Of the 14 Malibu model years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the most about the 2018 (1.33) and the fewest about the 2015 (0.25), per 1,000 sold in the first three years.
Median across these years: 0.48 per 1,000 sold in the first three years. A model year well above its own nameplate’s median is the signal worth acting on.
Each model year with a verified denominator. Follow a year for what owners reported about it.
| Model year | Per 1,000 | Complaints | Most-reported part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1.33 | 220 | Engine 23% |
| 2017 | 1.02 | 212 | Engine 21% |
| 2013 | 0.83 | 171 | Electrical System 28% |
| 2016 | 0.71 | 151 | Engine 21% |
| 2008 | 0.67 | 119 | Steering 31% |
| 2010 | 0.51 | 92 | Steering 21% |
| 2012 | 0.51 | 106 | Electrical System 20% |
| 2009 | 0.48 | 81 | Steering 33% |
| 2014 | 0.39 | 75 | Engine 22% |
| 2020 | 0.38 | 45 | Engine 18% |
| 2019 | 0.30 | 41 | Power Train 21% |
| 2011 | 0.27 | 55 | Electrical System 15% |
| 2022 | 0.25 | 29 | Electrical System 21% |
| 2015 | 0.25 | 48 | Engine 17% |
| 2021 | 0.18 | 13 | Unknown Or Other 22% |
| 2023 | 0.17 | 21 | Back Over Prevention 14% |
2018 (1.33), 2017 (1.02), 2013 (0.83). Figures are complaints per 1,000 sold.
2015 (0.25), 2022 (0.25), 2011 (0.27). A year with too few complaints to rank is left out: few reports is not the same as a good year.
Safety complaints owners filed with NHTSA in each model year’s first three years on the road, divided by how many were sold, so a year that sold twice as many cars is not penalised for it.
Too few owners filed complaints about them to rank them. Few reports is not the same as a good year, so those years are left out of best and worst.