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2019 Chevrolet Malibu

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 310.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

56 reports with mileage · 134 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 66 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 63 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 61 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports1 fire reports4 injury reports

What owners actually said

190 reports
Mileage unknown · Oct 24, 2022
EngineService Brakes

Before my car gave out I was having braking issues and my car wouldn’t accelerate when I pressed the gas. Then later that night I was driving home with my mother and fiancée when my car illuminated “engine power reduced” and my check engine light came on. When I tried pulling over I noticed that my brakes were very hard. So I ha…

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Before my car gave out I was having braking issues and my car wouldn’t accelerate when I pressed the gas. Then later that night I was driving home with my mother and fiancée when my car illuminated “engine power reduced” and my check engine light came on. When I tried pulling over I noticed that my brakes were very hard. So I had to roll from the speed of 45 mph until my car eventually stopped. I was not able to stop at the stop sign so I just had to blow my horn to alert other drivers. Whenever I took it to the dealership they told me my brake vacuum pump exploded and blew shards into my camshaft. The repair was 1700 for the replacement of the brake vacuum pump and the camshaft. I talked to the mechanic afterwards and he said that this problem has a good chance of happening again because the part itself is defective and there are no other aftermarket parts to replace it. Then I go to pick up my car three weeks later, and was told that my engine should be replaced because a cylinder had no compression. The price of that was around 5000.

NHTSA ODI #11490626

95,000 miles · Sep 29, 2022
Power TrainService Brakes, Hydraulic

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently fail to accelerate above 55 MPH as the "Engine Power Reduced" message would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that an abnormal grinding noise would emit from the vehicle upon d…

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The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently fail to accelerate above 55 MPH as the "Engine Power Reduced" message would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that an abnormal grinding noise would emit from the vehicle upon depression of the brake pedal. The contact called the dealer and was informed that she could not be given an appointment for another month. She then contacted an independent mechanic and was informed that unless the failure was persistent, they would not be able to diagnose the failure. The contact attempted to reach the manufacturer but was unable to reach a representative. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

NHTSA ODI #11487134

Mileage unknown · Sep 28, 2022
Electrical SystemService BrakesUnknown Or Other

This car is displaying a shift to park on the dashboard. I have read several complaints and even lawsuits filed about this matter on the internet. Why hasn't this been recalled to fix on these vehicles it drains the battery and you aren't able to put the vehicle in park or lock the doors or anything

NHTSA ODI #11486852

29,000 miles · Sep 26, 2022
Structure

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…

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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. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.

NHTSA ODI #11486495

Mileage unknown · Sep 16, 2022
Electrical System

After shifting into park and turning off the car, a warning message to shift into park comes up. Pressing on the button on the shifter several times eventually gets it to stop.

NHTSA ODI #11484806

Mileage unknown · Sep 15, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineFuel/propulsion System

Numerous times while driving my car both my son and I have experienced the same issues. Trying to get on the highway and pressing the gas pedal the car isn’t responding appropriately to the level of which the gas is being pressed. It isn’t accelerating appropriately. Than at stoplights or just trying to make a left hand turn…

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Numerous times while driving my car both my son and I have experienced the same issues. Trying to get on the highway and pressing the gas pedal the car isn’t responding appropriately to the level of which the gas is being pressed. It isn’t accelerating appropriately. Than at stoplights or just trying to make a left hand turn from a stop position. You take your foot off brake and press the gas to go and it rolls a bit and you’re pressing the gas to go and the car isn’t responding. It’s just sitting there. Like paused. Then all of a sudden the car engages and takes off. It is very dangerous to not have the car respond to pressing the gas. And I don’t want to get into an accident because I’m trying to make a turn and get hit cause I’m just sitting there. Rather than it going when I’m pressing the gas. I am not getting any codes popping up on the dash. So the dealership has nothing to look at other than me saying this is happening to me and my son. I’m finding issues similar to this on previous models. But nothing on the 2019 that I can find. And with no error codes registering. But the issues occurring is highly concerning to me. There isn’t just one date this has occurred. This has happened now many times over the last 6mos.

NHTSA ODI #11484598

Mileage unknown · Sep 15, 2022
EnginePower Train

I purchased a 2019 chevy malibu on April 9th 2022. Car seemed to be fine at first drove car for two month experienced frequent shift to park issues as car would not recognize itself in park Until multiple attempts at parking. I was arrested on June 4th 2022 and came home on September 5th and attempted to start my car. Car cranke…

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I purchased a 2019 chevy malibu on April 9th 2022. Car seemed to be fine at first drove car for two month experienced frequent shift to park issues as car would not recognize itself in park Until multiple attempts at parking. I was arrested on June 4th 2022 and came home on September 5th and attempted to start my car. Car cranked multiple times before starting stalling and cutting itself off while display engine power reduced and check engine light. I used Obd computer and car codes p0014 p0017 p0556. Vehicle was taken to Hertrich Chevy of Salisbury Maryland. The technician informed me that I needed a engine replaced due to nature of damage upon diagnostic chevy discovered vehicle had little to no oil (Which is still puzzling oil life sensor in car is still reading at 22% and check oil light never came on not once for it to be a cause of no oil in vehicle. Was asked to present receipts for service and oil change of a vehicle I drove for maybe 2 months max prior to my incarceration and no one had driven my car during this time as the key was in my possession during incarceration. Problem occurred at 59,898. I purchased the vehicle at 54054 miles on the vehicle starts and has and extended crank and codes p0014 p0017 p0556. Most vehicles require an oil change at 7000 miles and still had a good amout of time before reaching that mark.Vehicle states that it is still under powertrain warranty until 60000 miles. However it's states that it is not covered if improper fuel or lubricant levels (oil) are the cause which is puzzling also because this is apparently a known problem with chevy vehicles as they have provided a bulletin on nhtsa website as to how to diagnose and fix the issue. Service Bulletin #PIP5598C or Google the pdf bulletin. Chevy is sticking me with a known problem their engine does with the cost and replacement of a new engine. As well as losing the 7000 dollars I put down on my newer used vehicle. As well as it being a safety hazard and stalling randomly.

NHTSA ODI #11484546

Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2022
Electrical System

When I shift the car into park the computer does not register it is in park. Still says place vehicle in park when you open a door. Have to shift it several times before it will read in park. I took it to the dealer and was told it is a common issue. They bent a bracket forward and got it to read for now. The tech said its a…

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When I shift the car into park the computer does not register it is in park. Still says place vehicle in park when you open a door. Have to shift it several times before it will read in park. I took it to the dealer and was told it is a common issue. They bent a bracket forward and got it to read for now. The tech said its a poor design flaw and GM should be replacing the sensor bracket but refuse to issue a recall on it.

NHTSA ODI #11484227

Mileage unknown · Sep 7, 2022
Electrical SystemPower TrainService Brakes

Vehicle goes into near stall instrument panel goes as if you were starting the vehicle gauges go up down then back gas gauge said no gas on full tank , brakes felt as if was gone abs system not responding , engine rough , road had minor to moderate pot holes "Rawsonville Road" when stopped vehicle while running gave msg put in …

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Vehicle goes into near stall instrument panel goes as if you were starting the vehicle gauges go up down then back gas gauge said no gas on full tank , brakes felt as if was gone abs system not responding , engine rough , road had minor to moderate pot holes "Rawsonville Road" when stopped vehicle while running gave msg put in park to shift . , vehicle was in drive once put in park it would not come out of park or realize it was in park . the issue i have been able to determine so far is on the vehicle fuse panel under hood it is connected to the main service disconnect for the entire wire harness "pin connectors male and female over 30 pins , it is held by 2 locking handles all with plastic tabs for the latching , this is failing under driving conditions and coming loose enough to separate contact from 1 or more pins normally on the drivers side . to fix the issues I had to disconnect the service disconnect and reconnect it while securely fastening the handles verified correct and happened again on testing down a dirt road service appointment is thursday -9-7-2022 at mark chevrolet in wayne michigan , i contacted gm and they said it had to be fully tested through a dealer i informed gm this is a major issue and not something i will be paying for it is likely a recallable issue i have seen alot of issues with malibu 2019-2022 having similar issues and are likely caused by the same issue if using this same service disconnect and fuse box likely nullifying the TSA's used for shift to park etc as others have stated and documented those issues repeat . the vehicles modules lose communication with the vehicle via intermittent service disconnect on the wiring harness . "network errors " support this via obd code reader as well as the powertrain hard fault code and the various pending fault codes prior to having to physically disconnect and reconnect the service disconnect fully to restore vehicle function and bring to safe location instead of on side of busy road

NHTSA ODI #11483409

25,700 miles · Aug 11, 2022
Power Train

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after shifting the gear shifter to Park(P), the vehicle was unable to turn off with the "Shift to Park" message displayed. The contact spent the night in her vehicle due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed no…

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The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after shifting the gear shifter to Park(P), the vehicle was unable to turn off with the "Shift to Park" message displayed. The contact spent the night in her vehicle due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 25,700.

NHTSA ODI #11478746

Official recalls

1

21V649000 · Seat Belts:critical Fasteners; Seat Belts:rear/other:retractor

Aug 20, 2021

General 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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers 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.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Seat Belts:rear/other:retractor

General 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.

Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers 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.

Seat Belts:critical Fasteners

General 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.

Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.