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1 critical safety recall on file — the kind NHTSA opens when crashes, fires, or injuries are documented. 973 owner complaints alongside. Read those first.
Average for the segment. Some recurring trouble spots worth knowing about.
The data says walk unless this exact vehicle has documented proof the steering was repaired or replaced.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
The night of 12/29/2018 about 10pm at an approximate speed of 45mph I experienced a loss of power steering while driving my 2011 Chevrolet malibu home from the mountains and steering became very difficult and we almost ran off of the road down a steep embankment. A service ESC…
My passenger low beam keeps going out. I have gotten it changed 4 times and the last 2 months. No one knows the problem and the bulbs are no t burning out it just stops working. I have spoken to a number of people that have the same year body and make that has been dealing with…
Started the car to go to work . On the screen came up power steering ESC and service traction control, the traction control was also on and the car had no power steering. I had it towed to the dealership they replaced the cable and battery. Was going to go to the store today and…
Once last winter I started my car at 4:30 am to travel to work. I noticed my defroster was not working. My car had been running for 15 minutes and was warmed up. I chose not to drive my car since I could not see out of my windshield. This summer, my car did the same thing…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
If the inflator explodes, sharp metal fragments may strike the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
It's got known weak points. With a reliability score of 6.2 out of 10 based on 973 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu has a higher-than-average rate of reported issues. The areas to watch are listed above. Whether it's worth owning depends on price, condition, and how much repair exposure you can absorb.
On the NHTSA data, the 2011 Chevrolet Malibu is one to avoid unless a specific vehicle proves otherwise. The data says walk unless this exact vehicle has documented proof the steering was repaired or replaced. The record behind that call: 13 fire-related complaints and 2 crash-related complaints on the electrical system; Steering: 210 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 60,070–120,000 mi; Reliability score 6.2/10 — around the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is steering, with 210 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 93,804 miles. Average repair cost runs about $700 at an independent shop.
The steering is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $700 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 93,804 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 973 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $700, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.