Buyer Research

2016 Chevrolet Malibu — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $7,000–$12,000. There are 3 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

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Kestrel Take

This is the first year of the redesigned Malibu and its record reads like a first year. Thirty-six percent of 861 complaints are the engine, and the phrase that comes up again and again is "Engine Power Reduced" — owners describe passing a truck at 70 mph and the car dropping itself to 30 with no warning. Another 27% are electrical, where the same cars stall and the steering goes heavy at the same moment. Twenty-four crash reports sit in this file, and GM issued nine campaigns for this one model year, four of them airbags. It is a comfortable, roomy, cheap sedan and plenty of them are running fine at 150,000 miles. But this is a car to buy with the VIN checked and a long test drive, not on a forecourt handshake.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 861 owner complaints for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, and 9 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 36% of them are about one thing — the engine. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

9 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

"Engine Power Reduced" drops the car to 30 mph without warningHigh — wallet impact

The largest thing in this car's record, and the complaints are frightening to read: highway speed, no warning light beforehand, the message appears and the car will not accelerate past 30 to 40 mph, sometimes while the driver is halfway past a lorry. It usually traces to the electronic throttle body, an accelerator pedal position sensor, or the turbo wastegate actuator on the 1.5L, and it often clears itself after a restart, which is why dealers keep handing cars back unfixed. Ask the seller directly whether the message has ever appeared, drive it at motorway speed for at least fifteen minutes, and have a scan tool read stored and pending codes rather than trusting a dark dashboard.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$1,500 depending on whether it is a throttle body, a pedal sensor or the turbo actuator

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (312).

The car cuts out and the steering goes heavy at the same momentHigh — wallet impact

The second-largest cluster and the more dangerous half of it. Owners describe "Service StabiliTrak" and "Steering Assist Is Reduced" flashing up, the engine dying mid-road, and the steering wheel stiffening or locking while the car is still rolling — one filed after it happened three times in ten minutes. The usual roots are a tired battery or a corroded ground causing a voltage brownout that knocks the electric power steering offline, and sometimes the steering motor itself. Have the battery load-tested and the charging voltage read at idle before you buy anything on this page's strength, because a $200 battery and a $1,600 steering rack look identical from the driver's seat.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$1,600 for a battery and grounds at the low end, or an electric power steering motor at the high end

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (233).

High pressure fuel pump can detach and leak fuel (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 18V358000 covers 2016–2018 Malibus among other GM cars: the high pressure fuel pump can come away from its mounting flange and damage the fuel pipe, leaking petrol into the engine bay where there is no shortage of ignition sources. Dealers replace both the pump and the high pressure pipe free of charge. The campaign is years old but used cars change hands and letters go to the wrong address, so run the VIN yourself. If it comes back open, get it booked before the car is driven any further, not after.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $700–$1,600 for a high pressure pump and pipe outside the campaign

Source: 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

"Shift to Park" message with the lever already in park, then a flat batteryMedium

One of the most-filed annoyances on this car. You park, select P, the lever latches properly, and the dash insists you shift to park — the electronics never register it, so the car stays awake, the interior lights stay on and the battery is dead by morning. Owners describe wiggling the lever and restarting the car repeatedly to get it to settle. The fix is usually the shifter assembly or its park switch. Recall 16V502000 separately covers a park lock lever that can let the key come out without the transmission in park, which risks a rollaway as people are getting out. Park it ten times on the test drive and watch the dash clear each time.

Repair cost: $400–$900 for a shifter assembly; $0 with the recall for the park lock lever — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (174); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Brake control module can fail, taking ABS and stability control with it (recall)Medium

Recall 16V272000 covers Malibus built in a single week of March 2016 whose electronic brake control module memory chip can fail. The ordinary brakes keep working, but ABS and stability control go away, and dealers replace the module free. The wider brake cluster deserves a mention for a different reason: twelve of its complaints were filed after a crash, which is a high share, and the public record does not point at a single part to blame. There is no year-specific brake defect to write up beyond the recall, so check the pedal, pads, rotors and fluid on this car as carefully as you would on any used car, and do not read the short list as an all-clear.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $600–$1,200 for a brake control module otherwise

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (106); 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Four separate airbag recalls on this one model yearMedium

GM went back to the 2016 Malibu's airbags four times. 16V781000 covers side-impact cushions whose fabric can tear during deployment; 16V151000 covers weld studs that can fracture and let a side airbag move out of position; 16V125000 covers a driver's frontal airbag that may not inflate properly; and 18V400000 covers a passenger presence sensor that may have been installed miscalibrated during servicing, so it can mistake an adult for a child and deploy wrongly. All four are free repairs, each covers a different build window, and none of them is visible to you. This is a VIN lookup, and on this car it is worth doing before you drive out to see it.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 9 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗An "Engine Power Reduced" message during the test drive, even once
✗"Service StabiliTrak" or "Steering Assist Is Reduced" appearing on the dash
✗A "Shift to Park" message with the lever already latched in park
✗A battery that goes flat if the car sits for two or three days
✗The engine cutting out at a stop light with the dashboard still lit
✗Steering that stiffens noticeably mid-corner and then frees up again

Good Signs

✓All four airbag campaigns and recall 18V358000 shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓A steady pull from 30 to 70 mph with the throttle held open and the dash clear
✓A battery replaced within the last three years, with the date stamped on the case
✓The gear display settling on P on the first attempt, ten times running
✓Charging voltage read at 13.8 to 14.4V at idle with a meter
✓Engine and chassis ground straps clean and tight under the bonnet