
Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
12461813) - 2019 - crc - 12/11/18
In Brief 5
In Brief
Instrument Panel
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . . . 6
Initial Drive Information
Initial Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . 8
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Trunk Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Second Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Heated and Ventilated Seats . . . 12
Head Restraint Adjustment . . . . 12
Seat Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Passenger Sensing System . . . 13
Mirror Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . . 14
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Exterior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . 16
Climate Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Vehicle Features
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . . 19
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Forward Collision Alert (FCA)
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Forward Automatic
Braking (FAB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Front Pedestrian Braking (FPB)
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . 21
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . . 21
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . 21
Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Park Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Automatic Parking
Assist (APA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Hybrid Features
Hybrid Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
High Voltage Safety
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Regenerative Braking
(Hybrid Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Performance and Maintenance
Traction Control/Electronic
Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Tire Pressure Monitor . . . . . . . . . . 26
Fuel (1.5L and 1.8L
Engines) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Fuel (2.0L Engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
E85 or FlexFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . 27
Driving for Better Fuel
Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Roadside Assistance
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
12461813) - 2019 - crc - 12/11/18
Lighting 153
If equipped, the rear reading lamps
are in the headliner.
Press the button near each lamp to
turn reading lamps on or off.
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting
Some exterior lamps and most of
the interior lamps turn on briefly at
night or in areas with limited lighting
when the Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) transmitter
Kbutton is
pressed. SeeRemote Keyless Entry
(RKE) System Operation030. After
about 30 seconds the exterior lamps
turn off, then the dome lamps and
remaining interior lamps dim to off.
Entry lighting can be disabled
manually by turning the ignition on
or to ACC/ACCESSORY, or by
pressing
Qon the RKE transmitter.
This feature can be changed. See
Vehicle Personalization0142.
Exit Lighting
Some exterior lamps and interior
lights come on at night, or in areas
with limited lighting, when the driver
door is opened after the ignition is
turned off. The dome lamp comes
on after the ignition is turned off.The exterior lamps and dome lamp
remain on for a set amount of time,
then automatically turn off.
The exterior lamps turn off
immediately by turning the exterior
lamp control off.
This feature can be changed. See
Vehicle Personalization0142.
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric Power
Management (EPM) that estimates
the battery's temperature and state
of charge. It then adjusts the voltage
for best performance and extended
life of the battery.
When the battery's state of charge
is low, the voltage is raised slightly
to quickly bring the charge back up.
When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly to
prevent overcharging. If the vehicle
has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC), you may see the

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
12461813) - 2019 - crc - 12/11/18
178 Driving and Operating
ON/RUN/START (Green Indicator
Light) :This mode is for driving and
starting. With the ignition off, and
the brake pedal applied, pressing
the button once will turn the ignition
on. Once engine cranking begins,
release the button. Engine cranking
will continue until the engine starts.
SeeStarting the Engine0178. The
ignition will then remain on.
Service Mode
This power mode is available for
service and diagnostics, and to
verify the proper operation of the
malfunction indicator lamp as may
be required for emission inspection
purposes. With the vehicle off, and
the brake pedal not applied,
pressing and holding the button for
more than five seconds will place
the vehicle in Service Mode. The
instruments and audio systems will
operate as they do with the ignition
on, but the vehicle will not be able
to be driven. The engine will not
start in Service Mode. Press the
button again to turn the vehicle off.Starting the Engine
Move the shift lever to P (Park) or
N (Neutral). The engine will not start
in any other position. To restart the
engine when the vehicle is already
moving, use N (Neutral) only.
For hybrid vehicles, the engine will
only start if required for cabin
warming or high voltage battery
charging. The vehicle ready light will
be illuminated when the vehicle is
ready to be driven.
Caution
Do not try to shift to P (Park) if the
vehicle is moving. If you do, you
could damage the transmission.
Shift to P (Park) only when the
vehicle is stopped.
Caution
If you add electrical parts or
accessories, you could change
the way the engine operates. Any
resulting damage would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
SeeAdd-On Electrical Equipment
0231.
Starting Procedure
1. With the Keyless Access
system, the RKE transmitter
must be in the vehicle. Press
ENGINE START/STOP with the
brake pedal applied. When the
engine begins cranking, let go
of the button.
The idle speed will go down as
the engine gets warm. Do not
race the engine immediately
after starting it.
If the RKE transmitter is not in
the vehicle, if there is
interference, or if the RKE
transmitter battery is low, the

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
12461813) - 2019 - crc - 12/11/18
Index 377
How to Wear Seat Belts
Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
HVAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156, 159
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Indicator
Pedestrian Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Vehicle Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Infants and Young Children,
Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Information
Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Publication Ordering . . . . . . . . . . 355
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . 115, 116
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . . . . 6
Interior Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . 49
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
J
Jump Starting - North
America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
K
Keyless Entry
Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . 30
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . . . 278
Lamps
Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . 149
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Exterior Lamps Off
Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Exterior Lighting Battery
Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Malfunction Indicator
(Check Engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . . . 215
Lane Departure
Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . . 217
Lane Keep Assist Light . . . . . . . . . 128
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70LATCH System
Replacing Parts after a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Lighting
Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . 151
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Lights
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 126
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Check Engine (Malfunction
Indicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 127
Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 130
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 131
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . 149