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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
14,469 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.

2018 Chevrolet Malibu electrical problems

electrical problem

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2018 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 1 of 9)

problem #169

Jan 122025

Malibu

  • miles

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

ENGINE POWER REDUCED light keeps coming on while driving and the car stalls and won't go over 20mph. Several repairs later and it is still happening almost daily. It has nearly caused an accident several times. This needs to be fixed and a recall for the issue needs to be issued by Chevy. With this many people experiencing this problem, why isn't Chevy obligated to address the issue?

- Trevor, WI, USA

problem #168

Dec 102024

Malibu

  • 101,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while coming to a complete stop, the engine auto Start/Stop system engaged, causing the engine to shut off; however, the electrical system then became inoperable. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal to resume driving, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. Additionally, the contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle failed to stop immediately and rolled to a stop. The stabili-trak and electronic stability control warning lights were illuminated. A message advising to open and to close the windows was displayed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where it was diagnosed that there were debris in the throttle. The contact was advised to drive at high speeds on the highway to correct the failure. The contact followed the instructions; however, the failure persisted. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.

- Warren, MI, USA

problem #167

Nov 022024

Malibu

  • miles
On 11/2/24, Dashboard was displaying "shift to park" message when car was turned off and in park, ignition button displayed orange. Was advised by service advisor that this is a known Chevrolet issue but no recall issued to date. The fix required a park switch replacement; jumper park switched was installed on 11/7/24.

- Cockeysville, MD, USA

problem #166

Nov 222024

Malibu

  • miles

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

The car has a reoccuring problem where is stalls in the middle of driving the vehicle. A warning comes up to shift to park. The car then restarts, runs extremely rough and stalls out. It then signals to shift to park again. The car is extremely unsafe. I took the vehicle to GM dealer and they said the car is "confused" between running on the battery and combustible engine. I have seen several similar issues with the Cheverolt Malibu Hybrid. I think GM knows they have an issue and one of the reasons they discontinued the model.

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

problem #165

Nov 192024

Malibu

  • miles
Car keeps giving a -??Shift To Park-?? message when vehicle is already in park. Leaving the vehicle running and draining the battery, let me stranded a few times because it was dead. Tried almost everything to get it to go away but it keeps giving the same message everytime I go to park it and vehicle won-??t shut off. Very inconvenient and unsafe, Doesn-??t seem to be a recall or fix for this issue.

- Campbellsville , KY, USA

problem #164

Aug 192024

Malibu

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that upon turning the vehicle off, the message to -??Shift to Park" was displayed and the electrical components remained on. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was faulty wiring in the electrical system. Additionally, the contact was informed of an undisclosed recall possibly related to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #163

Oct 272024

Malibu

  • 81,265 miles

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

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low power mode warning illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the failure occurred three times within a day. In addition, the contact stated that the night before, the vehicle was started; however, the vehicle then failed to start as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle went into auto theft mode. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that the failure had previously occurred in July 2024. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and an unknown recall repair was performed. The recall repair consisted of ECM was reprogrammed and OAT sensor was realigned. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 81,265.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #162

Mar 112020

Malibu

  • miles
While driving high speed such as are on the highway vehicle jerks and has gotten worse now so aggressively it almost jerks from my grip to the left. It-??s without notice and over correcting at those speed could cause my vehicle to roll, or jerking into on coming traffic or into another vehicle to the left of me and the direction each time it-??s occurred it-??s jerked to the left. I-??ve previously blamed it on the road or the wind when it-??s happened since I-??ve had it now almost 5 years. Now it-??s getting so bad I-??m afraid of my safety and others in my vehicle or other drivers I might be thrown into when it jerks violently and without warning. This is my only form of transportation and I owe money left in the vehicle and feel I-??m being put in harms ways as well as other that could be impacted in my vehicle or other drivers.

- Yakima, WA, USA

problem #161

Sep 242024

Malibu

  • miles
While driving the speed suddenly reduced and brakes locked up on me. I was lucky enough to be able to veer to the left and get off the busy street without crashing into anyone or anything. When I stopped the car cut off and would not start back up even with a jump. This happened to me twice before and they did a recall on the same part. I need ot fixed again. I also had to replace the battery every time including this time.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

problem #160

Sep 172024

Malibu

  • miles
When parking it says shift to park even when I-??m already in park. The dealer says it-??s the shifter however after seeing numerous other vehicles with this issue I believe it-??s electrical

- Elkton, MD, USA

problem #159

Aug 262024

Malibu

  • miles

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

Service battery charging system note came on, just replaced the alternater and got a new battery put on. Everything else is good and this keeps coming on.

- San Diego, TX, USA

problem #158

Mar 012020

Malibu

  • 38,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after parking and turning the vehicle off, several electrical features remained activated including the radio and the infotainment touchscreen. Additionally, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The contact stated that due to the failure, the battery was drained, and the vehicle could not be immediately restarted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 38,000.

- Rio Linda, CA, USA

problem #157

Jul 202024

Malibu

  • miles
When I turn my vehicle off, it displays -??shift to park-?? I am trapped in my car because it does not turn off all the way and the door will not lock. I have to wiggle and re-crank several times to attempt to get my vehicle to shut off. My battery has gone dead several times because I simply couldn-??t turn the car off with the shift to park displaying.

- Macon, GA, USA

problem #156

Aug 082024

Malibu

  • miles
The pedal assembly is malfunctioning, causing the vehicle to throw an error and suddenly reduce the speed of the vehicle dramatically, often to dangerous levels, i.e. reducing the vehicle speed to below 30MPH suddenly on a highway. The vehicle will randomly experience the malfunction in the pedal assembly with no apparent pattern or reasoning. The issue is remedied by turning the vehicle on and off again. Additionally, the code clears most often within 24 hours.

- Idalou, TX, USA

problem #155

Aug 052024

Malibu

  • 0 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was left on the side of the roadway. The contact called the dealer where the vehicle was purchased and was advised that he had to pay to have the vehicle towed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was aware of an open recall on the vehicle, NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V642000 (Electrical System, Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine). The failure mileage was unknown.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #154

May 012024

Malibu

  • miles
REDUCED POWER TO ENGINE. Previously had recall for this issue, which was replaced by Chevy service center. About a year later I had the same problem but had to pay out of pocket because there were no active recalls on the issue. As of today, I am receiving the same -??REDUCED POWER TO ENGINE-?? error and check engine light keeps coming on. This happens randomly but frequently almost every single day. Error will shut off after restarting car and then happens again not long after. I-??ve had this issue with multiple Chevy Malibus that I have owed and there is currently a class action lawsuit against GM for this exact issue.

- Oswego, NY, USA

problem #153

Jul 112024

Malibu

  • miles
This car has the shift to park issue that was under a recall for 2016 to 2019 chevy malibu. However gm refuses to put my vin in the system so this issue can be repaired. This is a 2018 malibu which should have been on that recall list.

- Kokomo, IN, USA

problem #152

May 162024

Malibu

  • miles
Since I got the car, if I let it go in auto stop, it has a hard time accelerating when I push the gas. It has gotten worse and now it has a hard time accelerating in general. When I push the gas it sounds really loud like it-??s struggling to go. I realized this is a safety issue for me and others when my car wasn-??t going at the light of a busy intersection, or when I-??m getting onto a highway and my car isn-??t picking up speed. This makes it scary for people already on the highway as Iam causing them to brake unexpectedly. Every time my check engine light comes on I take it to the dealership. It-??s been taken in for repairs multiple times but this issue still keeps coming back.

- Pueblo, CO, USA

problem #151

May 072024

Malibu

  • miles
this is a known issue with the 2018 Chevy malibu and other GM vehicles, where the vehicle is in park, but the car does not register that it is in park, and will not shut off. this has been happening in my malibu, and Is a large safety concern for

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #150

May 042024

Malibu

  • miles
Regular electrical issues that cause the steering assistance to become disable while driving. Faulty sensors that the Chevrolet certified service center cannot resolve, engine light has been on for over 6 months. faulty mass airflow sensor Invalid Data Received From Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) Control See attachment for additional codes over 2 years. I have contacted as many people as possible in order to understand the issue and find a resolution. Began having electrical issues since May 2022. Dyer Chevrolet in Lake Wales Florida has all the records.

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

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