
Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9087641) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
102 Instruments and Controls
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 103
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 103
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . 104
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . 104
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Wireless Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, andIndicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Instrument Cluster (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Instrument Cluster
(Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Tachometer (Non-Hybrid) . . . . . 115
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Power Indicator Gauge (Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 117
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . 118
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Charging System Light . . . . . . . 119
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine Light) . . . . . . . . 120
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Service Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . 123
Pedestrian Ahead Indicator . . . 124
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
StabiliTrak
®OFF Light . . . . . . . . 124
Traction Control System (TCS)/ StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 125
Low Fuel Warning Light (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Low Fuel Warning Light (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Vehicle Ready Light
(Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 127
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 127
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . . 127
Door Ajar Light (Uplevel) . . . . . 128
Information Displays
Center Stack Display . . . . . . . . . 128
Power Flows (Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . 128
Energy Information (Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Battery Voltage and Charging
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Brake System Messages . . . . . 136
Compass Messages . . . . . . . . . . 137
Cruise Control Messages . . . . . 137
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . 138
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . 139
Engine Power Messages . . . . . 139
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . . 139 

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9087641) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
122 Instruments and Controls
See your dealer if the vehicle will
not pass or cannot be made ready
for the test.
Brake System Warning
Light
The vehicle brake system consists
of two hydraulic circuits. If one
circuit is not working, the remaining
circuit can still work to stop the
vehicle. For normal braking
performance, both circuits need to
be working.
If the warning light comes on, there
is a brake problem. Have the brake
system inspected right away.
MetricEnglish
This light should come on briefly
when the engine is started. If it does
not come on then, have it fixed so it
will be ready to warn you if there is
a problem. If the light comes on and stays on,
there is a brake problem.
{Warning
The brake system might not be
working properly if the brake
system warning light is on.
Driving with the brake system
warning light on can lead to a
crash. If the light is still on after
the vehicle has been pulled off
the road and carefully stopped,
have the vehicle towed for
service.
Electric Parking Brake
Light
MetricEnglish
This light comes on when the
parking brake is applied. If the light
continues flashing after the parking brake is released, or while driving,
there is a problem with the Electric
Parking Brake system or another
system. A message may also
display in the Driver Information
Center (DIC). See
Brake System
Messages 0136
ii.
If the light does not come on,
or remains flashing, see your dealer.
Service Electric Parking
Brake Light
For vehicles with the Electric
Parking Brake (EPB), the service
electric parking brake light should
come on briefly when the vehicle is
in ON/RUN. If it does not come on,
have the vehicle serviced by your
dealer.
If this light stays on, there is a
problem with a system on the
vehicle that is causing the parking 

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9087641) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
Instruments and Controls 123
brake system to work at a reduced
level. The vehicle can still be driven,
but should be taken to a dealer as
soon as possible. SeeElectric
Parking Brake 0238
ii. If a message
displays in the Driver Information
Center (DIC), see Brake System
Messages 0136
ii.
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning Light
For vehicles with the Antilock Brake
System (ABS), this light comes on
briefly when the engine is started.
If it does not, have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. If the
system is working normally, the
indicator light then goes off.
If the ABS light stays on, turn the
ignition off. If the light comes on
while driving, stop as soon as it is
safely possible and turn the ignition off. Then start the engine again to
reset the system. If the ABS light
stays on, or comes on again while
driving, the vehicle needs service.
If the regular brake system warning
light is not on, the vehicle still has
brakes, but not antilock brakes.
If the regular brake system warning
light is also on, the vehicle does not
have antilock brakes and there is a
problem with the regular brakes.
See
Brake System Warning Light
0 122
ii.
For vehicles with a Driver
Information Center (DIC), see Brake
System Messages 0136
iifor all
brake-related DIC messages.
Lane Keep Assist (LKA)
Light
If available, this light comes on
briefly while starting the vehicle. If it does not come on, have the
vehicle serviced.
This light is green if LKA is available
to assist.
LKA may assist by gently turning
the steering wheel if the vehicle
approaches a detected lane marking
without using the turn signal in that
direction. The LKA light will turn
amber.
This light is amber and flashes as a
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
alert, to indicate that the lane
marking has been crossed.
See
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) 0265
ii.
Vehicle Ahead Indicator 

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9087641) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
132 Instruments and Controls
ECO Drive Assist Menu (ECO)
Items
Usew xto scroll through the
menu items. Not all items are
available on every vehicle. The
following is a list of all possible
menu items:
Best Average Fuel Economy : The
bottom displays the best average
fuel economy (AFE) that is achieved
for a selected distance. The top
displays a running average of fuel
economy for the most recently
traveled selected distance. The
center bar graph displays the
instantaneous fuel economy.
Quickly press
Vto change the
settings for the distance options.
When viewing best AFE, a several
second press and hold of
Vwill
reset the best value. The best value
will show “- - -“until the selected
distance has been traveled.
The display provides feedback on
how current driving behavior in the
bar graph affects the running average in the top display and how
well recent driving compares to the
best that has been achieved.
Drive Cycle Info (Hybrid) :
This
screen displays the distance
traveled and average fuel economy
for the current trip. The screen will
also be shown when the vehicle is
turned off displaying the previous
trip’s information.
Efficiency Gauge (Hybrid) : This
gauge is a guide to driving in an
efficient manner by keeping the
indicator in the center of the gauge.
. Accel: If the indicator moves to
the right of the gauge,
acceleration is too aggressive to
optimize efficiency.
. Brake: If the indicator moves to
the left side of the gauge,
braking is too aggressive to
optimize efficiency.
Driver Information Center
(DIC) (Uplevel)
The DIC displays are shown in the
center of the instrument cluster in
the Info app. See Instrument Cluster
(Base Level) 0110
iior Instrument
Cluster (Uplevel) 0112ii. The
displays show the status of many
vehicle systems.
worx: Press to move up or
down in a list, or on the main view
press to cycle through the different
Info app pages. 

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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Instruments and Controls 135
the timer to zero, press and holdV
while this display is active, orpress
pand select reset.
Speed Limit : Shows sign
information, which comes from a
roadway database in the onboard
navigation, if equipped.
Following Distance Indicator :
When Adaptive Cruise Control
(ACC) is not engaged, the current
follow time to the vehicle ahead is
displayed as a time value on this
page. When ACC has been
engaged, the display switches to the
gap setting page. This page shows
the current gap setting along with
the vehicle ahead indicator.
Battery Voltage : Displays the
current battery voltage, if equipped.
Battery voltage changes are normal
while driving. See Charging System
Light 0119
ii. If there is a problem
with the battery charging system,
the DIC will display a message. See
Battery Voltage and Charging
Messages 0136
ii. Coolant Temperature :
Shows the
engine coolant temperature in either
degrees Celsius (°C) or degrees
Fahrenheit (°F).
Oil Pressure : Oil pressure is
displayed in either kilopascal (kPa)
or in pounds per square inch (psi).
Drive Cycle Info (Hybrid) : This
screen displays the distance
traveled and average fuel economy
for the current trip. The screen will
also be shown when the vehicle is
turned off displaying the previous
trip’s information.
Efficiency Gauge (Hybrid) : This
gauge is a guide to driving in an
efficient manner by keeping the
indicator in the center of the gauge.
. Accel: If the indicator moves to
the right of the gauge,
acceleration is too aggressive to
optimize efficiency.
. Brake: If the indicator moves to
the left side of the gauge,
braking is too aggressive to
optimize efficiency. Total Power Display (Hybrid) :
Provides a numeric display of the
total power being used to propel or
stop the vehicle. The display shows
the power being provided by the
battery or charging the battery as
well as the power provided by the
engine.
EV Operation (Hybrid) :
The bar
moves from left to right as the driver
requests more power from the
propulsion system. While in EV
mode, maintaining the bar in the
green zone will allow the driver to
maximize EV operation.
Blank Page : Shows no
information. 

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9087641) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
136 Instruments and Controls
Vehicle Messages
Messages displayed on the DIC
indicate the status of the vehicle or
some action that may be needed to
correct a condition. Multiple
messages may appear one after
another.
The messages that do not require
immediate action can be
acknowledged and cleared by
pressing
V.
The messages that require
immediate action cannot be cleared
until that action is performed.
All messages should be taken
seriously; clearing the message
does not correct the problem.
The following are the possible
messages and some information
about them.
Battery Voltage and
Charging Messages
BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE
(12-Volt Battery)
This message displays when the
vehicle has detected that the battery
voltage is dropping beyond a
reasonable point. The battery saver
system starts reducing features of
the vehicle that may be noticed. At
the point that features are disabled,
this message displays. Turn off
unnecessary accessories to allow
the battery to recharge.
LOW BATTERY (12-Volt
Battery)
This message is displayed when the
battery voltage is low. See Battery -
North America 0302
ii.
SERVICE BATTERY
CHARGING SYSTEM
This message is displayed when
there is a fault in the battery
charging system. Take the vehicle to
your dealer for service.
Brake System Messages
BRAKE FLUID LOW
This message is displayed when the
brake fluid level is low. See Brake
Fluid 0301
ii.
SERVICE BRAKE ASSIST
This message may be displayed
when there is a problem with the
brake boost assist system. When
this message is displayed, the brake
boost assist motor might be heard
operating and you might notice
pulsation in the brake pedal. This is
normal under these conditions. Take
the vehicle to your dealer for
service.
SERVICE PARKING BRAKE
This message is displayed when
there is a problem with the Electric
Parking Brake. See Electric Parking
Brake 0238
ii. Take the vehicle to
your dealer. 

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9087641) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
Instruments and Controls 137
STEP ON BRAKE TO
RELEASE PARK BRAKE
This message is displayed if you
attempt to release the Electric
Parking Brake without the brake
pedal applied. SeeElectric Parking
Brake 0238
ii.
Compass Messages
CAL
This message is displayed when the
compass needs to be calibrated.
See Compass 0105
ii.
– –
Dashes will be displayed if the
compass needs service. See your
dealer for service.
Cruise Control Messages
ADAPTIVE CRUISE SET
TO XXX
This message displays when the
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
speed is set. See Adaptive Cruise
Control 0246
ii.
ADAPTIVE CRUISE
TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE
This message displays when
attempting to activate Adaptive
Cruise Control (ACC) when it is
temporarily unavailable. The ACC
system does not need service.
This can occur under the following
conditions:
.
Cruise is turned on when the
vehicle is stopped.
. The radar is not clean. Keep the
radar sensors free of mud, dirt,
snow, ice, and slush. Clean the
entire front and/or rear of the
vehicle. For cleaning
instructions, see Exterior Care
0 358
ii.
. Heavy rain or snow is interfering
with the radar object detection or
camera performance.
CRUISE SET TO XXX
This message displays when the
cruise control speed is set. See
Cruise Control 0243
ii.
NO CRUISE BRAKING GAS
PEDAL APPLIED
This message displays when
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is
active and the driver is pressing the
gas pedal. When this occurs, ACC
will not brake. See Adaptive Cruise
Control 0246
ii.
SERVICE ADAPTIVE CRUISE
CONTROL
This message displays when the
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
needs service. Take the vehicle to
your dealer.
SHIFT TO PARK BEFORE
EXITING
This message may display if
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is
engaged holding the vehicle at a
stop, and the driver attempts to exit
the vehicle. Put the vehicle in
P (Park) before exiting. 

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9087641) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
140 Instruments and Controls
NO REMOTE DETECTED
This message displays when the
transmitter battery may be weak.
See“Starting the Vehicle with a Low
Transmitter Battery” underRemote
Keyless Entry (RKE) System
Operation 031
ii.
NO REMOTE DETECTED
PRESS BRAKE TO RESTART
This message displays when
attempting to turn off the vehicle
and the RKE transmitter is no longer
detected. Restarting is allowed
without the RKE transmitter for
five minutes. Press the brake pedal
and ENGINE START/STOP to
restart the vehicle.
NUMBER OF KEYS
PROGRAMMED
This message displays when
programming new keys to the
vehicle.
REMOTE LEFT IN VEHICLE
This message displays when
leaving the vehicle with the RKE
transmitter still inside.
REPLACE BATTERY IN
REMOTE KEY
This message displays when the
battery in the RKE transmitter needs
to be replaced.
Lamp Messages
AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL
ON/OFF
This message is displayed when the
automatic light control has been
turned on or off. See Automatic
Headlamp System 0163
ii.
CHECK XXX TURN
SIGNAL LAMP
When one of the turn signals is out,
this message displays to show
which bulb needs to be replaced.
See Bulb Replacement 0306
iiand
Replacement Bulbs 0310ii.
TURN SIGNAL ON
This message is displayed if the
turn signal has been left on. Turn off
the turn signal.
Object Detection System
Messages
24 GHz RADARS OFF
This message displays when driving
in certain areas where there may be
radar interference. Adaptive Cruise
Control (ACC), Forward Collision
Alert (FCA), and the Front
Automatic Braking (FAB) System
may not work or may not work as
well. The vehicle does not need
service.
AUTOMATIC COLLISION
PREP OFF
This message displays when the
Front Automatic Braking (FAB)
System has been turned off. See
Front Automatic Braking (FAB)
System 0259
ii.
AUTOMATIC COLLISION PREP
REDUCED
This message displays when the
Front Automatic Braking (FAB)
System has been set to the Alert
setting. This setting disables FAB
functions but if the vehicle has