2016 Chevrolet Malibu electrical system problems
223 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, which is 15% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 223 15% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 52,000 miles 134 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 1
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When electrical system problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 16 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 35 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 27 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 28 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 134 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 52,000 miles, and 58% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 4 crashes, 4 injuries, 1 death.
What owners wrote
Engine power reduced defect, causing affected models to lose power while driving at highway speeds. My son’s was driving 55 mph and then all of sudden the car decelerated to 20 mph in minutes before his 2016 Malibu stalled on [XXX]. Unfortunately the car did not make it to the emergency lane and as a result a SUV hit his car killing my daughter who was 33 weeks pregnant. The baby survived with lifelong injuries.
While parking the vehicle and placing the shifter to park the car gives an error message "shift to park" after turning off the engine. Headlights will not turn off and I imagine other electrical systems still run during this error. Since the message never went away while I was at a non-GM auto repair shop in for routine oil change and brake check, they needed to replace the transmission control unit so that the car could turn off completely.
Other problems reported for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
- Engine 306 complaints
- Drivetrain & axles 162 complaints
- Cruise control 152 complaints
- Brakes 105 complaints
- Stability control 76 complaints
- Fuel system 54 complaints
- Steering 42 complaints
- Body & structure 40 complaints