2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 83 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (17 complaints · 20.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2020 →
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 17 of 83 owner complaints (20.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 17 complaints, 20.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 17 · 20.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 14 complaints, 16.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 · 16.9% · 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 7.2% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 7.2% FUEL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 6.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 5 · 6.0% ENGINE: 4 complaints, 4.8% of reports ENGINE 4 · 4.8% BACK OVER PREVENTION: 3 complaints, 3.6% of reports BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 · 3.6% STEERING: 2 complaints, 2.4% of reports STEERING 2 · 2.4% SUSPENSION: 2 complaints, 2.4% of reports SUSPENSION 2 · 2.4% SERVICE BRAKES: 1 complaints, 1.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 1.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 34 complaints, 41.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 · 41.0% 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 17 20.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 16.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 6 7.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 5 6.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 4 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 2 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 1 1.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 41.0% 0 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 Apr 2021; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 2021. 2021-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2024-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2025-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2025-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2025-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2026-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2026-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2026-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 Owner reports Apr 2021 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 21V649000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V649000 Recall campaign 22V359000 ◆ Recall campaign 22V359000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2021-Q2 Owner reports 3
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 4
2023-Q4 Owner reports 3
2024-Q1 Owner reports 4
2024-Q2 Owner reports 9
2024-Q3 Owner reports 4
2024-Q4 Owner reports 6
2025-Q1 Owner reports 5
2025-Q2 Owner reports 6
2025-Q3 Owner reports 4
2025-Q4 Owner reports 8
2026-Q1 Owner reports 3
2026-Q2 Owner reports 11
2026-Q3 Owner reports 11
Recall campaign 1 21V649000
Recall campaign 1 22V359000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

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 →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 22V359000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    An improperly welded seat frame may not adequately restrain the driver in a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
    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.
    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 83 complaints · page 1 of 4

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