2020 Chevrolet Malibu
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 198 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 20th highest complaint count among 26 Malibu model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 10 involved a crash. 7 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Seat belts, critical fastenersAug 20, 2021
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.
Dealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
Campaign 21V649000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: other or unspecified
44 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Aug 20, 2024
When I turn my car off it tells me to shift to park when it’s already in park
Power train, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Jun 21, 2024
engine misfire, shift to park and transmission
Other or unspecified, Jun 19, 2024
There is a message that’s pops up on my dashboard when I cut my car off saying “car not in park” when I have in fact put it in park. I have to jiggle and constantly press the gear shift in order for the message to go away .My safety was fine , I’m just scared that I may not see the message and my car could potentially start rolling backwards or forward. My car has been doing this for about 6-8 months .
Steering, Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Nov 10, 2023
The steering assist is reduced will come on. The car randomly turns itself off and back on when at a stoplight; this has happened four times now. I worry that it will shut off and not restart creating a hazard on the road.
Other or unspecified, Oct 18, 2023
Started today, I would put my car in park and I’d would display in the dashboard “Shift to Park” even though I’m already in park. I tried to turn my car on and off and switch gears but everytime I turn it off and it’s in park, it would keep reading that message. It eventually stopped but I don’t want this to keep happening.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 4, 2023
Car has stalled out, or acted like it's going to stall out several times. No check engine light on so unable to identify the issue. There are recalls for other Malibs for similar problems, but it states this model is not affected.
Other or unspecified, Jul 12, 2023
This car locked up about 2 Years Ago. It Told Me To Put The Car In Neutral While Driving It. The Brakes No Longer Worked And Neither Did The Steering. The Car Just Rolled Backwards No Matter The Gear It Was In Other Than Park. I Took It To Two Dealerships Who Told Me It Was A Problem With The Computer of the Car. I Seen About Three Lights on The Dashboard On And Off Typically When The Car Was Turned of And Restarted They Went Away. I Was Told That Since Nothing Was Showing Up It Couldn’t Be Diagnosed And That Since The Lights Were No Longer On The Dashboard It Was Fine. If I Seen Something Bring It Back In. Well Two Years Later It Happened Again On 7/3/23. I Had It Towed To Be Serviced Again. Just For Them To Give Me The Same Answer. It Has Been Driven 4 Times Since Then. As Of Today (7/12/23) I Got I Got In My Car And Literally Drove To The Stop Sign Of My Complex Before Having To Turn Back Around. The Car Was Smoking From The Inside Something Was Burning. The Car Is Having Issues That I Cant Even Get Resolved Because The Computer Of The Car Is Malfunctioning Some How & Its Costing Me Money & Putting Me Out Of A Vehicle. Something Is Wrong With The Computer System. & Now Ultimately Something Else Now.
Steering, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Jul 11, 2023
Service ESC ABS I just had a 2009 Chevy Malibu and now a 2020 and I’m having the same exact issues loss of power steering braking and at first my gas gauge was off check engine light came on now today “Service ESC w ABS LIGHT” on dashboard
Other or unspecified, Jun 6, 2023
There have been four incidences (11/21, 10/22 (2x), 5/23) where my vehicle has completely stopped running while I am driving. The dash lights come on, it says to service ESC, it will say to put vehicle in park (even if I have done so already), it says I have low fuel (even with a full tank) and I lose power steering. This has happened when driving on city roads and at high speed on the freeway ( which is extremely dangerous). This puts me in danger because my vehicle stops accelerating and I must coast to the shoulder, which could very easily cause a collision, especially on the freeway. My vehicle has been to the dealership for each instance and they find nothing wrong.
Structure, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Apr 25, 2023, crash
This vehicle was purchased on February 10, 2023 under false pretenses, deceit, and fraudulent activities by Frank Leta Honda of Missouri. Frank Leta Honda and its Salesman failed to disclosed that this vehicle was in a major accident prior to me purchasing it. The front-end bumper and the front quarter-panel on the passenger side were damaged. This car was re-painted with non-factory paint, and it shows. Most importantly, the procedure and process required in painting a vehicle was not followed. I even questioned the salesman whether or not this vehicle was in a major accident, and the salesman said, "no." I had taken this vehicle to two professional auto body businesses, and two owners/auto body workers informed me without me asking that the vehicle had been in a major accident. Can you please give me a report on whether or not the previous owners of this vehicle reported an accident with this vehicle being involved in, and the original color of this vehicle. The dealer is calling it red. However, this vehicle is a deep dark burgundy.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Dec 19, 2022
Shift to Park Alarm will not stop beeping. Looked into it on the internet found it to be a known issue with GM. Can prevent the doors from unlocking and would drain battery and annoyance. Replaced shifter assembly at a cost of $567.28 I believe GM knows of the issue and should recall the defective parts. I am making this complaint on behalf of my 85 year old Mother that purchased the 2020 Malibu with the remaining 3 year/36000 miles warranty. In November of 2022 she had the Alarm Shift to Park come up and would not stop. I return the car to the shop where she purchased it, expecting the issue to be covered by warranty. I found out the car was put in service in August of 2019 making the warranty expired. The mechanic that replaced the shifting assembly explained the problem to me and gave me the defective part. When researching the problem I found that GM it aware of the issue and should recall and fix the problem. I have contacted GM but they refuse to reemburse me. I filed a complaint with the BBB and I see that there is a class action lawsuit over this issue. I have my complaint on file in hope that GM will voluntarily recall or be forced to if enough people complain.
Other or unspecified, Sep 20, 2022
This car is a rental. After driving the car, I parked it at my final destination, shifted it into park, and attempted to turn the vehicle off. The vehicle would not turn off and flashed a warning on the instrument panel instructing me to shift into park even though the car was already in park. The car would only finally turn off after several attempts at shifting in and out of park.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 7, 2022
Sometimes when I drive my car it loses power especially when I’m turning into on coming traffic it will lose speed and I’ve almost been hit on numerous occasions. I’ve taking the car to Chevy dealership 4 times already the last time they discovered transmission issues they repaired it. They tell me they don’t see anything else wrong. I have read reviews from other owners and they are experiencing the same exact problem
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 20, 2022
while driving down a mountain in monterey tenessee from visiting a friend the car started blowing white smoke and all dash lights flickered before car shut off no brakes or steering while coasting down mountain almost got rear ended by pickup this was around 9pm it was dark i coasted into a gas station after a few attempts to start car . i called roadside assistance that night and got towed to dave kirk chevy dealer next town over after having issues with car i encountered issues with manager of dealer ship and roadside assistance neither could help til i started raising my voice i was stranded there in town for 2 days my friends felt bad the paid for my motel since i was so stressed out they didnt want to look at my car that manager said he knew nothing about after diagnosing my car they found a bad fuel injector that he said was open 100 percent so after 2 days i was on my way back to florida bad experience all the way around
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Apr 20, 2022
I was at a stop light ready to take off while driving for lyft with a passenger in back and the car just quit running as i took off when light turned green no warning whatsoever no dash lights no brakes no steering i had to wait til car stopped rolling so i put car in park then i couldnt put in neutral to push car out of traffic lane. so while i was trying to call a friend for help about 5 minutes passed and i tried the ignition i had a reading on dash that said batterry saver on so i waited and tried again after 5 minutes and car started with battery saver on not knowing how that really works i called nearest chevy dealer about issue they said it was out of warranty for them to look at so i drove to autozone a local parts store to get car checked out for car not starting and the guy found battery was good and charging system ok so there was no code or nothing after getting it looked at to this date of report i had no issues so far but im worried and hoping it wont happen while im driving on highway and get rear ended if it quits running on me again i heard and read about a sotware issue on chevy malibu so im puzzled and afraid to drive this car that i bought new on january of 2021
Other or unspecified, Sep 2, 2021
Shift to park displays when I put my car in park and the vehicle will not turn off. I have read that there have been recalls on this issue up to 2019 but nothing for 2020. My car is not even 2 years old...I shouldn't have a problem turning my vehicle off especially since it's been an issue in the past
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 27, 2021
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!
Other or unspecified, Jul 25, 2020
RAIN IN GETTING INTO THE TRUNK AREA BY A LARGE AMOUNT OF WATER. LEAVING THE SPARE TIRE SITE FULL OF WATER.
Other or unspecified, Feb 18, 2020
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.