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RecallScanner Severity Profile

Chevrolet MALIBU

Watch7 recall campaigns, verify by VIN.
0
RecallScore
Critical
2
Fire risk
0
Crash risk
7
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
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All Recalls

7 campaigns
7 recalls 2 critical💥 7 crash risk
Model year
Airbag
Jun 14, 2018
2883 days ago

Your front passenger airbag may not deploy in a crash or deploy when it shouldn't, risking injury.

Affected: AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION · 2018
CRASH RISK
NHTSA
Summary

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. During servicing, a Passenger Presence System (PPS) may have been installed that was not correctly calibrated to the vehicle's seat type. As a result, the PPS may not properly identify an adult passenger from a child passenger in the front passenger seat, potentially causing the air bag to not deploy when it should, or causing the air bag to deploy when it shouldn't.

Consequence

In the event of a crash, improper air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger PPS seat service kit, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18208.

Airbag
Feb 12, 2016
3736 days ago

Your right rear side airbag can rupture and spray metal debris into the cabin during a crash.

Affected: AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW · 2017
CRASH RISK
NHTSA
Summary

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017 Malibu vehicles manufactured on November 10, 2016. The right-hand rear side air bag inflator manifold may have insufficient welds.

Consequence

Insufficient welds could cause the inflator to separate and propel air bag debris into the cabin during a crash. Also, the inflator could fail to inflate during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear side air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began on January 25, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 16146.

Seat Belts
Aug 20, 2021
1720 days ago

Your rear seat belt can come loose in a crash and fail to protect your children.

Affected: SEAT BELTS:CRITICAL FASTENERS · 2021
CRASH RISK
NHTSA
Summary

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.

Body
Dec 14, 2022
1239 days ago

Your front frame can be improperly welded, preventing crash sensors from deploying and causing serious injury.

Affected: STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS · 2023
CRASH RISK
NHTSA
Summary

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The front impact bar, a structural portion of the vehicle frame, may not be properly welded to the front frame rail.

Consequence

An improperly welded front impact bar may result in the front crash sensors not performing correctly, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the right-hand and left-hand side of the vehicle's motor rail for an incomplete weld. If the condition is found, the vehicle will be repurchased by GM. Owner notification letters were mailed January 20, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

Other
Jan 8, 2024
849 days ago

Your glove box manual may have wrong safety information about child car seats and vehicle controls.

Affected: EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL · 2024
CRASH RISK
NHTSA
Summary

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2024 Cadillac XT4 and Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The vehicles may have the wrong owner's manual in the glove box. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."

Consequence

The wrong owner's manual may contain inaccurate information about vehicle functions and other safety relevant information, which could lead to improper operation of the vehicle and increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy

Dealers will provide owners with the correct manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 26, 2024. Owners may contact Cadillac's customer service at 1-800-458-8006 and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N242454040.

Software
Jun 9, 2019
2523 days ago

Your engine can stall without warning while driving, leaving you stranded or causing a crash.

Affected: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE · 2018
CRASH RISK
NHTSA
Summary

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles equipped with 1.5L turbo engines. An error in the Engine Control Module (ECM) software may result in the fuel injectors being disabled.

Consequence

Disabled fuel injectors would prevent the engine from starting and may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ECM software, free of charge. The recall began October 16, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-630-2438. GM's number for this recall is N192221960.

Software
Feb 4, 2026
91 days ago

Your rearview camera can show a blank or distorted image, blocking your view of what is behind you.

Affected: BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA · 2025
CRASH RISK
NHTSA
Summary

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rearview camera screen may display a distorted or blank image.

Consequence

A rearview image that does not display correctly reduces the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed May 18, 2026. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N262551720. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 2, 2026.

Full analysis: how to read the Chevrolet MALIBU recall history
Year range, common components, complaint patterns, and how to use this page.

Understanding the Chevrolet MALIBU recall history

The Chevrolet MALIBU currently has 7 recall campaigns indexed from the NHTSA public database. Each recall represents a formal campaign to fix a defect at no cost to the current owner. Owner complaints are self-reported incidents that haven't (yet) resulted in a recall but can indicate emerging patterns worth watching.

The most frequent recall categories for the MALIBU in our dataset are air bag (2), seat belt (1), and electrical (1). These clusters matter when you're shopping for a used MALIBU: recalls in these systems tend to be the ones most likely to have been skipped by previous owners, because they aren't always visible during a routine test drive or pre-purchase inspection.

The tracked recalls span model years 2017–2025, with campaigns reported to NHTSA between 2016 and 2026. Not every model year carries every recall. Each campaign is scoped to a specific year range and often a specific build window, which is why a VIN lookup is the only way to know whether a particular MALIBU is actually affected by any of these campaigns.

How to use this page

The safest path for an owner is to run your VIN through the checker above. A VIN query hits NHTSA's live API and tells you whether your specific MALIBU has an open, unresolved recall. If you're researching a used MALIBUbefore buying, use the recall list below to understand the model's full history, then check the seller's VIN to see whether prior owners actually completed the free repairs. Many don't, and unresolved recalls can linger for years.

Figures are generated live from the RecallScanner dataset, which is sourced from NHTSA's public recall and complaint APIs and refreshed daily. RecallScanner is independent and not affiliated with Chevrolet or any U.S. government agency.