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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
37,620 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 3 of 15)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #241

Feb 152023

Malibu

  • miles

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

Reduce engine power on dash I have received this message twice. Car goes to 60mph and it drops down dramatically to 20 mph this could case a big accident and gm needs to fix this problem immediately. This is a car I do not recommend it's been nothing but problems.

- Florissant, MO, USA

problem #240

Feb 192023

Malibu

  • miles
Problem with losing power in auto stop

- Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

problem #239

Oct 112022

Malibu

  • miles
Loss of power not wanting to go faster than 25 missing and spitting and sputtering bad

- Zanesville , OH, USA

problem #238

Jan 172023

Malibu

  • miles

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

Car loses speed from 60mph to 15mph while driving. Engine Reduce Power light comes on after the fact. This is very dangerous when driving on a busy highway/interstate.

- White Springs, FL, USA

problem #237

Sep 292022

Malibu

  • 141,943 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal was firm. The contact used the parking brake to slow and stop the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving to the residence. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the vacuum pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. On another occasion, while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle started overheating and smoking with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence. An independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the engine needed to be replaced due to metal fragments from the defective vacuum pump. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed by an authorized dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The failure mileage was 141,943.

- Kyle, TX, USA

problem #236

Feb 012022

Malibu

  • miles
Engine/Pistons Car has 80,000 miles and the engine/pistons have gone out on this car. I have had the car inspected by the Chevrolet dealership and they were shocked that a car that has been taken care of so good with so little miles is giving me a problem so major and expensive

- Hephzibah, GA, USA

problem #235

Nov 142022

Malibu

  • miles

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

The low oil pressure - cut engine off notification appeared on the speedometer & as i was getting on the freeway the car literally cut off. All the electrical worked but power to the engine & everything stopped completely.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #234

Sep 302022

Malibu

  • miles
UNKNOWN the air bag on my dash board come on and off ALL THE TIME even if I have no one sitting in my passenger seat.I got this vehicle for the winter thinking it was going to help me save gas and be a good reliable car for my daily routine to work, school, and my kids school. But it-??s definitely the opposite. I-??m struggling financially and In a hole now the engine light is on and I can-??t get to my destination without going more then 30-40mph because -??engine speed reduce-?? appears on my dash board and reduced the speed and not only is this inconvenient and annoying but also dangerous I dam almost got into accident because of this I was driving in the highway about 65-70 mph when this happen with a 18-wheeler behind me not only was my daughter-??s life and mine put in danger. But the person driving the 18-wheeler. He definitely lost somewhat the control to swerve my vehicle it was a miracle of god no other cars where next to us and that nothing happened.their is so many 2016 Chevrolet malibu like this that I hope from the bottom of my heart that their is some compassion for this issue where they can make the issue get recalled. To help people like me I-??m struggling to make ends meet day to day and I have forcefully have to keep using my car on the daily. I have no other transportation. And like i said not only for my safety but everyone around I am not the only one with this issue if the make in model. Their is hundreds of us !

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #233

May 012019

Malibu

  • miles
Reduced engine power alert. Ongoing issue since 2019

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #232

Oct 052022

Malibu

  • miles
I have had several issues with my 2016 Malibu. 1st: Putting my vehicle in park sometimes it does not register that it is in park. I have to turn the car on again and try moving the shifter until it registers. 2nd: when accelerating at times i get a stabilitrak error and a check engine light that causes a loss of power. This can happen in the middle of the highway which will cause an inevitable accident. 3rd: saving the best for last. Thw vehicle has recently lost power while driving and won't allow acceleration. Once i stop the vehicle stalls out completely and won't register the gears so i can't out it into park or anything. I was stuck at an intersection and couldn't move. It wouldn't turn fully off because it didn't register it was in park. And it won't turn on or start because it isn't on or off. I maintain my vehicles and correct all fixes recommended. Brought it in to have the issue looked at and was told that there were A LOT of error codes. They cleared them. But this has gotten ridiculous. GM needs to figure their stuff out..

- Alexandria, MN, USA

problem #231

Aug 082022

Malibu

  • miles

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

The engine light has illuminated due to a cylinder 1 misfire and ECM lost connection with the fuel pump which also caused problem with the pistons on the vehicle. All of these issue are related to the engine and it-??s only 94,343 miles on the car

- Naperville , IL, USA

problem #230

Sep 062022

Malibu

  • 166,132 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the engine power reduced warning message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 166,132.

- Aliceville, AL, USA

problem #229

Sep 022022

Malibu

  • miles
I was sitting at a stop light and all the sudden my car just died in the middle of the road. I to tried to restart and my brake pedal was very hard to push down and on the dashboard it said Engine Power is Reduced. I was not able to start my car at all and had to be towed. Lights and radio were still working.

- Lafayette , IN, USA

problem #228

Aug 222022

Malibu

  • miles
I was sitting at a stop light and all the sudden my car just died in the middle of the road. I turned my car off and tried to turn it back on and my brake pedal was very hard to push down and on the dashboard it said Engine Power is Reduced. I was not able to start my car at all and had to be towed.

- Kokomo, IN, USA

problem #227

Jul 302022

Malibu

  • miles
When the vehicle is in drive, the display will say "reduced engine power" and will drop the car to 25mph even on the highway. I've almost wrecked from this issue. I've seen where GM has had class actions on this prior but it was never recalled.

- Tahlequah, OK, USA

problem #226

Jul 142022

Malibu

  • miles
When I accelerate, it hesitates to pick up speed. Once I made it to 75mph, a warning message came on that said engine power reduced and the check engine light came on. I looked up the issue and saw that several people with the same car were having the same issues. I added a gas treatment like they suggested but the light is still on. I have not been to a dealership or mechanic shop yet due to not having the money. But if this is a common problem then Chevrolet needs to pay for repairs. If my car fails while I-??m driving, I could cause an accident.I have had the throttle body cleaned before and the wheel sensors but I am still having issues.

- Kinder, LA, USA

problem #225

Jul 072022

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving on the freeway at about 65mph, and the car shut down on me. It was extremely dangerous to get over on the freeway with no power. 2 warning lights came on. The Stabilatrak, & the check engine light. I pulled over & called for help. I had the car taken to the service department at the dealership. They contacted me & informed me that a piston was cracked, & the ECM had to have a software update. They are charging me $5,389 to repair it. The car only has 8,000 miles on it. There are recalls for this exact problem, but do not apply to my specific VIN#. My car is a 2016, so I am out of warranty, but this should not happen with a vehicle with this low of mileage.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #224

Jun 202022

Malibu

  • miles
Car began to lose power while driving down the road, then began sputtering gas and creating black smoke. Engine pistons appear to be shot. Car has a little over 100k miles.

- Owingsville, KY, USA

problem #223

Jun 022020

Malibu

  • miles
This is not a safety issue but potentially it could be & I want GM to take action. I drive a 2016 Chevy Malibu. Beginning 2017, I started getting this message after ignition -??SHIFT TO PARK-??. This is purely GM-??s mistakes in designing the part. Solution is to replace the shifter asm completely irrespective of the warranty coverage. This is a common issue on multiple cars between 2016 to 2019, I suppose. I took the car to Ed Rinke dealer in MI back in 2018 timeframe & they said the shifter cable needs to be replaced. I did pay around $200 for the service & issue was gone for a while. It was back again in 2019-2020 timeframe intermittently. Its pretty bad now, I cannot shut the engine off & have to wait for quite sometime to get rid of the message & seriously do not know what to do. If I close the door & leave, message is still ON & battery drains out. I want GM to cover for expenses because dealership would want to diagnose when we all know what the issue is.

- Macomb, MI, USA

problem #222

Apr 202022

Malibu

  • miles
All of a sudden my Pistons just went in my car the whole engine block actually. There was never any warning or anything I got an oil change and after the oil change the check engine light came on plus it said service stabilitrak. Without the stability track you can get into an accident because the car is not in control the way it's supposed to be. The Pistons being worn in the engine block going. Without any notice of anything being wrong. Causes bad emissions leaks etc. The dealership knows about it. They can't give me a reason why the Pistons and the engine block went. Or why this service to stabilitrak came on. They're trying to say it's a pipe that has a dent in it. But the entire system is rotted out it only has 34,418 mi on it.

- Dover, NH, USA

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