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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 →

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.

23 crash reports4 fire reports14 injury reports

What owners actually said

695 reports
Mileage unknown · Dec 8, 2021
Unknown Or Other

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

NHTSA ODI #11443127

Mileage unknown · Dec 8, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed Control

Vehicle slows way down and loss of power. Engine power reduced. On heads up display. Seems to use alot of gas when this happens. I need to pull over and shut off car. Wait a bit and then restart. And get back on road. It did this 3 times in my commute to work. Also was snowing that morning and was slippery out so very dangerous …

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Vehicle slows way down and loss of power. Engine power reduced. On heads up display. Seems to use alot of gas when this happens. I need to pull over and shut off car. Wait a bit and then restart. And get back on road. It did this 3 times in my commute to work. Also was snowing that morning and was slippery out so very dangerous almost was involved in an accident but luckily not. Seems to do this more in the colder Temps. It has happened however in summer also but not as often. I have read many complaints about this issue. I am not sure why GM has not figured this issue out yet. Very concerned.

NHTSA ODI #11443064

Mileage unknown · Dec 8, 2021
Electrical SystemSteering

Vehicle is experiencing a electrical issue. When auto stop stops the car, it displays the message "drive assistance reduced, drive with care". The Vehicle does not jave any light displaying a issue but the car is loosing power once it starts after auto stop.

NHTSA ODI #11443052

Mileage unknown · Dec 4, 2021
Engine

The check engine light came on and after getting it diagnose I recieved a P1101 code indicating air mass flow problem. After replacing the sensor I later received an engine power reduce on the dashboard. I received that warning while driving on the interstate and my vehicle started reducing speed possibly causing an accident.

NHTSA ODI #11442671

Mileage unknown · Dec 4, 2021
Electrical SystemEngineService Brakes

MY VEHICLE ACTS AS IF IT DOESNT WANT TO START AFTER BEING AT A RED LIGHT OR STOP SIGN WHEN MY FEET IS RELEASED OFF THE BREAK IT TAKES A FEW SECONDS TO START BACK UP. ALSO I HAVE ISSUES WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON TOOK IT TO AUTO ZONE AND THEY RECEIVED A CODE DEALING WITH THE WIRING ON THE BATTERY NOT THE ACTUAL BATTERY N…

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MY VEHICLE ACTS AS IF IT DOESNT WANT TO START AFTER BEING AT A RED LIGHT OR STOP SIGN WHEN MY FEET IS RELEASED OFF THE BREAK IT TAKES A FEW SECONDS TO START BACK UP. ALSO I HAVE ISSUES WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON TOOK IT TO AUTO ZONE AND THEY RECEIVED A CODE DEALING WITH THE WIRING ON THE BATTERY NOT THE ACTUAL BATTERY NEEDING TO BE REPLACED

NHTSA ODI #11442667

Mileage unknown · Nov 30, 2021
Engine

The second morning in a row my 2018 Chevy Malibu overheated. Early in the morning, the temperature out was about 45-50 degrees, I was driving on the highway about 65-70 mph, I turned on the heater and my cars temperature gage immediately shoots up and the "overheating engine" warning lights start flashing. Confused I pulled over…

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The second morning in a row my 2018 Chevy Malibu overheated. Early in the morning, the temperature out was about 45-50 degrees, I was driving on the highway about 65-70 mph, I turned on the heater and my cars temperature gage immediately shoots up and the "overheating engine" warning lights start flashing. Confused I pulled over popped the hood there were no signs of smoke or over heating sounds coming from the motor. I got back into the car, turned off the engine, turned it back on, and the temperature gage immediately falls to normal temperature. Happened two mornings in a row now.

NHTSA ODI #11442080

Mileage unknown · Nov 29, 2021
Unknown Or Other

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.

NHTSA ODI #11441989

Mileage unknown · Nov 28, 2021
Unknown Or Other

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.

NHTSA ODI #11441896

Mileage unknown · Nov 27, 2021
Electrical System

When trying to turn off the car after putting it in park, the panel reads that I need to "Shift To Park", although the car is already in park. With this issue it causes the car not to turn off. This is an intermittent issue, and does not happen all the time.

NHTSA ODI #11441804

Mileage unknown · Nov 20, 2021
Unknown Or Other

Car displayed steering assistance reduced about 2 or 3 times whole driving and I wasn't sure what that meant because it popped up and disappeared so quickly. So a few days later it never appeared again. On this morning as I'm driving and come to a red light to make a left hand turn while waiting and taking my feet off the brake…

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Car displayed steering assistance reduced about 2 or 3 times whole driving and I wasn't sure what that meant because it popped up and disappeared so quickly. So a few days later it never appeared again. On this morning as I'm driving and come to a red light to make a left hand turn while waiting and taking my feet off the brake to go cause my light is now green my car turns completely off and I'm stuck at a intersection about 2 to 3 mins later it tells me to start it back up.

NHTSA ODI #11441152

Official recalls

6

21V649000 · 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.