2012 Chevrolet Malibu problems
Owners have filed 1,476 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 20% of complaints. After that come lighting (14%) and steering (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,476 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 93 and 24
- Injuries and deaths
- 66 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 87,000 miles 1,023 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 129 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 76 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 123 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 130 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 179 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 110 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 116 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 85 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 37 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 24 |
| 200k+ miles | 14 |
What the data shows
Among the 1,023 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 87,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 88,000 miles (197 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 93 complaints mention a crash; 24 complaints mention a fire; 66 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 12th most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Chevrolet Malibu with enough data (640 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet malibu. The contact stated that while sitting at a complete stop, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle while traveling 47 MPH. The air bags failed to deploy and the seat belts did not tighten around the passengers. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact sustained neck and back injuries. The front passenger sustained neck, back and hip injuries. The rear driver's side passenger sustained neck, back and ankle injuries.
My husband and were traveling southbound on I-95 around wilmington de. Traffic had come to a complete stop, we were at a standstill when we were rear-ended in a five car / two tractor trailer pile up. My husband, seat belted in the passenger seat, struck his head on the dashboard causing a concussion, whiplash, and back pain. His seatbelt failed to lock into place, resulting in him being thrown forward into the dashboard and sustaining the above injuries.
My wife was driving east down hwy-40 toward salina, ks. She had the cruise control set on 60 MPH. She began to have a epileptic seizure (she was cleared by her doctor to drive prior to this incident) at that point the car began to slowly drift of to the right side of the road. The car drove over a culver, the rear driver side of the car struck at concrete form and sent the car rolling of into a field the car rolled four times.
The low beam and running lights on driver's side keep going out the wiring harness and bulb has been changed 5 times now and still goes out ever other week . And to top it off this car has the most rediculous way to get at the headlights. So time consuming