CSR

Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2021 Chevrolet Malibu

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

85

Complaints

0

Crashes

1

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Chevrolet Malibu have filed 85 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2021 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 28 of them (33%). The typical failure was reported at 44,100 miles, the median across the 16 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

SEATS

22V359000 · May 19, 2022

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Malibu, 2022 Chevrolet Equinox, Blazer and Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The driver's seat cushion frame may have an improper weld in the power tilt-adjustment mechanism.
The risk
An improperly welded seat frame may not adequately restrain the driver in a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the driver's seat and replace the cushion frame, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 23, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212356050.

General Motors, LLC · up to 221 vehicles across all model years covered

SEAT BELTS:CRITICAL FASTENERS

21V649000 · August 20, 2021

The defect
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

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 85.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 29 34%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28 33%
POWER TRAIN 27 32%
ENGINE 13 15%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8 9%
AIR BAGS 6 7%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 4%
SUSPENSION 3 4%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2 2%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 2%
STEERING 2 2%
STRUCTURE 2 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 25.

2021 2026
2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SEATS

1 injured · 8,000 miles

IN THE CASE OF A HARD BRAKE WHILE IN MOTION, THE VEHICLES SEATS BOTH FRONT AND REAR UN-LATCH AND BECOME FREE IN MOTION. THE FRONT SEATS UN-LATCH FROM THE BASE, MOVING THE SEAT FORWARD AND THE REAR SEATS UN-LATCH AND FALL FORWARD OPENING THE TRUNK FROM THE INSIDE.

NHTSA complaint 11413839. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

Blower motor area caught fire while sitting in the driveway. Car door was opened about 20 minutes prior to my security camera catching smoke billowing from the vehicle

NHTSA complaint 11738610. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

towed · 68,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. During the failure, the power steering became inoperable, with a grinding sound present and unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. After retrieving the vehicle, the failure persisted. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000.

NHTSA complaint 11592979. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Failure - B000A-00 Body Control Module Error code - Shift Lever Position not plausible . Safety - This causes the car to upon attempting to turn off the car say "Shift into Park" on the dashboard and the car refuses to turn fully off. This can cause the battery to drain excessively from repeated constant start/stop attempts and leaves the car in an impossible state. You cannot safely leave the car in this state but you have no choice until you get lucky enough to hope an attempt is recognized as parked and shut off normally. This could jeopardize safety in situations you need to turn your car off Official Bulletin Number: GM TSB 23-NA-119 There is no warning prior to failure, and no way to

NHTSA complaint 11757048, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I purchased this vehicle in April of 2026, 4 days after bringing it home it began displaying a “Shift To Park” message in the dash, essentially making it so the vehicle will not shut off even when the vehicle is in park. Took it to a shop and they diagnosed it as a common issue across the 2021 Malibus and stated the entire shifter assembly needed replaced. Have not had it replaced yet due to not having the funds to replace the entire assembly, but was informed eventually the problem will progress to a total loss of being able to turn the vehicle off resulting in the vehicle essentially dying and requiring a jump start where the issue will display on the dashboard again until the internal

NHTSA complaint 11756187, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was driving my car my electrical system is throwing all kinds of code.my sftey restrain is coming on to check my seat belt .the car goes blank .it stop in the middle of the road.this car has a lot of issues.can some one help me with this I work at the cardiologist office .

NHTSA complaint 11756284. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The car has an issue recognizing that the car is in park when trying to turn off the vehicle. A message on the dash will appear “Shift to Park”. The car has not been inspected for this issue, but it does repeatedly happen, not every time I turn off the car, but it happens pretty frequently. If I am unable to get the shifter to fully engage the computer then it won’t let me completely power down the vehicle and drains the battery. I’ve had to get a battery replaced before due to a mechanic moving my car after inspecting it for a different issue and leaving the “Shift to Park” signal on and ignoring it. This left me stranded with no battery and a mechanic denying remediation for the dead

NHTSA complaint 11755166, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am reporting a safety concern with my 2021 Chevrolet Malibu that is experiencing a “Shift to Park” failure.The vehicle displays a “Shift to Park” warning message even when the gear selector is fully placed in Park. Because the vehicle incorrectly detects that it is not in Park, it will not allow me to properly turn the vehicle off. This creates a concern because the vehicle may remain powered on when it should be shut down, potentially draining the battery and leaving the vehicle unable to start when needed.This issue appears to be a known problem affecting multiple Chevrolet vehicles, yet owners are still being required to pay out-of-pocket for repairs. My vehicle has just over 54,000

NHTSA complaint 11753858, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Car states shift to park when vehicle is already in park. It took multiple times to start car again and wiggling of shifter to get car to turn off. Car was repaired by a mechanic by replacing the transmission control and transmission shifter. Chevy is aware of the problem (which can drain the battery if not caught) but has not issued a recall only a Technical Service Bulletin. Cost to me was $569.00 for repair.

NHTSA complaint 11753429. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Malibu

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 10 1
2024 35 2
2023 61 2
2022 91 1
2020 194 1 1
2019 188 1
2018 694 6
2017 699 4
2016 835 9 1
2015 269 3 1
2014 349 6 1
2013 835 9
2012 905 2
2011 976 3
2010 1,359 3

Other 2021 Chevrolet models

Every Chevrolet on this site — 298 vehicles, 747 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

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.

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