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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
38,290 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Chevrolet Malibu electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 2 of 10)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #166

Jul 242022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving all of a sudden my car goes from drive to park on the freeway. Then it goes into reverse.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #165

May 102022

Malibu

  • miles
my car will not go into park. i have had this problem repaired while under warrenty and now its happening again!!

- West Harrison , IN, USA

problem #164

Jul 072022

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving on the freeway at about 65mph, and the car shut down on me. It was extremely dangerous to get over on the freeway with no power. 2 warning lights came on. The Stabilatrak, & the check engine light. I pulled over & called for help. I had the car taken to the service department at the dealership. They contacted me & informed me that a piston was cracked, & the ECM had to have a software update. They are charging me $5,389 to repair it. The car only has 8,000 miles on it. There are recalls for this exact problem, but do not apply to my specific VIN#. My car is a 2016, so I am out of warranty, but this should not happen with a vehicle with this low of mileage.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #163

Jun 242022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Check engine light. Loss of power/acceleration and can-€™t go above 45 mph. Transmission control module?

- Gladstone , MO, USA

problem #162

Jun 012022

Malibu

  • miles
While in drive and at stop sign the car starts to shut off. It can be very dangerous due to the fact it completely cuts off at while in drive. There are multiple reviews on this issue on youtube and chevy review websites regarding this issue. If I did not put my hazard lights on I could have been badly hurt and even worst. Someone came to assist me off the road and I had to call pop and lock to come jump start the car and after I did that I made it home but tired to restart the car it was completely dead. By the way I have a new battery. And not Starter or alternator issues during being tested. I am so thankful my children were not in the car. This can be a life threatening situation.

- Killeen , TX, USA

problem #161

Jul 012020

Malibu

  • miles
I gotten the head light changed several times even diagnostic tests and they cant tell me why my low beam and high beam light keeps going out

- Elizabeth City , NC, USA

problem #160

Apr 012022

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

being unable to shift the vehicle into park. And when it is in drive and my car turns off because of the auto stop feature and turns back on it stated to act crazy and glitch -€¦this really scares me because when I am on the road and my kids are in my car the car shuts off. Very dangerous situation and I can-€™t believe that there is no recall in place for this. This is such a liability on GM knowing about this issue and not paying for the repairs and leaving it up to the owners expense knowing that this is a malfunction in the Chevy Malibu-€˜s

- Cypress, TX, USA

problem #159

Jan 132022

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving my car home from work and all of a sudden my car starting showing in the dash engine power reduced. My car literally couldn't go anywhere. So I pulled over and shut the car off for a minute started it back up and it was running great and then I happen again a few minutes later. So I took it to the dealership were i purchsed it and they replaced the gas pedal they said a sensor was bad and that was causing the problem.So picked up the car a couple days later and it happen again about two weeks later...

- Lawrence, KS, USA

problem #158

Feb 032022

Malibu

  • miles
May car loses power when acceleration I don't why but there is something going

- Lawrence, KS, USA

problem #157

Oct 142021

Malibu

  • miles
My problem started with the engine first sending me a code -€œreduced engine power-€ and this code would appear one week and gone the next. I have taken it to mechanics and had parts replaced and temporary fixes. After getting it back from the mechanic and them telling me that the cylinder one isn-€™t holding the correct pressure and the exhaust value is burnt due to the consistent auto engine shutoff. The day I got it back on the road the engine went full shutdown at a stop light and would not turn on immediately. I was lucky enough to get it running long enough to crawl into a gas station and get a tow truck to come pick it up and tow it back to the mechanic shop and that-€™s where it-€™s been sitting there till I find a new engine to replace it.

- Desloge, MO, USA

problem #156

Dec 252021

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Seem to be a common problem... Backup camera stops working. Creates a safety problem at Busy shopping centers. GM will not cover the repair.

- Dixon, IL, USA

problem #155

Mar 082022

Malibu

  • miles
Driving on highway at speed of 70mph during rush hour very very busy when my car shows a warning engine power reduced and slows all the way down to 20mph lucky I was able to get over the 3 lanes of traffic without causing an accident but this is very unsafe I looked to see if there was a recall on the vehicle but there-€™s not so I had a mechanic look at the car and they said nothing is wrong with it "?" Well today on my way home it did it again!! I-€™m sorry but how is nothing wrong with it if my car is slowing to a dangerous speed this issue could cost someone their life

- Anderson, IN, USA

problem #154

Feb 012018

Malibu

  • 36,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the shift to park warning message would illuminate on the instrument panel while attempting to park and shut off her vehicle. The contact would be forced to repeatedly move the gear shifter back and forth from the park (P) position until the system recognized the gear shifter in the park (P) position. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed her that her vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V502000 (Electrical System, Power Train). In addition, the contact mentioned that water had been entering the vehicle and leaking out of the middle taillight. Due to the failure, the middle taillight had become fogged and mildew had accumulated inside the trunk. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

- Lake Worth, FL, USA

problem #153

Nov 132021

Malibu

  • miles
Unknown, vehicle cut off in the middle of busy road with warning sign popping up after car cut off stating service stabilitrak and steering assist reducing power with steering wheel locking.Me and my child 10 year old could-€™ve lost our lives today.Then there was no engine light coming on until car couldn-€™t come back on.Roadside Assitance gave a hot shot car still didn-€™t come on car won-€™t start back up just keep ticking in all lights inside and radio works fine the heat came out cold.Also when car goes into auto stop car will just cut off in won-€™t start back up you can only drive in L6.I only had the car for 2years

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #152

Nov 082021

Malibu 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 97,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the electronics turned off inadvertently and the steering wheel became difficult to move. The contact stated that the check battery charging warning light was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the battery and alternator replaced. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

- Stuart, FL, USA

problem #151

Oct 202021

Malibu

  • miles
Engine needed rebuilt due to a defect, in this process vehichle computer was reset, after the reset the radio began acting oddly randomly changing inputs and radio stations and occasionally not turning on. culminating in all internal audio going out including turn signal noise and internal alarms like seat belt, and key left in vehicle, with a black touch screen. This problem is fixed by resetting the car (unplugging battery and plugging it back in)the problem is described in a recall on other similar models of this car.

- Syracuse, NY, USA

problem #150

Jul 302021

Malibu

  • miles
Shift to park warning on DIC. Can't shut car down.

- Lancaster, NY, USA

problem #149

Aug 132021

Malibu

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while pulling up to the driveway, his wife informed him that the front passenger side headlight and rear driver side brake light were not working. Part of the vehicle's radio also melted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with electrical failure and the front passenger side headlight bulb was replaced. However, the failure recurred, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Kannapolis, NC, USA

problem #148

Aug 272021

Malibu

  • miles
Car will randomly stall. I see GM recalled 500+ Malibu Hybrids for this problem, but mine is not one of them. This is the worst car I have ever owned.

- Muskegon, MI, USA

problem #147

Jul 112021

Malibu

  • miles
Drove home from work and grocery shopping, killed the engine and noticed the fan was still running. Got back in the car and pressed to start the engine again. The engine stumbled to start but did start. I killed the engine again and everything went off (including the fan) as it should have. I decided to start the car again to see if it would repeat what happened. The car started, but no lights came on on the dashboard or radio. I had to press the start button again before any lights would come on. But the engine would die about 3 seconds after the lights came on. The light on the start button was green the entire time until I pressed it a third time. (I have video of this). After this the car wouldn't start at all. I left the car alone for the evening. The next morning I attempted to start the car and it wouldn't start at all, it was as if the battery was dead. I drove my daughter's car to work. The battery was purchased in early 2019 and was still under warranty, but the dealership wouldn't check the battery back unless it was in the car, which wouldn't start. I purchased a battery tester and the battery was dead. I recharged the battery and the car still stumbled to start but would eventually start after several tries. The car appears to drive ok, but won't start without charging the battery or getting a jump start. And once it starts, it's very hard to get it to start again immediately. This has been going on for 2 months now. I haven't been driving the car because I have an hour one way commute to work and can't chance the car giving me any issues. I periodically jump start the car and drive it for 5-10 miles. Yesterday, I jump started the car and when I killed the engine, the fan didn't go off again. It took about 6 tries to start the car again, once it started and I killed the engine the fan finally stopped. The check engine light has been on and off during these past 2 months with these current issues.

- Castor, LA, USA

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