2020 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Complaints

CAR LOST POWER WHEN PASSING A TRUCK ON THE HIGHWAY, HARD START,IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED DEALERSHIP. THEY HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE FOR GOING ON THREE WEEKS TOMORROW. THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. I HAVE CONTACTED GM AND THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AT THE RESOLUTION CENTER SAID THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOT ANSWERING E-MAILS AND HE COULD NOT GIVE US ANY INFORMATION. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE DEALERSHIP SAID HE AND THE MASTER TECH HAD BOTH DRIVEN THE CAR AND BOTH SAID THAT THEY DETECTED A PROBLEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THE DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER SHOWED EXCESS, OR UNBURNED FUEL IN THE #2 CYLINDER. THE MASTER TECH SAID HE PUT A BORE SCOPE INTO THE #2 CYLINDER AND SAW A BURNED OR DISCOLORED SPOT ON THE PISTON. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THAT A REGIONAL ENGINEER HAD COME DOWN FROM SPOKANE WA. AND DRIVEN THE CAR WITH ANOTHER DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER. THEY STILL HAVE NOT DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM, AND THE DEALER SAYS THAT GM WANTS US TO TAKE THE CAR BACK AND DRIVE IT. WE FEEL THE CAR IS UNSAFE AND WE ARE REFUSING TO DRIVE IT. THEY ARE NOT COMING UP WITH A RESOLUTION TO THIS SAFETY PROBLEM.

7/15/2020

MY 2020 CHEV MALIBU PROMISED ON THE WEB SITE AND ON THE MSRP THAT IT WOULD GET "29 MILES PER GALLON IN THE CITY". THIS WAS ALSO PROMISED ON THE 2021 MODEL. I HAVE ONLY GOTTEN 24 MPH OR LESS IN THE CITY. THE CAR IS ONE YEAR OLD. I HAVE HAD THREE MEETINGS & SERVICE CHECK OUTS WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TELL ME THAT THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO. SO, I NEED GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION TO FIX MY VEHICLE SO THAT IT GETS WHAT WAS PROMISED.

11/17/2020

MY CAR HAD ONLY 600 MILES AND IS BRAND NEW. AFTER SITTING ON THE DRIVE OVERNIGHT THE CAR WOULDN'T START. THERE WAS A LOT OF CLICKING NOISES, BUT THE ENGINE WOULDN'T TURN. THAT WAS THREE WEEKS AGO. I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WERE ERROR CODES ON THE BATTERY, AND THAT THEY RECHARGED IT. TODAY, THE CAR CLICKS AND WON'T TURN OVER AGAIN. THE CAR NOW HAS 1000 MILES. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT CARS DRIVING BY THEIR LOT AT NIGHT WILL CAUSE RANDOM PARKED NEW VEHICLES WITH NO KEY IN IT TO FLASH LIGHTS, AND USE OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS RANDOMLY AND IT KILLS THE BATTERIES. I THINK THIS IS A MAJOR CONCERN. I PARK THE CAR REGULARLY IN PUBLIC LOTS AT THE AIRPORT. I CAN'T HAVE MY CAR BATTERY DEAD ALL THE TIME SIMPLY BECAUSE IT DECIDES TO TURN ON AS OTHER CARS DRIVE BY.

3/5/2020

*First incident: Unknown. Could have been stranded. Not confirmed by dealership. First appeared on 5-20-21. I started car. After car started, the cars body started to shake all over with a hard vibration. Car was inspected vaguely by dealership and I was told nothing could be found. No lights came on, no warning.*Second incident: unknown. First appeared 5-22-21. After car started, the cars idle felt shaky a little. Also the acceleration slowed down on its own to where I could not speed up and I had to pull over or I could have been hit by multiple cars. Crash safety issue and stranded! Not confirmed by dealership. Going to be inspected again on 5-24-2021. There were no warnings or lights!

5/23/2021

The vehicle will randomly shut off while driving. All warning lights light up on the dash and notification of "reduced steering" pops up. Taken to the dealership and has been there for 19 business days. They will fix a component, I have picked it up twice and it has shut off before I could even get home forcing me to tow it back. This last time they were bringing the car around and it shut off in their own parking lot before they could even give me the keys. Every time they run diagnostics it's a new code. Vehicle is unsafe to drive due to shut-off and loss of steering.

6/16/2021

1. Something under the car hood is making a whistle type noise. Is available for inspection. 2. I don't know if it is a safety risk. 3. The problem has not been confirmed by the dealer. 4. The vehicle was inspected by the dealership. 5. There were no warning lamps on or anything. The whistling appeared under the hood around May 23,2021. 6. The whistling appears under the hood of the car after driving it approximately 30mins with the air conditioner on. 7. I took it to the dealership and they seem resistant to fix the problem!

8/27/2021

MY 2020 CHEV MALIBU, NEW 10/19, WAS PROMISED 29 MPG CITY BY CHEVROLET'S WEB SITE AND THE VEHICLE SALES STICKER. I AM ONLY GETTING AT THE VERY MOST 25 MPG AT THE VERY MOST. I LIVE IN SAN DIEGO AND DO DRIVE IN THE CITY FOR ALMOST ALL THE CURRENT 2,000 MILES. THIS IS THE PRIMARY REASON I BOUGHT THIS CAR! I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER ON 1/17/20 & THEY TOLD ME ALL WAS WORKING PER SPEC'S.

2/18/2020

RAIN IN GETTING INTO THE TRUNK AREA BY A LARGE AMOUNT OF WATER. LEAVING THE SPARE TIRE SITE FULL OF WATER.

7/25/2020

Speed reduced, reduced engine power , hard breaking and noise ,engine light one , all gages flash, service esc! On dash

7/31/2021

The brake pedal is hard. The car does not want to stop. The brake booster is not working. The car only has 40,000 miles

8/26/2021

Acceleration slowed down and didn't want to speed up when gas pedal pressed. Car is available for inspection. Safety was at risk cause a car could of hit me. Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealership. Vehicle has not been inspected. There were no warnings or symptoms. Problems appeared 5-20-21, 5-22-21, and 5-23-21.

5/23/2021

Vehicle slowed down alot by itself upon driving and when pushing the gas pedal the vehicle would not go any faster. I had to pull over in someones driveway to get out of the way of multiple cars behind me! Car is available for inspection. My safety was very much in danger cause what happened to the car could have caused cars to hit me from behind! The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealership. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealership. There were no warning lamps or messages.

5/23/2021

*First incident: Unknown. Could have been stranded. Not confirmed by dealership. First appeared on 5-20-21. I started car. After car started, the cars body started to shake all over with a hard vibration. Car was inspected vaguely by dealership and I was told nothing could be found. No lights came on, no warning.*Second incident: unknown. First appeared 5-22-21. After car started, the cars idle felt shaky a little. Also the acceleration slowed down on its own to where I could not speed up and I had to pull over or I could have been hit by multiple cars. Crash safety issue and stranded! Not confirmed by dealership. Going to be inspected again on 5-24-2021. There were no warnings or lights!

5/23/2021

Acceleration slowed down and didn't want to speed up when gas pedal pressed. Car is available for inspection. Safety was at risk cause a car could of hit me. Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealership. Vehicle has not been inspected. There were no warnings or symptoms. Problems appeared 5-20-21, 5-22-21, and 5-23-21.

5/23/2021

The vehicle will randomly shut off while driving. All warning lights light up on the dash and notification of "reduced steering" pops up. Taken to the dealership and has been there for 19 business days. They will fix a component, I have picked it up twice and it has shut off before I could even get home forcing me to tow it back. This last time they were bringing the car around and it shut off in their own parking lot before they could even give me the keys. Every time they run diagnostics it's a new code. Vehicle is unsafe to drive due to shut-off and loss of steering.

6/16/2021

This is an intermittent issue and hard to reproduce on demand. I have evidence in the form of multiple videos that may be provided anytime. Videos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zubc5ilgahayvxa/AABf3M1mLBikxQswv17Yn-YQa?dl=0 In the middle of driving on freeways, highways, or regular roads, the car will quickly slow down to a very low speed, around 5 mph causing other drivers to have to quickly swerve out of the way before wrecking into me. The power steering will also intermittently fail, as it becomes difficult to turn the wheel during these times. The car will also not accelerate at my will like it should at this time. Check engine lights will show up, as well as other warning notifications on the dash board. Some of the warnings include "Service Power Steering. Drive with Care", "Fuel Level Low", and "Service ESC". The car will also intermittently show all gauges in the zero/off/empty position. The car will also say "Shift to Park" when trying to turn it on, even though it is already in shift. I have sent the car back to the dealer 5 times to date and am about to pick it up again today as they have called me and said "it's ready" again. Each time they take the car, they do not address the issue. The first time I took it in, they just performed a recall repair for the camera and suggested the problem may be fixed from that. They claim they cannot fix something they cannot reproduce but I suspect they do not want to spend the time/hours/money it will take to figure out the problem since it is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty. It is still under factory bumper-to-bumper warranty but Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena TX refuses to repair anything and claim there is no evidence of the problem even though I've emailed them multiple videos of the problems happening. Auto Nation in Houston TX is who has the car now. It was recommended to me by General Motors to try another dealer. This is where I'm at currently with the situation.

10/14/2021

WHEN I BOGHT THE CAR WAS WITH OUT AIRBAGS

3/12/2023

Officer [XXX] filed on behalf of the deceased. The deceased owned a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the deceased had a rear end crash with another vehicle which was stopped at a traffic signal. The contact stated the estimated speed of the crash was 30 MPH. The air bag deployed and had shredded, the contact stated that a steering wheel support had been sheared from the steering wheel. The contact stated that most of the damage to vehicle of the deceased was on the left front end and the leading edge of the hood was slightly buckled. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The deceased was alive at the time of the accident and transported to a shock trauma unit. The contact stated that the driver was pronounced dead at the hospital. The contact stated that she had suffered neck trauma to her jugular vein and blunt force trauma to her chest. The contact stated that the vehicle had been involved in another crash where the air bag had deployed in Sept. 2022. The contact stated that the vehicle was a rental fleet vehicle and following the accident had been sold by the rental company at auction. The origin and type of the replacement air bag had not yet been determined. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

6/16/2023

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that an abnormal grinding sound was coming from the vehicle while depressing the brake pedal. The contact also stated that excessive effort was needed to stop the vehicle with the ABS warning light intermittently illuminated on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the contact replaced the vacuum pump; however, the failure returned soon after the repair. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

1/8/2024

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 15 MPH, and the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle crashed into a building before coming to a stop. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact shifted the transmission to park (P) and turned off the vehicle. When the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, the brake pedal was extremely firm and unable to depress. The vehicle failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact did not sustain any injuries, and medical attention was not received. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the vacuum brake booster and camshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

3/3/2025

The contact owns 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started shaking and inadvertently decelerated. The contact stated that the Service ESC and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer nor independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

3/2/2022

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS message was displayed, and the ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the mechanic performed an oil change and tire rotation; however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure due to the warning lights no longer being illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,300. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALERSHIP RESOLVED THE ISSUE.

5/5/2022

This vehicle was purchased on February 10, 2023 under false pretenses, deceit, and fraudulent activities by Frank Leta Honda of Missouri. Frank Leta Honda and its Salesman failed to disclosed that this vehicle was in a major accident prior to me purchasing it. The front-end bumper and the front quarter-panel on the passenger side were damaged. This car was re-painted with non-factory paint, and it shows. Most importantly, the procedure and process required in painting a vehicle was not followed. I even questioned the salesman whether or not this vehicle was in a major accident, and the salesman said, "no." I had taken this vehicle to two professional auto body businesses, and two owners/auto body workers informed me without me asking that the vehicle had been in a major accident. Can you please give me a report on whether or not the previous owners of this vehicle reported an accident with this vehicle being involved in, and the original color of this vehicle. The dealer is calling it red. However, this vehicle is a deep dark burgundy.

4/25/2023

After parking the car says I need to shift the car into park even though it is.

2/23/2025

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS message was displayed, and the ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the mechanic performed an oil change and tire rotation; however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure due to the warning lights no longer being illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,300. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALERSHIP RESOLVED THE ISSUE.

5/5/2022

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH the vehicle was jerking and then inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle immediately; however, eventually, the vehicle restarted and was driven to the residence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

7/13/2022

A few days ago, when I put the car in park and turned it off, there was a message on the screen saying "Shift to Park." It was in park. I could not get out of the car because it was still getting power. If I tried to lock the doors, it sounded the alarm. I had to turn the car on and off multiple times to get it to go away. It would've drained the battery if I'd left it. Who knows if it was really in park either. It's been doing it ever since. I called the dealer and they want $350 to fix it. The guy told me they've been seeing this on Malibu's and "now it's happening on the Traverse models, too." I've been reading online how this has been happening since at least 2016, but there is no recall. Why NOT?? This is dangerous and they're aware of the problem. They've issued service bulletins on how to fix it!

7/14/2022

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the service ESC warning light and the steering assist reduced warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the traction control warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

12/15/2022

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that she became aware that the trunk was damp and wet. The contact stated that after having a flat tire, she noticed mold on the rear windshield. There was half-inch of water in the trunk. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the third brake light was leaking, and water was leaking into the vehicle. The mechanic informed the contact that the headliner and rear seat was wet. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

12/8/2023

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH and approaching a stop light the braking system malfunctioned when pressing the brake pedal causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of a second vehicle. The contact indicated that the vehicle did not reduce speed when pressing the brake pedal and the collision avoidance feature did not activate. A police report was taken at the scene. The police officer also confirmed no skid marks at the crash site. During the crash, the contact sustained injuries to the left arm and right shoulder that did not require medical attention. Both the driver and front seat passenger of the second vehicle sustained undisclosed injuries and were transported to the hospital. The vehicle was towed away and later deemed destroyed by the insurance company. The cause of the failure has not yet been determined. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 57,000.

12/9/2024

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the message "Transport Mode" was suddenly displayed, and the vehicle decelerated and stalled. After restarting the vehicle, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who serviced the throttle body, but the vehicle was not fixed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.

12/20/2024

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle decelerated to 15 MPH, and the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle crashed into a building before coming to a stop. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact shifted the transmission to park (P) and turned off the vehicle. When the contact attempted to restart the vehicle, the brake pedal was extremely firm and unable to depress. The vehicle failed to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact did not sustain any injuries, and medical attention was not received. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the vacuum brake booster and camshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

3/3/2025