2002 CHEVROLET MALIBU — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 556 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (211 complaints · 38.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 18
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 19
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2001 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 211 of 556 owner complaints (38.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 211 complaints, 38.0% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 211 · 38.0% · 3 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 128 complaints, 23.0% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 128 · 23.0% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 65 complaints, 11.7% of reports ENGINE 65 · 11.7% SERVICE BRAKES: 40 complaints, 7.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 40 · 7.2% · 2 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 2.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 16 · 2.9% · 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 11 complaints, 2.0% of reports AIR BAGS 11 · 2.0% · 6 crash reports STRUCTURE: 11 complaints, 2.0% of reports STRUCTURE 11 · 2.0% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 11 complaints, 2.0% of reports SUSPENSION 11 · 2.0% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 9 complaints, 1.6% of reports VISIBILITY 9 · 1.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 295 complaints, 53.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 295 · 53.1% · 8 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 211 38.0% 3 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 128 23.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 65 11.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 40 7.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 16 2.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 11 2.0% 6 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 11 2.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 11 2.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 9 1.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 295 53.1% 8 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2001. 2001-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2004-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2004-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2005-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2005-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2005-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2005-Q4: 29 owner reports 29 2006-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2006-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2006-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2006-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2007-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2007-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2007-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2007-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2008-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2008-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2008-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2009-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2009-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2009-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2009-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2010-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2010-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2010-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2010-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2014-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2014-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2014-Q4: 28 owner reports 28 2015-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2015-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2001 Jul 2026 Investigation PE05055 ● Investigation PE05055
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2001-Q4 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 4
2002-Q3 Owner reports 8
2002-Q4 Owner reports 4
2003-Q1 Owner reports 3
2003-Q2 Owner reports 4
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 4
2004-Q1 Owner reports 6
2004-Q2 Owner reports 12
2004-Q3 Owner reports 13
2004-Q4 Owner reports 9
2005-Q1 Owner reports 8
2005-Q2 Owner reports 12
2005-Q3 Owner reports 18
2005-Q4 Owner reports 29
2006-Q1 Owner reports 10
2006-Q2 Owner reports 18
2006-Q3 Owner reports 9
2006-Q4 Owner reports 15
2007-Q1 Owner reports 9
2007-Q2 Owner reports 18
2007-Q3 Owner reports 11
2007-Q4 Owner reports 13
2008-Q1 Owner reports 11
2008-Q2 Owner reports 8
2008-Q3 Owner reports 16
2008-Q4 Owner reports 14
2009-Q1 Owner reports 9
2009-Q2 Owner reports 10
2009-Q3 Owner reports 13
2009-Q4 Owner reports 13
2010-Q1 Owner reports 6
2010-Q2 Owner reports 9
2010-Q3 Owner reports 18
2010-Q4 Owner reports 5
2011-Q1 Owner reports 4
2011-Q2 Owner reports 5
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 3
2012-Q2 Owner reports 3
2012-Q3 Owner reports 6
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 7
2014-Q2 Owner reports 10
2014-Q3 Owner reports 25
2014-Q4 Owner reports 28
2015-Q1 Owner reports 12
2015-Q2 Owner reports 11
2015-Q3 Owner reports 12
2015-Q4 Owner reports 5
2016-Q1 Owner reports 5
2016-Q2 Owner reports 6
2016-Q3 Owner reports 5
2017-Q1 Owner reports 4
2017-Q2 Owner reports 5
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2026-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE05055
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 556 complaints · page 1 of 23

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources