.

My wife and I bought this beautiful 2013 Chevy Malibu.upon the first couple of days we had to take the car back to the dealer cause it was repeatedly shut down on us.The used car dealership never fixed the problem.As I done my research on this à2013 Chevy Malibu it has 9 recalls and these recalls been issued since 11-13-2013.These are all the recalls on 2013 Chevrolet Malibu by National highway traffic safety.suspension 12-22-2021.suspension 08-12-2021.... suspension 12-10-2020...... electrical system tran 7-5-2016.....visibility 03-23-2015.... electrical system seats 11-13-2013... electrical system software 5-7-2012. Please tell me how to go abought all these defects

I'm having a lost of battery power in my 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco. when it happens it shows that i should service the charging system. and as i continue to drive both batteries lose power and run out. i have checked the recall for it and it is not coming up under my vin number. at times have no problem but when it does happen the battery light comes on then the check engine light comes on and I start loosing more power and it tells me to check my charging system. what should i do the next time it happens?

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently. The check engine warning light and the low battery warning light were illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the high voltage generator control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System) which she associated with the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Under a slow acceleration doing highway speed say going up a incline the car will get a burning smell in the cabin its smell like burning electrical wireing so far now visible smoke.

Engine overspeed error message & car will start to hesitate to accelerate. First happened 7/2021. Second time is 8/2022

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that prior to owning the vehicle, her father had the vehicle serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). Recently, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle jumpstarted; however, the vehicle failed to remain running. The contact had the battery replaced twice within a short period of time however, the failure persisted. The contact initially towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic where she was referred to a dealer for assistance. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective generator control module which she linked to the initial recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 8,900.

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his sister was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the instrument panel indicated that the battery voltage was low. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was notified of general control module and belt tensioner failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V173000 (Electrical System). The contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The failure mileage was 88,073.

I was driving down a busy street one day after work during the early night, and as I went to engage the brakes my whole electrical system started to shut off and on. Once I came to a complete stop it shut off my a/c then proceeded with my radio and lights. I took my foot of the brake in pure shock and back on come my a/c and radio. I proceed to drive with caution and again it starts to try and shut off my vehicles electrical systems. I pull over turn the car off check the battery and fine. Trusting it to make it less than the mile trip left home I drive again no issues, as I am approaching a busy intersection then car begins to go haywire with the electrical systems without the ac on and locks the all eletric steering systems and almost causes me...

The light of the dashboard went on and off several times while I was driving and almost the car went off, I had to press the speed pedal so it won't turn off. I took it ti a electrical shop and the guy told me that is an manufactured problem that special year and model had before and they where call to a recall to fix that problem. Can you please help me with this situation, I'll be very grateful.

Car starts idling up and down while stopped at light. When the car is given the gas to go it will not pick up speed it stalls and car completely turns off in drive. While parked in parking lot I put the car in reverse and it would not move and that has happened 5 times. The engine light comes on and I have taken it to 4 different mechanics to put the diagonstic test on it and it comes up with idle sensor, change it and 2 days later car starts jerking and will not go over 35mph and finally dies. While driving 55mph on the hwy the car looses speed and wont go over 35 mph. Nobody is allowed to drive this car until chevy fixes it, and it will sit in my yard until then because my family is more important than a piece of metal. I...

My driver seat is powered and it is inoperative. It remains stuck in a reclined position. At first the seat would not return to an upright position but all the other power functions (reclining the seat, moving it forward and back, tilting the seat, moving it up/down) still worked. I took the car to a shop and they said that the cause was some of the wiring had disconnected. They took the seat out and made sure everything was plugged in correctly. The seat worked again but only for a short while. Now, the issue is present again and the driver seat will not move forward/back or return to an upright position. This is hazardous because the seat is not able to offer the driver the correct seating position to drive.

Car gives engine power reduced warning and then drastically loses speed. Another warning saying engine over speed comes up and the car is unable to accelerate at safe speeds. This is dangerous because I can easily be rear ended by this malfunction especially when driving on the highway. I have children and having them at risk of being in a motor vehicle accident due to a malfunctioning car does not sit well with me. I have seen this issue reported on several other platforms. When I took the car to the dealership regarding this issue I was told I needed to replace the battery but 2 batteries later and I’m still having the same issue. There is no warnings or signs prior to this malfunction happening, it is unpredictable and at random, making it that more dangerous. I would also like to add that this has happened a repeated number...

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the dashboard lights were completely black. The contact mentioned that there were no lights showing on the dashboard panel until the vehicle was being driven. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,944.