2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU — Complaint #2165768
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) filed January 13, 2026
NHTSA complaint #2165768 (ODI reference 11710607) concerns a 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU and was filed on January 13, 2026. The owner reports the failure occurred on May 1, 2024. The vehicle had 111,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Illinois based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as electronic stability control (esc), one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same CHEVROLET MALIBU cohort independently describe similar electronic stability control (esc) failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated, and the message "ESC OFF" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced an intermittent loss of power steering while driving. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as intended; however, the failure initially became a persistent failure upon restarting the vehicle and then became a permanent failure. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for a tire replacement, the contact was also informed that the steering failure was related to Chevrolet Special Coverage Number: 15356. The contact was referred to the dealer, who informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2165768 |
| ODI Number | 11710607 |
| Date Filed | January 13, 2026 |
| Failure Date | May 1, 2024 |
| VIN | 1G1ZD5E07CF |
Similar ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) Complaints for 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly lost motive power and came to a complete stop. The vehicle returned to norm
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH and following a slight right turn on the highway, the ESC warning illuminated, and the vehicle slow
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 14V252000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CON
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH in the middle lane, she inadvertently lost control of the steering wheel and the vehicle turned all the way to
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING, THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SERVICE
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.