Steering. Review the 210 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Power Train. Review the 65 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 59 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

12 crash reports2 fire reports9 injury reports

Power Train complaints

65 reports

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41,880 miles · Jun 14, 2017

Power Train

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35R WAVED PLATE BROKE AND DAMAGED TRANSMISSION INTERNAL COMPONENTS. ALSO DAMAGED TEAMS CASE. INDEPENANT SHOP SUGGESTED I TAKE THI CAR TO GM DEALER AS THIS IS HAPPENING ON OTHER VEHICLES WITH 6 SPEED ELECTRONIC CONTROLLED TRANSMISSIONS. GM DEALER TOLD ME THERE WAS A SERVICE ACTION AGAINST THIS TRANSMISSION WITH A 6 CYLINDER ENGINE, BUT MY CAR HAS A 4 CYLINDER ENGINE AND GM COULD NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE.. GM CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE SUGGESTED I CONTACT NHTSA WITH MY CONCERN OF DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION IN VEHICLE. MY CAR HAS 41883 MILES AT TIME OF TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT. WHEN WAVED PLATE SHATTERED, I WAS DRIVING ON I-94 WEST BOUND AT 55 MPH, CAUSING THE VEHICLE INTO LUMP MODE AS I BRAKED FOR TRAFFIC. I WAS FORTUNATE THAT I WAS NOT HIT BY THE PICK UP TRUCK BEHIND ME AS HE CHANGED LANES TO PASS.. CAR WAS REPAIRED AT GORDON CHEVROLET IN GARDEN CITY, MI 48135. CUSTOMER NUMBER 2440373, INVOICE NUMBER 21573.

NHTSA ODI #10995212

75,442 miles · May 29, 2017

Power Train

YIELDING ONTO A HIGHWAY, VEHICLE SUDDENLY FELT LIKE IT HAD NO FORWARD MOMENTUM WHEN APPLYING GAS BUT CORRECTED ITSELF. NEXT, TRAVELING ON A HIGHWAY, THE TRANSMISSION FELT LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. ONCE PULLED OVER AND RESTARTED, THERE WAS NO 3RD, 5TH OR REVERSE GEAR. VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED. MASSIVELY EXPENSIVE TRANSMISSION RE…

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NHTSA ODI #10992091

Mileage unknown · Mar 13, 2017

Power Train

CAR GEAR SHIFT CABLE HAS SNAPPED CAUSING THE ABILITY TO PUT CAR IN PARK AND TURN OFF CAR WITHOUT IT BEING IN PARK AND ALLOWING THE CAR TO ROLL. THIS IS A RECALL FOR 2009 SATURN AURA BUT NOT FOR ONE WITH MY VIN EVEN THOUGH IT IS THAT PROBLEM IS THE EXACT THING THAT IS RECALLED.

NHTSA ODI #10960333

92,500 miles · Mar 6, 2017

Power Train

WITH ONLY 92500 MILES USE, VEHICLE 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION STARTED MAKING A HARD SOUND WHEN SHIFTING FROM 4TH GEAR TO 5TH GEAR, ESPECIALLY WHEN MOVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND ACCELERATING. DEALER INSPECTED AND FOUND THAT 35R PISTON AND WAVE PLATE ARE DEFECTIVE. RECOMMENDING TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL TO CORRECT. THIS IS THE SAME DEFECT NO…

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NHTSA ODI #10958956

140,000 miles · Jan 20, 2017

Electrical SystemPower TrainSteeringFire

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2009 SATURN AURA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS EXTREMELY TIGHT AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT WARNING. IN ADDITION, THE SHIFT LEVER FAILED TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PLACED IN PARK, IT ROLLED AND THE CONTACT HAD TO QUICKLY APPLY THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, A FIRE ERUPTED UNDER THE HOOD. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PULL THE VEHICLE INTO A FUEL STATION. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FLAMES. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED BY A DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.

NHTSA ODI #10946654

171 miles · Aug 25, 2016

Power TrainUnknown Or OtherVehicle Speed Control

NEED DOUBLE CHECK MY CAR

NHTSA ODI #10898528

86,000 miles · Aug 6, 2016

Electrical SystemEnginePower Train

FOR TWO DAYS WHEN STARTING IT MADE A WEIRD NOISE BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE THE FAN TO THE A/C MIGHT BE GOING. THEN MY WARNING GAUGES STARTED APPEARING WARNING OF MY AIR BAG AND OIL. THE NEXT TIME I WENT TO START THE CAR THE CAR WOULD NOT START AT ALL AND THE LIGHTS INSIDE THE CAR FLASHED AND THE CAR MADE A STRANGE NOISE.

NHTSA ODI #10893684

72,000 miles · Apr 19, 2016

Power Train

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ONE EVENING I GOT IN MY CAR AND IT REFUSED TO START. AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF TROUBLESHOOTING I TRIED STARTING IN NEUTRAL WHICH WORKED. SINCE THAT NIGHT THE VEHICLE DOES NOT GO INTO PARK. THE GEAR POSITION INDICATOR DOES NOT MATCH THE CURRENT GEAR. THE ONLY WAY TO PARK THE CAR IS TO SET THE GEAR SHIFT TO PARK AND SET THE PARKING BRAKE. YOU CAN THEN TAKE THE KEY OUT. TO START IT AGAIN YOU HAVE TURN THE KEY ON AND MOVE THE SELECTOR NEUTRAL. THIS IS A HAZARD BECAUSE YOU NEED TO REMEMBER TO SET THE PARKING BRAKE WHEN YOU TURN THE CAR OFF OR IT WILL ROLL AWAY. EVEN IF YOU SET THE CAR IN PARK WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING THE CAR WILL REVERSE OR ROLL AWAY IF YOU DON'T APPLY THE BRAKE OR SET THE PARKING BRAKE.

NHTSA ODI #10860246

74,000 miles · Apr 1, 2016

Power Train

CRACKED WAVE PLATE REQUIRING A REBUILD OF THE TRANSMISSION. LOST ALL GEARS EXCEPT FOR 1ST WHILE DRIVING ON CITY STREET.GM REFUSED TO COVER THE REPAIR COMPLETELY EVEN THOUGH THEY DO FOR SOME 2009 SATURN AURAS THAT HAVE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI #10852962

82,500 miles · Mar 24, 2016

Power Train

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I WAS ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK, DURING RUSH HOUR, ON MARCH 22, 2016 AND NOTICED THAT I WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY ACCELERATING PAST 40 MPH. THE VEHICLE FELT AS IF IT WAS NOT SHIFTING GEARS. I THOUGHT ABOUT GOING DIRECTLY TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE BUT COULD NOT ACCELERATE PAST 25 MPH AT THAT POINT. I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME SAFELY AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER THE VERY NEXT DAY. THE DEALER CALLED TO INFORM ME THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL ISSUES WITH THE MOST EXPENSIVE BEING A TRANSMISSION TEAR DOWN WITH REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT. THIS SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER SERVICE BULLETIN #14404. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE NUMBER OF RECALLS I HAVE HAD ON MY VEHICLE. IT HAS JUST BEEN PAID OFF AND NOW I FEEL IT IS TURNING INTO A MONEY PIT AND A DEATH TRAP. I HAVE RECEIVED SERVICE BULLETIN #15356 BUT NOT #14404 WHICH SEEMS TO APPLY TO MY ISSUE. PRIOR TO THIS DATE, I HAD NOT EXPERIENCED ANY KNOWN TRANSMISSION ISSUES.

NHTSA ODI #10851510

Official recalls

14V252000 · Electrical System:wiring; Electronic Stability Control (esc); Exterior Lighting:brake Lights; Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch; Vehicle Speed Control:cruise Control

May 14, 2014

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). GM's number for this recall is 13036.

Additional source detail variants (5)

Electronic Stability Control (esc)