2010 Chevrolet Malibu problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (422) · Service Brakes (126) · Vehicle Speed Control (111)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Malibu model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
1,071 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2019-01-16 · campaign 19V019000 · 1,145 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2011 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, the air bag inflator may explode due to being overpressurized.
Risk: If the inflator explodes, sharp metal fragments may strike the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front driver air bag module, free of charge. The recall began February 25, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-522-9559. GM's number for this recall is N182206630.
Steering 2014-07-21 · campaign 14E044000 · 7,304 vehicles
Defect: Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain replacement intermediate steering shafts sold under the Dorman, OE Solutions, and Solutions brand names, part numbers 425-167, 2425167, and 7-3074, for installation on 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6, and 2007-2009 Saturn Aura vehicles. The affected steering shafts may have a yoke that inadequately supports the u-joint bearing resulting in a premature failure.
Risk: A joint bearing that fails prematurely may cause separation of the u-joint resulting in a complete loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dorman will notify owners, and dealers will refund the purchase price or replace the steering shafts, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact Dorman customer service at 1-800-523-2492.
Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 2014-05-14 · campaign 14V252000 · 2,440,524 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in
Risk: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Satu
Power Train:automatic Transmission:gear Position Indication (Prndl) 2012-09-18 · campaign 12V460000 · 426,240 vehicles
Defect: General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Saturn Aura and model year 2008-2010 Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 vehicles, equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission. On these vehicles, the tabs on the transmission shift cable end may fracture and separate.
Risk: If the tabs were to fracture and separate, the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. The driver would be able to move the shifter to 'PARK' and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in 'PARK.' The vehicle may not be able to be restarted and the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible cr
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer over the cable end or replace the shift cable as necessary. This service will be performed free of charge. Notification to owners began on on November 9, 2012. Owners were instructed to not bring their vehicles for repair until January 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Service bulletins (1,253)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP4902V · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-01-08 · PIP4902U · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2025-11-20 · PIT5214G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have had multiple repair attempts that are being performed on customer’s vehicles that exhibit vibration conditions without utilizing the support of general motors technical assistance center. if va
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,253 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-13 · Electrical System:instrument Panel:speedometer/Odometer · 210,000 mi“odometer fraud. the contact purchased a 2010 chevrolet malibu. it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. the vehicle was a dealer sale. at the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was listed as 170,225. during a service appointment for the check engine warning light illumination, the vehicle history report revealed that the mile…”
2026-10-08 · Unknown Or Other“esc light is on and steering started to be hard to steer . my vehicle is available for inspection upon request. safety for myself and others was a very risky.. vehicle was inspected by dealership, but was told that vehicle could not be scanned. …”
2026-09-22 · Tires:pressure Monitoring And Regulating Systems · 122,000 mi“the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. after starting the vehicle with the transmission in park(p), the gear shift indicator indicated that the transmission was in drive(d). the transmission was shifted into drive(d), and the vehicle jerked and the engine revved loudly, but the vehicle failed to move. the tpms and check engine warning lights wer…”
2026-09-09 · Service Brakes“they do not have brake lights. i was behind them for probably 3-5 miles, their blinkers and other lights seemed to work because they were just the plain lights cars have. they are also a red chevy.…”
2026-07-23 · Vehicle Speed Control · 160,000 mi“the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that after driving for 5 miles, the vehicle went into limp mode, with the message "service traction" displayed. the contact stated that the vehicle operated as intended after cooling down; however, the failure recurred after driving 5 miles. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it w…”
2026-07-20 · Steering · 146,000 mi“the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the steering wheel was shaking and locked up, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. the vehicle lost power steering functionality. the power steering warning light was illuminated. a dealer or an independent mechanic was not contacted. the vehicle was…”
2026-05-11 · Steering“1.the esc system and power steering lights come on and sometimes go off making it extremely unsafe to drive due to not having proper control of the steering wheel. it is available for inspections at any time. 2.being able to turn and use steering wheel correctly puts me and my family at risk for collisions. 3.confirmed by a code reader. and perso…”
2026-05-09 · Steering“power steering went out and i'm told it's a sensor that is in the steering column. very expensive to have fixed due to location of the sensor. i seen a recall for this problem however it is only good for 150,000 miles or 10 years. i just purchased this car 2 years ago with 172,000 miles. this recall should still be valid if it hasn't been repaired.…”
2026-03-23 · Seats“the driver's seat bracket broke causing the seat to sag to the right and for the back of the seat to rise up. pictures were taken and are attached. available for inspection until fixed. the view is from the front. my finger points to the failed weld. in an accident, the seat might break off causing the driver to sustain serious injury. the sudden…”
2026-03-04 · Steering“the power steering goes out at times. when i start up or when i am driving my steering will get harder and i get a power steering warning on the dash. if i shut the car off, sometimes it goes away but most of the time it does not.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.