Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 191 safety complaints
about the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu with the US government. Of those, 8 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 7 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the seat belts.
The most complained-about system is the power train,
named in 66 complaints, 35% of the total.
The typical failure was reported at 41,750 miles,
the median across the 57
complaints that gave
an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files
· Covers October 2018 to September 2026 · How this is counted
What is on file
191 complaints on file
191
Complaints
8
Describe a crash
1
Mention fire
7
People injured
0
Deaths
A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a
finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts
them.
A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free.
Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can
answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a
model year.
Which system owners named
Complaints naming each system
POWER TRAIN 66 · 35%
66 35%
ENGINE 64 · 34%
64 34%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 62 · 32%
62 32%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 · 19%
36 19%
SERVICE BRAKES 22 · 12%
22 12%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 17 · 9%
17 9%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 · 6%
12 6%
AIR BAGS 6 · 3%
6 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 · 2%
4 2%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 4 · 2%
4 2%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 · 2%
3 2%
STEERING 2 · 1%
2 1%
02754
Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it.
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 191.
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2023 at 42.
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure
happened. The range runs from 2018 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program
NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what
happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2019 Chevrolet MALIBU, and it is a separate
question from what owners report going wrong later.
Test
4 DR FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover
10.3%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard
A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.
The risk
An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
General Motors, LLC · up to 402 vehicles across all model years covered
In owners’ own words
Quoted from the complaint file
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the
people who filed them, not findings of fault.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3 injured · crash · towed
The Apple CarPlay system, specifically the GPS/navigation function, froze and malfunctioned. This occurred in two separate vehicles I’ve owned: a 2019 Chevy Malibu and now a 2019 Chevy Equinox (the vehicle involved in the accident). Both cars frequently experienced lagging and freezing while using Apple CarPlay. The infotainment system and vehicle are available for inspection. On June 28, 2025, while driving at night with GPS active via CarPlay, the system froze and gave me an incorrect instruction — telling me to turn left onto a one-way street in the wrong direction. I did not realize I was going the wrong way until reaching the intersection, and by that point, I was involved in a head-on …
NHTSA complaint 11674821, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
2 injured · crash · towed · 105,800 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while at a light, the engine lost motive power and shut off. The vehicle began to roll backward. The emergency brake was inoperable. The vehicle shifted from park. The contact continued to pull the emergency brake, but it failed to respond. The contact attempted to turn the vehicle off, but it failed to turn off. The vehicle crashed into a ditch. The passenger sustained injuries to her head. The driver sustained injuries to his shoulder. The occupants did not receive any medical attention. There was no fire or air bag deployment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The local dealer was not …
NHTSA complaint 11610957, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
1 injured · crash · towed
The vehicle experienced a serious and ongoing electrical and system malfunction shortly after being returned from repairs related to a prior accident. Within a short period of driving, multiple warning messages and system errors began appearing simultaneously, indicating failures across several vehicle systems. The issues included repeated computer system faults affecting critical functions. The malfunction made the vehicle unreliable and unsafe to operate, as the errors appeared suddenly and without warning while driving. This created a significant safety risk due to the potential loss of vehicle control and unpredictable system behavior. The problem has been persistent and has not been …
NHTSA complaint 11729126, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
1 injured · crash · 2,500 miles
START/STOP ON POWERTRAIN / MOTOR CONTROL. MOTOR STOPS ON BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE AND STARTS UPON ? ? DECREASE IN PEDAL PRSSURE ? MOTOR STARTED AND RPM ACCELERATED BU ITSELF WHILE BRAKE PEDAL APPLIED, VEHICLE "SURGED" AND HIT POST. MOTOR ACCELERATES RPM / WORKS BY ITSELF. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. DELAY IN "START / STOP" CAUSING SURGE. SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING PROBLEM ?
NHTSA complaint 11196208. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
towed · 105,100 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle, the following morning while waiting at the school drop-off line with her foot on the brake pedal, there was an abnormal boom, and several warning lights illuminated and flashed on the instrument panel. The occupants inside the vehicle assumed that the vehicle was struck from behind. The vehicle attempted to surge and revved and started to choke and shut off. The vehicle was shifted into park and the ignition key turned to the off position. The vehicle was restarted but failed to move. The engine, traction control, and the radio were blinking. The vehicle was shifted to first gear but was moving …
NHTSA complaint 11766611, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
Due to the vacuum pump failing during driving, metal shards broke inside of the car and went into the engine destroying it completely. Now i need a whole new engine
NHTSA complaint 11764778. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
I understand that the vehicle is outside of its original warranty period. However, I do not believe that the expiration of the warranty should automatically make me responsible for a component failure that occurred at only approximately 39,000 miles. The PCV valve and orifice are not routine maintenance items that I would reasonably expect to require replacement at such low mileage. Unlike tires, brake pads, batteries, or other components that are expected to wear out and require periodic replacement, the PCV system is an integral part of the engine's emissions and crankcase ventilation system. A failure at only 39,000 miles seems premature and should not reasonably be characterized as …
NHTSA complaint 11761246, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Acceleration issues. Started once put in drive didnt want to accelerate, acceleration issues now at higher speeds while driving
NHTSA complaint 11748564. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
Since 2024/2025 car has been malfunctioning, I’ve had it checked out but it just got worse and nothing was fixed l, it is I driveable and very unsafe. When driving it abruptly stops like it’s crashing Messages that pop up (Multiple ones at one time flashing as well) - service “ESC” -“service power steering drive with care” -“shift to park” -“low fuel” (but car has gas in it) - check engine light on -all lights flashing at once while jerking -car stops abruptly when you’re driving it -radio blacks out while driving -dashboard blacks out as vehicle is running -jerking while trying to stop -sensor malfunctions -transmission slippage -engine still on and running sounds like it’s cooling down …
NHTSA complaint 11742162, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
The first problem with my car was the tire pressure monitor. The location of each tire was wrong on the informant section. Soon after purchasing the car when ever I would park the car would not shut off and the DIC would display Shift to park message. Around 6 months after the purchase the brake pedal was getting harder the press down on and within a week from that while driving home from work the car completely shut off in the middle of traffic. It wouldn't start leaving me stuck on a busy street with heavy traffic blocking use of the lane. After 10 minutes it started back up and I barely made it into a parking lot of a shopping center with it shutting off again before I can park. I had to …
NHTSA complaint 11738236, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's
lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How
many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by
the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API, newest campaign on this vehicle filed August 20, 2021.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file, published October 2, 2026.
A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by
us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that
sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst