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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2018 Chevrolet Malibu — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 700 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

700
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
23
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
4
Involved Fire
owner-reported
17
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.

978 complaints

907 complaints

923 complaints

363 complaints

270 complaints

863 complaints

725 complaints

700 complaints

192 complaints

198 complaints

90 complaints

99 complaints

71 complaints

43 complaints

11 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 281 reports
Electrical System 192 reports
Power Train 171 reports
Unknown Or Other 151 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 114 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 84 reports
Service Brakes 71 reports
Steering 42 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Power Train ODI 11385601 12/30/2020

TAKING MY FIANC TO THE AIRPORT SO THAT HE CAN REPORT FOR DUTY AND THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY COMES TO A SPEED OF 20MPH ON THE HIGHWAY CAUSE A VEHICLE BEHIND ME TO COME TO A CLOSE CONTACT WITH MY CAR. REPLACED SENSOR AND PEDAL AS INSTRUCTED BECAUSE I AM FRESH OUT OF MY WARRANTY AND A MONTH LATER. THE ISSUE RETURNED. I CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY 200 TO 500 EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS OR MO THE TO…

Power Train ODI 11385665 12/30/2020

MY CAR RANDOMLY DISPLAYED A MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD THAT SAID "ENGINE POWER REDUCED" TRACTION LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED AND IT BROUGHT MY SPEED LIMIT TO AROUND 20 WHILE I WAS ON A BUSY STREET. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND GOT THE POWER BACK BUT HAS DONE IT 3 MORE TIME IN 2 DAYS. VERY SCARY WITH 2 BABIES IN THE CAR.

Electrical System ODI 11385419 12/29/2020

IN MAY OF 2020 I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN WOODBRIDGE,VA FOR A ECM RECALL ON MY VEHICLE. AFTER WAITING FOR THEM TO DO THE RECALL THEY STATED NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH MY VEHICLE. FROM OCTOBER TO CURRENT MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN DOING EVERYTHING THAT WAS STATED IN THE RECALL WHICH LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT THEY NEVER CHANGED THE PART. MY VEHICLE HAS SHUT OFF ON ME IN T…

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 11291871 12/29/2019

FAULTY ACCELERATOR POSITION SENSOR. PART IS SUPPOSE TO LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR. THE CAR HAS 60000 MILES ON IT. IT THROWS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND REDUCES POWER TO THE VEHICLE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS YOU CANT ACCELERATE TO GET OUT OF TRAFFIC OR TO GET ACROSS THE LANES. YOU JUST HAVE TO COAST TO SAFETY.

Fuel/propulsion System ODI 11445341 12/28/2021

While driving engine warning function low power. Would not accelerate above 20mph. Defective accelerator pedal assembly and sensor.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2018 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 2018 Chevrolet Malibu reliable?
Owners have filed 700 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2018 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.