Chevrolet Malibu Transmission / powertrain problems
1.64 vs. all vehicles Within ±30% year on year
271 of the 1,416 complaints about the Chevrolet Malibu (19.1%) concern Transmission / powertrain, making it the model's second-largest problem area. That share is 1.6× the Transmission / powertrain share across all tracked vehicles.
271Complaints · Transmission / powertrain
19.1%Share of complaints
1.64×vs. all vehicles
39Last 12 months
2.2%Share involving a crash or fire
1Related recalls
Analysis
39 Transmission / powertrain complaints were filed in the last 12 months versus 46 in the 12 months before — down 15%.
6 of these reports (2.2%) describe a crash or fire, with 1 injury and 0 deaths mentioned.
1 recall campaign relates to this area, most recently campaign 20V668000 (2020-10-29, model year 2018).
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked and turned off in front of the hotel lobby.
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-07-06 · ODI 11748495 · Crash
Hit an animal on the roadway and the airbag didn’t deploy and my car is destroyed engine light is on I could have been hurt
Transmission / powertrain · 2024-04-28 · ODI 11585684 · Crash
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after parking and attempting to turn off the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted to park(P) however, the vehicle failed to recognize that the vehicle was in park(P), and the vehicle failed to…
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-10-07 · ODI 11769573
I have brought my vehicle to Preston Hood Chevrolet on two occasions for two major issues. Failed breaking system started as when I am at a stop light the car won’t move and the brake light and ignition light comes on and it won’t move when I press the gas!
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-09-29 · ODI 11767706
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle while in park(P), the message "Shift to Park" was displayed.
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-09-18 · ODI 11765388
The vehicle's transmission shifter mechanism has failed for a second time, preventing the vehicle's computer from communicating with the gear shifter.
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-09-08 · ODI 11762898
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Related recalls
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Campaign 20V668000 · 2020-10-29 · Model years: 2018
Summary: 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.
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.
