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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
37,439 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Chevrolet Malibu electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 3 of 10)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #156

Dec 252021

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Seem to be a common problem... Backup camera stops working. Creates a safety problem at Busy shopping centers. GM will not cover the repair.

- Dixon, IL, USA

problem #155

Mar 082022

Malibu

  • miles
Driving on highway at speed of 70mph during rush hour very very busy when my car shows a warning engine power reduced and slows all the way down to 20mph lucky I was able to get over the 3 lanes of traffic without causing an accident but this is very unsafe I looked to see if there was a recall on the vehicle but there-??s not so I had a mechanic look at the car and they said nothing is wrong with it "?" Well today on my way home it did it again!! I-??m sorry but how is nothing wrong with it if my car is slowing to a dangerous speed this issue could cost someone their life

- Anderson, IN, USA

problem #154

Feb 012018

Malibu

  • 36,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the shift to park warning message would illuminate on the instrument panel while attempting to park and shut off her vehicle. The contact would be forced to repeatedly move the gear shifter back and forth from the park (P) position until the system recognized the gear shifter in the park (P) position. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed her that her vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V502000 (Electrical System, Power Train). In addition, the contact mentioned that water had been entering the vehicle and leaking out of the middle taillight. Due to the failure, the middle taillight had become fogged and mildew had accumulated inside the trunk. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

- Lake Worth, FL, USA

problem #153

Nov 132021

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Unknown, vehicle cut off in the middle of busy road with warning sign popping up after car cut off stating service stabilitrak and steering assist reducing power with steering wheel locking.Me and my child 10 year old could-??ve lost our lives today.Then there was no engine light coming on until car couldn-??t come back on.Roadside Assitance gave a hot shot car still didn-??t come on car won-??t start back up just keep ticking in all lights inside and radio works fine the heat came out cold.Also when car goes into auto stop car will just cut off in won-??t start back up you can only drive in L6.I only had the car for 2years

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #152

Nov 082021

Malibu 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 97,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the electronics turned off inadvertently and the steering wheel became difficult to move. The contact stated that the check battery charging warning light was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the battery and alternator replaced. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

- Stuart, FL, USA

problem #151

Oct 202021

Malibu

  • miles
Engine needed rebuilt due to a defect, in this process vehichle computer was reset, after the reset the radio began acting oddly randomly changing inputs and radio stations and occasionally not turning on. culminating in all internal audio going out including turn signal noise and internal alarms like seat belt, and key left in vehicle, with a black touch screen. This problem is fixed by resetting the car (unplugging battery and plugging it back in)the problem is described in a recall on other similar models of this car.

- Syracuse, NY, USA

problem #150

Jul 302021

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Shift to park warning on DIC. Can't shut car down.

- Lancaster, NY, USA

problem #149

Aug 132021

Malibu

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while pulling up to the driveway, his wife informed him that the front passenger side headlight and rear driver side brake light were not working. Part of the vehicle's radio also melted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with electrical failure and the front passenger side headlight bulb was replaced. However, the failure recurred, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Kannapolis, NC, USA

problem #148

Aug 272021

Malibu

  • miles
Car will randomly stall. I see GM recalled 500+ Malibu Hybrids for this problem, but mine is not one of them. This is the worst car I have ever owned.

- Muskegon, MI, USA

problem #147

Jul 112021

Malibu

  • miles
Drove home from work and grocery shopping, killed the engine and noticed the fan was still running. Got back in the car and pressed to start the engine again. The engine stumbled to start but did start. I killed the engine again and everything went off (including the fan) as it should have. I decided to start the car again to see if it would repeat what happened. The car started, but no lights came on on the dashboard or radio. I had to press the start button again before any lights would come on. But the engine would die about 3 seconds after the lights came on. The light on the start button was green the entire time until I pressed it a third time. (I have video of this). After this the car wouldn't start at all. I left the car alone for the evening. The next morning I attempted to start the car and it wouldn't start at all, it was as if the battery was dead. I drove my daughter's car to work. The battery was purchased in early 2019 and was still under warranty, but the dealership wouldn't check the battery back unless it was in the car, which wouldn't start. I purchased a battery tester and the battery was dead. I recharged the battery and the car still stumbled to start but would eventually start after several tries. The car appears to drive ok, but won't start without charging the battery or getting a jump start. And once it starts, it's very hard to get it to start again immediately. This has been going on for 2 months now. I haven't been driving the car because I have an hour one way commute to work and can't chance the car giving me any issues. I periodically jump start the car and drive it for 5-10 miles. Yesterday, I jump started the car and when I killed the engine, the fan didn't go off again. It took about 6 tries to start the car again, once it started and I killed the engine the fan finally stopped. The check engine light has been on and off during these past 2 months with these current issues.

- Castor, LA, USA

problem #146

Aug 062021

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car stalls if i stop or in traffic..the car is still running I can have the gas pedal to the floor it will not go then it takes off really quick when when it powers back on it feel like it loses power when I-??m trying to go but the car is running the whole time it-??s Hybrid propulsion system General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Malibu Hybrid vehicles manufactured October 27, 2015, to June 3, 2016. The affected vehicles have a shut-off switch for the high voltage battery for use when servicing the vehicle. This manual service disconnect switch (MSD) may not be properly installed and thus may not lock into position, unexpectedly disconnecting the high-voltage power while driving, effectively stalling the vehicle.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #145

Jun 152021

Malibu

  • miles
I have taken my vehicle multiple time and still the problem not fixed. Had a reduced engine problem at first and now there's a message that comes Battery charging system. replaced battery twice and replaced the alternator twice. I spent at least $2,000 trying to get my car fixed. The Charging system battery, the battery drains until it goes dead. The car stopped on a busy interstate with me in it. I had to wait on a tow truck, (while working) on the interstate while watching the trucks and cars pass by hoping that they wont hit me. After charging the battery and putting it back into the car the battery light comes on. and while the car is crank and sitting still the battery charging light comes on. the battery quickly looses power. GM realyl need to do a recall on these vehicles. Please help.

- Walls, MS, USA

problem #144

Jun 072021

Malibu

  • miles
When I go to shut the engine off it sometime still runs and after pressing the off button I have to go thru this off cycle many times before everything shuts down. The screen behind the steering wheel says to put it in "park" but it is already in "park". This could be a real safety problem because someone could drive the car into the garage, shut the door and not even know the engine is running!

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #143

Jul 012020

Malibu

  • miles
When I go into park and turn off my car I get a -??Shift to park-?? message. This happens numerous times a day. Sometimes the light turns off after a few minutes by itself. Most of the time I have to wiggle the shifter or turn the car back on and go from another gear such as drive to park. I have read that this is a common issue amongst this make and model.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #142

Jun 022021

Malibu

  • miles
My vehicle, a 2016 Chevy Malibu, has started receiving the *known* GM "Shift to Park" error message. This error message occurs when the vehicle is in park, but the driver information center (in the dashboard) alerts to "Shift to Park" before you can shut off the vehicle. If you try to exit the vehicle with the error message, all electronic systems (screen, lights, dash, etc) will stay on, draining down the car battery, putting me at risk of being stranded due to a known issue in my car and/or me having to leave my car running, putting my car at risk of being broken into, stolen, or worse. I have wasted countless hours already, in the very short time the error has occurred, having to shift out of park, reverse, drive, back into park, and keep trying over and over and over and over and over and over and over, until it finally might register. One evening, it took over two hours for this to work. This is a HUGE risk to me, especially in the city I live in, as a single woman. Furthermore, the fact that GM and NHTSA have a service bulletin on this, and it is a *known* issue in my year, make, and model, on top of the thousands and thousands of online forums reporting this same issue, tells me that this is much, much larger than anyone (especially GM) would like to admit, and that my car needs to be included in the recall for this.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #141

Aug 202020

Malibu

  • 54,000 miles
While stationary, and ready to shut off car, get a message to shift the car to park but it already is in park. Car will not shut off. Have to keep messing with shifter several times before can finally turn car off. This happened constantly. Took car to dealer, problem diagnosed as transmission shifter control problem and I had to pay $445.08 to fix. Supposedly Chevrolet recognized the problem in July 2019 before this started happening to me and issued a technical service bulletin (I think no. 18-na-297) but there was no recall done. My point is, in case of an accident and possibility of fire, it is a safety problem if the car cannot be turned off quickly. So why didn't this problem deserve to merit a recall and free repairs?

- North Kingstown, RI, USA

problem #140

Apr 102021

Malibu

  • 77,500 miles
Was driving in 45mph street when I got a 'engine power reduced' message and dropped speed to 10mph. This is clearly a safety issue and can very well cause an accident if I'm driving on highway or uphill for the matter.

- Los Banos, CA, USA

problem #139

Oct 102020

Malibu

  • miles
The headlights constant comes on and blinks on and off and when this happens it unlocks the drivers side door I have been sitting in the car with the engine off and can hear the flickering of the lock just the other day I locked the door manually it unlocked by itself this happened several times before it actually lock.I have had to lock the doors manually for some time now. Back in October 2020 it was killing my battery causing me to have to get a boost constantly took it to the dealership they said it was the onstar system and I payed to have it removed and still the problem still is there. Battery was still dying due to the lights coming on at any given time and draining the battery. I decided to buy another battery no longer need a boost but the light problem still remains an issue

- College Park, GA, USA

problem #138

Mar 182021

Malibu

  • 52,000 miles
When I was driving home from work tonight. I was taking the ramp to get on to the highway and my car gave me a warning that the engine power was reduced and my check engine light came on and my car was immediately reserved to only going 20 mph. This is very unsafe as I was trying to merge onto the highway.

- St Clairsville, OH, USA

problem #137

Feb 222021

Malibu

  • 42,000 miles
While riding on the highway at 70mph I experienced a total loss of power. The car warned me and the engine light came on. I could not accelerate beyond 30 mph. When I had it checked with a code sensor it told me there was an issue with the throttle position sensor. The code was P2138. This created a very dangerous situation on a quick moving highway.

- Caldwell, NJ, USA

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