2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU airbag off

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
Seats and Restraints 83
Adding Equipment to the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle
Adding accessories that change the
vehicle's frame, bumper system,
height, front end, or side sheet
metal may keep the airbag system
from working properly. The
operation of the airbag system can
also be affected by changing any
parts of the front seats, seat belts,
airbag sensing and diagnostic
module, steering wheel, instrument
panel, inner door seals including the
speakers, any of the airbag
modules, ceiling or pillar garnish
trim, overhead console, front
sensors, side impact sensors,
or airbag wiring.
Your dealer and the service manual
have information about the location
of the airbag sensors, sensing and
diagnostic module, and airbag
wiring.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system for the
front outboard passenger position,
which includes sensors that are part
of the passenger seat. The
passenger sensing system may notoperate properly if the original seat
trim is replaced with non-GM
covers, upholstery, or trim; or with
GM covers, upholstery, or trim
designed for a different vehicle. Any
object, such as an aftermarket seat
heater or a comfort-enhancing pad
or device, installed under or on top
of the seat fabric, could also
interfere with the operation of the
passenger sensing system. This
could either prevent proper
deployment of the passenger
airbag(s) or prevent the passenger
sensing system from properly
turning off the passenger airbag(s).
See
Passenger Sensing System
0 78.
If the vehicle has rollover roof-rail
airbags, see Different Size Tires
and Wheels 0325 for additional
important information.
If you have to modify your vehicle
because you have a disability and
have questions about whether the
modifications will affect the vehicle's
airbag system, or if you have
questions about whether the airbag
system will be affected if the vehicle is modified for any other reason, call
Customer Assistance. See
Customer Assistance Offices
0377.
Airbag System Check
The airbag system does not need
regularly scheduled maintenance or
replacement. Make sure the airbag
readiness light is working. See
Airbag Readiness Light 0120.
Caution
If an airbag covering is damaged,
opened, or broken, the airbag
may not work properly. Do not
open or break the airbag
coverings. If there are any
opened or broken airbag
coverings, have the airbag
covering and/or airbag module
replaced. For the location of the
airbags, see Where Are the
Airbags? 074. See your dealer
for service.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
90 Seats and Restraints
Securing the Child Within the
Child Restraint
{Warning
A child can be seriously injured or
killed in a crash if the child is not
properly secured in the child
restraint. Secure the child
properly following the instructions
that came with that child restraint.
Where to Put the
Restraint
According to accident statistics,
children and infants are safer when
properly restrained in an appropriate
child restraint secured in a rear
seating position.
Whenever possible, children aged
12 and under should be secured in
a rear seating position.
Never put a rear-facing child
restraint in the front. This is because
the risk to the rear-facing child is so
great if the airbag deploys.
{Warning
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the front passenger
airbag inflates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to
the inflating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the
front passenger airbag inflates
and the passenger seat is in a
forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is
turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints
in a rear seat, even if the airbag
is off. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint in(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
the front seat, always move the
front passenger seat as far back
as it will go. It is better to secure
the child restraint in a rear seat.
SeePassenger Sensing System
0 78 for additional information.
When securing a child restraint with
the seat belts in a rear seat position,
study the instructions that came with
the child restraint to make sure it is
compatible with this vehicle.
Child restraints and booster seats
vary considerably in size, and some
may fit in certain seating positions
better than others.
Depending on where you place the
child restraint and the size of the
child restraint, you may not be able
to access adjacent seat belts or
LATCH anchors for additional
passengers or child restraints.
Adjacent seating positions should
not be used if the child restraint
prevents access to or interferes with
the routing of the seat belt.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
Seats and Restraints 99
Securing Child Restraints
(With the Seat Belt in the
Front Seat)
This vehicle has airbags. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint090.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system which is
designed to turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag under certain
conditions.
See Passenger Sensing System
0 78 and Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator 0121 for more information,
including important safety
information.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great if the
airbag deploys.
{Warning
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag inflates.
This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating
airbag. A child in a forward-facing
child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is
in a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
outboard passenger airbag(s), no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though the
airbag(s) are off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints
in a rear seat, even if the
airbag(s) are off. If you secure a
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
forward-facing child restraint in
the front outboard passenger
seat, always move the seat as far
back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
SeePassenger Sensing System
0 78 for additional information.
If the child restraint uses a top
tether, see Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) 091 for top tether anchor
locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor
if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be anchored, or if
the instructions that come with the
child restraint say that the top strap
must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have
a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
100 Seats and Restraints
When using the lap-shoulder belt to
secure the child restraint in this
position, follow the instructions that
came with the child restraint and the
following instructions:1. Move the seat as far back as it will go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint.
Move the seat upward or the
seatback to an upright position,
if needed, to get a tight
installation of the child
restraint.
When the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
outboard passenger frontal
airbag and knee airbag, the off
indicator on the passenger
airbag status indicator should
light and stay lit when you start
the vehicle. See Passenger
Airbag Status Indicator 0121.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions
of the vehicle's seat belt through or around the restraint.
The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
4. Push the latch plate into the
buckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on
the buckle, away from the child
restraint system, so that the
seat belt could be quickly
unbuckled if necessary.
5. Pull the shoulder belt all theway out of the retractor to set
the lock. When the retractor
lock is set, the belt can be
tightened but not pulled out of
the retractor.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
Seats and Restraints 101
6. To tighten the belt, push downon the child restraint, pull the
shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the
belt, and feed the shoulder belt
back into the retractor. When
installing a forward-facing child
restraint, it may be helpful to
use your knee to push down on
the child restraint as you
tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 5 and 6. 7. Before placing a child in the
child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To
check, grasp the child restraint
at the seat belt path and
attempt to move it side to side
and back and forth. When the
child restraint is properly
installed, there should be no
more than 2.5 cm (1 in) of
movement.
If the airbags are off, the off
indicator in the passenger airbag
status indicator will come on and
stay on when the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed
and the on indicator is lit, see “If the
On Indicator Is Lit for a Child
Restraint” underPassenger Sensing
System 078.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle seat belt and
let it return to the stowed position.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
104 Instruments and Controls
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 105
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 105
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . 106
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . 106
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Wireless Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, andIndicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Instrument Cluster (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Instrument Cluster
(Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Tachometer (Non-Hybrid) . . . . . 117
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Power Indicator Gauge (Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . 120
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . 120
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Charging System Light . . . . . . . 122
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine Light) . . . . . . . . 122
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Service Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . 126
Pedestrian Ahead Indicator . . . 126
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . 127
Traction Control System (TCS)/ StabiliTrak Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 128
Low Fuel Warning Light (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Low Fuel Warning Light (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Vehicle Ready Light
(Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 129
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 130
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . . 130
Door Ajar Light (Uplevel) . . . . . 130
Information Displays
Power Flows (Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . 130
Energy Information (Hybrid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Engine Power Messages . . . . . 138
Vehicle Speed Messages . . . . . 138
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . . 138
Universal Remote System
Universal Remote System . . . . 150
Universal Remote SystemProgramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Universal Remote System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
120 Instruments and Controls
Seat Belt Reminders
Driver Seat Belt Reminder
Light
There is a driver seat belt reminder
light on the instrument cluster.
When the vehicle is started, this
light flashes and a chime may come
on to remind the driver to fasten
their seat belt. Then the light stays
on solid until the belt is buckled.
This cycle may continue several
times if the driver remains or
becomes unbuckled while the
vehicle is moving.
If the driver seat belt is buckled,
neither the light nor the chime
comes on.
Passenger Seat Belt Reminder
Light
There is a passenger seat belt
reminder light near the passenger
airbag status indicator. See
Passenger Sensing System078.
When the vehicle is started, this
light flashes and a chime may come
on to remind passengers to fasten
their seat belt. Then the light stays
on solid until the belt is buckled.
This cycle continues several times if
the passenger remains or becomes
unbuckled while the vehicle is
moving.
If the passenger seat belt is
buckled, neither the chime nor the
light comes on.
The front passenger seat belt
reminder light and chime may turn
on if an object is put on the seat
such as a briefcase, handbag, grocery bag, laptop, or other
electronic device. To turn off the
reminder light and/or chime, remove
the object from the seat or buckle
the seat belt.
Airbag Readiness Light
This light shows if there is an
electrical problem with the airbag
system. The system check includes
the airbag sensor(s), passenger
sensing system, the pretensioners,
the airbag modules, the wiring, and
the crash sensing and diagnostic
module. For more information on the
airbag system, see
Airbag System
0 72.
The airbag readiness light comes on
for several seconds when the
vehicle is started. If the light does
not come on then, have it fixed
immediately.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
11348460) - 2018 - crc - 5/3/17
Instruments and Controls 121
{Warning
If the airbag readiness light stays
on after the vehicle is started or
comes on while driving, it means
the airbag system might not be
working properly. The airbags in
the vehicle might not inflate in a
crash, or they could even inflate
without a crash. To help avoid
injury, have the vehicle serviced
right away.
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator
The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system. SeePassenger
Sensing System 078 for important
safety information. The overhead
console has a passenger airbag
status indicator.
United States and Canada
Mexico
When the vehicle is started, the
passenger airbag status indicator
will light ON and OFF, or the symbol
for on and off, for several seconds
as a system check. Then, after
several more seconds, the status
indicator will light either ON or OFF,
or either the on or off symbol, to let
you know the status of the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag.
If the word ON or the on symbol is
lit on the passenger airbag status
indicator, it means that the front outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag are allowed to
inflate.
If the word OFF or the off symbol is
lit on the airbag status indicator, it
means that the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
and knee airbag.
If, after several seconds, both status
indicator lights remain on, or if there
are no lights at all, there may be a
problem with the lights or the
passenger sensing system. See
your dealer for service.
{Warning
If the airbag readiness light ever
comes on and stays on, it means
that something may be wrong
with the airbag system. To help
avoid injury to yourself or others,
have the vehicle serviced right
away. See
Airbag Readiness
Light 0120 for more information,
including important safety
information.