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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 →

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

What owners actually said

198 reports
Mileage unknown · Sep 7, 2022
EngineUnknown Or Other

Sometimes when I drive my car it loses power especially when I’m turning into on coming traffic it will lose speed and I’ve almost been hit on numerous occasions. I’ve taking the car to Chevy dealership 4 times already the last time they discovered transmission issues they repaired it. They tell me they don’t see anything else w…

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Sometimes when I drive my car it loses power especially when I’m turning into on coming traffic it will lose speed and I’ve almost been hit on numerous occasions. I’ve taking the car to Chevy dealership 4 times already the last time they discovered transmission issues they repaired it. They tell me they don’t see anything else wrong. I have read reviews from other owners and they are experiencing the same exact problem

NHTSA ODI #11483410

Mileage unknown · Jul 14, 2022
Power Train

A few days ago, when I put the car in park and turned it off, there was a message on the screen saying "Shift to Park." It was in park. I could not get out of the car because it was still getting power. If I tried to lock the doors, it sounded the alarm. I had to turn the car on and off multiple times to get it to go away. It w…

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A few days ago, when I put the car in park and turned it off, there was a message on the screen saying "Shift to Park." It was in park. I could not get out of the car because it was still getting power. If I tried to lock the doors, it sounded the alarm. I had to turn the car on and off multiple times to get it to go away. It would've drained the battery if I'd left it. Who knows if it was really in park either. It's been doing it ever since. I called the dealer and they want $350 to fix it. The guy told me they've been seeing this on Malibu's and "now it's happening on the Traverse models, too." I've been reading online how this has been happening since at least 2016, but there is no recall. Why NOT?? This is dangerous and they're aware of the problem. They've issued service bulletins on how to fix it!

NHTSA ODI #11473941

60,000 miles · Jul 13, 2022
EngineFuel System, Gasoline

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH the vehicle was jerking and then inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle immediately; however, eventually, the vehicle restarted and was driven to the re…

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The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH the vehicle was jerking and then inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle immediately; however, eventually, the vehicle restarted and was driven to the residence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ODI #11473710

Mileage unknown · Jun 20, 2022
Power Train

The shifter gear control/ shifter assembly keeps failing on and off. It’ll give me a warning shift to park. It did this while drive on a major highway then my car loss all power as I was in the second lane causing so much safety concerns. It is also alerting me when I’m in park now that I need to shift to park more frequently. E…

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The shifter gear control/ shifter assembly keeps failing on and off. It’ll give me a warning shift to park. It did this while drive on a major highway then my car loss all power as I was in the second lane causing so much safety concerns. It is also alerting me when I’m in park now that I need to shift to park more frequently. Extreme issue.

NHTSA ODI #11470017

Mileage unknown · Jun 19, 2022
Electrical System

My car would completely shut off in the middle of traffics and restart right away. The lights would completely restart, the driver panel, the radio screen, and ESC service light would come on interchangeably with the service engine light. When I would park my car overnight then start it up, the engine won’t start. Then the batte…

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My car would completely shut off in the middle of traffics and restart right away. The lights would completely restart, the driver panel, the radio screen, and ESC service light would come on interchangeably with the service engine light. When I would park my car overnight then start it up, the engine won’t start. Then the batter saver mode gets turned on, I’d wait 10 minutes then turn on the car and it works.

NHTSA ODI #11469989

Mileage unknown · Jun 16, 2022
EnginePower Train

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently hesitate and stall with the traction control and check engine warning lights illuminated. Once the vehicle stalled, the contact had to wait a few minutes before successfully restarting the vehicle. …

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The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently hesitate and stall with the traction control and check engine warning lights illuminated. Once the vehicle stalled, the contact had to wait a few minutes before successfully restarting the vehicle. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer on multiple occasions however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate or determine the cause of the failure. The contact had the pistons, battery terminal, transmission, and wiring harness replaced; however, the failure persisted after each repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred her to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI #11469643

Mileage unknown · May 14, 2022
Engine

Reduce engine power warming lamp. Cars just suddenly loses power when driving at high rate of speed. Car slows abs f won’t go over 2ph causing hazardous situations and endangering occupants and other drivers. This issue has been repaired twice abs is now the third time.

NHTSA ODI #11464657

8,300 miles · May 5, 2022
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Service Brakes, Air

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS message was displayed, and the ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the mechanic performed an oi…

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The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS message was displayed, and the ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the mechanic performed an oil change and tire rotation; however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure due to the warning lights no longer being illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,300. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALERSHIP RESOLVED THE ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI #11463540

Mileage unknown · Apr 20, 2022
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

while driving down a mountain in monterey tenessee from visiting a friend the car started blowing white smoke and all dash lights flickered before car shut off no brakes or steering while coasting down mountain almost got rear ended by pickup this was around 9pm it was dark i coasted into a gas station after a few attempts to s…

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while driving down a mountain in monterey tenessee from visiting a friend the car started blowing white smoke and all dash lights flickered before car shut off no brakes or steering while coasting down mountain almost got rear ended by pickup this was around 9pm it was dark i coasted into a gas station after a few attempts to start car . i called roadside assistance that night and got towed to dave kirk chevy dealer next town over after having issues with car i encountered issues with manager of dealer ship and roadside assistance neither could help til i started raising my voice i was stranded there in town for 2 days my friends felt bad the paid for my motel since i was so stressed out they didnt want to look at my car that manager said he knew nothing about after diagnosing my car they found a bad fuel injector that he said was open 100 percent so after 2 days i was on my way back to florida bad experience all the way around

NHTSA ODI #11461527

Mileage unknown · Apr 20, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

I was at a stop light ready to take off while driving for lyft with a passenger in back and the car just quit running as i took off when light turned green no warning whatsoever no dash lights no brakes no steering i had to wait til car stopped rolling so i put car in park then i couldnt put in neutral to push car out of traffic…

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I was at a stop light ready to take off while driving for lyft with a passenger in back and the car just quit running as i took off when light turned green no warning whatsoever no dash lights no brakes no steering i had to wait til car stopped rolling so i put car in park then i couldnt put in neutral to push car out of traffic lane. so while i was trying to call a friend for help about 5 minutes passed and i tried the ignition i had a reading on dash that said batterry saver on so i waited and tried again after 5 minutes and car started with battery saver on not knowing how that really works i called nearest chevy dealer about issue they said it was out of warranty for them to look at so i drove to autozone a local parts store to get car checked out for car not starting and the guy found battery was good and charging system ok so there was no code or nothing after getting it looked at to this date of report i had no issues so far but im worried and hoping it wont happen while im driving on highway and get rear ended if it quits running on me again i heard and read about a sotware issue on chevy malibu so im puzzled and afraid to drive this car that i bought new on january of 2021

NHTSA ODI #11461518

Official recalls

1

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.

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

1

EA25005 · 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.