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What 191 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 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 (191)Crash / fire / injury (10)Engine (59)Transmission & drivetrain (56)Electrical system (54)Brakes (45)Fuel system (18)Speed control (18)Steering (13)Airbags (4)Engine & cooling (3)Body & structure (2)

1 of 191 complaints match · Engine & cooling · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Mar 3, 2025BrakesEngine & coolingCrash

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 15 MPH, and the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle crashed into a building before coming to a stop. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact shifted the transmission to park (P) and turned off the vehicle. When the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, the brake pedal was extremely firm and unable to depress. The vehicle failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact did not sustain any injuries, and medical attention was not received. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the vacuum brake booster and camshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

NHTSA ODI 11646026

Working with the data? Download all 191 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 2020 Chevrolet Malibu Eco verdict →