Recalls · problems · safety

2012 Chevrolet Malibu: recalls and problems

3 recalls and 906 owner complaints on file with NHTSA. The most-reported problem area is electrical system.

3recalls
906complaints
50crashes reported
13fires reported
35injuries reported

Recalls

Check recalls for your exact VIN

Most common problems

  • Electrical System274 · 30%
  • Exterior Lighting198 · 22%
  • Steering185 · 20%
  • Electronic Stability Control (ESC)129 · 14%
  • Engine99 · 11%
  • Air Bags73 · 8%
  • Service Brakes65 · 7%
  • Vehicle Speed Control52 · 6%
  • Unknown Or Other51 · 6%
  • Fuel/Propulsion System51 · 6%

What owners report

Seats

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

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

Electrical System

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.

Air Bags,Seat Belts

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

Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. They are owner reports and have not been verified.

Crash-test ratings

VersionOverallFrontalSideRollover
2012 Chevrolet Malibu 4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Source: NHTSA recalls, complaints and NCAP APIs, covering Malibu. Last refreshed 2026-09-29.