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2021 Chevrolet Malibu

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Chevrolet Malibu are lower than the model-year median of 310.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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: 17 of 88 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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports1 fire reports1 injury reports

Power Train complaints

28 reports
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Mileage unknown · May 20, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

It says that my engine had a problem. It told me to press my brake to start my car. But then it just kept shaking like it was trying to start. I have also had a notification saying to put my car in park when it already was. Today my car just stopped in the middle of the road in heavy traffic. We could have been hit getting out o…

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It says that my engine had a problem. It told me to press my brake to start my car. But then it just kept shaking like it was trying to start. I have also had a notification saying to put my car in park when it already was. Today my car just stopped in the middle of the road in heavy traffic. We could have been hit getting out of the car or someone could have hit my car. It was towed to the local Chevrolet dealership to get checked out to see if it could be a recall. I don’t know what is wrong with it yet. There were no warning lamps prior to the failure. They appeared right when it happened.

NHTSA ODI #11662242

98,600 miles · May 20, 2025
Power Train

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into park(P), the message “Shift to Park” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that during the failure, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not d…

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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into park(P), the message “Shift to Park” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that during the failure, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,600.

NHTSA ODI #11662036

Mileage unknown · May 7, 2025
Back Over PreventionElectrical SystemPower Train

SHIFTER ERROR - SCREEN READS SHIFT TO PARK ONCE CAR IS TURNED OFF ALREADY THE CAR TAKES TIME TO TURN OFF EVEN WHEN ITS OFF. IN AN EMERGENCY YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR CAR TO LOCK IT NO NO THE CHECK ENGIN LIGHT IS ON BUT IT READS FOR A FILTER

NHTSA ODI #11659472

21,000 miles · Apr 15, 2025
Power Train

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the "Shift to Park" message was intermittently displayed on the instrument panel and the vehicle intermittently failed to completely shut off or lock. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; h…

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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the "Shift to Park" message was intermittently displayed on the instrument panel and the vehicle intermittently failed to completely shut off or lock. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

NHTSA ODI #11654833

Mileage unknown · Mar 11, 2025
Power Train

When you put the car in park and shut the car off a message displays on the dash saying place vehicle in park. You have to wiggle the gear shifter for the message to disappear. It appears the gear shifter has a bad sensor

NHTSA ODI #11647548

Mileage unknown · Jan 24, 2025
Electrical SystemPower TrainSuspension

Rear differential keeps going out and transmission keeps failing every 10k miles, apple car play doesn’t work and lags out. So hand free doesn’t work

NHTSA ODI #11638306

Mileage unknown · Oct 30, 2024
EnginePower Train

Placing the car in park, turn off the car and a message appears saying to shift to park. The vehicle is not recognizing when the car is in park not allowing me to turn it off. I have to turn the car on and off multiple times until it decides it wants to finally shut off.

NHTSA ODI #11622728

34,200 miles · Oct 28, 2024
Electrical SystemPower Train

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and pressing the START/STOP button, the vehicle did not immediately turn off with the message "Shift to Park" displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was n…

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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and pressing the START/STOP button, the vehicle did not immediately turn off with the message "Shift to Park" displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 34,200.

NHTSA ODI #11622245

15,000 miles · Oct 4, 2024
Power Train

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on several occasions while attempting to park the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted to park(P); however, the vehicle did not recognize the gear selected. The contact stated that the "Shift to Park" message was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repair…

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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on several occasions while attempting to park the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted to park(P); however, the vehicle did not recognize the gear selected. The contact stated that the "Shift to Park" message was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ODI #11618079

Mileage unknown · Aug 26, 2024
Power Train

The vehicle display states to "Shift to Park" when the vehicle has been put in park and the ignition turned off. I have seen model years from 2022 through 2025 have been recalled in California for the same issue. It also can affect the cars ability to start. it first appeared two weeks ago and i have tried all recommended sug…

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The vehicle display states to "Shift to Park" when the vehicle has been put in park and the ignition turned off. I have seen model years from 2022 through 2025 have been recalled in California for the same issue. It also can affect the cars ability to start. it first appeared two weeks ago and i have tried all recommended suggestions of putting your foot on the brake when turning it off, letting is sit a minute before turning it off and those have not changed the situation.

NHTSA ODI #11610804

Official recalls

2

22V359000 · Seats

May 19, 2022

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Malibu, 2022 Chevrolet Equinox, Blazer and Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The driver's seat cushion frame may have an improper weld in the power tilt-adjustment mechanism.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly welded seat frame may not adequately restrain the driver in a crash, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the driver's seat and replace the cushion frame, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 23, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212356050.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.