Other symptoms of this problem include intermittently working cruise control, the brake pedal and tail lights work "backwards" (I.E. the brake lights turn off when the brake pedal is pushed down), the shifter interlock does not allow the car to be shifted out of park, and the brake lights illuminate immediately when the car's engine is started or the key is turned on without the driver touching the brake pedal.

This issue may also occur on other General Motors vehicles such as the 2008 Chevy Malibu Classic, the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Pontiac G6, and the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Saturn Aura.

No tools are needed to fix this problem. Another person may be needed to test the brake lights after completing the repair.

Put simply, the metal pins on the BCM and the female receptacles inside the blue/grey J2 connector become slightly corroded and do not make a proper connection or there is a "high resistance condition" across the connection.

Underneath the panel, you'll see two large blue connectors with grey latches and some fuses towards the front of the car.

Then flip the light grey latch on the top connector labeled either "J2" or "C2" and gently pull it away from the black plastic surface of the BCM (body control module).

The best way to "clean" the corrosion off the male pins and female plugs is just to re-insert the connector and remove it several times.

The friction of this action will rub off the built up corrosion on the metal and help create a better connection.

The TSB also mentions applying some dielectric grease to the pins with a nylon bristle brush to help prevent the problem from re-occurring in the future.

Sure enough, the Malibu started up normally in "Park" with the brake lights turned off as expected.

I watched the tail lights behind the car while my friend tapped on the brakes while saying "on" and "off" to indicate what he was doing with the brake pedal.

The brake lamps inside the tail lights corresponded perfectly with the on/off position of the brake pedal.

We later confirmed that the cruise control was working normally once again and the shifter interlock would allow the car to be shifted out of park with just some normal pressure applied to the brake pedal.

Then replace the passenger side trim or "kick" panel on the center console.

If you need to change a burnt out tail light bulb the part numbers are as follows: Brake # 3057, Turn Signal # 3057, and Reverse # 921.

Update - If the ESC (electronic stability control) and/or TCS (traction control system) indicator lights are shown on the dashboard and your brake lights are not turning on even when you apply heavy pressure to the brake pedal, the issue can be solved in the same manner. It may also be helpful to apply some dielectric grease to the pins.