2012 Chevrolet Malibu: recalls and problems
3 recalls and 906 owner complaints on file with NHTSA. The most-reported problem area is electrical system.
Most common problems
What owners report
Car has 161,848 miles and the seat frame broke on the drivers side of my 2012 chevy malibu. it had a slight tilt to the right. it was taken to the chevrolet dealership and they inspected and verified that the frame welding was broken. i have a video from the service tech showing the broken frame. i took a screen shot of the video and attached it to this incident repot. i would be happy to share the video but it won'
Electrical system problems that create unsafe driving conditions!! vehicle has electrical glitches. internal warning lights flicker on and off. battery drains. car randomly will not start. multiple incidents. car stalled on roadway without warning and would not crank. luckily i was in a residential neighborhood with little to no traffic when this happened. i have had crank sensors replaced, fuel pump module replace
Rear defrost stopped working. hasn't worked in years. i took it to gm, they had a print out of a kit that i had to purchase to repair. this stopped working back around 2016.
My airbag warning light and notification have came on and sometimes seat belt lights come on unexpectedly and will not go off i feel like this is a safety issue
Crash-test ratings
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Chevrolet Malibu 4 DR FWD |
Source: NHTSA recalls, complaints and NCAP APIs, covering Malibu. Last refreshed 2026-09-29.