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2014 Chevrolet Malibu problems, recalls and owner complaints
What the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu has been recalled for and what owners report, from official government data. Updated October 25, 2026.
- 6safety recalls
- 363owner complaints
- 19crash reports
- 8fire reports
- 17injuries reported
363 complaints, against an average of 393 for the other 13 Chevrolet Malibu model years.
Every Chevrolet Malibu model year with its number of owner complaints. Pick a year to compare.
What goes wrong with the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?
The components named most often in the 363 owner complaints. One complaint can name several, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What symptoms do 2014 Chevrolet Malibu owners describe?
Found by reading the text of all 363 owner complaints. Tap a symptom for the answer, a real owner quote and any related recall.
- Why is the check engine light on in my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?55 owners · 15.2%
- Why does my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu stall, lose power or shut off while driving?53 owners · 14.6%
- Why does my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu idle rough, misfire or hesitate?19 owners · 5.2%
- Why does the auto start-stop system act up on my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?17 owners · 4.7%
- Why are the ABS and stability control lights on in my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?14 owners · 3.9%
- Why won't my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu start?12 owners · 3.3%
Has the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu been recalled?
6 U.S. safety recalls. Repairs are free at a franchised dealer; some are done over the air.
Electrical System: Ignition General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Risk: If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
Visibility: Sun/Moon Roof Assembly General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles October 24, 2011, to March 5, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the Slide or Tilt switch for the roof panel may not be adequately recessed to prevent the switch from inadvertently being pressed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 118, "Power-Operated Window, Partition, and Roof Panel Systems."
Risk: The Slide or Tilt roof panel switch may inadvertently be pressed and the roof panel may auto-close unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a pinch injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the Body Control Module (BCM) software to remove auto-close feature for certain switch positions, free of charge. The recall began April 21, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15176.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic: Power Assist: Vacuum General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through May 2, 2014, and equipped with a 2.5L engine with the auto stop/start option. The affected vehicles may experience a complete loss of brake vacuum assist, disabling the hydraulic boost assist. As such, these vehicles do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Risk: If the hydraulic boost assist is disabled, slowing or stopping the vehicle will require additional brake pedal effort and a lengthened stopping distance. Both of these effects increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic brake control module software, free of charge. The recall began on July 3, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020. General Motors number for this recall is 14201.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic: Foundation Components: Disc General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Lacrosse vehicles manufactured January 29, 2014, through March 31, 2014 and 2014 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured February 7, 2014, through March 31, 2014, and equipped with 17 inch front brake rotors. The affected vehicles may have had brake rotors intended for the rear of the car accidentally installed on the front. The rear rotors, while the same diameter, are thinner and may result in a front brake pad detaching from the caliper.
Risk: If a brake pad detaches from caliper, there may be a sudden reduction in braking, lengthening the distance required to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front brake rotors, and install the correct rotors with new brake pads, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on June 20, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick) or 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14128.
Power Train: Automatic Transmission General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Regal, LaCrosse, Verano, and Enclave, and Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, Cruze, and Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjuster may disengage from the transmission shift lever. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect." They also fail to conform to FMVSS number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Risk: If a vehicle's shift cable disengages from the transmission shift lever, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the driver may be able to shift the lever to the "PARK" position, but the vehicle transmission may not be in the "PARK" gear position. If the vehicle is not in the "PARK" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
Fix: General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected transmission shift cable adjusters, free of charge. The recall began on April 10, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020, Buick owners at 1-800-521-7300, and GMC owners at 1-800-462-8782. General Motors' number associated with this recall is 14048.
Visibility: Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through November 5, 2013. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) control in these vehicles may intermittently become inoperable when the vehicle is started, preventing the windshield defroster from working. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."
Risk: The inability to turn on the windshield defroster may decrease the driver's visibility thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic climate control module software, free of charge. The recall began during December 2013. Owners may contact GM at 1-800-521-7300. GM's recall campaign number is 13380.
What do 2014 Chevrolet Malibu owners report?
12 of the 363 complaints, the most recent for the most-reported components, as the owners wrote them. NHTSA removes names and VINs; long reports are trimmed. CarHooq has not verified individual claims.
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40-50 MPH, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the toe links and the suspension needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched and became aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately…
Odometer Fraud. The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu. It was later discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle mileage was 177,918. The contact had owned the vehicle since 2022. After scanning the vehicle with an OBD scanner, the mileage was discovered to be 286,307.
2014 Chevrolet Malibu LS ECO , has a start/stop system that will shut off the engine at a traffic light or stop sign upon reaching a full stop and when the brake pedal is firmly pressed. Upon releasing the brake pedal the engine should immediately restart and driver can proceed. Randomly and intermittently the engine will fail to restart, recently it occurred while in heavy traffic with many traffic lights. Problem not noticeable in rural driving. Have not contacted a dealer, no recall found for my VIN. No Check engine light or MIL is illuminated. Can be unnerving when it happens, people are…
Car started shaking in the middle of driving it about 30 mph and all the electrical like door locks were going up and down car wasn’t accelerating and an alert came up for stabilizing wheels i believe. It happened for about a couple seconds and then everything went back to normal and randomly happens while I’m driving.Check engine appeared and went to the mechanic shop i usually go to and found out I had ebcm and ecm modules bad. Do some research on the car and noticed it had a recall back in 2014 for EBCM. The problem has resurfaced
Unknown, The ignition switch turns on when off position or restart engine when in off selection on ignition switch And the radio is powered back on if key left in the ignition switch powered off When u leave vehicle
Received vehicle at roughly 181,000 miles. Operated fine for about 5,000 miles and then began to show problems. In most cases when pressing down hard on the accelerator pedal, transmission drops into a lower gear and revs up to 5k rpm, cancelling cruise control, and staying there until accelerator is relieved. This makes accelerating more difficult since too much pressure on the accelerator pedal causes the car to get stuck at 5k rpm and stay at the same speed it is already at. This makes passing cars more dangerous as the car gets stuck at 5k rpm and can't pass the other vehicle, increasing…
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the heater and A/C system were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was provided an estimate for the repairs and for other unrelated repairs. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. Additionally, the contact stated that after turning off the vehicle, the vehicle restarted independently without the key in the ignition switch. The contact also stated that while driving and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle hesitated while responding, causing the braking distance to be extended. Several…
Automatic Start/Stop feature is faulty! When it activates, it prevents the engine from restarting for several minutes. This puts myself and others in my car at a major risk of getting in an accident. I have so far been lucky and avoided any accidents. Several thousand has ben spent to try and fix the issue, with no luck.
The contact owns a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the lights on the gear shifter was flashing, with the power steering assist and parking assist messages displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked violently while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was…
powertrain there is a problem with auto stop restarting then dying. The transmission not engaging after a complete stop like it is neutral this only happens after the car has been driven a bit everything at temp. today stopped for trash service auto stop engaged got ready to go nothing gunning and gunning never died like no power though finally moved no more stops till home a problem sitting in road can not move. have not taken to shop yet money for it now not.
I PURCHASED SAID AUTO 2015 WITH 30,000 MILES I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE 6 AXLE BEARING 2 BECAUSE ABS TAPE CAME OFF OF HUB I HAVE REPLACED CAMSHAFT ACCUATERS AND CAM SHAFT SOLONOID,I WAS A MECHANIC AND SERVICE MANAGER FOR OVER 20 YEARS .CAR, HAD THE RIGHT 5-20 OIL AT OIL CHANGES. CAR HAS 160,000MILES NOW BUT ABOUT EVERY 30,000 MILES IT NEEDS ANOUTHER AXLE HUB.I DROVE PONTIACS FOR YEARS I WORKED IN A PONTIAC GARAGE THE LAST TWO HAD HEAD GASKET PROBLEMS I REPLACED MY SELF. I THINK GM SHOULD HAVE HAD A RECALL ON THESE CARS FOR I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE REPLACING THESE HUBS
SERVICE ENGINE SIGNAL WON'T COME OFF AND MY CAR WON'T CUT OFF
2014 Chevrolet Malibu: questions owners ask
Is the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu reliable?
NHTSA data alone cannot rate reliability, but it shows what owners reported. Owners filed 363 complaints with NHTSA about the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu; the most common categories were engine (127, 35%), electrical system (88, 24.2%), power train (53, 14.6%). There are 6 safety recalls. 19 complaints mention a crash, 8 mention a fire, 17 injuries were reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?
Across 363 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the categories mentioned most often are engine (35% of complaints), electrical system (24.2% of complaints), power train (14.6% of complaints), service brakes (13.5% of complaints), electronic stability control (esc) (9.9% of complaints). One complaint can name several components.
Does the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu have any recalls?
Yes. NHTSA lists 6 recalls for the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu; the most recent (campaign 16V502000, 2016-07-05) concerns Electrical System: Ignition. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer; check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Why is the check engine light on in my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?
55 of the 363 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu (15.2%) describe the check engine light coming on. One owner wrote: "The Auto Stop would engage and then when I put my foot on the accelerator, it stalled out. I would turn the vehicle off and restart it." (NHTSA complaint 11468039, June 2022). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why does my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu stall, lose power or shut off while driving?
53 of the 363 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu (14.6%) describe the engine stalling, losing power or shutting off while driving. One owner wrote: "have a 2014 Malibu with 132,000 miles. . It stalls in traffic, at intersections and stop signs, which is a dangerous safety issue. The Auto Stop will engage and when I put my foot on the accelerator, it stalls out." (NHTSA complaint 11687212, September 2025). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why does my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu idle rough, misfire or hesitate?
19 of the 363 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu (5.2%) describe rough idling, misfires or hesitation when accelerating. One owner wrote: "6 months ago our car’s auto stop/start feature started to malfunction. The car will stall and sputter on the start after coming to a stop. This is very dangerous!" (NHTSA complaint 11562822, December 2023). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why does the auto start-stop system act up on my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?
17 of the 363 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu (4.7%) describe problems with the automatic start-stop system. One owner wrote: "Automatic Start/Stop feature is faulty! When it activates, it prevents the engine from restarting for several minutes. This puts myself and others in my car at a major risk of getting in an accident. I have so far been lucky and avoided any accidents." (NHTSA complaint 11675623, July 2025). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why are the ABS and stability control lights on in my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu?
14 of the 363 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu (3.9%) describe ABS, traction or stability control warnings or faults. One owner wrote: "GOV vehicle was traveling north on the Baltimore Washington Parkway near Interstate 695. The steering and brakes failed, and the driver moved the vehicle safely to the shoulder and exited the vehicle. The vehicle began to smoke and caught fire." (NHTSA complaint 11421170, June 2021). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why won't my 2014 Chevrolet Malibu start?
12 of the 363 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2014 Chevrolet Malibu (3.3%) describe the car failing to start. One owner wrote: "The AutoStop/Start feature malfunctioned while at a busy intersection. The AutoStop engaged but failed to start the engine, once pressure was released from the brake pedal. This has been an issue for about a year now." (NHTSA complaint 11505218, February 2023). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Check your own Malibu
Counts are a starting point, not a verdict: popular models collect more complaints because more of them are on the road, and NHTSA does not verify individual reports. To see whether a recall is still open on your car, enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls (U.S.) or your registration at check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk (UK). Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations and recalls.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint databases (public domain), retrieved October 25, 2026. Model year 2014 only; combines NHTSA's entries for MALIBU and MALIBU ECO EASSIST.