2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU — Complaint #2175303
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) filed February 10, 2026
NHTSA complaint #2175303 (ODI reference 11716945) concerns a 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU and was filed on February 10, 2026. The owner reports the failure occurred on February 3, 2026. The vehicle had 107,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to New York 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 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, it lost power steering functionality. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle, and the power steering functionality returned. The failure reoccurred every mile while driving, requiring the driver to pull over to the side of the road to restart the vehicle. The power steering, ESC, and the traction control warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated who was a retired independent mechanic, determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V153000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2175303 |
| ODI Number | 11716945 |
| Date Filed | February 10, 2026 |
| Failure Date | February 3, 2026 |
| VIN | 1G1ZH57B49F |
Similar ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) Complaints for 2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that in 2017 the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V252000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Vehicle Speed Control,
I'VE BEEN HAVING AN ISSUE WITH MY VEHICLE REGISTERING WHICH GEAR IT IS IN. THE GEARS SHIFT HARD, AND WHEN PLACING THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE, THE VEHICLE VIGOROUSLY JERKS BACK AND FORTH. WHILE DRIVING THE
POWER STEERING FAILS WHILE DRIVING. DASHBOARD WILL SAY "TRACTION OFF, ESC OFF" AND I WON'T BE ABLE TO MOVE STEERING WHEEL. THIS HAS HAPPENED IN BUSY INTERSECTIONS. I HAVE TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND RESTA
WHEN GOING OVER ANY BUMP OR TURNING THE FRONT END SHAKES AND MAKES A CLACKING NOISE. ESC IS OFF. TRACTION CONTROL IS ALWAYS OFF. ERROR CODES READ P0010 P0449 P0013 P0722 P0011
DRIVING AT ABOUT 60 MPH ON A STRAIGHT AWAY, CAR LOST POWER STEERING AND SENSOR LIGHT SERVICE ESC/POWER STEERING STARTED FLASHING. THE STEERING FELT NO DIFFERENT PRIOR TO LOSING, NO NOISES. DROVE IT TH
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.