IllustrationRECEIVE INTERMITTENT 'SHIFT TO PARK' LIGHT ON DASHBOARD ONCE CAR IS PLACED IN PARK AND WILL NOT COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. DRIVER MUST PULL SHIFT BACK TO DRIVE, THEN NEUTRAL THEN REVERSE AND BACK TO PARK BEFORE THE 'SHIFT TO PARK NOTICE SHUTS OFF' . IF NOT REPAIRED THIS CAN ULTIMATELY DRAIN BATTERY OR EVEN DAMAGE BATTERY.
2018 Chevrolet Malibu
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Malibu years
Owner complaints for the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu are substantially higher than the model-year median of 310.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Malibu years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
840–25K
8425–50K
8150–75K
3275–100K
17100–150K
9150K+
307 reports with mileage · 388 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 279 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 191 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 169 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
23 crash reports4 fire reports14 injury reports
Unknown Or Other complaints
151 reportsONCE MY CAR IS STOPPED AND I SHIFT TO 'P'(PARK) AND I TRY TO TURN OFF MY VEHICLE IT STILL GIVES ME THE 'SHIFT TO PARK' MESSAGE. THE SHIFT GEAR HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN REPLACED BY THE CAR DEALERSHIP. HOWEVER AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT STARTED TO DO IT AGAIN. IT HAS UNDER 36,000 MILES ON IT AND WE THOUGHT THE ISSUE HAD BEEN FIXED ALREADY B…
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ONCE MY CAR IS STOPPED AND I SHIFT TO 'P'(PARK) AND I TRY TO TURN OFF MY VEHICLE IT STILL GIVES ME THE 'SHIFT TO PARK' MESSAGE. THE SHIFT GEAR HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN REPLACED BY THE CAR DEALERSHIP. HOWEVER AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT STARTED TO DO IT AGAIN. IT HAS UNDER 36,000 MILES ON IT AND WE THOUGHT THE ISSUE HAD BEEN FIXED ALREADY BUT IT STARTED TO DO IT AGAIN LESS THEN A YEAR LATER. *TR
WHILE IN MOTION CARS REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHTS UP ON DASHBOARD AND CAR LOOSES POWER WHILE DRIVING
THE ECM AND BATTERY SENSOR MALFUNCTIONED ON DEC 9. I FOUND OUT THAT GMC HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR SOMETIME. SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 IS DOCUMENTED ON YOUR SITE. I WAS NOTIFIED FROM ONSTAR AFTER I PASSED THE MILEAGE FOR GMC TO HAVE PAY FOR THIS PROBLEM.
THERE IS A SAFETY RECALL ON THE 2018 MALIBU REMEDY LISTED IS DEALER WILL REPROGRAM ECM SOFTWARE TO CORRECT THE ERROR. I MADE THE APPOINTMENT FOR THE RECALL. HOURS AFTER THE APPOINTMENT A TECHNICIAN FROM THE MURFREESBORO TN CHEVY DEALERSHIP CALLED ME AND SAID I HAVE TO PAY A DIAGNOSIS FEE FOR THEM TO REPAIR THE RECALL ALTHOUGH TH…
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THERE IS A SAFETY RECALL ON THE 2018 MALIBU REMEDY LISTED IS DEALER WILL REPROGRAM ECM SOFTWARE TO CORRECT THE ERROR. I MADE THE APPOINTMENT FOR THE RECALL. HOURS AFTER THE APPOINTMENT A TECHNICIAN FROM THE MURFREESBORO TN CHEVY DEALERSHIP CALLED ME AND SAID I HAVE TO PAY A DIAGNOSIS FEE FOR THEM TO REPAIR THE RECALL ALTHOUGH THE ISSUE THEY WANT TO CHARGE THE FEE IS THE RECALL!!! DISHONEST BUSINESS!!!
I BOUGHT THIS CAR LAST AUG. 2018. FIRST THE LEFT BLINKER DID NOT WORK PROPERLY. IT GOES ON BUT DOESN'T RETRACT BACK. I BROUGHT IT BACK TWICE AND IT STILL DOES IT. THIS MORNING 14 OCT 2019, I WENT TO PULL OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND THE DASH BOARD STARTED TO LIGHT UP. THE ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AND THE CAR TOLD ME I HAD NOT GAS, WHI…
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I BOUGHT THIS CAR LAST AUG. 2018. FIRST THE LEFT BLINKER DID NOT WORK PROPERLY. IT GOES ON BUT DOESN'T RETRACT BACK. I BROUGHT IT BACK TWICE AND IT STILL DOES IT. THIS MORNING 14 OCT 2019, I WENT TO PULL OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND THE DASH BOARD STARTED TO LIGHT UP. THE ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AND THE CAR TOLD ME I HAD NOT GAS, WHICH I DID. I TRIED PULLING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND IT WOULD BARELY MOVE. I BACKED UP INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND IT SEEMED OK. I AM BRINGING IT TO MIDDLETOWN CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THEM TAKE A LOOK. MIND YOU I USED THE CAR SATURDAY NIGHT AND IT WAS TOTALLY FINE. VERY WEIRD. I'M HOPING THEY FIND OUT THE PROBLEM AND FIX IT WITH OUT A HASSLE SINCE IT'S STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I'LL KEEP EVERYONE POSTED.
I WAS DRIVING TO MY DESTINATION AND STARTED TO FEEL MY CAR LIKE JUMPING WHEN IT WAS ACCELERATING ALSO EVERYTIME I PARK IT STUTTERS WHEN I PUT IT IN PARK. I ALSO HEARD ON THE NEWS THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON MALIBU,SO I CHECKED THE VIN NUMBER AND IT SHOULD THERE WAS A MAINTENANCE RECALL ON MY CAR SOMETHING ABOUT THE ENGINE
I CAME TO A STOP AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT. WHEN GREEN LIGHT CAME ON THE CAR STALLED, WOULD NOT RESTART. AFTER 5TH ATTEMPT CAR RESTARTED. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY SAID THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX, SO THEY HAVE CONTACTED GM. STILL WAITING FOR RESPONSE ; ITS BEEN 10 DAYS. CAR HAS…
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I CAME TO A STOP AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT. WHEN GREEN LIGHT CAME ON THE CAR STALLED, WOULD NOT RESTART. AFTER 5TH ATTEMPT CAR RESTARTED. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY SAID THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX, SO THEY HAVE CONTACTED GM. STILL WAITING FOR RESPONSE ; ITS BEEN 10 DAYS. CAR HAS 6300 MILES ON IT. EVENT OCCURRED ON CITY ST, AFTERNOON TRAFFIC.
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND THE CAR STOPPED RUNNING COMING UP TO AN INTERSECTION I ABOUT GOT HIT BY A TRUCK AND THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART I THEN PUSHED IT OUT OF THE INTERSECTION AND WALK TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THERE IS NOT A REMEDY FOR MY CAR AS OF RIGHT NOW AND I'M STILL WAITING I DON'T FEEL SAFE WITH ME ABOUT…
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I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND THE CAR STOPPED RUNNING COMING UP TO AN INTERSECTION I ABOUT GOT HIT BY A TRUCK AND THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART I THEN PUSHED IT OUT OF THE INTERSECTION AND WALK TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THERE IS NOT A REMEDY FOR MY CAR AS OF RIGHT NOW AND I'M STILL WAITING I DON'T FEEL SAFE WITH ME ABOUT GETTING HIT DRIVING THE VEHICLE LET ALONE ONE OF MY FOUR SMALL CHILDREN IN THE CAR
CAR NOT WANTING TO GET UP TO SPEED WHEN PULLING ONTO BUSY ROADWAY. FEELS LIKE IT CREEPS UP TO SPEED SLOWLY FEELS LIKE IT IS NOT IN ACCURATE GEAR.
Official recalls
621V649000 · Seat Belts:critical Fasteners; Seat Belts:rear/other:retractor
Aug 20, 2021
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Seat Belts:rear/other:retractor
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.
Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
Seat Belts:critical Fasteners
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.
Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
20V668000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission
Oct 29, 2020
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.
19V642000 · Electrical System:software; Engine; Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System:injectors
Sep 6, 2019
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles equipped with 1.5L turbo engines. An error in the Engine Control Module (ECM) software may result in the fuel injectors being disabled.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Disabled fuel injectors would prevent the engine from starting and may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECM software, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-630-2438. GM's number for this recall is N192221960.
Additional source detail variants (3)
Engine
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles equipped with 1.5L turbo engines. An error in the Engine Control Module (ECM) software may result in the fuel injectors being disabled.
Consequence: Disabled fuel injectors would prevent the engine from starting and may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECM software, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-630-2438. GM's number for this recall is N192221960.
Electrical System:software
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles equipped with 1.5L turbo engines. An error in the Engine Control Module (ECM) software may result in the fuel injectors being disabled.
Consequence: Disabled fuel injectors would prevent the engine from starting and may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECM software, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-630-2438. GM's number for this recall is N192221960.
Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System:injectors
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles equipped with 1.5L turbo engines. An error in the Engine Control Module (ECM) software may result in the fuel injectors being disabled.
Consequence: Disabled fuel injectors would prevent the engine from starting and may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECM software, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-630-2438. GM's number for this recall is N192221960.
18V576000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:caliper
Aug 30, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.
18V400000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
Jun 14, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. During servicing, a Passenger Presence System (PPS) may have been installed that was not correctly calibrated to the vehicle's seat type. As a result, the PPS may not properly identify an adult passenger from a child passenger in the front passenger seat, potentially causing the air bag to not deploy when it should, or causing the air bag to deploy when it shouldn't.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: In the event of a crash, improper air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger PPS seat service kit, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18208.
18V358000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump
May 31, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.