2018 Chevrolet Malibu Review: Spacious Midsize Sedan With Decent Reliability As It Ages

Corey Yates on July 22, 2024

I have had a 2018 Malibu for 3 years. I’m trying to keep it as long as I can to get my money out of it but I will not buy another one. The auto shut-off is annoying and no way to turn it off, but you get used to it. Like mentioned above, the “Engine power reduced” happens a lot until you get it fixed. It will go into limp mode and is dangerous when driving and impedes acceleration drastically. It turned out replacing the pedal fixed this issue but fact of the matter is, there should be a recall on this and there’s not apparently. GM doesn’t care it seems. After about 100k miles, I had another issue with VVT solenoid actuators which also made it go into a limp mode but not as severe. I fixed this as well with no further issues. Car seems to be running fine now but had to jump thru some hoops to get here. Also, experienced the issue with shifting into park not being recognized by the computer. There’s a popping noise coming from the rear end somewhere I have yet to find out what that is…On the pro side of this car, they look nice, interiors not too bad. Seems to get pretty great MPG. I like the stereo and the room and comfort isn’t bad for a small family. Drives and rides good and pretty comfortable to drive around. Not a whole lot that any other car can’t do really. Overall, I’d stay away and try something else really.

Tod Fraund on February 20, 2024

Over the years I have driven different cars. I had Malibus in 1974, 1977 and came back to the Malibu in 2014 and now have a 2018. It is my favorite car and is just the right size for me and family members. Drives nice and is good on gas. I get compliments on my 2018 model. I call myself malibu Man.

Dennis Botkin on August 10, 2023

My Malibu Premier is a nice designed car with good styling, performance. The 2.0 L so far runs terrific. No issues with the park drive errors. I am not letting a marginally designed micro switch to crater how nice the cars is. I lived my Cruze also. My last Chevelle was a 1967 SS 396. That turned some heads. I have always bought GM and will continue. My best GM purchase was a 2005 GMC Sierra extended cab with the 5.3 engine. I still have it and is in great shape. The LS 1 series is one of the best engines ever built.

Christina Bursey on April 30, 2023

Shift to park issue been going on for several years to the present at least till 2022 and is a nuisance and causes several restarts

Erica McClung on January 31, 2023

My experience with GM has been disappointing. For Starters my engine ihas failed and I only have 82, 000 miles on the vehicle. The power tran warranty ended at 60,000 miles. Even though there have been several recalls on this particular vehicle the company isn't being helpful and never notified me

Jerome Suggars on December 5, 2022

My 2018 Chevrolet Malibu LT power train went out with less than 3300 miles. I bought this car brand new . The dependability is most certainly in question. .

Suzanne Harrelson on August 7, 2022

I have owned BMW, Jeep, and GMC, I decided I didn't want to pay $60,000 plus for a vehicle anymore, I'm over it, lol, so I bought a 2018 Malibu Redline and I have to say...hands down my favorite vehicle I've ever owned! I constantly get compliments when I'm at the gas station on what a great looking car it is. I have the Redline pkg and blacked out the windows, it does look great! I love all the extras they put in the Malibu, drive asst, backup cameras, info center....etc. I have never had a problem, it's never let me down! A simple recall, easy fix, is all. This car is so comfortable, we travel a lot! I would highly recommend this vehicle!

Jodie on June 27, 2022

Many issues with this car. Filling car with gas takes forever. Gas flow has to be very slow even then fuel handle will still pop off very annoying. Check engine light on after 15,000 miles taken in to Chevy and 1 mile down the road check engine light back on again, engine power reduced light turns on often sometimes reduced power happens & sometimes it doesn't. 2 of the times power was reduced it nearly caused a very tragic accident 1 time barely missed a t-bone collision on side where my 9 year old was sitting. Most fearful moment in my life. On 2 occasions I was locked out of vehicle doors would not unlock. After a few hours the car unlocked the doors on its own. I live in Yuma temp reaches 120 & higher. Being locked out of car for no reason was horrible. Occurs randomly sometimes it often sometimes its once in a while car won't register its in park. Shifter is in park but it doesn't register so car will not turn off. Its very annoying. Also has glitches with the electric system phone connecting etc. I use to be able to tell the car to call a contact but that feature no longer works. My dome light only works if i use the switch. It no longer turns on when door is open. It sucks trying too gather all your things when getting out of car at night. I tried everything to get the dome light to work when door is open been unsuccessful. 5 times car has just shut off. 4 out of the 5 times it stalled when I went to accelerate when light turned green. Then it takes about 10 seconds or more to start back up again. Also sometimes gas mileage is good then sometimes its not and sucks it down fast. Interior may look nice but the quality of it is very poor. All the silver lining is made out of a thin plastic & starts to chip away after a couple years. Looks like crap. Car is hard to get out of. Visibility is poor. Car has blind spots all around you. I have read numerous reviews from many owners complaining about the issues above. Do not purchase a 2018 Chevy Malibu you will live to regret it. Any good reviews you read are most likely from owners that hadn't had the car for very long. The car is a mess and Chevy doesn't care. Most important THE REDUCED POWER ISSUE VERY DANGEROUS. YOU ARE AT RISK FOR A DEADLY ACCIDENT!!!

Jfer 70 on June 8, 2021

I test drove a few Malibu and this one had new tires low miles and was exceptionally clean Drives Great and happy with my purchase

Joseph on March 4, 2021

This is by far the worst vehicle I've purchased, the 2015 was much better. I will not buy from or have work done from OBX Chevrolet ever again!! Done with chevrolet !!!