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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)

3 of 74 complaints match · Suspension · clear filters

Apr 10, 2026SuspensionTransmission & drivetrainFuel system

My car stalls, jerks, and shuts off when in drive. More specifically when I turn it on, shift it in reverse, reverse, shift into drive. I press on the gas and nothing. Car doesn't move. I put it back in park sometimes it'll shut off most of the time it'll jerks and jerk while I tap on the gas, then make a big stutter like power is low gas doesn't seem to be working with the pedal then it makes a huge jerk before it goes into drive. This has become an everyday thing. Car has shut off when auto off is on while at a stop. There's a huge creaking coming from the under body. Almost feels like something is going to fall out from under me. Every turn, bump, speed bump sometimes just at a stop then going into drive will create the loudest sound. Also sometimes it says I need to shift into park when I am in fact in park. When looking up common potential recalls my car checks almost every box that were stated online.

NHTSA ODI 11730300

Mar 26, 2026Suspension

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse(R), there was a loud popping sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 126,000.

NHTSA ODI 11727272

Jan 24, 2025SuspensionTransmission & drivetrainElectrical system

Rear differential keeps going out and transmission keeps failing every 10k miles, apple car play doesn’t work and lags out. So hand free doesn’t work

NHTSA ODI 11638306

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 →