14 complaints reported

2020 Chevrolet Malibu Engine

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

Reports
14
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Oct 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, who associated the failure with TSB: N222372590. An appointment was scheduled with the dealer to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2026
Dec 2025

Throwing code p1101 for the mass air flow sensor. This is a listed recall amongst other Malibu's but does not include my vin number. Check engine is on.

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

Vacuum pump blew . Causing me to lose brakes on the highway. It led to a series of events. Camshaft broke in the midst of this so my car will not start again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2025
Oct 2023

I purchased a brand new, 2020 Chevrolet Malibu in March of 2020. The car had 90 miles on it when I purchased it. Those 90 miles were on it due to it being driven to me from Illinois because the dealership in Illinois had the exact car and color I wanted. In late 2020 I started having reduced engine power. The car would mis fire, randomly lose engine power and only allow me to drive below 40mph and the check engine light would come on. Early 2021, I kept having these issues and called the dealership where I purchased the car and they stated that the throttle body was bad. The throttle body was replaced along with a new hose clamp for the hose that connects to the turbo. I have continued to have the same issues since then. When accelerating above 4000rpm's, the car will stall and say "Engine Power Reduced." This causes the engine to completely stall and has almost caused me to be in numerous accidents. I called the dealership and they came and got my car from my house with a truck and trailer. I was advised to not drive it because one of the codes was "Engine Oil Pressure Circuit Stuck Closed." They picked it up on Monday, 10/2/2023. The next day, 10/3/2023, they called me with a diagnosis. Cylinders 3 & 4 were showing over 1,000 misfires, engine oil pressure circuit stuck off, engine oil pump pressure, and an under boost code. I was informed that my spark plugs may be bad. Turns out, according to them, it needed new spark plugs. The spark plugs and air filter were replaced costing me $500 on top of the $600 that I paid for the new throttle body and hose clamp for the turbo. I got my car back last Wednesday, 10/4/2023. Today, 10/10/2023. The dash said "Engine Power Reduced", the engine stalled, and I was almost hit again because my car would not accelerate. This is a common problem with Malibus and it is a serious safety risk! GM had a lawsuit against them in 2018 for this SAME ISSUE with Malibus. GM needs held accountable BEFORE a life and/or lives are lost!!!!

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

The ingine turns off while driving.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
May 2022

Reduce engine power warming lamp. Cars just suddenly loses power when driving at high rate of speed. Car slows abs f won’t go over 2ph causing hazardous situations and endangering occupants and other drivers. This issue has been repaired twice abs is now the third time.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2022
Mar 2022

Engine loses power while driving. This happened the first time on 8/24/2. I was on the NJ Parkway in highspeed traffic . The vehicle would not drive over 25 miles an hour putting all occupants in the car at risk. The dealership repaired the vehicle The same loss of engine power re-occurred on 3/12/22 while driving at over 50 miles an hour. the car just slowed without warning, and I was unable to increase speed on a busy roadway

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2021
Mar 2022

Engine loses power while driving. This happened the first time on 8/24/21 I was on the NJ Parkway in highspeed traffic . The vehicle would not drive over 25 miles an hour putting all occupants in the car at risk. The dealership repaired the vehicle The same loss of engine power re-occurred on 3/12/22 while driving at over 50 miles an hour. the car just slowed without warning, and I was unable to increase speed on a busy roadway

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2022
Jan 2022

Vehicle lost power after trying to go around a truck on the highway. Car will decline in power and traction light and engine light blinks for a period of 60 minutes some times longer. While in traffic you can not press the gas to go, leaving your car to decline in speed on the highway. Please recall the 2020 Malibu before someone get seriously hurt. Dealerships are aware. Do i need to get the news people involved? Mine has been happing since my purchase. ( New car purchase) service departments dont understand it either. Had my first cylinder and injectors replaced February 2022 , Second Cylinder and all injectors replaced April 1st. 2022. Horrible car

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2022
Dec 2021

Engine Light came on before a full year of having the car. Started August 23 2021 the car will take forever to move like engine was lock up or something then when you put the car in drive it was go backwards and when you put it in reverse it will go forward. Car has a head of its own. I am pregnant I don’t feel safe In this car and this car is not safe for my baby to be in I spoke to different people who has the same car as me they experiencing the same thing 2019 and 2020 ..

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2021
Aug 2021

Why driving on the Interstate with some congestion I made an attempt to accelerate from behind a slow moving truck and in doing so my car slows down as if it stalls in the middle of road. Engine light and traction comes on. During this I cannot apply acceleration until my car is ready. Normally I’d have to pull over but if I’m in traffic I can not. This has been reported to The dealership starting at 900 Miles. I was told it’s probably bad gas. I continue to report and was advised nothing is wrong. I have noticed a change in applying acceleration. Its more a force to go. This has been going on since the purchase. I am now at 19, 273 miles

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2021
Apr 2021

VEHICLE SEEMS TO WANT TO STALL OUT FROM TIME TO TIME WHEN PRESSING THE GAS

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2021
Nov 2020

MY 2020 CHEV MALIBU PROMISED ON THE WEB SITE AND ON THE MSRP THAT IT WOULD GET "29 MILES PER GALLON IN THE CITY". THIS WAS ALSO PROMISED ON THE 2021 MODEL. I HAVE ONLY GOTTEN 24 MPH OR LESS IN THE CITY. THE CAR IS ONE YEAR OLD. I HAVE HAD THREE MEETINGS & SERVICE CHECK OUTS WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TELL ME THAT THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO. SO, I NEED GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION TO FIX MY VEHICLE SO THAT IT GETS WHAT WAS PROMISED.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2019
Jul 2020

CAR LOST POWER WHEN PASSING A TRUCK ON THE HIGHWAY, HARD START,IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED DEALERSHIP. THEY HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE FOR GOING ON THREE WEEKS TOMORROW. THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. I HAVE CONTACTED GM AND THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AT THE RESOLUTION CENTER SAID THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOT ANSWERING E-MAILS AND HE COULD NOT GIVE US ANY INFORMATION. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE DEALERSHIP SAID HE AND THE MASTER TECH HAD BOTH DRIVEN THE CAR AND BOTH SAID THAT THEY DETECTED A PROBLEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THE DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER SHOWED EXCESS, OR UNBURNED FUEL IN THE #2 CYLINDER. THE MASTER TECH SAID HE PUT A BORE SCOPE INTO THE #2 CYLINDER AND SAW A BURNED OR DISCOLORED SPOT ON THE PISTON. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THAT A REGIONAL ENGINEER HAD COME DOWN FROM SPOKANE WA. AND DRIVEN THE CAR WITH ANOTHER DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER. THEY STILL HAVE NOT DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM, AND THE DEALER SAYS THAT GM WANTS US TO TAKE THE CAR BACK AND DRIVE IT. WE FEEL THE CAR IS UNSAFE AND WE ARE REFUSING TO DRIVE IT. THEY ARE NOT COMING UP WITH A RESOLUTION TO THIS SAFETY PROBLEM.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2020 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2020

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2020 Chevrolet Malibu has 14 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.