Check this out before even thinking about swaping out parts.
www.chevymalibuforum.com

FRETTING CORROSION: Service Traction Control/ ESC (See...
Saw there hasn't been a post on this for awhile. Had the Traction Control/ECS issue. First noticed the cruise control kicked off, my RPM went up, the car slowed down. I switched over to manual mode. The warning messages were flashing on and off. I held the info button down and they reset. Since...