NHTSA lists 198 complaints for the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, 10 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 5 complaints mention an injury, with 7 injuries and 1 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-09.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as CHEVROLET MALIBU.
At a glance
Complaints
198
With crash
10
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
5
Injuries
7
Deaths
1
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
402
Investigations
1
Open investigations
1
Manufacturer communications
770
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
ENGINE
59
29.8%
POWER TRAIN
58
29.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
57
28.8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
44
22.2%
SERVICE BRAKES
42
21.2%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
18
9.1%
STEERING
16
8.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
14
7.1%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
6
3.0%
AIR BAGS
4
2.0%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
POWER TRAIN
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ENGINE
2
STRUCTURE
BODY
2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM
1
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
ANTILOCK
1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
POWER ASSIST
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
THROTTLE
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.
Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.
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.
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.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
1 investigations; 1 open.
EA25005
Opened: 2025-10-21. Closed: Not listed.
DTN Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has become aware of eight vehicle crashes in which a rupture of a Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN) air bag inflator occurred during the deployment of the driver side air bag. All eight drivers in these crashes sustained serious or fatal injuries that appear linked to the ruptures. Six of those drivers sustained fatal injuri
Systems: AIR BAGS.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
770 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
EQUIPMENT
246
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
198
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
122
POWER TRAIN
105
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
99
ENGINE
77
WHEELS
38
STRUCTURE
34
11037555
Date: 2026-09-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This PI provides Diagnostics tips on how the LIN bus works and how to diagnosis it.
11037253
Date: 2026-09-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
11035340
Date: 2026-07-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
PI to help diagnose A/C concern
11033723
Date: 2026-06-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
PIP6032B provides diagnostic direction for dealers when encountering transmission leaks
11030974
Date: 2026-04-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
11030091
Date: 2026-03-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
11030092
Date: 2026-03-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This Preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a GDS2 Session Log and upload to a Technical Assistance Case in CX Connect.
11029950
Date: 2026-03-02. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This Preliminary information communicates to the field on how to diagnosis a GPS issue with the Telematic module with no DTC'ss
11027697
Date: 2026-01-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This Preliminary information communicates to the field on how to diagnosis a GPS issue with the Telematic module with no DTC's
11027701
Date: 2026-01-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This PI advised dealer technicians of possible causes of diesel fuel contamination in gasoline powered vehicles and advises of warranty direction.
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.