General Motors LLC: Electronic Stability Control (esc)
General Motors LLC reported this defect to federal regulators on May 14, 2014 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 2,440,524. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
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.
The risk
Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
The 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.
23 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Chevrolet Malibu | 907 | 3 | 13 | 50 |
| 2011 Chevrolet Malibu | 978 | 4 | 17 | 40 |
| 2010 Chevrolet Malibu | 1,363 | 4 | 14 | 41 |
| 2010 Pontiac G6 | 272 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010 Saturn Aura | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 Chevrolet Malibu | 1,511 | 6 | 9 | 41 |
| 2009 Pontiac G6 | 713 | 5 | 20 | 26 |
| 2009 Saturn Aura | 390 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| 2008 Chevrolet Malibu | 989 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
| 2008 Pontiac G6 | 1,080 | 5 | 19 | 37 |
| 2008 Saturn Aura | 432 | 5 | 1 | 18 |
| 2007 Chevrolet Malibu | 977 | 6 | 2 | 37 |
| 2007 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx | 44 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 Pontiac G6 | 1,232 | 5 | 24 | 54 |
| 2007 Saturn Aura | 607 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| 2006 Chevrolet Malibu | 1,118 | 9 | 6 | 42 |
| 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx | 270 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 2006 Pontiac G6 | 1,910 | 7 | 11 | 90 |
| 2005 Chevrolet Malibu | 975 | 6 | 34 | 46 |
| 2005 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx | 326 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| 2005 Pontiac G6 | 679 | 6 | 4 | 26 |
| 2004 Chevrolet Malibu | 1,148 | 9 | 7 | 47 |
| 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx | 434 | 3 | 6 | 26 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 14V252000.
Full record for the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →