Vehicle Data Hub

2008 Chevrolet Malibu engine problems

74 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, which is 5% of all its NHTSA complaints.

At a glance

Complaints
74 5% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
89,000 miles 60 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
3 and 1
Injuries and deaths
2 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 89,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 7 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 3 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 6 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 9 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 12 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 2 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 11 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 5 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 2 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 2 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 89,000 miles
Based on 60 complaints that include mileage. 27% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles7
20k to 40k miles3
40k to 60k miles6
60k to 80k miles9
80k to 100k miles12
100k to 120k miles2
120k to 140k miles11
140k to 160k miles5
160k to 180k miles2
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles2

What the data shows

Of the 60 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 89,000 miles, and 27% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 3 crashes, 1 fire, 2 injuries.

What owners wrote

Tl* the contact owned a 2008 chevrolet malibu. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the door lock switch operated independently without warning. After parking, the vehicle caught fire under the hood. The contact sustained a back injury attempting to put the fire out that did not require medical attention. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,000.

Reported at 89,000 miles, September 2012 FireInjury

While on my way to work, suddenly my traction light and service engine light came on and the reduced power notification came on moments later, the car slowed to about 10-20 MPH(like it almost died but still running) and the car was shaking. I could not accelerate, I coasted into a parking lot and it was idling rough. I shut it off, waited a few moments and started it like nothing happened. I was scared and just wanted to get home and borrow another car to get to work.

Reported at 130,000 miles, January 2015

Other problems reported for the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Chevrolet models