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.
Safety risk
Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Manufacturer 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.
Power train: automatic transmission: gear position indication (PRNDL)
Manufacturer
General Motors LLC
Vehicles affected
426,240
Reported to NHTSA
2012-09-18
Owners notified
2013-01-01
Defect description
General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Saturn Aura and model year 2008-2010 Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 vehicles, equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission. On these vehicles, the tabs on the transmission shift cable end may fracture and separate.
Safety risk
If the tabs were to fracture and separate, the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. The driver would be able to move the shifter to 'PARK' and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in 'PARK.' The vehicle may not be able to be restarted and the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible crash without prior warning.
Manufacturer remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer over the cable end or replace the shift cable as necessary. This service will be performed free of charge. Notification to owners began on on November 9, 2012. Owners were instructed to not bring their vehicles for repair until January 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Steering
174
110,000 mi
Electrical system
61
85,230 mi
Electronic stability control (ESC)
56
101,880 mi
Exterior lighting
32
77,000 mi
Air bags
19
70,000 mi
Service brakes
19
85,230 mi
Power train
14
70,000 mi
Vehicle speed control
9
85,000 mi
Fuel/propulsion system
7
89,000 mi
Exterior lighting: brake lights
6
75,000 mi
Unknown or other
6
75,000 mi
Engine
4
70,000 mi
Traction control system
4
75,000 mi
Latches/locks/linkages
3
20,000 mi
Structure: body
3
73,000 mi
Seat belts
2
—
Seats
2
70,000 mi
Service brakes, hydraulic
2
10,000 mi
Steering: column
2
45,000 mi
Structure: body: door
2
81,000 mi
Suspension
2
84,000 mi
Visibility/wiper
2
90,000 mi
Electrical system: instrument cluster/panel
1
60,000 mi
Exterior lighting: headlights
1
—
Forward collision avoidance: warnings
1
141,000 mi
Latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
1
73,000 mi
Service brakes, hydraulic: brake fluid low warning: lamp
1
103,956 mi
Suspension: front: wheel bearing
1
57,000 mi
Vehicle speed control: cruise control
1
100,000 mi
Visibility: sun/moon roof assembly
1
—
The 2009 model has about half as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.