2016 Chevrolet Malibu problems
Owners have filed 1,452 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 21% of complaints. After that come electrical system (15%) and drivetrain & axles (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,452 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 40 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 29 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 50,000 miles 888 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 | 115 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 198 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 213 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 182 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 105 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 29 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 16 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 13 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 10 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 888 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 50,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 52,000 miles (174 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 40 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 29 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 86% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 28 model years of the Chevrolet Malibu with enough data (1,062 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 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.
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.
Reduced engine power while traveling at 65 MPH on the freeway. Speed dropped to 40 MPH. I was just able to put on my hazards and pull over with several cars behind me slamming on their brakes.
This has happen to me multiple times with the most recent one being today. The car would be at a red light when all of a sudden the whole car would shut it self off then restart again shortly after turning off. Then a message would pop up on the lcd screen saying something along the lines of. 'power steering assist reduced' the message would disappear so fast that it doesn't even give me a chance to fully read it.