2010 Chevrolet MALIBU - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2010 Chevrolet Malibu has not been rated for overall safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, it received a top score of 5 stars for both the front crash driver side and passenger side ratings, as well as for the side crash driver side and passenger side ratings. The car is equipped with standard electronic stability control but does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

In terms of complaints and recalls, there have been 1329 complaints reported for this vehicle, and 4 recalls issued. It is important for owners of this vehicle to stay informed about any potential safety issues and to address recalls promptly to ensure the continued safety of the vehicle and its occupants.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

1,329

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2010 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2010 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu 4-DR w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2010 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2010 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 4 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2010 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2010 Chevrolet MALIBU

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"my service esc light and no esc light randomly pop up and i lose power steering in my 2010 malibu. i've heard there are warranties for this but only if your vehicle is at 150000 miles. mine is at 160k. ibe changed the torque sensor and motor to power steering. no fix. it seems that if gm knows about this problem, they should be responsible. i can't afford to keep dishing out money on parts that aren't working. super annoying"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-01-10
Complaint:
"power steering and esc light on"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-10-03
Complaint:
"hello i am very upset i was driving down the street normal day then all of a sudden my steering wheel got hard to turn... then esc/power steering light came on. my steering wheel does shakes a little because it's dangerous to drive. i called to the chevy dealership they said that they couldn't fix the problem because it was pass the due date. but there's a big problem with this because there were recalls for this problem and i know about the special coverage but there's no way i should have to come out of pocket for this failure that chevy knows about! please help it's very dangerous to drive this car the way it is... really my only transportation back & forth to work"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-04-03
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while her son was driving at approximately 60 mph, the power steering failed, and the steering wheel had become very difficult to turn to the left or right. the contact stated her son was able to pull off the road and stop the vehicle. the steering warning light was illuminated. the contact stated that the power steering failure was intermittent, but eventually became constant. the contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering column torque sensor needed to be replaced. the vehicle had been repaired. the contact researched online and related the failure to tsb number: 15356 (steering). the manufacturer had been informed of the failure. the failure mileage was 118,643."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-04-01
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and made abnormal sounds. the power steering assist warning light was illuminated. additionally, while the contact was steering to the left, the vehicle was going in the opposite direction. the contact related the failure to technical service bulletin number- 10058788-9690 (electric power steering assist). the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 118,269."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-03-01
Complaint:
"steering failed. no power assist and steering wheel shaking. warning light for service power steering came on. steering sensor torque? code c0545 ? the vehicle will suddenly lose power steering. happens especially upon start up then have to turn vehicle off and sometimes power will come back on. steering wheel visible shakes. putting vehicle in shop for further evaluation. gm has a known issue with steering on these vechiles and there was a recall done but not for my year yet it is being widely reported online that there is an issue with other years as well."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-10-12
Complaint:
"when i turn on car steering wheels locks in place unable to turn ,i hasn’t been inspected, and the dash says power steering."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-02-01
Complaint:
"the electronic power stearing and electronic stability control shut down while driving but would restart after key was cycled off. dashboard would blink service esc and power stearing and the vehicle became very hard to turn and control. no there were no symptoms or warning messages prior to the incident. yes it has been reproduced. my safety and the safety of everyone around me is put at risk becuase the car becomes almost impossible to controland stear. the car has not been inspected by anyone."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2024-02-01
Complaint:
"the power steering goes out while i am driving, and i find out i cannot make turns when the road curves or even to get off the road and be safe. yes, the vehicle can be inspected anytime. this puts myself in danger of going off the road and others in danger if i cannot make a turn when going through an intersection. this is very dangerous in michigan on the winter roads where i live. i have had to stop 1/2 through intersections almost in the ditch and then just wait for all cars to be gone to back up & finish the turn. a message appears on dash but it doesn't stay on. i had the steering torque sensor and motor replaced per warranty about july 2020 (at about 98,000 miles)and now the car is doing the same thing again! i haven't taken it in because i am afraid of what it will cost. they said it would have been about $1000.00 in 2020 if i had to pay for it. i called the dealership who fixed it to see if warranty would cover it the 2nd time and they said no. what good is it if they replace a faulty part with another faulty part?? the car has155,000 miles now as i am self employed doing food deliveries. thank you."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-05-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet malibu. the contact stated that while idling at a stop light and attempting to make a left turn, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. the contact turned off and restarted the vehicle. no warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering torque failed and an unknown piece from the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the warranty was expired and to take the vehicle back to the dealer. the failure mileage was approximately 236, 574."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-02-09

Recalls for the 2010 Chevrolet MALIBU

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"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."
Consequence:
If the inflator explodes, sharp metal fragments may strike the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

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.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > DRIVER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2019-01-16

CHEVROLET Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

CHEVROLET ranks 2 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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