
Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
In Brief 1-1
In Brief
Instrument Panel
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . 1-2
Initial Drive Information
Initial Drive Information . . . . . . . . 1-4
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Second Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Heated Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Head Restraint Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Mirror Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12 Exterior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . 1-14
Climate Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
Vehicle Features
Radio(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Portable Audio Devices . . . . . . 1-17
Bluetooth
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . 1-18
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . 1-20
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Universal Remote System . . . 1-21
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
eAssist Features
eAssist®Overview . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
High Voltage Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Driver Efficiency Gauge . . . . . . 1-23
Automatic Engine Start/Stop Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Regenerative Braking . . . . . . . . 1-23
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Performance and Maintenance
Traction Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
StabiliTrak
®System . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Tire Pressure Monitor . . . . . . . . 1-24
Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-25
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . 1-25
Fuel E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . 1-26
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26

Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
In Brief 1-9
To return the seatback to the upright
position:
1. Lift the lever fully withoutapplying pressure to the
seatback, and the seatback will
return to the upright position.
2. Push and pull on the seatback to make sure it is locked.
Power Reclining Seatbacks
To adjust a power seatback,
if available:
.Tilt the top of the control
rearward to recline.
.Tilt the top of the control forward
to raise.
See Reclining Seatbacks on
page 3‑4.
Memory Features
On vehicles with the memory
feature, the “1”and “2”buttons on
the outboard side of the driver seat are used to manually save and
recall the positions of the driver seat
and outside mirrors. These manually
stored positions are referred to as
Button Memory positions.
The vehicle will also automatically
save driver seat and outside mirror
positions to the current driver
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter when the ignition is
placed in OFF. These automatically
stored positions are referred to as
RKE Memory positions.
See
Memory Seats on page 3‑6 and
Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑35.

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
2-4 Keys, Doors, and Windows
The turn signal indicators may flash
and/or the horn may sound to
indicate unlocking. See“Unlock
Feedback” underVehicle
Personalization on page 5‑35.
Pressing
Kwill disarm the
theft-deterrent system. See Vehicle
Alarm System on page 2‑13.
Memory seat positions may be
recalled when unlocking the vehicle.
See Memory Seats on page 3‑6 and
“Memory Remote Recall” under
Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑35.
V (Remote Trunk Release):
Press and hold to open the trunk.
7(Vehicle Locator/Panic
Alarm): Press and release one
time to initiate vehicle locator. The
exterior lamps flash and the horn
chirps three times. Press and hold
7for at least
three seconds to sound the panic
alarm. The horn sounds and the
turn signals flash for about
30 seconds until
7is pressed again
or the vehicle is started.
/(Remote Vehicle Start): For
vehicles with this feature, press
Q
and release and then press and
hold
/within two seconds to start
the engine from outside the vehicle
using the RKE transmitter. See
Remote Vehicle Start on page 2‑7.
The buttons on the keys are
disabled when there is a key is in
the ignition, if equipped.
Keyless Access Operation
Some vehicles have the keyless
access system that lets you lock
and unlock the doors and access
the trunk without removing the RKE
transmitter from your pocket, purse, briefcase, etc. The RKE transmitter
must be within 1 m (3 ft) of the door
being unlocked. If the vehicle has
this feature, there will be a button on
the outside front door handles.
The keyless access can be
programmed to unlock all doors on
the first unlock/lock button press
from the driver door. See
Vehicle
Personalization on page 5‑35.
Keyless Unlocking/Locking from
the Driver Door
When the doors are locked and the
RKE transmitter is within 1 m (3 ft)
of the driver door handle, pressing
the lock/unlock button on the driver
door handle will unlock the driver
door. If the lock/unlock button is
pressed again within five seconds,
all passenger doors will unlock. Pull
the door handle to unlatch the door.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
Seats and Restraints 3-1
Seats and
Restraints
Head Restraints
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Front Seats
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Power Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . 3-4
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Rear Seats
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Rear Seat Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Safety Belts
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Safety Belt Extender . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . 3-17
Safety Belt Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Replacing Safety Belt System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Airbag System
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . 3-21
When Should an AirbagInflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26 Servicing the Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Adding Equipment to the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . 3-30
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . 3-31
Replacing Airbag System
Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-31
Child Restraints
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Child Restraint Systems . . . . . 3-37
Where to Put the Restraint . . . 3-38
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Replacing LATCH System Parts After a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-47
Securing Child Restraints (Rear Seat) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
Securing Child Restraints (Front Passenger Seat) . . . . 3-50

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
3-6 Seats and Restraints
Memory Seats
If available, the“1”and “2”buttons
on the outboard side of the driver
seat are used to manually save and
recall the positions of the driver seat
and outside mirrors. These manually
stored positions are referred to as
Button Memory positions.
The vehicle will also automatically
save driver seat and outside mirror
positions to the current driver
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter when the ignition is
placed in OFF. These automatically stored positions are referred to as
RKE Memory positions. See
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System Operation on page 2‑3.
Storing Button Memory Positions
To save positions into Button
Memory:
1. Adjust the driver seat, seatback
recliner, and both outside mirrors
to the desired driving positions.
2. Press and hold MEM (Memory) and “1”at the same time until a
beep sounds.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for a second driver using “2.”
Recalling Button Memory
Positions
To recall the Button Memory
positions, press and hold “1”or“2.”
The driver seat and outside mirrors
move to the positions stored to
those buttons when pressed.
Releasing “1”or“2” before the
stored positions are reached stops
the recall. If something has blocked the driver
seat while recalling a memory
position, the recall may stop.
Remove the obstruction; then press
and hold the power driver seat
control for two seconds. Try
recalling the memory position again
by pressing the appropriate memory
button. If the memory position is still
not recalling, see your dealer for
service.
Recalling RKE Memory Positions
The RKE Memory feature can recall
the driver seat and outside mirrors
to previously stored RKE Memory
positions when entering the vehicle.
Every time the ignition is placed in
OFF, the positions of the driver
seat and outside mirrors are
automatically stored to the RKE
transmitter that was used to start
the vehicle. These positions are
called RKE Memory positions and
may be different than the previously
mentioned Button Memory positions
saved to the
“1”or“2” buttons.

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
Seats and Restraints 3-7
To recall RKE Memory positions:
.On vehicles with RKE, pressK
on the RKE transmitter and open
the driver door.
.On vehicles with keyless access,
press the lock/unlock button on
the outside driver door handle
and open the door. The RKE
transmitter must be present for
the recall to activate.
.If the driver door is already
open, press
Kon the RKE
transmitter to activate the recall.
The driver seat and outside mirrors
will move to the previously saved
RKE Memory positions.
This feature is turned on or off using
the vehicle personalization menu.
See Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑35.
To stop recall movement, press one
of the memory, power mirror,
or power seat controls. If something has blocked the driver
seat while recalling a memory
position, the recall may stop.
Remove the obstruction; then press
and hold the appropriate manual
control for the memory item that is
not recalling for two seconds. Try
recalling the memory position again
by opening the driver door and
pressing the RKE transmitter
K
button. If the memory position is still
not recalling, see your dealer for
service.
Easy Exit Driver Seat
This feature moves the seat
rearward allowing the driver more
room to exit the vehicle.
To activate, place the ignition in
OFF and open the driver door. If the
driver door is already open, placing
the ignition in OFF will activate the
recall.
This feature is turned on or off using
the vehicle personalization menu.
See
Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑35.
To stop recall movement, press
one of the memory or power seat
controls.
If something has blocked the driver
seat while recalling the exit position,
the recall may stop. Remove the
obstruction; then press and hold the
power seat control rearward for
two seconds. Try recalling the exit
position again. If the exit position is
still not recalling, see your dealer for
service.

Black plate (36,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
5-36 Instruments and Controls
Auto Defog
Only vehicles with dual automatic
climate control will have this option.
This will allow you to turn the auto
defog on or off.
Press TUNE/MENU when Auto
Defog is highlighted to open the
menu. Turn the TUNE/MENU knob
to highlight On or Off. Press TUNE/
MENU to confirm the selection and
move back to the last menu.
Auto Rear Defog
This will allow you to turn the auto
rear defog on or off. This feature will
automatically turn on the rear
window defogger when it is cold
outside.
Press TUNE/MENU when Auto
Rear Defog is highlighted to open
the menu. Turn the TUNE/MENU
knob to highlight On or Off. Press
TUNE/MENU to confirm the
selection and move back to the
last menu.Comfort and Convenience
Select the Comfort and
Convenience menu and the
following may be displayed:
.Easy Exit Driver Seat
.Chime Volume
.Reverse Tilt Mirror
Easy Exit Driver Seat
When on, this feature will move the
driver seat rearward upon turning
the ignition off and opening the
driver door. This may be done to
make it easier to exit the vehicle.
See “Easy Exit Driver Seat” under
Memory Seats on page 3‑6.
This feature can be turned on or off.
Press TUNE/MENU when Easy Exit
Driver Seat is highlighted. Turn the
TUNE/MENU knob to select On or
Off. Press TUNE/MENU to confirm
and go back to the last menu. Chime Volume
This allows selection of the chime
volume level.
Press TUNE/MENU when Chime
Volume is highlighted. Turn the
TUNE/MENU knob to select Normal
or High. Press TUNE/MENU to
confirm and go back to the
last menu.
Reverse Tilt Mirror
When on, both the driver and
passenger mirrors will tilt downward
when the vehicle is shifted to
R (Reverse) to improve visibility of
the ground near the rear wheels.
They will return to their previous
driving position when the vehicle is
shifted out of R (Reverse), the
ignition is turned to OFF, or the
vehicle is left in R (Reverse). See
Reverse Tilt Mirrors on page 2‑16.
Press TUNE/MENU when Reverse
Tilt Mirror is highlighted. Turn the
TUNE/MENU knob to select On or
Off. Press TUNE/MENU to confirm
and go back to the last menu.

Black plate (39,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 6/6/12
Instruments and Controls 5-39
Memory Remote Recall
This allows the Memory Remote
Recall feature to be turned on or off.
When on, this feature will recall the
current driver's last seat and outside
mirror positions upon unlocking the
driver door with the RKE transmitter,
and opening that door. The current
driver is identified when the RKE
transmitter is used to unlock the
driver door. If keyless access
equipped, the recall will occur upon
opening the driver door. See
“Recalling RKE Memory Positions”
underMemory Seats on page 3‑6.
Press TUNE/MENU when Memory
Remote Recall is highlighted. Turn
the TUNE/MENU knob to select On
or Off. Press TUNE/MENU to
confirm and go back to the
last menu. Remote Left in Vehicle Reminder
This allows the Remote Left in
Vehicle Reminder feature to be
turned on or off. If on, the horn will
chirp if a remote is left in the
vehicle.
Press TUNE/MENU when Remote
Left in Vehicle Reminder is
highlighted. Turn the TUNE/MENU
knob to select On or Off. Press
TUNE/MENU to confirm and go
back to the last menu.
Relock Remote Door
When on, the doors will
automatically lock after a period of
time if the vehicle is not entered or
exited.
Press TUNE/MENU when Relock
Remote Door is highlighted. Turn
the TUNE/MENU knob to select
On or Off. Press TUNE/MENU
to confirm and go back to the
last menu.Passive Door Lock
This allows selection of which doors
are unlocked by pressing the button
on the outside door handle.
Press TUNE/MENU when Passive
Door Lock is highlighted. Turn the
TUNE/MENU knob to select Off, On,
or On with Active Horn Chirp. Press
TUNE/MENU to confirm and go
back to the last menu.
Passive Door Unlock
This allows selection of which doors
are locked by pressing the button on
the outside door handle.
Press TUNE/MENU when Passive
Door Unlock is highlighted. Turn the
TUNE/MENU knob to select All
Doors or Driver Door. Press TUNE/
MENU to confirm and go back to the
last menu.