2020 Chevrolet Malibu problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (40) · Service Brakes (30) · Electrical System (20)
🧭 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
45 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Seat Belts:rear/Other:retractor 2021-08-20 · campaign 21V649000 · 402 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (772)
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 2026-10-26 · GM Update N25-250552 · Over The Air
• improvements to onstar functionality.
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 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-06-03 · PIP6032C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pip6032b provides diagnostic direction for dealers when encountering transmission leaks
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 772 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Service Brakes“i got the engine light on on dashboard! i need someone to check out for me, please. thank you…”
2026-10-19 · Unknown Or Other“the back up camera randomly fails. there appears to be no rhyme or reason to it. it will work completely fine for days sometimes weeks and the all of a sudden it will only show a black screen that states system failure. sometimes it will remain in system failure or a day or a week, its completely random. i see that there was a recall on the cameras…”
2026-09-08 · Power Train“the vehicle's transmission shifter mechanism has failed for a second time, preventing the vehicle's computer from communicating with the gear shifter. when shifting the physical gear lever forward into the "park" position and attempting to shut off the engine, a warning message reading "action required: shift to park" appears on the driver instrume…”
2026-09-08 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 120,000 mi“the contact owns a 2020 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while attempting to depress the brake pedal, the brakes failed to respond and seized, causing the contact to engage the parking brake. the contact was able to pull over while awaiting tow truck assistance. the vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. the contact stated that a l…”
2026-09-08 · Steering“the contact owns a 2020 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that the message "steering assist reduced - drive with care" was intermittently displayed on the instrument panel while driving. the contact stated that excessive force was needed to turn the steering wheel. in addition, the message "service esc" was displayed, and the steering failure be…”
2026-08-23 · Service Brakes“i have a failed vacuum pump which caused my braking ability to be 100% reliant on my own strength to be able to “safely” stop the car. this is an ongoing and common problem with gm yet they have not recalled or given any solution. this is unsafe and should be illegal. i have now an underwater car loan and still a non-drivable car because not only d…”
2026-08-05 · Steering“my 2020 chevrolet malibu experienced a sudden and severe electrical failure after driving through normal roadway water. immediately afterward, the vehicle displayed multiple safety‑critical warnings including loss of power steering assist, electronic stability control (esc) faults, brake control faults, and reduced propulsion. a gm dealership insp…”
2026-07-31 · Unknown Or Other“so while i was driving my car going 60 on the highway it seemed to be having electrical issues all the lights on my dash popped on then popped off and only a few lights actually stayed on i can't remember exactly but the check engine and my abs stayed on and then on my screen it read to me warning power steering fault my headlights were dimming on …”
2026-07-24 · Power Train · 50,198 mi“the contact owns a 2020 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while attempting to shift the vehicle into park, the transmission failed to shift into park after several attempts. the contact referenced tsb: 19-na-206; as a possible cause for the failure; however, the vin was not included in the tsb. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was…”
2026-07-09 · Power Train“while attempting to enter a high-speed expressway, the transmission malfunctioned, preventing normal acceleration. the vehicle could only accelerate very slowly but managed to maintain a limited speed, creating a hazardous situation while trying to merge into fast-moving traffic. i was able to navigate the vehicle off the expressway, at which point…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.