2020 Chevrolet Malibu: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu include 1 report of a fatality, alongside 10 crashes and 0 fires across 191 filings.

191
Complaints
1
Recalls
10
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
7
Injuries
71.2
Severity index

Severity index 71.2 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 71.2p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 103 2020 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu ranks 37 of 103 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 64% of its model-year peers. See the full 2020 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 59 complaints (30.9%)59 31%Power TrainPower Train: 56 complaints (29.3%)56 29%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 54 complaints (28.3%)54 28%Service BrakesService Brakes: 46 complaints (24.1%)46 24%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 43 complaints (22.5%)43 23%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 18 complaints (9.4%)18 9%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 14 complaints (7.3%)14 7%SteeringSteering: 13 complaints (6.8%)13 7%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE5930.9%
POWER TRAIN5629.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM5428.3%
SERVICE BRAKES4624.1%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER4322.5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL189.4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM147.3%
STEERING136.8%

Complaints filed per year

023462020: 52021: 172022: 232023: 362024: 402025: 462026: 24 (partial year)2021222324254626
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20205
202117
202223
202336
202440
202546
2026 (year to date)24
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 2.7x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V64900020/08/2021SEAT BELTS:CRITICAL FASTENERSGeneral 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.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.