2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU overheating

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14584249) - 2021 - CRC - 11/9/20
Vehicle Care 241
Warning (Continued)
including the pressure cap, is hot. Wait
for the cooling system and pressure cap
to cool.
Caution
Failure to follow the specific coolant fill
procedure could cause the engine to
overheat and could cause system
damage. If coolant is not visible in the
surge tank, contact your dealer.
The coolant surge tank pressure cap can be
removed when the cooling system, including
the surge tank pressure cap and upper
radiator hose, is no longer hot.
1. Turn the pressure cap slowly counterclockwise. If a hiss is heard, wait
for that to stop. A hiss means there is
still some pressure left. 2. Keep turning the cap and remove it.
3. Fill the coolant surge tank with the
proper mixture to 5-10 mm (0.2-0.4 in)
above the mid-point on the coolant
surge tank.
4. With the coolant surge tank cap off, start the engine and let it run until the
upper radiator hose starts getting hot.
Watch out for the engine cooling fan. By
this time, the coolant level inside the
coolant surge tank may be lower. If the
level is lower, add more of the proper
mixture to the coolant surge tank until
the level reaches 5-10 mm (0.2-0.4 in)
above the mid-point on the coolant
surge tank. 5. Replace the cap tightly.
6. Check the level in the surge tank when
the cooling system has cooled down.
If the coolant is not at the proper level,
repeat Steps 1–6 and reinstall the
pressure cap. If the coolant still is not at
the proper level when the system cools
down again, see your dealer.
Caution
If the pressure cap is not tightly installed,
coolant loss and engine damage may
occur. Be sure the cap is properly and
tightly secured.
Engine Overheating
The vehicle has an engine coolant
temperature gauge on the instrument
cluster to warn of engine overheating. See
Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge 084.
If the decision is made not to lift the hood
when this warning appears, get service help
right away. Contact your dealer for
additional information.
If the decision is made to lift the hood,
make sure the vehicle is parked on a level
surface.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14584249) - 2021 - CRC - 11/9/20
242 Vehicle Care
Then check to see if the engine cooling fans
are running. If the engine is overheating,
both fans should be running. If they are not,
do not continue to run the engine. Have the
vehicle serviced.
Caution
Do not run the engine if there is a leak
in the engine cooling system. This can
cause a loss of all coolant and can
damage the system and vehicle. Have
any leaks fixed right away.
If Steam Is Coming from the Engine
Compartment
{Warning
Steam and scalding liquids from a hot
cooling system are under pressure.
Turning the pressure cap, even a little,
can cause them to come out at high
speed and you could be burned. Never
turn the cap when the cooling system,
including the pressure cap, is hot. Wait
for the cooling system and pressure cap
to cool.
If No Steam Is Coming from the Engine
Compartment
If an engine overheat warning is displayed
but no steam can be seen or heard, the
problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when the
vehicle:
.Climbs a long hill on a hot day.
.Stops after high-speed driving.
.Idles for long periods in traffic.
If the overheat warning is displayed with no
sign of steam: 1. Turn the air conditioning off.
2. Turn the heater on to the highest temperature and to the highest fan
speed. Open the windows as necessary.
3. When it is safe to do so, pull off the road, shift to P (Park) or N (Neutral), and
let the engine idle.
If the engine coolant temperature gauge is
no longer in the overheat zone, the vehicle
can be driven. Continue to drive the vehicle
slowly for about 10 minutes. Keep a safe
distance from the vehicle in front. If the
warning does not come back on, continue to
drive normally and have the cooling system
checked for proper fill and function. If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and
park the vehicle right away.
If there is no sign of steam, idle the engine
for three minutes while parked. If the
warning is still displayed, turn off the
engine until it cools down.
Washer Fluid
What to Use
When windshield washer fluid is needed, be
sure to read the manufacturer's instructions
before use. If operating the vehicle in an
area where the temperature may fall below
freezing, use a fluid that has sufficient
protection against freezing.
Adding Washer Fluid
Open the cap with the washer symbol on it.
Add washer fluid until the tank is full. See
Engine Compartment Overview
0231 for
reservoir location.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14584249) - 2021 - CRC - 11/9/20
260 Vehicle Care
Warning (Continued)
.Overloading the tires can cause
overheating as a result of too
much flexing. There could be a
blowout and a serious crash. See
Vehicle Load Limits0179.
.Underinflated tires pose the same
danger as overloaded tires. The
resulting crash could cause serious
injury. Check all tires frequently to
maintain the recommended
pressure. Tire pressure should be
checked when the tires are cold.
.Overinflated tires are more likely
to be cut, punctured, or broken by
a sudden impact —such as when
hitting a pothole. Keep tires at the
recommended pressure.
.Worn or old tires can cause a
crash. If the tread is badly worn,
replace them.
.Replace any tires that have been
damaged by impacts with
potholes, curbs, etc.
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
.Improperly repaired tires can cause
a crash. Only the dealer or an
authorized tire service center
should repair, replace, dismount,
and mount the tires.
.Do not spin the tires in excess of
56 km/h (35 mph) on slippery
surfaces such as snow, mud, ice,
etc. Excessive spinning may cause
the tires to explode.
See Tire Pressure for High-Speed
Operation 0267 for inflation pressure
adjustment for high-speed driving.
All-Season Tires
This vehicle may come with all-season tires.
These tires are designed to provide good
overall performance on most road surfaces
and weather conditions. Original equipment
tires designed to GM's specific tire
performance criteria have a TPC specification
code molded onto the sidewall. Original
equipment all-season tires can be identified
by the last two characters of this TPC code,
which will be “MS.” Consider installing winter tires on the
vehicle if frequent driving on snow or
ice-covered roads is expected. All-season tires
provide adequate performance for most
winter driving conditions, but they may not
offer the same level of traction or
performance as winter tires on snow or
ice-covered roads. See
Winter Tires0260.
Winter Tires
This vehicle was not originally equipped
with winter tires. Winter tires are designed
for increased traction on snow and
ice-covered roads. Consider installing winter
tires on the vehicle if frequent driving on ice
or snow covered roads is expected. See your
dealer for details regarding winter tire
availability and proper tire selection. Also,
see Buying New Tires 0274.
With winter tires, there may be decreased
dry road traction, increased road noise, and
shorter tread life. After changing to winter
tires, be alert for changes in vehicle
handling and braking.
If using winter tires:
.Use tires of the same brand and tread
type on all four wheel positions.

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14584249) - 2021 - CRC - 11/9/20
266 Vehicle Care
Vehicle Placard:A label permanently
attached to a vehicle showing the
vehicle capacity weight and the original
equipment tire size and recommended
inflation pressure. See “Tire and Loading
Information Label” underVehicle Load
Limits 0179.
Tire Pressure
Tires need the correct amount of air
pressure to operate effectively.
{Warning
Neither tire underinflation nor
overinflation is good. Underinflated
tires, or tires that do not have
enough air, can result in:
.Tire overloading and overheating,
which could lead to a blowout.
.Premature or irregular wear.
.Poor handling.
.Reduced fuel economy.
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
Overinflated tires, or tires that have
too much air, can result in:
.Unusual wear.
.Poor handling.
.Rough ride.
.Needless damage from road
hazards.
The Tire and Loading Information label
on the vehicle indicates the original
equipment tires and the correct cold
tire inflation pressures. The
recommended pressure is the minimum
air pressure needed to support the
vehicle's maximum load carrying
capacity. See Vehicle Load Limits 0179. How the vehicle is loaded affects
vehicle handling and ride comfort.
Never load the vehicle with more
weight than it was designed to carry.
When to Check
Check the pressure of the tires once a
month or more. Do not forget the
compact spare, if the vehicle has one.
The compact spare cold tire pressure
should be at 420 kPa (60 psi). See
Compact Spare Tire
0289.
How to Check
Use a good quality pocket-type gauge
to check tire pressure. Proper tire
inflation cannot be determined by
looking at the tire. Check the tire
inflation pressure when the tires are
cold, meaning the vehicle has not been
driven for at least three hours or no
more than 1.6 km (1 mi).

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14584249) - 2021 - CRC - 11/9/20
342 Index
Driving (cont'd)If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Impaired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
E
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Electrical SystemEngine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . 254
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Emergency OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Check Light (Malfunction Indicator) . . . . . 87
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . 91 Engine (cont'd)
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Oil Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Engine Air Filter Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Extender, Seat Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . 109
F
Filter,
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Flat Tire (cont'd)
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . 209
Frequency Statement Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Front Pedestrian Braking (FPB)
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Economy, Driving for Better . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . 220
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Top Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14584249) - 2021 - CRC - 11/9/20
Index 345
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Map Data Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
MediaAvoiding Untrusted Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Messages
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Vehicle Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Mirrors Automatic Dimming Rearview . . . . . . . . . . 22
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Tilt in Reverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Mirrors, Interior Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Multi-band Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
N
Navigation Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Navigation (cont'd)
Using the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Navigation Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Net, Convenience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
O
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Oil
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
OnStar Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . 332
OnStar Emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
OnStar Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
OnStar Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
OnStar System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124, 134
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
P
ParkShifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Park Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Parking
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Brake and P (Park) MechanismCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Extended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Parking or Backing Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . 86
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . . . 170
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Pedestrian Ahead Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Perchlorate Materials Requirements, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Personalization Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Phone Apple CarPlay and Android Auto . . . . . . . 146
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141, 142
Port USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Positioning Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135