2019 Chevrolet Malibu · symptom sheet

"Shift to Park" or "Service Shifter" warning comes on

34owner reports
53,500median miles
0involved a crash

Newest report May 16, 2026 · checked Sep 29, 2026

175 of the 191 complaints on this car are about the transmission and drivetrain. 34 of those describe shift to park warning. Only stalling is reported more often on this car.

No recall on this systemas of Sep 29, 2026

No crash reportedin 34 reports

Tick what matches of 34 reports

it says shift to park when it is already in park

I cannot turn the car off

the battery went dead after

Shift to park warning on other Malibu years

201696 reports 201798 reports 2018123 reports 201934 reports 202042 reports

Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2014, 2015.

What this problem usually is

This sheet covers a dash message that says "Shift to Park" or "Service Shifter" when the car is already in Park, or when it's sitting in Drive with the shifter lights glowing. Owners say it won't let them turn the car off, or it flashes up on the highway.

Read the full explainer · Which cars report it most

What got replaced

Few of these reports name the part that was replaced.

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the transmission and drivetrain covers the 2019 model year as of Sep 29, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the transmission and drivetrain on the Malibu

AQ10-001opened Nov 18, 2010

Other · model years 2009

Fleet vehicle recall completion audit. Closed dec 28, 2015.

DP02-008opened Sep 3, 2002

Engine And Engine Cooling · model years 1999

Engine coolant boils over. Closed sep 24, 2002.

None of these investigations covers the 2019 model year.

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 25,700 and 71,000 miles, from the 13 reports that gave a mileage.

Is this a known problem?

The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 3 service bulletins or notices for the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu that deal with this problem. Newest first.

Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.

Service bulletin19-NA-206Mar 13, 2024
This service bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of seeing an intermittent Shift to Park message displayed while vehicle is in Park.
Service bulletin19NA206Oct 30, 2020
This technical bulletin provides repair information to correct a customer concern of seeing an intermittent Shift to Park message displayed while vehicle is in park.
Service bulletinPIC6244DJul 9, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have a Shift to Park message on the Driver Information Center. Technician will find Diagnostic Trouble Codes P1AEE, P1AEF, P1AF0, P1AF2, and P1E22.

What owners wrote

“Purchased this vehicle (2019 Chevy Malibu) in September 2024. Put the vehicle in park and the display keeps saying "shift to park" when it's already in park.”
Filed Oct 7, 2024

“1. Couldnt turn off engine due to shift to park issues 2 If I can't turn the engine off there is a risk that the vehicle could suddenly move and I cannot leave the vehicle with the engine running. 3. Yes it has been confirmed and inspected. 4 See #1.”
Filed May 7, 2024

“Car has 55,000 miles on it and is displaying "shift to park" on dash when car is in park and shut off. I was unable to get the car to go into the park gear for 11 minutes and was only able to do so by starting the car, putting the car in drive and shifting back to park repeatedly.”
Filed Jan 27, 2024 · 55,000 miles

“When vehicle was put in park. I was unable to turn off vehicle "shift to park" error kept coming on. Had to finally unplug battery. Calling dealer today. Unable to drive.”
Filed Aug 23, 2023

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 0 of 34 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.

Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found