13 complaints reported

2021 Chevrolet Malibu Power Train

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

Reports
13
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Jan 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer for a recall repair related to the fuel pump control module. After the repair was completed, the contact experienced a new failure. While attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle became inoperable and could not be turned off. The message “Shift to Park” was displayed while the vehicle was shifted to park. The contact stated that the vehicle unexpectedly turned off after the contact exited the vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the shift lever had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2026
Nov 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that upon arriving to her destination and shifting the vehicle into park, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed with the gear shifter already in park(P). The contact was able to turn off the vehicle however, the electrical features remained operable. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 54,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2025
Nov 2025

When you put the car in park and shut the car off a message displays on the dash saying place vehicle in park. You have to wiggle the gear shifter for the message to disappear. It appears the gear shifter has a bad sensor

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2025
Oct 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate after a stop, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted before slamming into gear. The contact stated that when the vehicle slammed into gear, the contact was violently pushed into the back of the seat. No warning lights were illuminated, but the message “Shift to Park” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that during the failure, the brake pedal was depressed to reboot, and the contact had to manually move the leather cover on the shift lever to move the lever. The contact stated that whenever the temperature on the transmission was at 180 degrees, the transmission would downshift. The vehicle was taken to several dealers; however, the dealers were unable to replicate that failure. The solenoid valve was replaced on the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The contact related the failures to Technical Service Bulletin: PIP5819B. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,300.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2022
May 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into park(P), the message “Shift to Park” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that during the failure, the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,600.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2025
Apr 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the "Shift to Park" message was intermittently displayed on the instrument panel and the vehicle intermittently failed to completely shut off or lock. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2025
Feb 2025

The component is D automatic transmission shift to park switch. The vehicle is and will be available for immediate inspection upon request. Safety was put at risk when the car lost power while they’re celebrating install in the floor of traffic, causing other cars to swerve around and blow horns. The underlying issue with the car was confirmed by independent service center. There was no reason to have your vehicle inspected all by manufacturer , police insurance for others the warning sign once the car installed and attempted to like it was gonna turn off with service ESC and the light stayed on for four hours

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2025
Aug 2024

The vehicle display states to "Shift to Park" when the vehicle has been put in park and the ignition turned off. I have seen model years from 2022 through 2025 have been recalled in California for the same issue. It also can affect the cars ability to start. it first appeared two weeks ago and i have tried all recommended suggestions of putting your foot on the brake when turning it off, letting is sit a minute before turning it off and those have not changed the situation.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 9999 TBD TBD, Manufacturer: ODI Demo Co
Incident: Aug 2024
Aug 2024

The transmission is not working in first gear. The dealership says it needs to be replaced and they have at least 2 other cars with the same problem of the same model and year. This problem has stranded us multiple times.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2024
Apr 2024

Warning light appears on dash "Shift to Park". Car is in park. Engine will turn off, but ignition stays in accessory mode and will run down battery if ignored. Have to wiggle shifter back and forth repeatedly to get the warning light to go away and the ignition to completely shut off. Started as a once in a while occurrence 3 months ago. Now doing this almost every time. Car is a 2021, has 100k miles, so out of warranty. No active recall. There was a recall for 2016-2019 models, and a class action lawsuit but no recall on 2021 model.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 2024
Apr 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on several occasions while attempting to park the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted to park(P); however, the vehicle did not recognize the gear selected. The contact stated that the "Shift to Park" message was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2022
Jan 2024

Every time I shift my car into park and try to power it off I get a warning saying shift car to park when already in park. Now I’m afraid that one day the car will display the shift gear improperly and the car will start to move on it own causing the safety anyone around it.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 2024
Nov 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that when the gear shifter was shifted into park(P), the vehicle started to roll. The contact stated that the shift to park message was then illuminated. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2023

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2021 Chevrolet Malibu has 13 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.