[malibu2008]

Here's one for you. On a drive home tonight (in my '08 LT) I noticed that the tach was stuck at 2K RPM, the speedo at 20 mph, and the oil and seatbelt warning lights were illuminated. No other warning messages, engine and transmission running fine, no noises...nothing.

I was almost home anyway, so I pulled in and shut off the engine. The gauge cluster goes dark, the needles don't move, but the oil and seat belt lights remain on. Within 10-20 seconds they went out, but the needles won't budge.

Anyone else have this problem?? This has never happened to me before, but I wonder if the weather could be the culprit. Within a matter of days the temps in Michigan have gone from 90 to 55.

 

[KURLY]

Hmmmmmmm......does the gas and temp gage work? Maybe you blew a fuse or a relay went bad.

 

[bballr4567]

Take that into the dealer for sure.

 

[Snow White LS]

That sorta thing happened when my alternator blew in my sunfire and I drove for almost 30 minutes on my battery.

 

[malibu2008]

Update: the speedometer is now working alright, but the tach's resting position (when the car is off) is at 500RPM.

And it's almost funny...now the gas gauge (with a full tank) points at the "H" on the coolant temp. No warning messages or lights though. Now I think it is a computer issue and they just need to be reset.

 

[USA1fan]

Most likely right. I haven't had this happen with my Malibu, but it happened with my 07 Avalanche, and it just took a reset to set everything right. It only happened once too, when the battery died (uh, totally my fault).

 

[slhaas]

I wouldnt care what corrects itself and what doesn't. This is not acceptable and the car is under warranty. Make the dealer figure out the issue, correct it and prevent it from reoccurring, ASAP.

I doubt it's an alternator. That'll make lights come on, but shouldn't do the guages so crazily. If that does go, though, your battery will die. Snow white, you only got 30min on a battery? I had an alternator die once, and replaced the battery just North of Madison, WI. Drove to work in Brookfield, WI (about 75 miles). Then I parked, worked, ran to two auto parts stores during breaks about 5-10 more miles, and replaced the alternator in the parking lot. The battery still had a decent charge... though this was on a 1989 Ford Escort.