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2016 Chevrolet Malibu Recalls & Complaints

9

open safety recalls on record

Critical

1,443 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.16 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical18V358000

Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Fuel Pump

damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, raises the risk of a fire.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.

Serious18V400000

Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification

In the event of a crash, improper air bag deployment can raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger PPS seat service kit, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18208.

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. During servicing, a Passenger Presence System (PPS) may have been installed that was not correctly calibrated to the vehicle's seat type. As a result, the PPS may not properly identify an adult passenger from a child passenger in the front passenger seat, potentially causing the air bag to not deploy when it should, or causing the air bag to deploy when it shouldn't.

Serious16V272000

Electronic Stability Control (Esc)

If the EBCM fails the primary braking system will still function, however, the loss of ABS and ESC raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will install a replacement EBCM, free of charge. The recall began on June 17, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020). GM's number for this recall is 39440.

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured March 7, 2016, through March 12, 2016. The memory chip in the electronic brake control module (EBCM) may fail and cause the loss of electronically controlled brake systems including anti-lock brakes (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC). As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."

Serious16V781000

Air Bags:Side/Window

If the air bag tears during deployment, the air bag may not perform as designed, raises the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the air bag module, free of charge. The recall began October 27, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 16079.

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured November 18, 2015, to June 7, 2016. The fabric of the side-impact air bag cushion may tear during deployment.

Serious16V502000

Electrical System:Ignition

If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

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.

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 levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Serious16V084000

Electrical System:Software

unbelted driver is at a greater risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge. The recall began on March 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 15808.

Genera Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, Malibu, Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles. The radio may intermittently fail to provide an audio warning when the key has been left in the ignition and the door is opened or when the driver does not fasten their seat belt. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection", and/or 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Serious16V151000

Air Bags:Side/Window

Fractured weld studs may allow the side air bag to move out of position during deployment, raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the side air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 31820.

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016 Malibu vehicles manufactured February 16, 2016, to March 5, 2016. The two weld studs that mount the front and rear side impact air bags may fracture and separate from the air bag during deployment. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 214, "Side Impact Protection."

Serious16V125000

Air Bags:Frontal

improperly inflated air bag raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver side frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 28030.

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Colorado vehicles manufactured January 19, 2016, to February 2, 2016, Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured January 9, 2016, to January 26, 2016, and 2016 GMC Canyon vehicles manufactured January 21, 2016, to February 4, 2016. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash.

Serious21V649000

Seat Belts:Critical Fasteners

improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Complaint volume

1,443 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

39Crashes
3Fires
29Injuries
3Deaths

Across 1,443 complaints. Severity Index 0.16.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Engine301 · 21%Electrical System221 · 15%Unknown Or Other173 · 12%Power Train162 · 11%Vehicle Speed Control150 · 10%Service Brakes94 · 7%Electronic Stability Cont…76 · 5%Fuel/Propulsion System50 · 3%
  1. Engine — 301 reports
  2. Electrical System — 221 reports
  3. Unknown Or Other — 173 reports
  4. Power Train — 162 reports
  5. Vehicle Speed Control — 150 reports
  6. Service Brakes — 94 reports
  7. Electronic Stability Control (Esc) — 76 reports
  8. Fuel/Propulsion System — 50 reports
  9. Steering — 42 reports
  10. Structure:Body — 33 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1997 (6) · 1998 (5) · 1999 (3) · 2000 (5) · 2001 (4) · 2002 (4) · 2003 (3) · 2004 (9) · 2005 (6) · 2006 (9) · 2007 (6) · 2008 (5) · 2009 (6) · 2010 (4) · 2011 (4) · 2012 (3) · 2013 (10) · 2014 (6) · 2015 (3) · 2016 · 2017 (4) · 2018 (6) · 2019 (1) · 2020 (1) · 2021 (2) · 2022 (1) · 2023 (2) · 2024 (2) · 2025 (1)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.