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2018 Chevrolet Malibu

HybridGas
Midsize Cars
3 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
38 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls2 critical6
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA706
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA46 mpg
2025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2018 Chevrolet Malibu is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas midsize car with 3 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Malibu Hybrid, is EPA-rated at 46 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for this model year, 2 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 706 complaints, most often about the engine. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Malibu HybridHybridFWD1.8L 4-cyl + 300V Li-Ion494346$1,350
MalibuGasFWD1.5L 4-cyl turbo273630$2,100
MalibuGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo223226$3,000

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 39339, 38849, 38850.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2018 Chevrolet Malibu is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (6)

Source: NHTSA recall database
▲high

Seat Belts

N212333380
402 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.RiskAn improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.FixDealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
NHTSA campaign 21V649000reported Aug 20, 2021General Motors, LLC
!critical

Power Train

N202313440
194,105 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.RiskMissing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.
NHTSA campaign 20V668000reported Oct 29, 2020General Motors LLC
▲high

Fuel System, Gasoline

N192221960
177,282 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles equipped with 1.5L turbo engines. An error in the Engine Control Module (ECM) software may result in the fuel injectors being disabled.RiskDisabled fuel injectors would prevent the engine from starting and may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECM software, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-630-2438. GM's number for this recall is N192221960.
NHTSA campaign 19V642000reported Sep 6, 2019General Motors LLC
▲high

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

18279
210,628 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.RiskA reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.
NHTSA campaign 18V576000reported Aug 30, 2018General Motors LLC
▲high

Air Bags

18208
66 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. During servicing, a Passenger Presence System (PPS) may have been installed that was not correctly calibrated to the vehicle's seat type. As a result, the PPS may not properly identify an adult passenger from a child passenger in the front passenger seat, potentially causing the air bag to not deploy when it should, or causing the air bag to deploy when it shouldn't.RiskIn the event of a crash, improper air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger PPS seat service kit, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18208.
NHTSA campaign 18V400000reported Jun 14, 2018General Motors LLC
!critical

Fuel System, Gasoline

18188 18268
895 vehicles
ProblemGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.RiskA damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.FixGM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.
NHTSA campaign 18V358000reported May 31, 2018General Motors LLC

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
706complaints filed

24 involved a crash · 4 a fire · 17 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2017: 1 · 2018: 12 · 2019: 85 · 2020: 122 · 2021: 127 · 2022: 105 · 2023: 87 · 2024: 58 · 2025: 66 · 2026: 43

Most-cited components

Engine282
Electrical System195
Power Train174
Unspecified154
Vehicle Speed Control113
Fuel/Propulsion System86

What owners describe

“To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to report a serious issue concerning the recall history of my vehicle and to request an investigation into what appears to be unresolved and inaccurately closed recalls. Vehicle Information: •Make/Model/Year: 2018 Chevy Malibu hybrid •Date of Purchase: 2018 (I have been the sole…”Jun 29, 2025 · Air Bags · NHTSA owner report
“One of my first problems with this car is the “shift to parkâ€� error message. This message on the dashboard indicating that my gear is not in P (park) when in fact it is . This error will not allow me to turn off my car even though I am parked. My second issue is just recently I have been experiencing from idle nois…”Mar 9, 2025 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report
“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"…”Nov 22, 2024 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆10%
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆10%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Other Malibu model years

A

2025 Chevrolet Malibu

1 recalls · 11 complaints

B

2024 Chevrolet Malibu

2 recalls · 39 complaints

B

2023 Chevrolet Malibu

2 recalls · 68 complaints

A

2022 Chevrolet Malibu

1 recalls · 96 complaints

B

2021 Chevrolet Malibu

2 recalls · 88 complaints

A

2020 Chevrolet Malibu

1 recalls · 196 complaints

A

2019 Chevrolet Malibu

1 recalls · 191 complaints

D

2017 Chevrolet Malibu

4 recalls · 723 complaints

F

2016 Chevrolet Malibu

10 recalls · 861 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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