General Motors Canada has just announced it is recalling roughly 5,000 Chevrolet Malibu cars to an engine-software issue that could prevent the engine from starting, or even lead it to stall unexpectedly.
Specifically, according to the notice on Transport Canada’s website, on some 2018 models equipped with the 1.5L 4-cylinder engine, a software glitch in the central engine-management module “may disable the fuel injectors. This could cause the engine not to start. In rare cases, this could also cause the engine to suddenly stall without warning… A sudden loss of engine power could increase the risk of a crash”.
Exactly 4,656 sedans are affected by the recall. GM Canada will contact owners so they can bring their vehicle in to their dealership’s service centre to have the module reprogrammed.
The Malibu received a refresh this year, but that hasn’t prevented a drop in sales of 15% since the beginning of the year. Chevrolet has delivered only 4,300 units to customers in Canada in 2019 as of August 31.
Production of the Malibu is set to continue until 2024, after which it will most likely be replaced by an electrified four-door.