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What 74 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Chevrolet Malibu

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 (74)Crash / fire / injury (2)Electrical system (24)Transmission & drivetrain (24)Engine (12)Fuel system (9)Airbags (5)Backup camera & sensors (3)Suspension (3)Body & structure (2)Brakes (2)Steering (2)

2 of 74 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters

Oct 28, 2025BrakesFuel system

While driving when coming to a stop, my brakes became stiff causing me to almost hit the vehicle in front of me. Also, the car has been stopping while I am driving and on busy roads when I am at a stop light and press the accelerator to proceed, the vehicle just stop and cuts off completely leaving me stranded while trying to restart the vehicle. Also the vehicle has a long crank before it starts. I have been without my vehicle for a month now and it’s very inconvenient due to these issues. It has been to the dealership where they quoted me over 8,000 to fix the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11696003

Aug 4, 2022Electrical systemBrakesEngine

3 times now, the car has turned off while in gear or in motion. In an Arbys drive thru on a hill above a highway. Backing out of a parking spot in VA. And pulling through a busy intersection in VA. The safety hazard is that you lose power brakes and steering when a vehicle isn’t running, one could easily be unable to avoid a wreck. Also the general danger of your vehicle randomly shutting off. No warning lights appear before during or after this happens. The 3 dealerships that have looked into the issue state they are unable to recreate the problems and there’s no codes stored in the system so there’s nothing they can do. No police or anybody other than the dealerships have inspected the vehicle. These issues began happening less than a week after purchasing the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11477685

Working with the data? Download all 74 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 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 2021 Chevrolet Malibu verdict →