IllustrationThe sensor for my gas cap was the first thing to malfunction, then My check engine light came on. Then the power steering sensor have me notice to drive carefully my drive assistance was malfunctioning. During my drive last night the power steering went out and the dashboard went dark several times.
2020 Chevrolet Malibu
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu do not stand out strongly from 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
Limited mileage data: 45 of 198 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
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 59 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 58 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 57 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
10 crash reports0 fire reports5 injury reports
Steering complaints
16 reportsService ESC ABS I just had a 2009 Chevy Malibu and now a 2020 and I’m having the same exact issues loss of power steering braking and at first my gas gauge was off check engine light came on now today “Service ESC w ABS LIGHT” on dashboard
I bought a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu LT on April 26, 2023 from Lake Hartwell Chevrolet in Toccoa Ga. It drove fine for 3 days. Then a chirping started in the steering wheel. On May 3rd. While I was taking my wife to our baby doctors visit, as I turned into the parking lot, the engine light came on, and the steering failed. I was a…
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I bought a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu LT on April 26, 2023 from Lake Hartwell Chevrolet in Toccoa Ga. It drove fine for 3 days. Then a chirping started in the steering wheel. On May 3rd. While I was taking my wife to our baby doctors visit, as I turned into the parking lot, the engine light came on, and the steering failed. I was able to safely get it into the parking lot and out of the way of the other cars. I called the dealership and they had it towed to their shop. They charged the battery saying that's all that was wrong with it. However, as the clean up guy at the shop was bringing it to me, the engine light came on again and he took it back to the shop. Within the next 14 days from then, they replaced the steering module, battery terminals, which seemed burnt, they said, and realigned it. However, all of this is word of mouth as I was not given any paperwork verifying this repair. The next day, the chirp returned. It has very loose steering and sways easily from side to side. Also, upon a diagnostic check by another certified mechanic, the computer would not link and give codes. He told me one of the computers in the car was bad, but not sure which one. I checked and I can not qualify for the lemon law, so I contacted the general manager and said I wanted to return the car and my bank returned their money. Or, another chevrolet car, from Chevrolet, not from this lot. This car is unsafe for me and my family. He said that was not possible as the tag and title has been processed. So I am ready to pursue legal action. The cars they let me drive during my cars repair were junky, too. One wouldn't drive over 30mph and the other had a ticking motor. I feel this business presents a danger to anyone who in need of and buys a car from them. Date of ownership: April 26, '23-present. Today is May 24,'23. They have also failed to give me the paperwork verifying the Chevrolet Lifetime Warranty on the Powertrain and Transmission. That was promised on the day of sale.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the service ESC warning light and the steering assist reduced warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the traction control warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken t…
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The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the service ESC warning light and the steering assist reduced warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the traction control warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
This is an intermittent issue and hard to reproduce on demand. I have evidence in the form of multiple videos that may be provided anytime. Videos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zubc5ilgahayvxa/AABf3M1mLBikxQswv17Yn-YQa?dl=0 In the middle of driving on freeways, highways, or regular roads, the car will quickly sl…
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This is an intermittent issue and hard to reproduce on demand. I have evidence in the form of multiple videos that may be provided anytime. Videos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zubc5ilgahayvxa/AABf3M1mLBikxQswv17Yn-YQa?dl=0 In the middle of driving on freeways, highways, or regular roads, the car will quickly slow down to a very low speed, around 5 mph causing other drivers to have to quickly swerve out of the way before wrecking into me. The power steering will also intermittently fail, as it becomes difficult to turn the wheel during these times. The car will also not accelerate at my will like it should at this time. Check engine lights will show up, as well as other warning notifications on the dash board. Some of the warnings include "Service Power Steering. Drive with Care", "Fuel Level Low", and "Service ESC". The car will also intermittently show all gauges in the zero/off/empty position. The car will also say "Shift to Park" when trying to turn it on, even though it is already in shift. I have sent the car back to the dealer 5 times to date and am about to pick it up again today as they have called me and said "it's ready" again. Each time they take the car, they do not address the issue. The first time I took it in, they just performed a recall repair for the camera and suggested the problem may be fixed from that. They claim they cannot fix something they cannot reproduce but I suspect they do not want to spend the time/hours/money it will take to figure out the problem since it is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty. It is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty but Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena TX refuses to repair anything and claim there is no evidence of the problem even though I've emailed them multiple videos of the problems happening. Auto Nation in Houston TX is who has the car now. It was recommended to me by General Motors to try another dealer. This is where I'm at currently with the situation.
The vehicle will randomly shut off while driving. All warning lights light up on the dash and notification of "reduced steering" pops up. Taken to the dealership and has been there for 19 business days. They will fix a component, I have picked it up twice and it has shut off before I could even get home forcing me to tow it back…
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The vehicle will randomly shut off while driving. All warning lights light up on the dash and notification of "reduced steering" pops up. Taken to the dealership and has been there for 19 business days. They will fix a component, I have picked it up twice and it has shut off before I could even get home forcing me to tow it back. This last time they were bringing the car around and it shut off in their own parking lot before they could even give me the keys. Every time they run diagnostics it's a new code. Vehicle is unsafe to drive due to shut-off and loss of steering.
Official recalls
121V649000 · 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.
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
1EA25005 · Dtn Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Opened Oct 21, 2025 · No close date supplied
Status: open (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has become aware of eight vehicle crashes in which a rupture of a Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN) air bag inflator occurred during the deployment of the driver side air bag. All eight drivers in these crashes sustained serious or fatal injuries that appear linked to the ruptures. Six of those drivers sustained fatal injuries and two sustained severe injuries. In all eight incidents, the subject inflators had been installed as replacement equipment after the vehicle was involved in a previous crash. Information gathered during NHTSA’s initial analysis of these incidents indicates that the inflators were potentially imported illegally into the United States. In conjunction with this safety investigation, NHTSA is also working with appropriate authorities to address any illegal activities associated with the importation of these inflators. As a result of the significant safety concerns relating to these inflators, as well as extensive information already obtained by ODI relating to their field ruptures, ODI is moving directly to the Engineering Analysis (EA) stage of its investigative process rather than first opening a Preliminary Evaluation. NHTSA has taken a variety of actions to address the risks posed by the importation of substandard or counterfeit air bag components. However, until recently, these risks appeared spread across a variety of components and manufacturers. As part of ODI’s continuous monitoring of this issue, the agency has obtained information to suggest that at least eight incidents involve ruptures of inflators manufactured by DTN. In parallel with this dedicated investigation into DTN inflators, ODI will continue to monitor reports of field incidents to evaluate risks from other substandard imported air bag components. In 2012, ODI first became aware of substandard or counterfeit air bag modules sold through online marketplaces, such as auction sites. NHTSA obtained examples of these air bag modules and conducted testing. None of the inflators equipped in these modules were manufactured by DTN. This testing revealed that the inflators consistently malfunctioned during deployments, such as by failing to deploy the air bag or expelling metal shrapnel due to a rupture. This led NHTSA to release a consumer advisory in October 2012 to alert the public and repair professionals to the potential dangers of substandard or counterfeit air bag modules. ODI also worked with major vehicle manufacturers, who released advisories and notifications concerning the use of such air bag modules. Since then, NHTSA has continuously monitored for reports of malfunctioning air bags that may be associated with substandard or counterfeit components. These monitoring efforts have been supported by the increased visibility the advisories have brought to the issue, and by several standing general orders in place as part of separate investigations into Takata and ARC inflators, which require certain manufacturers to report any alleged or suspected inflator field ruptures to NHTSA. Until 2017, ODI was not aware of any field incidents involving an abnormal deployment of an imported substandard or counterfeit air bag module. In September 2017, ODI became aware of a crash involving a model year (MY) 2009 Honda Civic where the air bag ruptured during deployment, killing the driver. After inspecting the vehicle and air bag parts, ODI determined that the air bag inflator was not original equipment and that the air bag module was likely a substandard import. Insufficient information existed to determine the manufacturer of the inflator in this incident, however, it does not appear to resemble those manufactured by DTN. On June 16, 2023, ODI received a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire (VOQ #11527380) alleging that the rupture of a driver side air bag caused fatal injuries to the driver of a MY 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. ODI’s assessment of the rupture indicated that the air bag inflator was not original equipment but was instead manufactured by DTN, a Chinese company (also known as Yoshibayashi Toku theanol Automotive Safety Systems Co. Ltd.). From June 2023 to July 2024, ODI became aware of four additional ruptures involving substandard air bag modules equipped on Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. At the time, insufficient information existed for these crashes to determine who manufactured the ruptured inflators. As a result, NHTSA released a consumer advisory on July 10, 2024, alerting car buyers and owners to be aware of cheap, substandard replacement air bag inflators that can cause death or serious injury in a crash. The advisory urged consumers who own or are considering the purchase of a used vehicle to learn the vehicle’s history and ensure the vehicle has genuine air bag inflators. In March 2025, NHTSA learned about another rupture involving a suspected substandard, aftermarket inflator that was equipped in a MY 2017 Hyundai Sonata. The driver of this vehicle sustained fatal injuries that appeared related to the rupture. In August 2025, NHTSA received a similar report of a fatal air bag rupture in a MY 2019 Hyundai Sonata. Most recently, in October 2025, ODI received a report of a fatal air bag rupture in a MY 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. Photographs of the air bag components in these three crashes indicated that the ruptures all involved inflators manufactured by DTN. Further investigation of the inflator fragments in three of the prior incidents confirmed that they also involved DTN inflators. Photographs of the components involved in one of the other incidents also strongly suggest that the ruptured inflator was manufactured by DTN. This opening resume exceeded space limitations and is continued in an attachment uploaded to the investigation.