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What 810 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (810)Crash / fire / injury (24)Engine (291)Electrical system (217)Transmission & drivetrain (170)Speed control (152)Brakes (91)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (75)Fuel system (46)Body & structure (39)Steering (39)Suspension (19)

3 of 810 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Aug 15, 2023BrakesTransmission & drivetrainSeat beltsCrash

The contact's finance owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the brake pedal would hardened when depressed without warning. While driving at 15 MPH, the contact crashed into another vehicle due to the hardened brake pedal. The driver side air bag failed to deploy as needed; the air bag slightly popped out of place but did not deploy. A police report was filed; no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the mechanic verified that the vacuum pump needed repair. In addition, the contact mentioned that the vehicle would independently downshift while driving at a high rate of speed as the "engine reduce speed" warning message would appear on the instrument panel. The dealer and the manufacturer were both notified the failures; a case was filed with the manufacturer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11538729

Jan 20, 2020Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlEngineCrash2 injuries

ON JAN 6 2020. I WAS DRIVING A 2016 CHEVY MALIBU, WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND ENGINE REDUCE POWER LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OVER AND LET THE CAR SEAT FOR MAYBE 10 MINS. I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND BEGIN DRIVING AGAIN (IT WAS PULLING NORMAL). ABOUT 3 MILES DOWN THE ROAD I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN AND THE CAR STOP PULLING AND THE REDUCE ENGINE POWER LIGHT COMES ON WHICH LEAVES ME IN THE MIDDLE OF A INTERSECTION SECTION CAUSING A VEHICLE COMING FROM MY RIGHT SIDE TO SLAM INTO THE SIDE OF VEHICLE DEPLOYING ALL OF MY AIRBAGS AND MAKING ON-STAR ASSISTANCE COME ON. IN THE RESULT I HAVE NECK, BACK AND SIDE INJURY FROM THE IMPACT. WHICH IN THE RESULT I'M GETTING SUED BECAUSE MY CAR STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TURN GOING LEFT. MY CAR WAS TOTALED OUT AND MY INSURANCE DON'T WANT TO PAY THE FULL VALUE OF WHAT I WAS LEASING IT FOR. WHICH I HAVE TO COME OUT THE POCKET WITH EXPENSES. AFTER REVIEWING THE "ENGINE REDUCE POWER" AND DOING MY RESEARCH I COME TO FIND OUT IT HAS BEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS. I COULD HAVE LOST MY LIFE!

NHTSA ODI 11300466

Dec 30, 2016Transmission & drivetrainCrash

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO REVERSE THE VEHICLE, THE TRANSMISSION BECAME STUCK IN NEUTRAL. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE ROLLED BACKWARDS AND CRASHED INTO A PARKED VEHICLE. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,800.

NHTSA ODI 10938700

Working with the data? Download all 810 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 24, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Eco verdict →