Owners have filed 17,754 complaints on the Chevrolet Malibu, covering 1981–2025. The system named most often is Electrical System (745 reports). Worst years by volume: 2009, 2004, 2010; cleanest: 1983, 1981, 2025. 699 reports describe a crash, 160 a fire, 19 a death. On average the car was 6.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Malibu
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 17,754 Malibu complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 745 Read
The contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu. While driving approximately 23 mph in the rain, the vehicle spun out of control and crashed into a cement barrier. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. Two days later, the interior of the vehicle caught fire. The fire department…
The contact owned a 2003 chevrolet malibu. While driving at approximately 55 mph and attempting to merge into another lane, the vehicle crashed into two barrels. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle stalled. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a junk yard. The contact sustained a left knee, left…
Unknown, I parked the vehicle, got out of it, left car running for AC, locked the doors. The car was in park. Locks unlocked door, rear view camera display cut off, AC still running. I am viewing a house, so I walk around house and car still in park, 0-5min. I go in the house, 10-15 later, out of habit hit the lock…
Power Train 706 Read
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked and turned off in front of the hotel lobby. Moments after entering the hotel, the contact informed that the vehicle had rolled down the hotel driveway and crashed into two parked vehicles located in the hotel parking area. No…
While my daughter was attempting to exit a parking lot, she put the car in drive pressed accelerator pedal and there was no response from car. Pressed accelerator again and car took off and hit a 13 inch curb causing major front end damage to vehicle. An initial diagnostic scan revealed a transmission fault code of…
Hit an animal on the roadway and the airbag didn’t deploy and my car is destroyed engine light is on I could have been hurt
Steering 368 Read
The contact owns a 2015 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph the vehicle started to drive to the right and the wheels began to lose traction before the steering wheel became difficult to turn causing the driver to lose control of the steering. The vehicle then spun out and…
The steering wheel locked preventing me from having control of the steering which resulted into me hitting the back of another vehicle causing a rollover accident on a city street and my car is totally damaged
I own a 2023 Chevrolet Malibu with an open safety recall. General Motors/dealership has refused to repair the recall. The vehicle has also had multiple safety-related problems, including Service ESC warnings, jerking/poor acceleration, Service Safety Restraint System and airbag warnings, and a “Steering Assist is…
Engine 331 Read
Faulty sensor on my car almost caused me to lose ny life on the highway today. While driving my check engine light came on and I got the message ' engind power reduced ' car would not let me accelerate , hit a wall on the shoulder of the highway rushing to safety I now have a dent in my car , sad part is this is a…
The contact's mother owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary at a traffic light while depressing the accelerator pedal to move forward, the vehicle began to hesitate. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her destination. The…
The contact owned a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while backing out of the driveway, the engine revved up and accelerated independently. The contact's vehicle accelerated independently in reverse(R) and clipped the tow hitch of a vehicle parked on the street, and that was where the vehicle came to a…
Vehicle Speed Control 319 Read
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving very slowly into a parking space, the brake pedal was pressed to stop the vehicle, but the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and suddenly accelerated forward at a very high rate of speed and crashed into a furniture store…
The recall ecm caused engine to stall as I was driving up a hill, I accelerated to make up for the delay and veered into a parked car causing my car to over turn on the hood. I was injured and car rendered totalled. This was my second accident. I was sidestepped on the highway causing damage to my entire side of…
When driving my 2018 chevy malibu it stalls out while I'm driving reducing my speed to 20 mph when I'am on the freeway. As I continue to drive home I seen a notification that said power reduce system it happens very often and as a result of the stalling I was rear ended from the rear and it is very dangerous for me to…
Air Bags 290 Read
The contact owns a 2004 chevrolet malibu sedan. While driving 30 mph, she crashed into a dirt mound and blacked out. When the driver side air bag deployed, the steering wheel was detached. There was smoke and some flames present around the steering wheel. The driver was able to regain consciousness, smelled smoke and…
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 30-35 MPH, another vehicle collided with her vehicle on the rear end of the vehicle as well as the rear passenger side. The contact mentioned that the seat belt did retract during the impact. The air bags on the front driver and passenger…
When I was in a car accident I was hit on the rear passenger side of my vehicle, right near where my side air bags are supposed to be located. I was hit at 50 mph and the airbags did not deploy
Service Brakes 256 Read
I rented this 2024 Chevrolet Malibu from Enterprise Rent A Car in Union City, GA. While driving the vehicle on the highway early on [XXX] a vehicle came to a complete stop and in front of the vehicle directly in front of me. This action almost caused a multi-car pile-up. I immediately engaged the brakes. I was met…
I am writing to formally report a critical safety issue with my 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, which resulted in a severe accident and posed significant risks to my safety and the safety of The issue involves the brake vacuum pump, which failed while I was driving. The component is currently with the vehicle, which is stored…
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH and approaching a stop light the braking system malfunctioned when pressing the brake pedal causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of a second vehicle. The contact indicated that the vehicle did not reduce speed…
Structure 75 Read
This vehicle was purchased on February 10, 2023 under false pretenses, deceit, and fraudulent activities by Frank Leta Honda of Missouri. Frank Leta Honda and its Salesman failed to disclosed that this vehicle was in a major accident prior to me purchasing it. The front-end bumper and the front quarter-panel on the…
The car was parked and off in our driveway for 15 minutes -horn started went out saw smoke called 911 and by the time back at front door flames from front end. Fire department came and put out fire -car totaled. Worried about spontaneous combustion especially if car parked in garage or closer to house or if people…
I was backing up and changed my gears into drive, turn the steering wheel and foot still on the brake, car just jerked and took off and I ended up hitting somebody's van. When I tried to hit the brake all the car did was sped up so right before I went out in the driveway uncontrollably, I had to pull up the park brake…
Malibu years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Back Over Prevention | 1 | — | |
| 2024 | Back Over Prevention | 3 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 23 | 4 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 16 | 4 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 22 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 15 | 9 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 17 | 7 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 36 | 10 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 41 | 11 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 34 | 16 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 32 | 10 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 40 | 8 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 26 | 3 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 31 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 50 | 7 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 56 | 37 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 63 | 11 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 24 | 4 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 27 | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 32 | 5 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 33 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 29 | 3 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 13 | — | |
| 1983 | Visibility | — | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 2,526 |
| Average complaints per series | 7 |
| Worst single series | 53 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.0 years |
A model average of 7 hides a worst series at 53. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Malibu?
By complaint volume, 2009, 2004, 2010 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Malibu years are the cleanest?
1983, 2025, 2024 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Malibu have?
17,754 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1981–2025. Of those, 699 describe a crash and 160 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.
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