69 complaints reported

2018 Chevrolet Malibu UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
69
Crashes
1
Fires
1
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Feb 2026

Shift to park error message appears on dash after turning off the vehicle. I have to turn back on the vehicle and take it out of park and shift it back and forth from park to drive then back to park to get the vehicle to turn off. This first January 2020. It was fixed in February 2020. This issue has started again in November 2025. The same error code and same results as the car won't cut off unless you push start it and shift out of park and back a few times.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2020
Dec 2025

Shift knob found grounding inside shifter..had to PAY OUT OF POCKET. $1087 TO HAVE SHIFTER REPLACED!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2025
Oct 2025

I'm getting Shift to Park error messages on my dashboard when I have already shifted my car to park. The gear shift is locked until the message clears or you wiggle the gear shift. According to GM Authority.com, this is a known issue for 2020-2023 Chevy Malibu cars that can cause the car not to start. My car is a 2018 Malibu so this issue has been occurring for at least 7 years now and has not been part of any recall, which it should be since it may leave people in a dangerous situation without being able to car their car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2025
Aug 2025

The car is saying “shift to park” on the dash panel as if the car is not in park. Sometimes this continues to read to the point it will not let you shut the car off and then you can’t get out of the car. This is a safety concern as well as an issue with the car wanting to continuously run.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2025
Jul 2025

when you put it in park it tells you to shift to park, even if it is already in park

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2025
Jun 2025

Continuously receiving warning for "ENGINE POWER REDUCED," causing check engine light to stay on, as well as a loss of power.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2025
Apr 2025

My vehicle will randomly tell me to "shift to park". Happens at least daily. I bought my car in October 2024 I do plan to take it in with my limited warranty. I don't think I should have to cover a rental for however long it will take them to see it happen, diagnose the problem, possibly wait for part(s) to come in them fix it. On top of running the chance it'll happen again in the future and possibly have no warranty as well as rental fees. I think it's very wrong that GM won't recall this and refuses to just fix it all.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2025
Apr 2025

Ever since 2020 I’ve that shift to park issue. Luckily my car was under warranty the first time and was resolved only for the problem to reoccur again within 2 years. I then I got It fixed again in 2023 only for it to occur again less than a year later. I’ve had to buy a new battery because of this issue. What happens is I turn My car from the drive shift to park shift and push the shut off engine button. A message pops up on my screen stating “shift to park” the is in PARK. After 2-4 minutes of me waiting for he message to go off my battery is being drained. I refuse to pay hundreds of dollars again to get this fixed a third time only for it to return again. Please fix this issue. Myself and others with issue are seeking lawsuits for this defect

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2025
Apr 2025

While driving 65 mph on the highway My car displayed a message saying reduced engine power. The car dropped down to 40 mph and continued to drop down. I was able to navigate to the shoulder of the road and turn the car off. It started back up but the check engine light was on and remained on for the remainder of the drive.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2025
Mar 2025

It has been a known issue that chevrolet has issue with their shifter assembly creating "shift to park" messages and not allowing the car to turn off. My car has gone through this issue twice now and why should people who own chevys be penalized for their defective parts?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2025
Mar 2025

SHIFT TO PARK ISSUE

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2025
Jan 2025

the dashboard displays “shift to park” when i try to turn off my car even though it’s in park

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2025
Aug 2024

To whom it may concern, Chevy has had major recalls on their “shift to park” error. This is a very common recall according to much research and they are refusing to fix mine. They are claiming my vehicle is not one of the recalled. However, I’ve found many others across social media and Internet forums that are experiencing the same error. When parked my car will say “shift to park” even when it is in park. I am afraid that this will cause major issues with my vehicle.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2024
Jul 2024

PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE AND WITHIN FIRST DAYS DISPLAY SAID "SHIFT TO PARK" EVEN THOUGH I PUT THE CAR IN PARK. NEXT PROBLEM, PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE, DISPLAY SAID "SERVICE REAR VISION CAMERA." THESE ARE SIGNIFICANT SAFETY PROBLEMS FOR DRIVER AND OTHERS.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2024
Apr 2024

SHIFT TO PARK COMING ON EVERY TIME THAT I AM TRYING TO PARK... AND I HAVE TO START AND STOP ABOUT 4 OR MORE TIMES BEFORE IT WILL GO OFF ...

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 2024
Mar 2024

While driving my check engine light comes on and then I have a warning come on my screen on the dashboard that my car is shutting down power. So while I’m driving, at any point in time my car shuts down the power and I have to quickly pull over wherever I am so that I do t get into an accident Then shut my car off and wait a little bit and then turn it back on and keep driving. I looked into my car and my car was part of a recall in 2019. Supposedly the recall was completed BUT my car is doing the exact same thing again with the ECM that was supposed to be fixed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2024
Mar 2024

Sunroof…I was driving down the road on march 12,2024 at 2pm and was doing 35 mph and had my sunroof open and all of sudden the glass cracked and broke a little at me a little going into my eyes while driving I was the only one on road and nothing was around nothing flew and hit it it just broke and was like what the hell.. I’ve had sunroofs in all my cars and never shattered at me..so I’m filling this app out to see for answers because that just don’t do that out of nowhere..

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2024
Mar 2024

The gear shift keeps saying shift to park when it is in park and there is no recall on this issue on my car but other malibu vehicles and mine is doing the same thing as others

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2024
Mar 2024

UNKNOWN - When try to park, the Shift to Park fails. The car will notify me to shift to park when it is already in park. All electrical is still on when I walk away.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2024
Jan 2024

The car's Reduced Engine Power light comes on and the engine drops power. It just happens at any time while driving. I've had oil changes done, engine cleanings done but nothing changes.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
Sep 2023

When I shift car in park, it won’t let the car turn off and keeps saying “shift to park”

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
Sep 2023

Vehicle will not shut off when in park. Vehicle displays a "Park to Shift" message although Vehicle is in park. This causes the vehicle to not shut down completely and if it takes to long to shut off the battery will die. It can take anywhere from 2 minutes to all day to get it to shut off. This is a known problem among many GM Chevy owners and needs to be recognized as a recall. This issue happens everytime vehicle is shut off and put in to park which can be frustrating.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2020
Aug 2023

I recently purchased this vehicle used from the dealership. I have noticed that when I shift to park and turn the vehicle off it pops up the warning “Shift to Park”. It takes multiple attempts of turning the car back on and shifting back and forth to get the car to actually shift to park. I have looked up this issue and found that I am not alone in this problem and that apparently it is a known issue with the transmission shift cable adjuster causing a discrepancy between the transmission and the gear shift. As far as safety I am worried that I can’t trust the gear shift when I shift it into park. As far as the rest I have not yet contacted my dealership. I just wanted to write this up as it seems like a well known issue and many people have been asking for a recall to fix this.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2023
Jul 2023

when turning off it says shift into park have to restart and shift again to park has been recurring more and more. rear makes a rubbing/popping sound when driving and backing up. took it to the shop they tell me it's a defect that Chevrolet knows about. i believe if they know about it it should be corrected. ive only had the car 10 months and these problems are coming up. ive only put 3000 miles on it in 10 months.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2023
Jun 2023

Car keeps saying shift to park after being in park. Does not allow car to turn off at all. I literally sat in the car for 30 minutes trying to get it to work. I just purchaswd this car in January and this should not be happening. Please assist

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2023

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2018 Chevrolet Malibu has 69 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.