"How reliable is the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu?"

"Based on 389 NHTSA complaints, the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu has a median complaint mileage of 50000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu is ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 389 total complaints filed."

2015 Chevrolet Malibu: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 389 complaints

389

Total Complaints

50,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

23,500 25th Percentile

50,000 Median Mileage

85,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

AIR BAGS

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

POWER TRAIN

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

SERVICE BRAKES

STRUCTURE:BODY

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I HAVE BEEN HAVING NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH A PAUSE IN THE ENGINE WHEN I'M SPEEDING UP ONTO A HIGHWAY OR TO PASS ON THE HIGHWAY . IT'S MOST DANGEROUS WHEN I ENTER THE HIGHWAY. THE CAR INSTEAD OF JUST SPEEDING UP HAS BEEN KNOWN TO PAUSE.. AND THEN SPEED UP. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT'S HARD T..."

"TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE THE GEAR SHIFTER WAS IN THE DRIVE POSITION, THE VEHICLE MOVED IN REVERSE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12. UPDATED 1..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE 69 complaints

25th: 39,275 mi Median: 66,000 mi 75th: 85,750 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 64 complaints

25th: 25,394 mi Median: 48,000 mi 75th: 82,000 mi

AIR BAGS 46 complaints

25th: 28,700 mi Median: 48,000 mi 75th: 63,750 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 complaints

25th: 15,250 mi Median: 47,500 mi 75th: 70,732 mi

POWER TRAIN 28 complaints

25th: 31,500 mi Median: 80,000 mi 75th: 128,250 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

PA: 37 TX: 30 FL: 24 IL: 22 MI: 19 OH: 18 CA: 17 SC: 15 GA: 14 IN: 14

Who Files Complaints?

0.3%

Original Owners

99.7%

Second+ Owners

Chevrolet Malibu — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1997	693	82,750	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	34
1998	1480	70,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR	53
1999	1227	60,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR	61
2000	1379	65,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	71
2001	1005	70,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	51
2002	754	68,607	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	28
2003	772	70,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	52
2004	1639	69,000	STEERING	78
2005	1385	89,000	STEERING	67
2006	1473	85,000	STEERING	59
2007	1252	100,000	STEERING	53
2008	1482	80,000	STEERING	54
2009	2354	100,000	STEERING	64
2010	2193	82,000	STEERING	72
2011	1512	79,632	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	71
2012	1470	87,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	93
2013	1367	70,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	50
2014	561	60,000	ENGINE	32
2016	1424	50,000	ENGINE	37
2017	1157	51,000	ENGINE	25
2018	1166	44,700	ENGINE	34
2019	293	41,750	POWER TRAIN	9
2020	307	70,000	ENGINE	15
2021	99	21,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	0
2022	116	42,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	6
2023	48	34,853	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	5

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28