Complaint volume
186 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2019 Chevrolet Malibu Complaints
186 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu, grouped by component category.
186 Total complaints
8 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
4 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, electrical system, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 8 crash reports, 1 fire report, 4 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 56 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 45,501 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, electrical system, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2019 Chevrolet Malibu?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2019 Chevrolet Malibu
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Chevrolet Malibu complaints?
8 Crash
1 Fire
4 Injury
0 Fatality
9 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Chevrolet Malibu complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 38
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 23
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 17
ENGINE 14
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 4
186 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | The first problem with my car was the tire pressure monitor. The location of each tire was wrong on the informant section. Soon after purchasing the car when ever I would park the car would not shut off and the DIC would display Shift to park message. Around 6 months after the purchase the brake pedal was getting harder the press down on and within a week from that while driving home from work the car completely shut off in the middle of traffic. It wouldn't start leaving me stuck on a busy street with heavy traffic blocking use of the lane. After 10 minutes it started back up and I barely made it into a parking lot of a shopping center with it shutting off again before I can park. I had to get a tow. I didnt go to an authorized dealer. I took it to a certified mechanic and had to replace the brake vacuum booster. The motor had to be cleaned out due to broken metal that got inside. After that repair car seemed okay until March 2026. The car now is in high idle and struggles to pick up speed. The message on DIC says engine power reduced. On the freeway the car can be going with the flow of traffic then suddenly engine power is reduce rpms go up high and it drops speed struggling to pick up. I paid the loan $16,000 off using what I had saved. I cant go out and purchase a new or used car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2026 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The vehicle experienced a serious and ongoing electrical and system malfunction shortly after being returned from repairs related to a prior accident. Within a short period of driving, multiple warning messages and system errors began appearing simultaneously, indicating failures across several vehicle systems. The issues included repeated computer system faults affecting critical functions. The malfunction made the vehicle unreliable and unsafe to operate, as the errors appeared suddenly and without warning while driving. This created a significant safety risk due to the potential loss of vehicle control and unpredictable system behavior. The problem has been persistent and has not been properly resolved. The vehicle has remained at a repair facility for an extended period, where it has not been successfully diagnosed or repaired due to lack of proper equipment or manufacturer-certified technicians capable of addressing the issue. The defect has been observed but not corrected, and the vehicle has not been restored to safe operating condition. The condition has prevented normal use of the vehicle and has caused ongoing safety concerns. Warning indicators and system messages appeared prior to full failure and continued throughout attempts to operate the vehicle. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Car remain in shop over 6 months not full repair from electrical problem, head light issues and air bag defectiveness. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that upon shifting to park(P) and attempting to turn off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. While investigating the failure online, the contact became aware that it was a common failure, and there was an ongoing Class Action Lawsuit related to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a related recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 91,000 |
| Mar 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS | I am reporting a safety concern involving a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle was previously involved in accidents prior to my purchase and had known mechanical issues, including a gear shifting problem that was not properly repaired. In February 2024, while the vehicle was insured under Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company, it sustained a significant front-end collision impacting the driver side. The impact was severe enough to cause structural damage, including a dent to the vehicle frame. Despite the severity of the collision, the airbags did not deploy at all. Based on the extent of the damage, airbag deployment would reasonably be expected. Prior to this incident, the vehicle had ongoing issues following repairs, including system errors and concerns that repairs may not have been properly completed by a certified facility. This raises concern that the airbag system may have been defective, improperly repaired, or compromised prior to the accident. I was not informed of any airbag or safety-related defects at the time of purchase from HGreg. I am submitting this complaint due to concerns of a potential safety defect involving failure of the airbag system during a serious collision. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | The brake booster vacuum pump went out in my car it broke which caused hard breaking while driving vehicle. When the brake booster vacuum pump broke a piece of it damage my camshaft as well as my timing chain in my motor. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | Year 2019, code P1101- vehicle hesitates while drive, will reduce power while driving, while sitting idle at a stop the car will die and I will have to restart the vehicle. Multiple times while driving on the highway at 70mph my car has all of a sudden either reduced power causing the car to jerk and shudder very hard or has lost all power completely and forced me to pull over while avoiding other drivers on the road. SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF THIS!!! THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESS AND RECALLED ASAP TO GET IT FIXED. I am not in a financial spot to just go buy a new car and I shouldn't have too either. I'm scared to even drive 10 miles down the road to take my children to daycare/school because of how bad it is. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | - started shutting shutting off at while in drive. - started having reduced power - started idiling high while driving - initially there was no codes - last night I drove, I put in drive gear but it was delayed so I had to keep moving from park to drive for it to full go into drive - the codes came P0325 P0505 P0507 P0700 P1101 P2714 After I was driving up an incline the car stopped moving forward and started reversing backwards. One other independent shop advised they were able to produce but couldn’t figure out the problem because no code were shown at the time. There has been many people having the same issues I started off with and I found the forum to file a report . | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The component that failed is the internal microswitch/sensor within the gear shifter assembly. The specific part that requires replacement is often documented in General Motors Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 19-NA-206 or 23-NA-119. The faulty component is available for inspection if the dealership removes the old part and retains it. My safety and the safety of others are put at risk because the vehicle often fails to register that it is fully in "Park," which prevents the vehicle from shutting off properly, potentially leaving it in accessory mode. This could lead to a dead battery, leaving me stranded. More importantly, the failure to confirm the 'Park' state introduces a risk of the vehicle not being securely immobilized, creating a roll-away hazard if parked on an incline. The problem has been confirmed by local Chevrolet dealership service centers (receipts available). The issue is identical to the defect that prompted official safety recalls for numerous other GM models, including the 2017-2018 GMC Acadia. Furthermore, the symptoms described match those outlined in the active class-action settlement for 2016-2019 Malibu owners (STPLawsuit.com). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My 2019 Chevrolet Malibu has severe safety defects involving the engine, powertrain, and speed control. The vehicle will sometimes accelerate on its own with my foot off the gas, and other times it loses all power while pulling into traffic. This creates an immediate risk of a crash. Multiple diagnostic codes appear repeatedly, including P0299 (turbo underboost), P0101 (mass air flow performance), P1101 (intake airflow performance), and P0506 (idle control RPM too low). The charge-air hose repeatedly blows off the throttle body while driving, causing sudden loss of power. The vehicle was sold to me by a dealer as safe and reliable, but these defects appeared shortly after purchase. The unintended acceleration and sudden loss of power make the car dangerous to drive. This appears to be a serious mechanical and safety-related defect that could cause an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I was traveling down i-25 at 75 mph because that is what the speed limit here in Colorado. I was traveling south heading to Colorado Springs to visit family and i was entering near Castle Rock and my vechile would not go at all forward and it seemed as if I lost power to acceleration and I believe it was 2 or 3 lanes to exit off an off ramp as cars pasted me by honking their horns it was very scary as I pulled over to the side of the road letting it glide or coast to a stop very slowly I finally came to a stop.. as I have been reading some recalls due too a transmission issues for these types of vechiles I really hope I'm going about it right and someone reaches out to me about what it is that might be going on because even though my car does not have it listed by a Vin number I still believe that my 2019 Chevy Malibu has been subject to recalls for issues including a faulty rear seat belt retractor and a transmission problem that could lead to a loss of propulsion. The rear seat belt recall involves improperly secured retractors, and the transmission recall is due to a start-stop accumulator endcap with missing bolts, which could cause a leak and a loss of propulsion or a fire risk. And would like to have this addressed and or hits the right people concerning this not only for myself but safety for other people traveling at high speeds like myself that night... I was 5 days past my dealership warranty when I purchased the vechile from them and made it 6 days because I could get ahold of anyone on the 5 day when this incident occurred and then I called GM because I believe it would of fell under a drive train warranty but they said which was only 5 years warranty on this vechile from the day it was purchased its first time my vechile only has 82000 miles on it and I got it from a dealership here in Colorado with 64 or 62000 miles and since then I'm paying on a vechile that is no longer in service parked Sincerely and hopefully this reaches the right person... | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | ENGINE | Shift to Park engine light triggers when car is in Park. will not go away therefore causing it to drain the battery and being unable to lock or move the vehicle. This is the 2nd time this has occurred and is expensive to repair. this needs to be a recall and not limited to specific states. this is a known issue with GMC | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Shift to park issue. After putting the car into Park and attempting to shut off the vehicle, an alter to SHIFT TO PARK came up and the car could not be shut off. Vehicle stalls at lights and in traffic because of the START / STOP system GM has put in this 2019 Malibu. This is dangerous as the vehicle moves if on incline (sometimes backwards). There is no control. The vehicle then has to be shifted into PARK and then restarted | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Was driving on the freeway maneuvered over to exit vehicle lost power and engine completely shut off while in motion. Same incident occurred while on surface street as I was approaching a red light vehicle completely shut off while in drive and in motion. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Was on my way to work at stoplight and my 2019 Chevrolet Malibu lost all power and started back up and the next day I was about to leave for work and it wouldn’t start low battery came across screen then the check engine light came on and a few hrs later it started up but all interior lights would not go off and I went to auto zone to check codes and its one of the codes for RECALL I will be taking it to the Chevy dealership | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Sunday, September 21, 2025, while on my way to church around 8:40am, while driving in traffic, car began to slow and then stopped (CAR WAS IN DRIVE, NOT IN PARK). The "Shift to Park" and ABS light appeared on dashboard. After the car completely stopped, and with other motorists blowing their horns behind me, I put the vehicle in park and was able to restart it. I immediately returned home and called a church member for a ride. I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK WHEN THE CAR STOPPED IN MOVING TRAFFIC WHILE ACTIVELY DRIVING IT! I scheduled an appointment for a diagnostic and brought it in to the dealership on Monday, September, 22, 2025. It was kept overnight and two diagnostics were performed (they charged me for two diagnostics). They informed me that the solenoid assembly had to be replaced and that after performing a road test for the ABS, they did not find anything. Its very stressful in remembering what happened and that I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OR SOMEONE ELSE INJURED AS WELL, IF SOMEONE HAD RUN INTO ME AFTER THE CAR KILLED WHILE DRIVING IT!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | IN DECEMBER 2024, DRIVING TO WORK WHEN CAR ABRUPTLY STOPPED (NO POWER). WAITED FOR A WHILE FOR MY HUSBAND TO ARRIVE. VEHICLE STARTED AGAIN, DROVE TO TROPICAL CHEVY AT 8880BISCAYNE BLVD, MIAMI SHORES, FL FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING (PAID $160. RESULT - TRANSMISSION PROBLEM ESTIMATED AT $1,800). DID NOT HAVE VEHICLE FIXED. DECIDED TO HAVE VEHICLE EXAMINED AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER 2025; PAID $160 DIAGNOSTIC FEE, ESTIMATE A WHOPPING $8,400!!!!! DID NOT HAVE CAR FIXED. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Shift to park issue. After putting the car into Park and attempting to shut off the vehicle, an alter to SHIFT TO PARK came up and the car could not be shut off. This happened several times. Car was taken to the dealer where it was originally purchased. The issue was known to the service department as having been seen many times on same type of vehicle. The repair was to replace the shifter assembly and pig tail at a cost of over $700. which included the cost of the diagnostic. The vehicle is not driven often and has only 13,500 miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Throttlebody hose pops off of the throttlebody due to a missing gasket ring as well as the retention clip/spring clip. The plastic pieces on the spring clip have popped off since the issue has been presented. Cannot accelerate past 3 1/2 RPMs without throttlebody hose popping off from the pressure produced by the turbo charger. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Car was running fine then next day wont turn over. Code reader said fuel injectors weren’t injecting fuel. And ECM failed | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | After shifting the vehicle into park and then attempting to turn the vehicle off a message displays to shift into park, even though the vehicle is already in park. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | ENGINE | When I put my car in park and turn it off, I get the message to "Shift to Park" My engine light is on and sporadically goes off. It is difficult to bring my car in as there is a fee to evaluate my car and the sporadic engine light. When it is on my Chevy App tells me it is Engine and Transmission - Air Induction System. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | My vehicle fails to shut off when placed in Park. •It fails to start properly when the ignition is engaged. •It experiences shifting malfunctions that directly prevent safe operation. These issues are ongoing and remain unresolved despite being well-documented in GM Technical Service Bulletin 19-NA-206 and related bulletins, which identify the root cause as a defective shifter park switch and wiring harness. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Door electrical caught fire and the inside of the vehicle was destroyed. Fire started from the electrical in the driver door. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Vehicle stalls at lights and in traffic because of the START / STOP system GM has put in this 2019 Malibu. This is dangerous as the vehicle moves if on incline (sometimes backwards). There is no control. The vehicle then has to be shifted into PARK and then restarted. THIS HAPPENED July of 2024 and August 2025 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the message "Shift to Park" was display on the instrument panel while the gear shifter was in park. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and stated that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 53,500. | Crash: No Fire: No | 53,500 |