AutoUtility currently tracks 694 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 219 complaints (31.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 23 filings cite a crash, 4 cite a fire, 14 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 694 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (219 reports • 31.6% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (191), Powertrain & Transmission (168)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 23 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 14 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
694
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
23
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
4
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
14
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2018 Chevrolet Malibu

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 31.6% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

219 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 2 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 27.5% of complaints

Electrical System

191 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🔥 2 fire reports
#3 Problem Area 24.2% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

168 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 18% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

125 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 14.6% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

101 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Chevrolet Malibu

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 4% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

28 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Chevrolet Malibu

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11755237
Filed: 08/06/2026

"The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that there was an abnormally strong gasoline odor coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds on several occasions, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond, requiring the..."

Incident Date: 07/31/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11754547
Filed: 08/03/2026

"I own a 2018 Chevy Malibu. At approximately 57,000 miles, the original engine experienced a vacuum pump failure that resulted in catastrophic engine damage. The engine was replaced by General Motors under the vehicle's warranty. I then drove the vehicle for approximately another 52,000 miles with..."

Incident Date: 10/02/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11753826
Filed: 07/30/2026

"A software error in 1.5L turbo model disable fuel injectors, preventing the engine from starting or causing a sudden stall while driving. It’s been confirmed to be an previously opened recall that was fixed by previous owner. But, is happening again to me. Yet I’m being told It has been closed and..."

Incident Date: 06/06/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11753408
Filed: 07/29/2026

"I’ve reported this problem but as I got into the repair their was far more damaged that was caused due to the vacuum pump. It took out my exhaust camshaft and sent metal through out and the timing needs replaced as well. A shop would rather total my car than what it would cost to fix. I’m..."

Incident Date: 05/07/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11752481
Filed: 07/23/2026

"When placed into park and try to turn the car off, the vehicle's dashboard still says "shift to park". It's already in park but not registering. The vehicle will not shut off"

Incident Date: 10/12/2022 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Chevrolet Malibu

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2025)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Chevrolet Malibu 270 18 3 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Chevrolet Malibu 859 23 9 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Chevrolet Malibu 722 17 4 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Chevrolet Malibu Current Page 694 23 6 Current
2019 Chevrolet Malibu 188 8 1 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Chevrolet Malibu 195 10 1 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Chevrolet Malibu 87 0 2 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Chevrolet Malibu 91 4 1 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Chevrolet Malibu 65 3 2 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Chevrolet Malibu 37 3 2 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Chevrolet Malibu 10 1 1 View 2025 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Chevrolet Malibu

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 129 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 74 1 1 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 71 1 1 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 57 1 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 32 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 31 2 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 17 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 17 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 17 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 16 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 15 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 15 3 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 13 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 13 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 11 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 10 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 10 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 10 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 9 6 0 8 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 9 1 0 1 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 8 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 5 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 4 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 4 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 4 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 3 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 2 0 2 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 0 0 1 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 0 1 0
CHEST CLIP, BUCKLE, HARNESS,OTHER/I AM NOT SURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,TIRES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE 1 1 0 1 0
OTHER/I AM NOT SURE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS 1 1 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (694). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP22005
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07

Pedestrian alert sounds

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 22V063000 Official NHTSA File →

Related Official Reports for 2018 Chevrolet Malibu

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.