2019 Chevrolet Malibu Problems & Owner Complaints

Power Train 65

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that upon shifting to park(P) and attempting to turn off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. While investigating the failure online, the contact became aware that it was a common failure, and there was an ongoing Class Action Lawsuit related to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a related recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.”
NHTSA complaint #11727912, 2026

“Year 2019, code P1101- vehicle hesitates while drive, will reduce power while driving, while sitting idle at a stop the car will die and I will have to restart the vehicle. Multiple times while driving on the highway at 70mph my car has all of a sudden either reduced power causing the car to jerk and shudder very hard or has lost all power completely and forced me to pull over while avoiding other drivers on the road. SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF THIS!!! THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESS AND RECALLED ASAP TO GET IT FIXED. I am not in a financial spot to just go buy a new car and I shouldn't have…”
NHTSA complaint #11725206, 2025

“- started shutting shutting off at while in drive. - started having reduced power - started idiling high while driving - initially there was no codes - last night I drove, I put in drive gear but it was delayed so I had to keep moving from park to drive for it to full go into drive - the codes came P0325 P0505 P0507 P0700 P1101 P2714 After I was driving up an incline the car stopped moving forward and started reversing backwards. One other independent shop advised they were able to produce but couldn’t figure out the problem because no code were shown at the time. There has been many peopl…”
NHTSA complaint #11721239, 2025

Electrical System 61 3 crash 1 fire 3 injury

“The Apple CarPlay system, specifically the GPS/navigation function, froze and malfunctioned. This occurred in two separate vehicles I’ve owned: a 2019 Chevy Malibu and now a 2019 Chevy Equinox (the vehicle involved in the accident). Both cars frequently experienced lagging and freezing while using Apple CarPlay. The infotainment system and vehicle are available for inspection. On June 28, 2025, while driving at night with GPS active via CarPlay, the system froze and gave me an incorrect instruction — telling me to turn left onto a one-way street in the wrong direction. I did not realize I was…”
NHTSA complaint #11674821, 2025 · crash · 3 injury(ies)

“Door electrical caught fire and the inside of the vehicle was destroyed. Fire started from the electrical in the driver door.”
NHTSA complaint #11678675, 2025 · fire

“I am reporting a safety concern involving a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle was previously involved in accidents prior to my purchase and had known mechanical issues, including a gear shifting problem that was not properly repaired. In February 2024, while the vehicle was insured under Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company, it sustained a significant front-end collision impacting the driver side. The impact was severe enough to cause structural damage, including a dent to the vehicle frame. Despite the severity of the collision, the airbags did not deploy at all. Based on the extent of…”
NHTSA complaint #11727960, 2023 · crash

Engine 61 2 crash 3 injury

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while at a light, the engine lost motive power and shut off. The vehicle began to roll backward. The emergency brake was inoperable. The vehicle shifted from park. The contact continued to pull the emergency brake, but it failed to respond. The contact attempted to turn the vehicle off, but it failed to turn off. The vehicle crashed into a ditch. The passenger sustained injuries to her head. The driver sustained injuries to his shoulder. The occupants did not receive any medical attention. There was no fire or air bag deployment…”
NHTSA complaint #11610957, 2024 · crash · 2 injury(ies)

“START/STOP ON POWERTRAIN / MOTOR CONTROL. MOTOR STOPS ON BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE AND STARTS UPON ? ? DECREASE IN PEDAL PRSSURE ? MOTOR STARTED AND RPM ACCELERATED BU ITSELF WHILE BRAKE PEDAL APPLIED, VEHICLE "SURGED" AND HIT POST. MOTOR ACCELERATES RPM / WORKS BY ITSELF. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. DELAY IN "START / STOP" CAUSING SURGE. SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING PROBLEM ?”
NHTSA complaint #11196208, 2019 · crash · 1 injury(ies)

“The brake booster vacuum pump went out in my car it broke which caused hard breaking while driving vehicle. When the brake booster vacuum pump broke a piece of it damage my camshaft as well as my timing chain in my motor.”
NHTSA complaint #11725379, 2026

Unknown Or Other 36

“Acceleration issues. Started once put in drive didnt want to accelerate, acceleration issues now at higher speeds while driving”
NHTSA complaint #11748564, 2026

“I was traveling down i-25 at 75 mph because that is what the speed limit here in Colorado. I was traveling south heading to Colorado Springs to visit family and i was entering near Castle Rock and my vechile would not go at all forward and it seemed as if I lost power to acceleration and I believe it was 2 or 3 lanes to exit off an off ramp as cars pasted me by honking their horns it was very scary as I pulled over to the side of the road letting it glide or coast to a stop very slowly I finally came to a stop.. as I have been reading some recalls due too a transmission issues for these types…”
NHTSA complaint #11700712, 2025

“Was on my way to work at stoplight and my 2019 Chevrolet Malibu lost all power and started back up and the next day I was about to leave for work and it wouldn’t start low battery came across screen then the check engine light came on and a few hrs later it started up but all interior lights would not go off and I went to auto zone to check codes and its one of the codes for RECALL I will be taking it to the Chevy dealership”
NHTSA complaint #11692879, 2025

Service Brakes 24 2 crash

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard however, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated that the failure caused the vehicle to crash into a nearby ditch. In addition, the contact stated that the failure caused severe damage to the vehicle, and the vehicle was undrivable. The contact used a code reader to diagnose the vehicle a retrieved a…”
NHTSA complaint #11657450, 2025 · crash

“On September 28th I was driving along the highway, went to take an exit, and the brake pedal was locked. I experienced a loss of braking, hard brake pedal and increased stopping distance. In order to get the car to stop, i had to put the car in neutral and coast into a ditch/grass. Before the brake failure there was no instrument cluster malfunction lights illuminated or any warning of imminent failure of the vehicles braking system. A mechanic has informed me that the vehicles brake vacuum pump is to blame and that it needs to be repaired immediately. This part suddenly failing with no warnin…”
NHTSA complaint #11491237, 2022 · crash

“The brake booster vacuum pump went out in my car it broke which caused hard breaking while driving vehicle. When the brake booster vacuum pump broke a piece of it damage my camshaft as well as my timing chain in my motor.”
NHTSA complaint #11725379, 2026

Fuel/Propulsion System 17

“My 2019 Chevrolet Malibu has severe safety defects involving the engine, powertrain, and speed control. The vehicle will sometimes accelerate on its own with my foot off the gas, and other times it loses all power while pulling into traffic. This creates an immediate risk of a crash. Multiple diagnostic codes appear repeatedly, including P0299 (turbo underboost), P0101 (mass air flow performance), P1101 (intake airflow performance), and P0506 (idle control RPM too low). The charge-air hose repeatedly blows off the throttle body while driving, causing sudden loss of power. The vehicle was sol…”
NHTSA complaint #11701612, 2025

“I was traveling down i-25 at 75 mph because that is what the speed limit here in Colorado. I was traveling south heading to Colorado Springs to visit family and i was entering near Castle Rock and my vechile would not go at all forward and it seemed as if I lost power to acceleration and I believe it was 2 or 3 lanes to exit off an off ramp as cars pasted me by honking their horns it was very scary as I pulled over to the side of the road letting it glide or coast to a stop very slowly I finally came to a stop.. as I have been reading some recalls due too a transmission issues for these types…”
NHTSA complaint #11700712, 2025

“Throttlebody hose pops off of the throttlebody due to a missing gasket ring as well as the retention clip/spring clip. The plastic pieces on the spring clip have popped off since the issue has been presented. Cannot accelerate past 3 1/2 RPMs without throttlebody hose popping off from the pressure produced by the turbo charger.”
NHTSA complaint #11688966, 2025

Vehicle Speed Control 12

“Year 2019, code P1101- vehicle hesitates while drive, will reduce power while driving, while sitting idle at a stop the car will die and I will have to restart the vehicle. Multiple times while driving on the highway at 70mph my car has all of a sudden either reduced power causing the car to jerk and shudder very hard or has lost all power completely and forced me to pull over while avoiding other drivers on the road. SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF THIS!!! THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESS AND RECALLED ASAP TO GET IT FIXED. I am not in a financial spot to just go buy a new car and I shouldn't have…”
NHTSA complaint #11725206, 2025

“- started shutting shutting off at while in drive. - started having reduced power - started idiling high while driving - initially there was no codes - last night I drove, I put in drive gear but it was delayed so I had to keep moving from park to drive for it to full go into drive - the codes came P0325 P0505 P0507 P0700 P1101 P2714 After I was driving up an incline the car stopped moving forward and started reversing backwards. One other independent shop advised they were able to produce but couldn’t figure out the problem because no code were shown at the time. There has been many peopl…”
NHTSA complaint #11721239, 2025

“Car looses power out of no where. No lights are on or anything”
NHTSA complaint #11539851, 2023

Air Bags 6 3 crash 1 injury

“The vehicle experienced a serious and ongoing electrical and system malfunction shortly after being returned from repairs related to a prior accident. Within a short period of driving, multiple warning messages and system errors began appearing simultaneously, indicating failures across several vehicle systems. The issues included repeated computer system faults affecting critical functions. The malfunction made the vehicle unreliable and unsafe to operate, as the errors appeared suddenly and without warning while driving. This created a significant safety risk due to the potential loss of ve…”
NHTSA complaint #11729126, 2023 · crash · 1 injury(ies)

“I am reporting a safety concern involving a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle was previously involved in accidents prior to my purchase and had known mechanical issues, including a gear shifting problem that was not properly repaired. In February 2024, while the vehicle was insured under Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company, it sustained a significant front-end collision impacting the driver side. The impact was severe enough to cause structural damage, including a dent to the vehicle frame. Despite the severity of the collision, the airbags did not deploy at all. Based on the extent of…”
NHTSA complaint #11727960, 2023 · crash

“I bought the car from Variety Auto in Abingdon VA, and then I had the accident on May 3rd 2022 I took it to the collision center and then after they repaired the body they noticed the airbag lights and the restraint system lights came on also, and when Ramey’s started doing the work for the air, module and wiring harness and air bag they noticed that the wiring harness was not working properly and the air bag was cut completely out they put diodes in the wiring to keep the lights off, they sold me the car saying that there was no airbag deployed but we later found out that it was, and also w…”
NHTSA complaint #11496990, 2022 · crash

Exterior Lighting 4 2 crash 1 injury

“The vehicle experienced a serious and ongoing electrical and system malfunction shortly after being returned from repairs related to a prior accident. Within a short period of driving, multiple warning messages and system errors began appearing simultaneously, indicating failures across several vehicle systems. The issues included repeated computer system faults affecting critical functions. The malfunction made the vehicle unreliable and unsafe to operate, as the errors appeared suddenly and without warning while driving. This created a significant safety risk due to the potential loss of ve…”
NHTSA complaint #11729126, 2023 · crash · 1 injury(ies)

“I am reporting a safety concern involving a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle was previously involved in accidents prior to my purchase and had known mechanical issues, including a gear shifting problem that was not properly repaired. In February 2024, while the vehicle was insured under Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company, it sustained a significant front-end collision impacting the driver side. The impact was severe enough to cause structural damage, including a dent to the vehicle frame. Despite the severity of the collision, the airbags did not deploy at all. Based on the extent of…”
NHTSA complaint #11727960, 2023 · crash

“WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE ON THE HIGHWAY AND MERGING IF I GET CLOSE TO 3 RPM TO GET UP TO 60-65 MPH M ENGINE LIGHT APPEARS ON THE DASH AS WELL AS MY TRACTION SENSOR LIGHT AND MY CAR WILL NO LONGER ALLOW ME TO ACCELERATE. ALSO AFTER THIS HAPPENS IT WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO USE MY CRUISE CONTROL. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. I TOOK IT TO MY DEALERSHIP TO HAVE IT FIXED TWICE THE FIRST TIME THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG THE SECOND TIME THEY DISCOVERED 3 OF MY FUEL INJECTORS WERE BROKEN. I STILL EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE AND IT IS VERY SCARY NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCELE…”
NHTSA complaint #11404791, 2021

Forward Collision Avoidance 3 1 crash 1 injury

“The vehicle experienced a serious and ongoing electrical and system malfunction shortly after being returned from repairs related to a prior accident. Within a short period of driving, multiple warning messages and system errors began appearing simultaneously, indicating failures across several vehicle systems. The issues included repeated computer system faults affecting critical functions. The malfunction made the vehicle unreliable and unsafe to operate, as the errors appeared suddenly and without warning while driving. This created a significant safety risk due to the potential loss of ve…”
NHTSA complaint #11729126, 2023 · crash · 1 injury(ies)

“I have no Brake Lights when applying the Brakes and cruise control no longer works due to Service ESC message on display. I was advised by replacing the battery this would clear the ESC but it did not. I believe the service ESC message is tied into the brake lights and cruise control not working.”
NHTSA complaint #11493163, 2022

“While I was getting on the highway during acceleration there was a loud popping sound which was immediately followed by the check engine light turning on the airbag system warning light turning on and a reduction in engine power. I had to pull off to the side of the highway and pop my hood in which at that point I observed the air intake hose had popped off of the throttle body. I put it back on and attempted to continue to drive but it popped off again which caused me to take it very slow ride to the closest dealership. Once I arrived I had it checked out by a service technician and was advis…”
NHTSA complaint #11429804, 2021

Steering 2

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the "stability track" symbol illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal, and the brakes started to grab, causing the vehicle to shudder. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked to the left which she corrected by turning to the right. The contact stated that additional warning lights for the power steering and ESC illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to her residence, placed the vehicle in park (P) and turned off the vehicle. The conta…”
NHTSA complaint #11514645, 2023

“WHEN DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY THE WHEELS FEEL LIKE THERE ARE PUSHING ONE WAY. WHEN SLOWING DOWN THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES. PRESSING THE ON BRAKES THE STEERING WHEEL ALSO SHAKES. COUPLE DAYS AGO WE HAD TO TIGHTEN THE LUG NUTS ON THE CAR FRONT TIRES. ITS WAS GOOD A COUPLE DAYS AND NOW AGAIN DOING THE SAME THING.. *TR”
NHTSA complaint #11324457, 2020

Structure 2

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that water was leaking inside the trunk of the vehicle. The contact stated that he noticed water leaking on both sides of the trunk. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred whenever it rained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that water was leaking through the rear window. The dealer removed the rear window and headliner and the dealer cleaned the water. The dealer then reinstalled and resealed the rear window on the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure.…”
NHTSA complaint #11486495, 2022

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that there was an unknown substance that leaked through the windshield and the trunk of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000. The VIN was unavailable.”
NHTSA complaint #11445065, 2021

Back Over Prevention 1

“My 2019 Chevy Malibu had a problem where the gear shifter failed to properly register that it's in the "park" position, even when I moved the lever there, resulting in a message on the dashboard saying "shift to park" having me afraid to leave the vehicle and having to restart the vehicle and move the shifter to different gears then trying again even driving a few feet to see if that would help finally after a several tries i was able to park vehicle. I scheduled a appointment with Lasorsa GM service for 2 /18/ 25 this was my second incident the prior one resolved after two tries but was als…”
NHTSA complaint #11643263, 2025

Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 1

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH and accelerating, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled in the middle of the roadway. The ESC, traction control, check engine, and powertrain malfunction control warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The engine was replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000”
NHTSA complaint #11459745, 2022

Engine And Engine Cooling 1

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 45-50 MPH, the brake pedal was firm when depressed and the vehicle failed to stop immediately. No warning light was illuminated. The contact diagnosed the vehicle and retrieved DTC Codes for the camshaft sensor and crankcase sensor. The camshaft sensor was replaced by the contact. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the ABS vacuum pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The mechanic replaced the ABS vacuum pump. The manufacturer was made a…”
NHTSA complaint #11545116, 2023

Equipment 1

“I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OR MAIMED BY A DEFECTIVE TIRE JACK THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE TIRE CHANGING EQUIPMENT THAT CAME WITH A NEW IMPALA I RENTED FROM ENTERPRISE CAR RENTAL. THE JACK BENT IN TWO WHEN I TRIED TO CRANK THE JACK HIGH ENOUGH TO CHANGE A FLAT TIRE. I HAVE A PHOTO OF THE CHINESE-MADE PART #13592351/2017. I HAVE NOTIFIED BOTH ENTERPRISE AND GENERAL MOTORS. IN DISCUSSING THE ISSUE, IT SEEMS THAT NEITHER COMPANY INCLUDES A SAFETY CHECK OF THE TIRE JACK. MY CONCERN IS THAT 40-50 THOUSAND IMPALAS WERE SOLD IN 2018. CAR RENTAL COMPANIES PURCHASED THEM AS DID DEALERSHIPS. THOUSANDS…”
NHTSA complaint #11142975, 2018

Fuel System 1

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on two occasions while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated; however, the contact determined that the failure was due to the throttle body. The vehicle was repaired. The local dealer was not contacted but had not diagnosed or repaired the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted, and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.”
NHTSA complaint #11665970, 2025

Lane Departure 1

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed during a heavy rain storm, the vehicle lost significant motive power and was unable to accelerate above 40 MPH. The contact also stated that a message displayed, "Side detection system disabled," and the lane departure assist system activated, briefly steering the vehicle into oncoming traffic before he was able to regain control. The traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactu…”
NHTSA complaint #11549602, 2023

Latches/Locks/Linkages 1

“The contact owns 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, after removing the foot from the pedal brake and turning off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The contact was unable to exit the vehicle while the message was displayed. Additionally, the doors were unable to be locked during the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The dealer was contacted, and the contact was provided the cost for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure…”
NHTSA complaint #11611170, 2024

Parking Brake 1 1 crash 2 injury

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while at a light, the engine lost motive power and shut off. The vehicle began to roll backward. The emergency brake was inoperable. The vehicle shifted from park. The contact continued to pull the emergency brake, but it failed to respond. The contact attempted to turn the vehicle off, but it failed to turn off. The vehicle crashed into a ditch. The passenger sustained injuries to her head. The driver sustained injuries to his shoulder. The occupants did not receive any medical attention. There was no fire or air bag deployment…”
NHTSA complaint #11610957, 2024 · crash · 2 injury(ies)

Seat Belts 1 1 crash

“I bought the car from Variety Auto in Abingdon VA, and then I had the accident on May 3rd 2022 I took it to the collision center and then after they repaired the body they noticed the airbag lights and the restraint system lights came on also, and when Ramey’s started doing the work for the air, module and wiring harness and air bag they noticed that the wiring harness was not working properly and the air bag was cut completely out they put diodes in the wiring to keep the lights off, they sold me the car saying that there was no airbag deployed but we later found out that it was, and also w…”
NHTSA complaint #11496990, 2022 · crash

Traction Control System 1

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed during a heavy rain storm, the vehicle lost significant motive power and was unable to accelerate above 40 MPH. The contact also stated that a message displayed, "Side detection system disabled," and the lane departure assist system activated, briefly steering the vehicle into oncoming traffic before he was able to regain control. The traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufactu…”
NHTSA complaint #11549602, 2023

Visibility 1

“The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that there was an unknown substance that leaked through the windshield and the trunk of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000. The VIN was unavailable.”
NHTSA complaint #11445065, 2021

Visibility/Wiper 1

“TAKATA RECALL. AFTER DRIVING MY MALIBU FOR MORE THAN A QUICK DRIVE AROUND THE BLOCK I NOTICED THAT MY LEFT EYE WAS GETTING BLURRY AND I SEEMED A LITTLE NAUSEOUS. THE SYMPTOMS STARTED EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE VEHICLE. I NOTICED A DISTORTION OF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD THAT IS CAUSING THE NAUSEA. WHEN LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD AT ONCOMING TRAFFIC MY VIEW IS DISTORTED. THE SAME AS WHEN I LOOK THE VERY RIGHT OF THE WINDSHIELD. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND DROVE ANOTHER BRAND NEW MALIBU FOR A DAY AND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. AT THIS POINT EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE VEHICLE I GET NAU…”
NHTSA complaint #11222568, 2019

Wheels 1

“WHEN DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY THE WHEELS FEEL LIKE THERE ARE PUSHING ONE WAY. WHEN SLOWING DOWN THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES. PRESSING THE ON BRAKES THE STEERING WHEEL ALSO SHAKES. COUPLE DAYS AGO WE HAD TO TIGHTEN THE LUG NUTS ON THE CAR FRONT TIRES. ITS WAS GOOD A COUPLE DAYS AND NOW AGAIN DOING THE SAME THING.. *TR”
NHTSA complaint #11324457, 2020