
Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14584249) - 2021 - CRC - 11/9/20
292 Vehicle Care
9. Start the vehicle with the good batteryand run the engine at idle speed for at
least four minutes.
10. Try to start the vehicle that had the dead battery. If it will not start after a
few tries, it probably needs service.
Caution
If the jumper cables are connected or
removed in the wrong order, electrical
shorting may occur and damage the
vehicle. The repairs would not be covered
by the vehicle warranty. Always connect
and remove the jumper cables in the
correct order, making sure that the cables
do not touch each other or other metal.
Jumper Cable Removal
Reverse the sequence exactly when
removing the jumper cables.
After starting the disabled vehicle and
removing the jumper cables, allow it to idle
for several minutes.
Towing the Vehicle
Caution
Incorrectly towing a disabled vehicle may
cause damage. The damage would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty. Do not
lash or hook to suspension components.
Use the proper straps around the tires to
secure the vehicle. Do not drag a locked
wheel/tire. Use tire skates or dollies
under any locked wheel/tire while
loading the vehicle. Do not use a sling
type lift to tow the vehicle. This could
damage the vehicle.
Caution
Improper use of the tow eye can damage
the vehicle. If equipped, use the tow eye
to load a disabled vehicle onto a flatbed
tow truck from a flat road surface, or to
move the vehicle a short distance. Use
caution and low speeds. The transmission
must be in (N) Neutral when moving the
vehicle. GM recommends a flatbed tow truck to
transport a disabled vehicle. Use ramps to
help reduce approach angles, if necessary.
A towed vehicle should have its drive wheels
off the ground. Contact Roadside Assistance
or a professional towing service if the
disabled vehicle must be towed.
Front Attachment Points
The vehicle is equipped with specific
attachment points to be used by the towing
provider. These holes may be used to pull
the vehicle from a flat road surface onto the
flatbed tow truck.

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
348 Index
System (cont'd)Forward Collision Alert (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Global Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Systems Driver Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250, 251
Teen Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
All-Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Compact Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Low Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 Tires (cont'd)
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266, 267
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Sealant and Compressor Kit,
Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . 275
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . 276
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . 273
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Towing Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Traction Control/Electronic Stability
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Trademarks and License Agreements . . . . . 156
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . 325
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250, 251
U
Umbrella Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
UpdatesMap Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
USB Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Using the Navigation System . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Using the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
V
Vehicle Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19