Doors do not lock when put into drive. Also when putting into park, car dings and error comes on stating shift to park. Doors have not locked in over 2 years, however at times it does but as of now they are not locked.
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
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.
Unknown Or Other complaints
151 reportsThe vehicle was sent into the shop for repair four times and I continue to get a shift to park alert on dashboard after the repairs and warranty has passed I was asked to pay for the repairs when the dealership has serviced the car for over a week each time stating they couldn’t find the repair light I have contacted gm about th…
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The vehicle was sent into the shop for repair four times and I continue to get a shift to park alert on dashboard after the repairs and warranty has passed I was asked to pay for the repairs when the dealership has serviced the car for over a week each time stating they couldn’t find the repair light I have contacted gm about the issue this is an act of consumer abuse I would like to be contacted on this matter
there is a issue with the chevy mailubu where a message will pop up on the dash and say engine power reduced which will significantly slow down the speed of the car and is impossible to keep up with traffic as someone who has to use the expressway everyday with a toddler in the car this is a big issue also im wondering why this …
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there is a issue with the chevy mailubu where a message will pop up on the dash and say engine power reduced which will significantly slow down the speed of the car and is impossible to keep up with traffic as someone who has to use the expressway everyday with a toddler in the car this is a big issue also im wondering why this isnt a recall on the the malibu because i know three other people with the same issue and we all have different year cars. chevy service team said the issue was from a pcv valve that will cause the exhaust to clog up.
When the check engine light initially comes on, the car will go into "reduced engine power mode" which will decrease the power and speed of the car, forcing me to pull over and turn the car off and restart. This is a hazard to myself and other drivers especially when on the highway, driving at higher speeds. There has been an …
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When the check engine light initially comes on, the car will go into "reduced engine power mode" which will decrease the power and speed of the car, forcing me to pull over and turn the car off and restart. This is a hazard to myself and other drivers especially when on the highway, driving at higher speeds. There has been an investigation in to GM where it was found that a few other models have this issue. This happens every time I have something repaired and the light comes back on, which has been twice in the past month. The first time this happened, I had the repair done and it was fine for a while. After the car has been off for a while and the light is still on when I start my car, for the most part the car is no longer in this mode, but it can come back on at any time.
We have had this car since 2020 & frequently the "reduced engine power" warning comes on & the car will not/or very slowly accellortate. Along with the engine light on.We have hooked it up to a computer many times but nothing solves the issue. Lately it has been staying on constantly. Huge safety risk as my two children are in t…
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We have had this car since 2020 & frequently the "reduced engine power" warning comes on & the car will not/or very slowly accellortate. Along with the engine light on.We have hooked it up to a computer many times but nothing solves the issue. Lately it has been staying on constantly. Huge safety risk as my two children are in the car daily & we do take main roads/highways! When this comes on, the car will not remote start as well, also this is random in doing so, it has came on when I 1st start the car in the morning, while driving at 35mph, stopped at a light, or turn on any time I turn the car on. Doing some research and many others have had issues as well as their engines giving out at 60,000 milles (ours is at 57,000) & nothing resolved for them either. This is a huge safety issue and needs recalled. Us malibu owners should not have to pay to get this looked at constantly nor worry about owing on a car that could give out at any given time. We keep maintenance up on our car and this is the only constant issue we have that cannot be fixed.
When the car shuts off at a red light and starts back up after u take your foot off the break, it has a stalling problem. Sitting at a light, the radio was still playing. Once it was time to drive and I took my foot off the break, the car was stuck. I had to turn the car off and turn it back on in order to drive it. That is ver…
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When the car shuts off at a red light and starts back up after u take your foot off the break, it has a stalling problem. Sitting at a light, the radio was still playing. Once it was time to drive and I took my foot off the break, the car was stuck. I had to turn the car off and turn it back on in order to drive it. That is very dangerous because I was in the middle of traffic. If the car behind me suddenly moved over the car behind them could have hit me from the back, I have a 5 year old in the backseat. This should be a recall problem. Other 2018 chevys have this problem as well but my model for some reason is not on the recall list.
As I was driving down the highway at 60 mph the road was clear at the time of any debris my car suddenly had two lights on the dashboard. On the left was the traction control light and the right side was the engine light. On my computer display was the words “reduced engine speed”. My car suddenly slowed from 60 to about 30 mph…
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As I was driving down the highway at 60 mph the road was clear at the time of any debris my car suddenly had two lights on the dashboard. On the left was the traction control light and the right side was the engine light. On my computer display was the words “reduced engine speed”. My car suddenly slowed from 60 to about 30 mph in a matter of seconds. It was like I had slammed my brakes. This all happened simultaneously I attempted to pull over safety and turn the car off and restart it. The lights remained on. My car was not able to get over 27 mph There was no warning what so ever If anyone would have been behind me I would have been rear ended At this time I took it to a mechanic who put it on the computer it was coded at the pedal position sensor. He was able to save the code, clear it so I was able to drive the car and advised to drive it locally for a while in case it would do it again as it is unsafe. The closest Chevy dealer is over an hour away from my town and at the time of day it was not safe to drive the car to the dealership for confirmation.
Check in light is on. They told me it was something with the idle sensor the fixed it. Not even 24 hours later it’s back on they tell me it the vacuum pump & it cost 800 buck. I do some research and noticed on not the only driver with this problem They tell me I can still drive it but nobody told me pieces of the pump could da…
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Check in light is on. They told me it was something with the idle sensor the fixed it. Not even 24 hours later it’s back on they tell me it the vacuum pump & it cost 800 buck. I do some research and noticed on not the only driver with this problem They tell me I can still drive it but nobody told me pieces of the pump could damage the engine also so what do I do now
Vehicle is constantly telling me to shift to park when the vehicle is clearly in park. Also, the battery will die if this shift to park message isn’t resolved. I’ve already had to replace my battery twice and the dealership keeps telling me they can’t find anything wrong with it. After doing some research I see that this is a VE…
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Vehicle is constantly telling me to shift to park when the vehicle is clearly in park. Also, the battery will die if this shift to park message isn’t resolved. I’ve already had to replace my battery twice and the dealership keeps telling me they can’t find anything wrong with it. After doing some research I see that this is a VERY common problem for the 2016-2018 Malibu’s and I feel very strongly that it should be recalled.
I always get rattling noise during gas paddle pressed while driving. Once I start put foot on gas paddle, rattling noise starts and when foot remove then it stops. it does not matter what is the speed and whether I am accelerating/de-accelerating. I visited dealer many times to fix this sound issue but not resolved by dealer. I…
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I always get rattling noise during gas paddle pressed while driving. Once I start put foot on gas paddle, rattling noise starts and when foot remove then it stops. it does not matter what is the speed and whether I am accelerating/de-accelerating. I visited dealer many times to fix this sound issue but not resolved by dealer. I observed another point which is during AC (Heater ON), sound comes but during AC (Cooler ON), rattling sound is infrequent i.e. sometime happens and sometime not. I am not sure from which part this sound comes but it is from Front Hood for sure. This sound I noticed when my car crossed 47K/48K miles in 2020.
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.
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