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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2010 Chevrolet Malibu — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 1,365 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

1,365

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

Injuries

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Chevrolet Malibu — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Chevrolet Malibu

1,365 complaints

2011 Chevrolet Malibu

978 complaints

2012 Chevrolet Malibu

907 complaints

2013 Chevrolet Malibu

923 complaints

2014 Chevrolet Malibu

363 complaints

2015 Chevrolet Malibu

270 complaints

2016 Chevrolet Malibu

863 complaints

2017 Chevrolet Malibu

725 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Steering 455 reports

Electrical System 295 reports

Electronic Stability Control (esc) 227 reports

Service Brakes 200 reports

Exterior Lighting 194 reports

Air Bags 145 reports

Power Train 133 reports

Vehicle Speed Control 116 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 11292257 12/31/2019

THE POWER STEERING CONTROL LOCKS UP THE STEERING SYSTEM. THE BRAKES PULSATES WHEN STOPPING CAUSE LOSING TRACTION. ESC CONTROL IS OFF. MAKING THE VEHICLE NOT DRIVE-ABLE.

Steering ODI 11445575 12/30/2021

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel would intermittently fail to operate as needed with the power steering assist fault message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that excessive force was needed to operate the vehicle during the failure. Occasionally, the power steering assist …

Seat Belts ODI 10668989 12/30/2014

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED TO LATCH. THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.

Seats ODI 10668972 12/30/2014

DRIVERS SEAT FRAME BROKE AT TWO WELD AREAS. VEHICLE HAS NEVER SUSTAINED ANY DAMAGE TO SEAT. SEAT FRAMED JUST FAILED. DEALERSHIP AND WELDING SHOPS HAVE ALL TOLD ME THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. *JS

Steering ODI 11632940 12/29/2024

Steering not working correctly it is ver hard to turn steering wheel. Cluster lights went out so dashboard lights do not work, brake lights not working seems to be electrical problems with the vehicle

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu reliable?

Owners have filed 1,365 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, most often about steering. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Chevrolet Malibu years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.