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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,964 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 seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2016 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments

problem #16

May 252024

Malibu

  • miles

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

My airbag light comes on intermittently and will show a passenger is not in my front seat when they are. I took my car to the dealer and they got a current and past code B0074 for the passenger presence module. There was a recall (18208) for this on certain 2016 Malibus but my vin was not included.

- Stillwater, OK, USA

problem #15

Mar 102024

Malibu

  • 174,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag light was illuminated and there was a message displayed "Service Air Bag". The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 174,000.

- Bunker Hill, WV, USA

problem #14

May 032023

Malibu

  • 113,537 miles
The contact owned a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle was involved in a rear collision. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact's friend sustained rib, back, and neck injuries. The vehicle was towed to a salvage lot. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 113,537.

- Lafayette, LA, USA

problem #13

Sep 302022

Malibu

  • miles

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

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 #12

Mar 132020

Malibu

  • miles
Purchased vehicle from Car Key Autoplex at 13546 Method St, Dallas TX 75243 (214) 210-9998 in March 2020. Vehicle was involved in previous wreck and owner purchased this vehicle and made repairs. Repairs were verified cause the air bag light stopped coming on. In December 2021 vehicle was involved in a wreck. Auto body shop looked into replacing seat belts. Noticed that seat belts had deployed, one of the seat belts was the wrong one for the vehicle as well as an incorrectly installed bolt for the SRS. Had to replace both seat belts and pretensioners and airbag control module installed ($2,250). Then the auto body shop noticed that pigtails were missing and spliced together. Had this fixed at a dealership for $1,800 along with programming of the airbag control module to the vehicle. Owner of Car Key Autoplex said that vehicle was repaired 100% when it wasn-??t. He committed fraud and sold us a vehicle that was unsafe for the road and cost me over $4,000 to fix all of this.

- Frisco, TX, USA

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problem #11

Aug 042020

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 84,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, smoke seeped into the cab of the vehicle. The contact stopped close by and the vehicle was checked by her son and saw there was a very small amount of antifreeze left in the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the dealer riverside Chevrolet (707 w 51st St, tulsa, ok 74107 918-446-7700) while it was running hot. The vehicle was serviced by the dealer with an oil change and fluid checks two months earlier. The dealer suggested to leave the vehicle overnight. The vehicle was later diagnosed that the heater coil needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to cost. The failure mileage was 84,000.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #10

Jul 012020

Malibu 4-cyl

  • 0 miles

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

Im getting an alert of air bag problem and I received a letter about an airbag problem recall. Also the brake pedal which my husband fixed and a roof water leak which my husband also fixed.

- Sylmar, CA, USA

problem #9

Aug 312019

Malibu

  • 10,523 miles
My car just stopped cranking and its like I have all the power turned off, I was in my yard. I thought it was the battery, changed it still no change. My airbag repair light keeps coming on and my car had been running fine all day fine until I parked it and everything stopped.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #8

Jul 262019

Malibu

  • 35,360 miles
Tamara recall of driver side airbag deploying. Barely bumped someone from behind going under 5mph & both driver side airbags deployed

- Anderson, SC, USA

problem #7

Feb 012019

Malibu

  • 60,000 miles
I was driving northbound on I-435 when avoiding an accident. I pressed my brake as hard as I could. My vehicle did not stop so to avoid causing a serious accident I went off road in the center of the two highways. After hitting the guardrail to stop my vehicle from falling inbetween the overpass. My airbags did not deploy. I feel some concern after having my breaks checked and told they were good. Then if I'm at stop and I release the break for my car to start back up. I give it a second and then press the peddle it does not move which has almost caused me to hold up traffic or almost being hit when vehicles were at safe distances.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #6

Feb 122019

Malibu

  • 45,000 miles

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

My car all of sudden on freeway snatched back from doing 65 plus to freaking less than 30 miles instantly "engine power reduced" message appears and check engine light comes on. It continues to do this everyday my car will not drive over 30-35 mph. I have two kids this is not safe. I travel! I take my car to penske Chevrolet of cerritos dealer and they claim its a accelerator pad sensor. Prior to taking my car to dealer I had a conversation with a co worker who has the same car she told me the issue beforehand because she experienced it and was stuck on a highway!they also state that "every Malibu is having this issue" and due to that the item is on back order. I had to pay and still have to pay for labor of that item which I don't think is fair. It should be a recall. I feel well no it is obviously hazardous and Chevy has people and kids driving in cars like this... what if I get in an accident" how many cars does it take to realize this item needs to be recalled? does someone have to die for Chevrolet to realize that this needs serious attention"

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #5

Jan 182019

Malibu

  • miles
I keep having a service airbag message. I took it to the dealership and they said it's the steering airbag. To fix it is $481. It's not fair to pay this when I got this car brand new and I haven't done anything to the car to make this happen. This should be a recall do to a manufacturer error.

- Darlington, SC, USA

problem #4

Oct 022017

Malibu

  • 20,000 miles
I seen the recall about the air bag on the passenger side of the front seat I'm having a issue like that what can be done to see if it's related to what Y'all are recalling thanks and be side that it come on and off on it's own even when no one is seating there.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #3

Aug 012018

Malibu

  • 45,000 miles
When I put my car in park, on the dash board it say put car in park to turn off. When my car is in park. Also when I go to start my car it take a while for it to start. It will say serivce stablility. My air bag lights came on. I also have seen that alot of customers that has the same car is having the same problem

- Glendale, AZ, USA

problem #2

Feb 012018

Malibu

  • 44,000 miles
Passenger side airbag sensor activates even though there is no passenger. Radio shorts and turns off for no apparent reason.

- Woodridge, NY, USA

problem #1

Jul 302016

Malibu

  • 8,000 miles
I have audio (hearing) of five warming bells for last couple of weeks while traveling in vehicle. I finally observed in ceiling of vehicle air bag warning for passenger seat indicating 'on 2' I observe audio of five bells every now and then while on road. I then observe 'on 2' indicator goes into off mode automatically. I do not know exactly when airbag passenger system reverts to off mode. I will take vehicle into authorized chev service center sometime this week as I am in warranty. I am not aware of any recall notice and vehicle has been in chev service center for oil change, tire rotation and vehicle safety check list about 30 days prior. I would hope their computer system is up to date on recalls. Also I am not aware if air bags are takema air bags?

- Sunrise, FL, USA

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