"How reliable is the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu?"

"Based on 1166 NHTSA complaints, the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu has a median complaint mileage of 44700 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu is ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 1166 total complaints filed."

2018 Chevrolet Malibu: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1166 complaints

1166

Total Complaints

44,700mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

20,000 25th Percentile

44,700 Median Mileage

60,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE

267

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

179

POWER TRAIN

154

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

147

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

106

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

SERVICE BRAKES

STEERING

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

AIR BAGS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"HIT DEER DRIVING HIGHWAY SPEED, DRIVERS SIDE. DAMAGE TO HEADLIGHT, BLINKER, GRILL, BUMPER AND SIDE PANEL. WAS CALLED BY ONSTAR DUE TO AIRBAG BEING DEPLOYED. HOWEVER, AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WAS A BURNING ODOR IN CAR FOR SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AFTER INCIDENT."

"MY RIGHT BLINKER AND BRAKE LIGHT KEEP SHORTING OUT. IT WILL BE FINE FOR A FEW DAYS AND THEN STOP WORKING. ALSO, THE INTERIOR CARPET IS TOO SHORT AND KEEP COMING OUT OF THE TRIM IN THE FRONT AREA S OF THE VEHICLE."

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 267 complaints

25th: 25,050 mi Median: 47,703 mi 75th: 60,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 179 complaints

25th: 33,549 mi Median: 46,203 mi 75th: 57,925 mi

POWER TRAIN 154 complaints

25th: 24,350 mi Median: 42,000 mi 75th: 55,500 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 147 complaints

25th: 19,030 mi Median: 37,403 mi 75th: 47,390 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 106 complaints

25th: 34,250 mi Median: 51,257 mi 75th: 62,837 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 173 TX: 130 FL: 71 MI: 60 MD: 55 IL: 50 VA: 44 OH: 40 GA: 40 IN: 38

Who Files Complaints?

0.2%

Original Owners

99.8%

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
2015	389	50,000	ENGINE	30
2016	1424	50,000	ENGINE	37
2017	1157	51,000	ENGINE	25
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