Complaint volume
188 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
2020 Chevrolet Malibu Complaints
188 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, grouped by component category.
188 Total complaints
10 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
5 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 10 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 5 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 43 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 66,281 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 2020 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.
2020 Chevrolet Malibu
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu complaints?
10 Crash
0 Fire
5 Injury
1 Fatality
18 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Chevrolet Malibu complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 26
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18
ENGINE 14
SERVICE BRAKES 9
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 5
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5
AIR BAGS 4
188 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Problems with my transmission for over two years, I’ve searched the website and have taken it to a dealership since. The vehicle has had a hard shift and problems to accelerate. The issue continues to get worse and my car has stopped while in drive, only allowing me to go backwards. It was within warranty and low miles. I was told that that’s what new cars do. Transmission fluid has always been full and topped off. In order to know what is wrong I am told I would have to pull my transmission and was suggested to replace it because it would be an easier fix. The steering also pulls. I’ve contacted the dealership and was told to contact Chevy for recall and since it was not in their data they could do nothing for me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal properly. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who discovered metal debris inside the transmission and advised the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 106,000 |
| Nov 2025 | ENGINE | Vacuum pump blew . Causing me to lose brakes on the highway. It led to a series of events. Camshaft broke in the midst of this so my car will not start again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The vehicle intermittently shows shift to park error message. It takes several tries of moving the shifter for the notice to disappear. This has been an ongoing issue since I purchased the vehicle and since the dealership couldn’t replicate it at the time, they did not fix it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The shifter will not read when the vehicle has been placed in park. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | While driving the cars speedometer and all gages will stop working, or they will constantly move up and down on their own, it will also not accelerate to speed limit in a timely manner.. when stopping the car it will brake extremely hard on its own and throw me forward it will also give a warning message on the dash that the power steering isn’t working and to drive with caution. When parking the car and it is in park a message on the dash will appear saying shift to park. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | My car has been malfunctioning it keeps saying shift to park when it’s park and it show esc system issue and then the brakes stop working it has been going on and off took it to Lou bachrodt Chevrolet and they couldn’t fix the issue. I have done research online and it shows the same | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle and shifting from drive(D) to park(P) the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The contact had shifted to park (P). The contact repeatedly shifted from neutral(N) to park(P) before the warning light turned off. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but was a recurring failure. Additionally, if the contact had not reset the "Shift to Park" issue, the electrical system and the audible chime were still active even though the vehicle was turned off. The contact had not yet taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 80,000 |
| Oct 2025 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | Transmission is snatching in drive and reverse. the car has 32,200 miles on it. it was purchased brand new. Need for front struts and rear shocks. Customer is 79 years old and don't understand why warranty want cover any of this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | SERVICE BRAKES | Shift to park. Im not able to park my car. W low miles. Chevy dealer stated not under warranty. Will cost 800+ to repair. Previous known problem (17-19). It was repaired my last malibu & was repaired under recall. Now a TSB has been issued by chevy for my 20 so they are aware. If they know it is a problem why is there not a recall? This happens often. Each time i park, I have to fight my gear shift & pray it eventually sticks. It does not seem safe. This is a new car & is unacceptable knowing the history. I can provide pictures or send estimate if needed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When putting the vehicle in park, the vehicle states please shift to park but the vehicle is already parked. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of automotive power. The check engine warning light was occasionally illuminated. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the road and restart the vehicle; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that her husband scanned the vehicle and retrieved DTC: P1101(Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor Circuit Performance Issue). The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was diagnosed by another independent mechanic as a second opinion, with a Fuel/PCM Failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall however, the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,400. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 88,400 |
| Aug 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on several occasions while attempting to park the vehicle, after placing the gear shifter in park(P), while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 113,000 |
| Aug 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | Th e brakes are not working at all. We have to go slow then the brakes are hard to press. Th I s makes it keep driving anc brake pedal doesn't stop it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Power Reduced" was displayed, and the vehicle decelerated and failed to exceed 30 MPH. The contact was able to drive to the destination and turned off the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by the dealer or an independent mechanic. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Special Coverage Adjustment Number: N182188250; however, the model year was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 131,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 131,000 |
| Aug 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | A liAdjustmentght came on my dashboard. State power engine reduce period then it stalls when I press my foot down on the accelerator not giving it any power to go period then when I try to break it actually pushes my foot back off and it's hard to break period and when I press the start button to turn the engine on. It turns right back off after about.Maybe four or five seconds and no I just had to have a towed to my home. The special Coverage adjustment code in 182188250 is what my vehicle would apply to, but that code only covers the 2016 and 2018 models. What can I do now? Because it is under that code. But the dealerships won't cover it because they're saying my model is not but twenty twenty I need help please. I have 132k miles. Good condition. Why wouldn't letter models be covered under the same act?What would make it stop if it's doing the same thing?It did for those twenty sixteen and twenty eighteen models | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | POWER TRAIN | Put the car in drive and it sounded like a bomb went off and the car jerked very hard. Every light on the dash came on. The car did not want to go…when shutting off the car it says it is NOT in park and it is. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Getting engine power reduced messsge in shop 4th time now in 3 weeks, 2 service bulletins, now they want to put new engine, found over 800 complaints about same issue on car complaint.com website and more on Reddit of same issue . Car wouldn’t go more than 5mph extremely traumatic on highway my son won’t get back in the car he is too scared. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Shift to park | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Will not shift into park with out hitting the shifting lever | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | For over a year now my car has been giving me the SHIFT TO PARK warning when I am in park. Happens several times a day, every day. Seems to be taking longer for the warning to shut itself off and allow my to turn car off and lock. Im not sure if my car is included in the recall but if it is NOT then it needs to be added as I am suffering on a daily basis with this issue. I am a single mother and cannot afford to miss work due to this and cannot afford to attempt to fix issue out of my own pocket. Please add my car to the recall list and help me fix this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My car is displaying a "Shift to Park" message on the dashboard even when the shifter is already in the park position, preventing the vehicle from being turned off and potentially leading to a dead battery or the vehicle rolling away. The "Shift to Park" issue poses safety risks, as it can prevent drivers from turning off their vehicles and potentially lead to unintended movement. This issue is getting worse everyday. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | SERVICE BRAKES | Brake pedal hardened due to vacuum pump | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | P1101 AIR FLOW SYSTEM! I replacement almost every things ,but still have the p1101 code Park to Shift! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Car is not recognizing that is in park and displays a "shift to park message". Chevy has yet to address this WELL known issue and expects consumers to pay $700-$1000 for something they should be required to fix. This is a major safety issue | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |