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2021 Chevrolet Malibu

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Chevrolet Malibu are lower than the model-year median of 310.5.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 17 of 88 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports1 fire reports1 injury reports

What owners actually said

88 reports
Mileage unknown · Jun 18, 2025
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

I was driving the car on the highway and “SERVICE ESC” popped up on my dash. Engine power reduction kicked in which caused me to have to erratically pull over to the shoulder. Brakes did not engage properly. When the “Service ESC” warning comes on the dash, the engine, transmission, and brakes stop functioning properly. The gaug…

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I was driving the car on the highway and “SERVICE ESC” popped up on my dash. Engine power reduction kicked in which caused me to have to erratically pull over to the shoulder. Brakes did not engage properly. When the “Service ESC” warning comes on the dash, the engine, transmission, and brakes stop functioning properly. The gauges start fluctuating up and down and the gps goes out of whack. Transmission won’t shift gears and the car will sometimes shut off all together.This is a very common problem with the Chevy Malibu from 2017 to present. I did my research and there is a lot of disgruntled owners that have experienced this problem. Type in “service ESC Chevy Malibu” on google, Reddit, or YouTube and you will see. I personally know two other Malibu owners with the same issue different years and mileage on there Malibu. I honestly can’t believe with all the information out there on these Malibus having the same issue there has not been a recall yet!

NHTSA ODI #11667714

Mileage unknown · Jun 11, 2025
Unknown Or Other

Vehicle is in park but getting shift to park error

NHTSA ODI #11666419

Mileage unknown · May 20, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

It says that my engine had a problem. It told me to press my brake to start my car. But then it just kept shaking like it was trying to start. I have also had a notification saying to put my car in park when it already was. Today my car just stopped in the middle of the road in heavy traffic. We could have been hit getting out o…

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It says that my engine had a problem. It told me to press my brake to start my car. But then it just kept shaking like it was trying to start. I have also had a notification saying to put my car in park when it already was. Today my car just stopped in the middle of the road in heavy traffic. We could have been hit getting out of the car or someone could have hit my car. It was towed to the local Chevrolet dealership to get checked out to see if it could be a recall. I don’t know what is wrong with it yet. There were no warning lamps prior to the failure. They appeared right when it happened.

NHTSA ODI #11662242

98,600 miles · May 20, 2025
Power Train

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into park(P), the message “Shift to Park” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that during the failure, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not d…

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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into park(P), the message “Shift to Park” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that during the failure, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,600.

NHTSA ODI #11662036

Mileage unknown · May 7, 2025
Back Over PreventionElectrical SystemPower Train

SHIFTER ERROR - SCREEN READS SHIFT TO PARK ONCE CAR IS TURNED OFF ALREADY THE CAR TAKES TIME TO TURN OFF EVEN WHEN ITS OFF. IN AN EMERGENCY YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR CAR TO LOCK IT NO NO THE CHECK ENGIN LIGHT IS ON BUT IT READS FOR A FILTER

NHTSA ODI #11659472

21,000 miles · Apr 15, 2025
Power Train

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the "Shift to Park" message was intermittently displayed on the instrument panel and the vehicle intermittently failed to completely shut off or lock. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; h…

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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the "Shift to Park" message was intermittently displayed on the instrument panel and the vehicle intermittently failed to completely shut off or lock. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

NHTSA ODI #11654833

Mileage unknown · Mar 11, 2025
Power Train

When you put the car in park and shut the car off a message displays on the dash saying place vehicle in park. You have to wiggle the gear shifter for the message to disappear. It appears the gear shifter has a bad sensor

NHTSA ODI #11647548

Mileage unknown · Feb 27, 2025
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

I own a 2021 Chevy Malibu and I have been having issues with my transmission since November 5,2024. I was driving along at about 30 miles per hour When all of a sudden the car would not accelerate so I put the car in park and put the car back in drive and accelerated but only revved up but still would not move. I called a mechan…

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I own a 2021 Chevy Malibu and I have been having issues with my transmission since November 5,2024. I was driving along at about 30 miles per hour When all of a sudden the car would not accelerate so I put the car in park and put the car back in drive and accelerated but only revved up but still would not move. I called a mechanic to look at my vehicle and he checked that I had transmission fluid and it was full. Upon further inspection he plugged an OBD code reader on my vehicle and came up with a P0700 Transmission Control System Malfunction which is the output shaft speed sensor or the vehicle speed sensor? I spoke to a shop about the problem and they said that that year and model car has a lot of complaints from owners. They said that it could cost up to 3,000 and up to replace the transmission. I think that it should be investigated for that issue?

NHTSA ODI #11645214

Mileage unknown · Feb 11, 2025
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

I recently purchased this vehicle. Within the first week I was trapped in the vehicle sporadically. When I try to put my car into park, the car keep repeating "shift to park". I have tried to put the car through all gears, backing up and parking repeatedly to attempt to put the car back into park. I have been trapped in my car …

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I recently purchased this vehicle. Within the first week I was trapped in the vehicle sporadically. When I try to put my car into park, the car keep repeating "shift to park". I have tried to put the car through all gears, backing up and parking repeatedly to attempt to put the car back into park. I have been trapped in my car for hours trying to put it in gear. When I reached out to the dealership they stated that even though there is a recall for most Malibu's; however, my VIN number does not qualify for the recall.

NHTSA ODI #11642067

Mileage unknown · Feb 10, 2025
Unknown Or Other

Unknown. It’s been happening on and off since I took it off the dealership lot. Can’t turn off Malibu because it’s not in park when I have it in park.

NHTSA ODI #11641853

Official recalls

2

22V359000 · Seats

May 19, 2022

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Malibu, 2022 Chevrolet Equinox, Blazer and Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The driver's seat cushion frame may have an improper weld in the power tilt-adjustment mechanism.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly welded seat frame may not adequately restrain the driver in a crash, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the driver's seat and replace the cushion frame, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 23, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212356050.

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.