Chevrolet Malibu: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Chevrolet Malibu model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 905 | 3 | 50 | 13 | 61.7 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2013 | 921 | 10 | 38 | 11 | 53.2 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2014 | 361 | 6 | 19 | 8 | 83.1 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2015 | 268 | 3 | 18 | 9 | 100.7 High | ENGINE |
| 2016 | 859 | 9 | 23 | 2 | 32.6 Low | ENGINE |
| 2017 | 720 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 30.6 Low | ENGINE |
| 2018 | 689 | 6 | 23 | 4 | 36.6 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2019 | 188 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 50.0 Medium | POWER TRAIN |
| 2020 | 191 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 71.2 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2021 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 17.9 Low | POWER TRAIN |
| 2022 | 89 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 27.0 Low | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2023 | 54 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 77.8 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2024 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 71.4 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
Across 13 model years, the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu carries the highest severity index (100.7, driven by engine), while the 2021 is the cleanest at 17.9.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.