2018 Chevrolet Malibu

Name: 2018 Chevrolet Malibu owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

For every car sold, owners filed 2.8 times as many complaints about the 2018 Malibu as about the typical Malibu year. Among the 14 Malibu years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2015 (0.25 per 1,000 sold) and the most about this one, the 2018 (1.33).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

1.33 per 1,000

2.8 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 220 complaints filed in the first three years, of 711 ever. 95% lower bound 1.16.

Every Malibu model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years

This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.48

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.67	119
2009	0.48	81
2010	0.51	92
2011	0.27	55
2012	0.51	106
2013	0.83	171
2014	0.39	75
2015	0.25	48
2016	0.71	151
2017	1.02	212
2018	1.33	220
2019	0.30	41
2020	0.38	45
2021	0.18	13
2022	0.25	29
2023	0.17	21

Issues owners of the 2018 Malibu report

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 285 complaints

power	161	56%
reduced	127	45%
engine power	101	35%
power reduced	73	26%
message	54	19%
chevy	36	13%

Electrical System 197 complaints

shift	68	35%
shift park	65	33%
reduced	42	21%
park message	29	15%
engine power	22	11%
power reduced	18	9%

Power Train 175 complaints

park	107	61%
shift park	85	49%
message	82	47%
park message	44	25%
reduced	42	24%
engine power	33	19%

When it breaks

31% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 45,780 miles, from 312 complaints that recorded one).

No clear early or late pattern.

What NHTSA did

1 investigation covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Pedestrian alert sounds

Questions buyers ask about the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu

Is 2018 a good year or a bad year for the Malibu?

What problems does the 2018 Malibu have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Engine (285), Electrical System (197), Power Train (175). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2018 Malibu reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Malibu years: for every car sold, owners filed 2.8 times as many complaints about the 2018 Malibu as about the typical Malibu year.

Which Malibu year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2015, at 0.25 per 1,000 sold. Every Malibu year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Malibu.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is checked by hand against its source table, not against an outside figure.