2022 Chevrolet Malibu
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 98 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 22nd highest complaint count among 26 Malibu model years with reports.
Of the 2022 reports, 4 involved a crash. 1 person was injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Structure, frame and membersDec 14, 2022
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The front impact bar, a structural portion of the vehicle frame, may not be properly welded to the front frame rail.
An improperly welded front impact bar may result in the front crash sensors not performing correctly, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Dealers will inspect the right-hand and left-hand side of the vehicle's motor rail for an incomplete weld. If the condition is found, the vehicle will be repurchased by GM. Owner notification letters were mailed January 20, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Campaign 22V923000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
98 reports, newest first.
Power train, Electrical system, Aug 23, 2024
I noticed that as I was parking my 2022 Chevrolet Malibu and placed the vehicle's shifter in the park position, I was trapped in my vehicle because I keep getting an error message on my dashboard that reads "Shift to Park." even after the shifter was placed in park. This happened during one of the hottest days of the year. The vehicle failed to shift to the park position preventing people from leaving their vehicles out of fear that the vehicle may roll if not properly parked. Also, when this happens, I am unable to leave my vehicle unattended. I had to turn on and off the car several times until the problem resolved. this is an intermittent problem. GM has known about this problem for over 6 years now and they continue to manufacture these defective parts even after GM sent out Technical Service (TSBPIT5616A).
Electrical system, Aug 13, 2024
This vehicle is equipped with blue tooth which should allow me to drive hands free, focusing on the road and cars around me while GPS provides directions from my car speakers. Every day my phone looses connection to the blue tooth which stops GPS from going through my speakers which cause me to take my eyes off the road to see what the problem is. I have seen numerous websites which document this is an on going and huge issue with all GM vehicles. I live in a state in which distracted driving is enough of an offense to warrant police to pull you over. Manufacturers should not be allowed to push out vehicles that do not function as they are marketed that they do work when in reality this is a piece of shit that will cause accidents.
Other or unspecified, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 11, 2024
Engine reduce power power keeps coming on been to 5 dealers they say 200 hundred and 1 to 2 days on it but can't pay that to them on fixed income. Had two strokes been to dealer to gets parts .and also parts stores still the same part from different places still engine reduce power keeps coming on. On 8/10. Had throttle body taken of and cleaned l am at wit end Had to with this car oh l mean lemon
Other or unspecified, Jul 20, 2024
Vehicle does not register has parked while In park. Car will not power off and causes safety problems because vehicle may roll away if park is not engaged.
Other or unspecified, Jul 19, 2024
I put my car into valet mode today, and I set the code to 0000. I confirmed the code 0000. When I went to take it out of valet mode 0000 doesn't work, it says that I've entered the wrong code. I know exactly what code I put in, now I have to pay $100 or more just to have the ECM reprogrammed. No I can no longer view maps on my screen, which is a safety issue because now I have to look at my phone.
Other or unspecified, Jul 19, 2024
Often, when I'm actually in park, my car displays a shift to park message on the dash. I see that this is an issue with the 2022 Chevrolet Malibu however they do not have a recall out for it as of yet.
Power train, Electrical system, Jul 8, 2024
When shifting into park and turning the car off, the dashboard shows ‘shift car into park’ and doesn’t turn off. The car continues to stay in auxiliary mode
Electrical system, May 21, 2024
It grinds ,steering wheel make noise when backing out wobbling in front when on highway it feels like the back end of being pushed and stalls sometimes
Other or unspecified, May 20, 2024
Shift to Park; my vehicle does not recognize when I have parked and I have been receiving this signal continuously for the last couple of days.
Exterior lighting, May 10, 2024
Chevy, and many GM vehicles love to illuminate the white “reverse” lights when parked. This is a fundamental departure from what it means when these *white* lights are illuminated, i.e., the car is in reverse and pedestrians and other vehicles should prepare for the vehicle to back up. However, with the above auto manufacturers, that rule is broken and now there are tens of thousands, or millions of vehicles on the road, and myriad parking lots/garages where these fundamental tenets for the expectation of a potential vehicle behavior has been broken. The notion that this is a “safety” feature to illuminate the area around the vehicle is inherently flawed. Other automobile manufacturers have seemed to fare just fine without this departure of what white lights mean on the back of a vehicle. When something has a long-standing specific meaning (i.e., I might go in reverse), and then that rule is changed, or augmented in ways that are non-uniform across automobile manufacturers, it renders the original intended purpose to be futile. At what point will somebody become severely injured and/or die because the white lights of a Chevy were ignored, and a car, did in fact, go in reverse. Going in reverse is now the exception when white lights illuminate on these cars, not the rule, and this is a terrible “feature” for alerting others about the intended behavior of the vehicle. The NHTSA should clarify the intended purpose of when white (reverse) rights are allowed to illuminate before the meaning of these lights becomes even more degraded.
Power train, Electrical system, Air bags, Apr 28, 2024, crash
Hit an animal on the roadway and the airbag didn’t deploy and my car is destroyed engine light is on I could have been hurt
Power train, Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 10, 2024
The car had multiple components fail, mostly electrical. But the main malfunction is the “Oil Pump” as stated by the dealership service team. Yes it is currently available for inspection upon request. The oil pump failure is the main concern since it is a key component to the vehicle’s engine and performance, this put my safety at risk since it caused several electrical malfunctions causing the car to decrease its engine power while driving on the highway, not only putting the drivers safety at risk but also those around, potentially causing a collision since engine could experience catastrophic failure due to this issue. The problem has been addressed and confirmed by a dealer and manufacturer, but it has not been solved and it has been well over a month now to which they have found no solution since the part was “discontinued.” There were not symptoms or warning signs before hand, except the car engine revving up at stops prior to the to the failure and check engine light coming on the day it was taken to service at the dealership.
Other or unspecified, Apr 2, 2024
I placed the gearshift in park and I hat a warning to place the car in park. And it would not let me turn the engine off.
Electrical system, Air bags, Seat belts, Mar 11, 2024
My safety restraint system keeps failing out and says it’s a seatbelt tensioner problem. Gm has repaired many times and still fails out.
Other or unspecified, Jan 31, 2024
When the vehicle is put into park and turned off, it will sometimes say the vehicle is not in park and to put the vehicle into park. I am unsire if it is a sensor failing or if the vehicle really is not truly in park, although the indicator on the dash shows P. This is a concern because if it is in fact not actually parked, the car can roll away when exiting.
Power train, Jan 3, 2024
When shifting into park, an error message shows as 'shift to park'. This isn't every time I shift into park, but when it does occur, I have to shift into reverse and then drive (possibly several times) before the transmission acknowledges the 'park' designation. I do not believe I can exit my vehicle safely as the transmission may allow the vehicle to disengage and move from the parking area causing damage to something or someone.
Other or unspecified, Oct 22, 2023
When trying to stop park and turn off my car it will display an error message saying shift to park. This first started about a week ago and I constantly have to turn the car on and off while I am trying to wiggle the shifter in an effort to get it to acknowledge that the car is parked so I can get out. This has also caused me to be stuck in the car for about 5 minutes on a good day to 20 minutes on a bad as I am unable to turn the car off. I am worried that when I leave the car it will roll away into traffic or stop at working in a busy intersection.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 14, 2023
My vehicle engine light came in around 20k miles. It would come on and go off at that time. When I went in for my oil change, I was told that it was an air filter issue and Chevrolet would fix it. That was not the case when I tried to have it fixed. I begin to experience the engine light coming on and staying to which I took it back to be looked at and was told that nothing was wrong other than I needed the oil changed. I took it back to the dealership after it started to wobble and shake as well as cut itself all the way off while driving. I had disabled the auto stop/start so that wasn’t an issue. The dealership ran a full diagnostic test and told me that I needed an oil change which I did and it might be a throttle issue but they wasn’t sure. The vehicle is now not only stopping while driving but it is making a ticking noise like an explosive. I’ve called GM and made a complaint and have yet to speak to anyone about this issue. The vehicle had electrical issues when I first got it and I had to have a jump start very early in my ownership of the vehicle
Service brakes, Engine, Jul 15, 2023
I have issues with my 2022 Malibu trying to accelerate while applying the brakes. I was in a parking lot looking for a parking space with the brake down (my foot nowhere near the accelerator), and the engine was revving to over 3000 rpms. I called the dealer today and the service department closed right before I called. I will be on the phone early Monday morning. This car is currently unsafe to drive
Power train, Apr 27, 2023
My transmission is jerking and slipping. When accelerating the car acts like it doesn’t want to go. When I take ,my foot off the gas pedal the transmission jerks hard. The car has had the original transmission replaced by Beaver Chevy and now the new transmission is having the same issue. The car never had any check engine lights or any lights come on.
Air bags, Seat belts, Apr 12, 2023
Unknown safety restraint system failure that Chevrolet can not fix
Power train, Mar 3, 2023, crash
While my daughter was attempting to exit a parking lot, she put the car in drive pressed accelerator pedal and there was no response from car. Pressed accelerator again and car took off and hit a 13 inch curb causing major front end damage to vehicle. An initial diagnostic scan revealed a transmission fault code of P0826 Shift up and down failure. Vehicle is now body shop waiting for Chevrolet dealer to take car in for further diagnostics before repairs can be done.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Back over prevention, May 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving and attempting to use the Infotainment System, the headlights became inoperable. The contact stated that the cell phone was extremely hot while connected to Bluetooth. The contact stated that while using the radio the failure would not occur. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the headlight was repaired however, the Infotainment System was not repaired or replaced. The manufacturer was contacted however, no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 1,900.