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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 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.

2021 Chevrolet Malibu electrical problems

electrical problem

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2021 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments

problem #8

Jun 062024

Malibu

  • miles

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

The computer was not recognizing my car being in the correct gear shift. It did this for a few days until finally, I couldn't drive it. The car would not recognize any part of the gear being in the correct position. The car would not move forward or reverse, resulting in a tow. The mechanic at Reed Lallier Chevrolet in Fayetteville NC was even able to guess my car make and model from the symptoms I reported (which was later discovered, in my case, the gear shift link had loosened), and confirmed that if this happened while in motion, it would have been very dangerous. He also said they had 3 other cars that SAME DAY that had different causes but the same exact faulty gear recognition, with all of them being recent-year Malibu Chevrolet models AND the following day when I was doing my follow-up call concerning my car, 2 more were brought in with the faulty gear recognition issue.

- Troy, NC, USA

problem #7

May 162024

Malibu

  • miles
The vehicle says shift to park. Even though the vehicle is in park. It then causes the vehicle power to remain on and kill the battery. I-??ve seen multiple instances of this same problem on the same vehicle as mine and many other GM models. My warranty ran out in January (of course) and now the issue is occurring. I-??ve been stranded with a dead battery 3 times already due to this. It-??s literally a microswitch not functioning correctly to tell the computer that the vehicle is in park.

- New Castle, PA, USA

problem #6

Mar 042024

Malibu

  • miles
When trying to park shift disappears. Parking feature unavailable. Have to try several times to or wait until parking shift appears. System glitch trying to park. Afraid car will run off by itself and hit other cars and crash. Family of four very concerned for our safety. It has been a known issue on several Chevrolet Malibu since 2015 This should have been on a recall since 2015. Why haven-??t there been any recalls on this vehicle for this problem. This problem needs to get resolved and if we have to pay out of pocket money reimbursed for everyone. Fear for our safety using this car now.

- El Paso , TX, USA

problem #5

Oct 152023

Malibu

  • miles

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

When trying to turn the car off, it will not allow me, warning light comes on saying shift to park. This has happened several times over the past week. I have to continuously turn the car on and off, put in drive then back to park before the message goes away, allowing me to turn off the car. I am 3k miles out of my bumper to bumper warranty, so the dealership is charging me $500.15 for a new shifter assembly for what they said was a common failure in GM cars. If its common then it should be a recall for several make and model years. My coworker has 2021 Blazer and the same thing happened to her but she was still under warranty so her repair cost $0.

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #4

Aug 152023

Malibu

  • miles
When I move my car to park and shut off the vehicle it shows a "shift to park" message. This keeps my car from shutting off on a regular basis.

- Lawson, MO, USA

problem #3

May 012023

Malibu 4-cyl

  • miles
Malibu will be in park, engine off, but when exiting the vehicle a message will appear "SHIFT TO PARK", although the vehicle is in park. The electrical will not shut off, which is a hazard, as the vehicle's battery remains on. I am forced to turn the car on, shift to a different position (not "park", and then forcefully shift back to park). I contacted the dealer that has done all of my work, they were aware of the problem and offered to fix under warranty. They claim to have replaced my transmission harness. The problem was fixed for about one week, but now the problem has resumed sporadically. I have contacted the dealer again as of this morning to seek resolution. The consumer stated that the manufacturer has not resolved the issue yet.

- Wentzville, MO, USA

problem #2

Apr 302021

Malibu

  • miles
3 times now, the car has turned off while in gear or in motion. In an Arbys drive thru on a hill above a highway. Backing out of a parking spot in VA. And pulling through a busy intersection in VA. The safety hazard is that you lose power brakes and steering when a vehicle isn-??t running, one could easily be unable to avoid a wreck. Also the general danger of your vehicle randomly shutting off. No warning lights appear before during or after this happens. The 3 dealerships that have looked into the issue state they are unable to recreate the problems and there-??s no codes stored in the system so there-??s nothing they can do. No police or anybody other than the dealerships have inspected the vehicle. These issues began happening less than a week after purchasing the vehicle.

- Maryville, TN, USA

problem #1

Apr 062021

Malibu

  • miles
This was a rental car, equipped with an electronic key fob and a starter/turn engine-off button on the dashboard. This particular vehicle could be locked remotely from outside the vehicle, while it continued to run. Additionally, it appered that an occupant of the locked vehicle who did not have an electronic keyfob in his possession could not open the doors from the inside. Thus, adults or children could be asphyxiated under certain not-too-hard-to-imagine situations.

- Longmeadow, MA, USA

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