2020 Chevrolet Malibu

Typical pattern

1.5% of complaints about the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2020 vehicle — around the middle of the 178 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 4.4 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine (59 complaints), typically at 3.3 yr or about 65,000 miles.

Complaints: 335
Median age at failure: 4.4 yr
Median mileage: 70,000 n=62
Crash / fire / tow: 9.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Engine

59 reports · 65,000 mi

3.3 yr

6.8%

Electrical system

57 reports · 23,000 mi

4.6 yr

5.3%

Power train

57 reports · 75,000 mi

4.8 yr

5.3%

Other

44 reports · 2,000 mi

4.6 yr

4.5%

Service brakes

42 reports · 57,000 mi

4.9 yr

11.9%

Speed control

18 reports · 80,000 mi

3.4 yr

5.6%

Steering

16 reports · 61,000 mi

4.2 yr

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

21V649000 2021-08-20

Seat belts:critical fasteners

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.

An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

In owners’ own words

Other 2,000 mi 4 mo in service

MY 2020 CHEV MALIBU, NEW 10/19, WAS PROMISED 29 MPG CITY BY CHEVROLET'S WEB SITE AND THE VEHICLE SALES STICKER. I AM ONLY GETTING AT THE VERY MOST 25 MPG AT THE VERY MOST. I LIVE IN SAN DIEGO AND DO DRIVE IN THE CITY FOR ALMOST ALL THE CURRENT 2,000 MILES. THIS IS THE PRIMARY REASON I BOUGHT THIS CAR! I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER ON 1/17/20 & THEY TOLD ME ALL WAS WORKING PER SPEC'S.

Other mileage not reported 8 mo in service

RAIN IN GETTING INTO THE TRUNK AREA BY A LARGE AMOUNT OF WATER. LEAVING THE SPARE TIRE SITE FULL OF WATER.

Other mileage not reported 1.7 yr in service

1. Something under the car hood is making a whistle type noise. Is available for inspection. 2. I don't know if it is a safety risk. 3. The problem has not been confirmed by the dealer. 4. The vehicle was inspected by the dealership. 5. There were no warning lamps on or anything. The whistling appeared under the hood around May 23,2021. 6. The whistling appears under the hood of the car after driving it approximately 30mins with the air conditioner on. 7. I took it to the dealership and they seem resistant to fix the problem!

Electrical system mileage not reported 1.7 yr in service

Unknown. Started vehicle and warmed it up for one minute. After that the vehicle shook and vibrated then completely stalled. It Is available for inspection. Safety wasn't the greatest cause I thought the vehicle completely died and would not be able to be driven. Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealership. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealership. There were not any warning lamps or symptoms. This is the first time the car died.

Other Malibu model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.