General Motors (GM) will be contacting a small number of 2016 Chevrolet Malibu owners because their vehicles may fail to conform to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Electronic Stability Control. According to the defect report, the memory chip in the electronic brake control module (EBCM) could fail and cause loss of anti-lock brakes (ABS) and electronic stability control (ECS). The vehicle could become difficult to control in situations where these brake systems would normally be engaged and the driver information center (DIC) will display a message indicating to service stability control, traction control, or both. This condition does not affect the primary braking system; the service brakes will continue to operate normally.

Those receiving notices will be asked to return to their dealers to have the EBCM replaced. Owners wanting more information about the problem are asked to contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM’s number for this recall is 39440 and the NHTSA campaign number is 16V-272.