Chevrolet · Malibu · 2010
4
Recalls
1,356
Complaints
-
Not Rated
The 2010 Chevrolet Malibu has 4 recalls and 1,356 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Most reported issue: steering (304 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2011 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, the air bag inflator may explode due to being overpressurized.
Remedy Status
GM has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front driver air bag module, free of charge. The recall began February 25, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-522-9559. GM's number for this recall is N182206630.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). GM's number for this recall is 13036.
Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain replacement intermediate steering shafts sold under the Dorman, OE Solutions, and Solutions brand names, part numbers 425-167, 2425167, and 7-3074, for installation on 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6, and 2007-2009 Saturn Aura vehicles. The affected steering shafts may have a yoke that inadequately supports the u-joint bearing resulting in a premature failure.
Remedy Status
Dorman will notify owners, and dealers will refund the purchase price or replace the steering shafts, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact Dorman customer service at 1-800-523-2492.
General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Saturn Aura and model year 2008-2010 Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 vehicles, equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission. On these vehicles, the tabs on the transmission shift cable end may fracture and separate.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer over the cable end or replace the shift cable as necessary. This service will be performed free of charge. Notification to owners began on on November 9, 2012. Owners were instructed to not bring their vehicles for repair until January 2013. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-521-7300.
The driver's seat bracket broke causing the seat to sag to the right and for the back of the seat to rise up. Pictures were taken and are attached. Available for inspection until fixed. The view is from the front. My finger points to the failed weld. In an accident, the seat might break off causing the driver to sustain serious injury. The sudden shift in the seat could cause the driver to panic resulting in an accident. I have not yet taken it into the dealer for review. This problem has been reported to your website as well as RepairPal and The Center for Auto Safety websites. No one has, as of now, inspected this failure. There are no warning lights or other sources avaliable to inform of this danger.
The power steering goes out at times. When I start up or when I am driving my steering will get harder and I get a power steering warning on the dash. If I shut the car off, sometimes it goes away but most of the time it does not.
In 2014 there was a recall issue on 2004 to 2009 Chevrolet malibus 2.4 l motors with the electric power steering assist motor. They were to be replaced with labor and free cost. A recall is a safety issue that has no expiration date. In 2015 GM issued a special coverage adjustment for 2010 through 2012 Chevy malibus. This special adjustment is for those vehicles 2010 through 2012 to have the power steering assist motor replaced for up to 10 years or 150,000 miles from the original service date. The problem with that is I have a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu that has the exact same electric power steering assist motor that the 2004 through 2009 half but yet I only have a special coverage adjustment which is not even close to a recall where there is no expiration date on when the manufacturer would replace the electric power steering assist motor free of charge. The issue with the electric power steering assist motor was a malfunctioning of a bushing issues in the motor. I have the same electric power assist motor in my Malibu that all the recall Malibu's 2004 to 2009 have. So what made the difference after 2009 with this product the electric power steering assist motor? Today February 13th 2026 my electric power steering assist motor will only work when I reset the system. I almost had an accident because the power steering went out and I was driving. Took my Malibu to repair shop called Express pro in Indianapolis Indiana and they diagnosed it power steering assist motor failing. I do not fall under the special coverage adjustment although that's really for non-safety concerns a recall is first safety issues with no expiration date and my 2010 Malibu should be in the recall. I cannot afford $1,500 to get this motor replaced which I had no clue there was even a recall until today. The car will set until there is a recall issue which is the only fair thing to do when it was issued for 2004-2009 Malibu's since there was no change in the electric power steering assist motor.
My steering wheel is twitching & possibly failing due to the torque steering sensor & it is very unsafe to drive
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while reviewing O'Reilly diagnostic report, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 159,000, and the current odometer reading was 174,804; however, O'Reilly service report listed the mileage at 192,000.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that under previous vehicle ownership, the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V252000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting, Vehicle Speed Control, Electronic Stability Control (ESC); however, the recall repair failed to prevent a failure. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the rear brake light failed to illuminate as intended; however, when the brake pedal was released, the brake lights would illuminate. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 270,000.
Power Steering Randomly Goes off taking the Traction Control with it. Terrible for the snow roads to have. Have to life the steering wheel slightly when starting to the car get it to work. Steering Angle Sensor or Torque Position Sensor Maybe??
I lost power steering while driving, making the wheel hard to turn. While the car is idle, the steering wheel shakes. Also “ESC” pops on on the dashboard.
Lug studs repeatedly snap at wheel no matter how installed.
The blinker level does not automatically shut off after the turn is preformed. It never has. Yes it can be inspected if asked. Because of this fault, people driving behind me have thought I am turning and have attempted to go around my vehicle, almost causing collision on several occasions. This puts myself, my passengers, and the other vehicle in immediate danger. As well as the vehicle behind the one attempting to go around my vehicle. Yes it has been reproduced by multiple car repair shops. There is never a time that the turn lever has worked properly. When talking to the previous owner, he indicated that he also had the same problem since he purchased the vehicle. Many online vehicle specific forums have owners who talk about having the same problem and the accidents they've gotten in due to it. There are no warning lights. The blinker stays active as well as the dash light indicating the blinker is still on. The date indicated was the most recent it happened and almost caused an accident.
I was driving down the highway when the passenger side curtain airbags deployed for no reason. Air bag deployment stunned the driver, but fortunately did not cause accident.
The issue I'm having is the traction light is on and my rear break lights stay on constantly. I took the car to a shop and had the break light switch replaced. Two days later the lights was back on. I did some research and there was a recall for the exact issue I'm have (NHTSA14V252) when I gave the Chevrolet dealership my VIN they said there were no recalls but there was three recalls but they are no longer open. Is there any thing I can do? Please help
The shift lever does not want to release from park. I cant get it to go into drive. Traction light comes on and overrides cruise control. Refer to recall dated 5/14/2014 #14V252000 or GM recall 13036. It is in for repair now. Almost $500 for repair.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 30-40 MPH, the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact stated while making a left turn, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver and the steering wheel vibrated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
My power steering quit working
The car will drive but is unable to turn. It's like the steering wheel is locked.
Steering not working correctly it is ver hard to turn steering wheel. Cluster lights went out so dashboard lights do not work, brake lights not working seems to be electrical problems with the vehicle
Connector for airbags sensor wiring has a problem which is address in General Motors document Recall 13040A Dated April 2014. There is a warning on the dash about the airbags not operational. We have never been contacted by General Motors about this problem, but other Chevrolet Malibu owners are have the same problem.
The July 14, 2014 recall (13036) describes the issue perfectly. Brake lights come on when gas is pressed, goes off when brake pedal is pressed (very dangerous). Airbag, motor & traction control lights come on, message center says “ESC” “traction control”. We have had the car on multiple diagnostic tools saying it’s the module and the electrical isn’t communicating with the module… according to the recall, it is EXACTLY what is happening. We bought the car recently for our NEW driver not knowing and after HOURS of research and going to mechanics it seems to be the SAME recall but this car/VIN is not included in the recall. My child is going to get rear ended because nothing is fixing the issue and this vin doesn’t have any “recalls”
The front doors on the car lock and unlock them selves and often you have to climb into the backseat from the front seat to exit the car. This is a serious danger if you were in an accident or the car was on fire. Hi I am [XXX] and it’s almost impossible for me to climb over the seats the way the cockpit is made. When the car locks itself it’s impossible to unlock the car using the door locks inside by pulling them up or using the key in the drivers door nothing works. The car can be completely locked and hours later maybe the next day the drivers door will be open on its own. This is happened several times in the rain soaking the driver seat. The only way to unlock the doors if they lock on their own it’s to play with a key fob pressing lock unlock maybe 100 times and you might get lucky and it unlocks. I spent three days once before I could enter my car using the key fob as I explained earlier. The door came open one time while the car was going forward and luckily I was in a Walmart parking lot or there’s no telling what would’ve happened. When the car was shifted into drive the door locks clicked down but that still did not stop the door from opening. I purchased the car two months ago for $7000 and the dealer is going to do nothing they stressed as is. I have read online there are thousands of these complaints for the same thing and GM has not acknowledged the problem to date. Complaints I have read also stated they have done different repairs to the doors which are quite costly but they were to no avail. This seems like a very serious and dangerous problem being trapped inside a car especially in Florida where I live and the temperatures in a car can reach 140 degrees. If the car is running you can’t even exit the back doors once you crawl over the seats it has to be shut off. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2010 Chevrolet Malibu has 4 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 1,356 owner-reported complaints for the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu.
NHTSA has not published a safety rating for the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu are steering (304 reports), air bags (83 reports), power train (70 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 4 recalls on record for the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Look up recalls and complaints for any year, make, and model.
This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.