2012 Chevrolet Malibu problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (169) · Exterior Lighting (165) · Electrical System (72)
🧭 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
646 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Seat Belts 2015-05-08 · campaign 15V269000 · 437,045 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured April 8, 2010, to October 11, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cables that connect the seat belts to the vehicle at the outside of the driver seat and the front passenger seat may be bent from being sat on while entering the vehicle. This repeated bending may result in the cable breaking.
Risk: If the cable breaks, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the outboard lap anchor mounting bracket and inspect the flexible steel cable, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on November 16, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15031.
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
Service bulletins (1,339)
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 2026-05-19 · PIP6113 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this document provides the technician with a diagnostic tip if the vehicle stalls and set diagnostic trouble code p0191 and may also set p0172. the diagnostic tip has the technician inspect the high pressure fuel pump body markings to confirm it is an original manufacture part. if it is not an origi
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,339 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-30 · Service Brakes“see attached document for complaint. …”
2026-08-31 · Seats“car has 161,848 miles and the seat frame broke on the drivers side of my 2012 chevy malibu. it had a slight tilt to the right. it was taken to the chevrolet dealership and they inspected and verified that the frame welding was broken. i have a video from the service tech showing the broken frame. i took a screen shot of the video and attached it t…”
2026-07-22 · Electrical System“electrical system problems that create unsafe driving conditions!! vehicle has electrical glitches. internal warning lights flicker on and off. battery drains. car randomly will not start. multiple incidents. car stalled on roadway without warning and would not crank. luckily i was in a residential neighborhood with little to no traffic when this…”
2026-03-26 · Electrical System“rear defrost stopped working. hasn't worked in years. i took it to gm, they had a print out of a kit that i had to purchase to repair. this stopped working back around 2016. …”
2026-03-21 · Seat Belts“my airbag warning light and notification have came on and sometimes seat belt lights come on unexpectedly and will not go off i feel like this is a safety issue …”
2026-03-11 · Steering“on march 4, 2026, my wife was driving the vehicle when she suddenly lost power steering. the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn, creating a dangerous situation that could have resulted in serious injury. she was able to safely pull over and contact me. i carefully drove the vehicle home. the vehicle was taken to jeff wyler chevrolet …”
2026-02-25 · Steering“i was driving and the steering wheel locked, the whole steering column has to be replaced it brought up a code saying torque input sensor i've only put 10,000 miles on this car and have only had it for 11 months …”
2026-02-22 · Vehicle Speed Control“was driving home on the parkway and the headlights shut off on their own had to call for roadside assistance to get my vehicle home they will work on dim but brights will not work and if i drive for more than an hour and a half they will not work at all the speed sensor keeps going bad after having it replaced multiple times …”
2026-02-22 · Seat Belts“i have tried since july of 2025 to have a recall fixed i have been in contact with multiple dealerships for chevy and none have contacted me to fix my recall i've left messages and still no response …”
2026-01-15 · Steering“the “service esc” light came on while i was driving on the freeway causing the steering wheel to lock up and i couldn’t turn the wheel. it was really stiff after it said “service esc” and “esc off”…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.