Owners filed 3,192 complaints about the 2015–2025 Chevrolet Malibu with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 30th-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2016 model year drew the most (837), and the single most-reported problem area is engine, named in 34% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2016, with 837 complaints, led by engine (302).
- Spike years: 2016 (4.4× the typical year), 2017 (3.7× the typical year), 2018 (3.7× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: fuel system complaints came at a median of 44k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 22 complaints mention a fire and 109 mention a crash; owners reported 78 injuries and 3 deaths.
Chevrolet Malibu complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 267 | Electrical system (68), Engine (68), Air bags (49) | 53k mi | 18 | 9 |
| 2016 | 837 | Engine (302), Electrical system (222), Transmission / powertrain (166) | 50k mi | 23 | 2 |
| 2017 | 702 | Engine (253), Electrical system (161), Transmission / powertrain (139) | 48k mi | 16 | 4 |
| 2018 | 695 | Engine (279), Electrical system (191), Transmission / powertrain (169) | 45k mi | 23 | 4 |
| 2019 | 190 | Transmission / powertrain (66), Engine (63), Electrical system (61) | 42k mi | 8 | 1 |
| 2020 | 198 | Engine (59), Transmission / powertrain (58), Electrical system (57) | 68k mi | 10 | 0 |
| 2021 | 88 | Electrical system (29), Transmission / powertrain (28), Engine (14) | 54k mi | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | 96 | Electrical system (32), Engine (29), Transmission / powertrain (23) | 65k mi | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 69 | Backup camera / rear sensors (16), Electrical system (12), Engine (12) | 66k mi | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 39 | Electrical system (17), Backup camera / rear sensors (10), Transmission / powertrain (5) | 45k mi | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | Backup camera / rear sensors (5), Electrical system (4), Transmission / powertrain (1) | 21k mi | 1 | 0 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Chevrolet Malibu problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 1,082 | 34% | 52k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Electrical system | 854 | 27% | 47k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Transmission / powertrain | 693 | 22% | 46k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Speed control / acceleration | 464 | 14% | 57k mi | — |
| Brakes | 312 | 10% | 50k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Fuel system | 264 | 8% | 44k mi | Fuel pump repair cost |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 169 | 5% | 53k mi | — |
| Steering | 166 | 5% | 54k mi | Power steering repair cost |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Chevrolet models in the index
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (7,160)
- Chevrolet Equinox (3,023)
- Chevrolet Traverse (2,644)
- Chevrolet Tahoe (2,306)
- Chevrolet Colorado (2,241)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.