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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2016 Chevrolet Malibu — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 864 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

864
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
24
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
2
Involved Fire
owner-reported
17 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
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.

1,365 complaints

978 complaints

907 complaints

923 complaints

363 complaints

270 complaints

864 complaints

725 complaints

700 complaints

192 complaints

198 complaints

90 complaints

99 complaints

71 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 311 reports
Electrical System 233 reports
Unknown Or Other 181 reports
Power Train 174 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 158 reports
Service Brakes 107 reports
Electronic Stability Control (esc) 77 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 52 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Steering ODI 11164238 12/31/2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN DRIVE AND STATIONARY, IT STALLED AND THE DRIVE ASSIST WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE STEERING WHEEL ALSO SEIZED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE …

Engine ODI 11445626 12/30/2021

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the RPM decreased by approximately 4,000 revs per minute. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder and cruised until the vehicle began to accelerate as needed. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed …

Unknown Or Other ODI 11385598 12/30/2020

OFTEN, WHEN I SHIFT MY CAR TO PARK, A WARNING COMES UP AND INDICATES SHIFT INTO PARK. IT ALREADY IS IN PARK. I HAVE TO PLAY AROUND UNTIL IT RECOGNIZES IT. HAPPENS RANDOMLY. ANNOYING.

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 11385684 12/30/2020

I WAS DRIVING DOWNTOWN WHEN CAR ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND IT SLOWED DOWN THEN SHUT OFF, LUCKILY THE CAR BEHIND ME DIDN'T HIT ME. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER. I'VE HAD IT TOWED 2 TIME ONE MECHANIC SAID: I NEEDED A MOTOR. I BOUGHT A CODE READER REPLACED BOTH BATTERIES. NEXT CODE P2138 REDUDED ENGINE POWER. IT A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE CONTROL ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION SENSOR. …

Electrical System ODI 11385714 12/30/2020

WHEN THE CAR GOES INTO THE AUTO STOP MODE IT COMPLETELY DIES AND THE LIGHT. NO DASH LIGHTS, NO DOME LIGHT, NO HAZARD LIGHTS, LITERALLY NOTHING WORKS. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES SO FAR, AND ALL THREE TIMES I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. I'M NOT HAPPY, I HAVE HAD TROUBLE OUT OF THIS CAR WITH OTHER ISSUES SENSE I GOTTEN IT BACK IN JULY OF 2020

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

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 2016 Chevrolet Malibu reliable?
Owners have filed 864 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, most often about engine. 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.