2019 CHEVROLET MALIBU — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 190 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (52 complaints · 27.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2018 →
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 POWER TRAIN appears in 52 of 190 owner complaints (27.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 52 complaints, 27.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 52 · 27.4% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 37 complaints, 19.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 · 19.5% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 27 complaints, 14.2% of reports ENGINE 27 · 14.2% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 12 complaints, 6.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 12 · 6.3% · 2 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 4.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 8 · 4.2% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 6 complaints, 3.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6 · 3.2% AIR BAGS: 2 complaints, 1.1% of reports AIR BAGS 2 · 1.1% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 1.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 1.1% · 1 crash reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 2 complaints, 1.1% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 · 1.1% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 47 complaints, 24.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 47 · 24.7% · 2 crash 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)
POWER TRAIN 52 27.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 19.5% 2 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 27 14.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 12 6.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 8 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 2 1.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 1.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 1.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 47 24.7% 2 crashes · 0 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 2018; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 2021. 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2021-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2022-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2023-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2023-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2023-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2023-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2024-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2025-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2025-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2025-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2026-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2026-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2026-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2018 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 21V649000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V649000 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 3
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 3
2020-Q2 Owner reports 7
2020-Q3 Owner reports 5
2020-Q4 Owner reports 3
2021-Q1 Owner reports 4
2021-Q2 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 6
2021-Q4 Owner reports 4
2022-Q1 Owner reports 6
2022-Q2 Owner reports 7
2022-Q3 Owner reports 16
2022-Q4 Owner reports 9
2023-Q1 Owner reports 12
2023-Q2 Owner reports 13
2023-Q3 Owner reports 9
2023-Q4 Owner reports 8
2024-Q1 Owner reports 2
2024-Q2 Owner reports 7
2024-Q3 Owner reports 7
2024-Q4 Owner reports 3
2025-Q1 Owner reports 6
2025-Q2 Owner reports 12
2025-Q3 Owner reports 15
2025-Q4 Owner reports 8
2026-Q1 Owner reports 5
2026-Q2 Owner reports 3
2026-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 21V649000
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 21V649000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 190 complaints · page 1 of 8

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 2026-08-21
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