2014 Chevrolet Malibu problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (73) · Power Train (31) · Service Brakes (27)
🧭 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
230 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (6)
Electrical System:ignition 2016-07-05 · campaign 16V502000 · 8,367 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock lever
Risk: If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
Visibility:sun/Moon Roof Assembly 2015-03-23 · campaign 15V164000 · 87,063 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles October 24, 2011, to March 5, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the Slide or Tilt switch for the roof panel may not be adequately recessed to prevent the switch from inadvertently being pressed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 118, "Power-Operated Window, Partition, and Roof Panel Systems."
Risk: The Slide or Tilt roof panel switch may inadvertently be pressed and the roof panel may auto-close unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a pinch injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the Body Control Module (BCM) software to remove auto-close feature for certain switch positions, free of charge. The recall began April 21, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15176.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:power Assist:vacuum 2014-05-14 · campaign 14V247000 · 140,067 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through May 2, 2014, and equipped with a 2.5L engine with the auto stop/start option. The affected vehicles may experience a complete loss of brake vacuum assist, disabling the hydraulic boost assist. As such, these vehicles do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Risk: If the hydraulic boost assist is disabled, slowing or stopping the vehicle will require additional brake pedal effort and a lengthened stopping distance. Both of these effects increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic brake control module software, free of charge. The recall began on July 3, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020. General Motors number for this recall is 14201.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc 2014-05-08 · campaign 14V240000 · 8,208 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Lacrosse vehicles manufactured January 29, 2014, through March 31, 2014 and 2014 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured February 7, 2014, through March 31, 2014, and equipped with 17 inch front brake rotors. The affected vehicles may have had brake rotors intended for the rear of the car accidentally installed on the front. The rear rotors, while the same diameter, are thinner and may result in a front brake pad detaching from
Risk: If a brake pad detaches from caliper, there may be a sudden reduction in braking, lengthening the distance required to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front brake rotors, and install the correct rotors with new brake pads, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on June 20, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick) or 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14128.
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2014-02-21 · campaign 14V092000 · 355 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Regal, LaCrosse, Verano, and Enclave, and Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, Cruze, and Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjuster may disengage from the transmission shift lever. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transm
Risk: If a vehicle's shift cable disengages from the transmission shift lever, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the driver may be able to shift the lever to the "PARK" position, but the ve
Fix: General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected transmission shift cable adjusters, free of charge. The recall began on April 10, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020, Buick owners at 1-800-521-7300, and GMC owners at 1-800-462-8782. General Motors' number associated with this recall is 14048.
Visibility:defroster/Defogger/Hvac System:windshield:electrical Heating Element 2013-11-13 · campaign 13V567000 · 42,696 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through November 5, 2013. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) control in these vehicles may intermittently become inoperable when the vehicle is started, preventing the windshield defroster from working. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."
Risk: The inability to turn on the windshield defroster may decrease the driver's visibility thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic climate control module software, free of charge. The recall began during December 2013. Owners may contact GM at 1-800-521-7300. GM's recall campaign number is 13380.
Service bulletins (1,727)
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 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,727 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-10 · Visibility/Wiper“defrost on car suddenly stopped working. defrost is on, motor is running yet windows are not defrosting causing minimal visibility …”
2026-08-17 · Suspension · 74,500 mi“the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40-50 mph, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. the contact pulled over to the side of the road. there was no warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the toe links and the…”
2026-03-09 · Electrical System:instrument Panel:speedometer/Odometer · 286,307 mi“odometer fraud. the contact owns a 2014 chevrolet malibu. it was later discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. the vehicle mileage was 177,918. the contact had owned the vehicle since 2022. after scanning the vehicle with an obd scanner, the mileage was discovered to be 286,307.…”
2026-02-15 · Air Bags“i haven’t been in an accident or even tapped anything with my vehicle but a system warning stating the airbags may be malfunctioning continuously flashed on the driver dashboard and now my “check engine” warning light is continuously lit. …”
2026-02-14 · Fuel/Propulsion System“2014 chevrolet malibu ls eco , has a start/stop system that will shut off the engine at a traffic light or stop sign upon reaching a full stop and when the brake pedal is firmly pressed. upon releasing the brake pedal the engine should immediately restart and driver can proceed. randomly and intermittently the engine will fail to restart, recently …”
2026-01-23 · Vehicle Speed Control“car started shaking in the middle of driving it about 30 mph and all the electrical like door locks were going up and down car wasn’t accelerating and an alert came up for stabilizing wheels i believe. it happened for about a couple seconds and then everything went back to normal and randomly happens while i’m driving.check engine appeared and went…”
2025-09-14 · Unknown Or Other“have a 2014 malibu with 132,000 miles. . it stalls in traffic, at intersections and stop signs, which is a dangerous safety issue. the auto stop will engage and when i put my foot on the accelerator, it stalls out. also does it right when i start the engine at times. …”
2025-09-13 · Unknown Or Other“unknown, the ignition switch turns on when off position or restart engine when in off selection on ignition switch and the radio is powered back on if key left in the ignition switch powered off when u leave vehicle …”
2025-09-11 · Vehicle Speed Control“received vehicle at roughly 181,000 miles. operated fine for about 5,000 miles and then began to show problems. in most cases when pressing down hard on the accelerator pedal, transmission drops into a lower gear and revs up to 5k rpm, cancelling cruise control, and staying there until accelerator is relieved. this makes accelerating more difficult…”
2025-09-11 · Unknown Or Other“i receive a message on my screen stated to shift to park when it is already in park. i have to wiggle the shifter as well as try multiple times before the screen clears. i looked at information stating this is a problem but not to the level of recall but fixed by the dealership. i was told my vehicle did not qualify for the free repair. wondering w…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.