Used 2018 Chevrolet Malibu Sedan Consumer Reviews
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Nice car.
This model is Not available at all dealer. I never knew it existed either...
Rocks!
This car Rocks!
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Love my Malibu!
Its like hittin the EASY button! Everything where I need it to be, works as advertised, sporty, great gas mileage, love the stereo & I'm a hard rock junky. The car is better than my Benz without the $$$ and maintenance nightmares! LOVE it!
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Do not Buy !
The car has major problems! Very dangerous I bought the car brand new with only 6 miles on it few months later it had a recall on the ECM they fixed it but now my car is at 38k and the problem is back again there is no power in the engine it takes forever to catch speed it is dangerous when coming onto the freeway due to lack of acceleration and the car also goes against what I want to do sometimes!! I also don’t like that when I come to a stop or I am on the phone the A/C pressure goes really low and I have to manually turn it back on for it to blow out hard again I do not recommend this car at all I had a Nissan that lasted longer than this and had no major issues until it almost hit 300k and the transmission went out other than that great reliable car! This Malibu made me think differently about Chevy and it’s my first time getting a American car and I don’t recommend!! Never getting American cars again I will stick to my foreign vehicles!
Horrible
Got a 2018 Chevy Malibu , Engine keep coming on then it will say engine reduce power is on. Now I'm hearing a noise coming from the bad. I final took it back to Chevy dealer and they give me a list of things I should do. Just to find out on youtube the noise is the shocks. A washer needs to be place there.This car is a hazard to everyone driving it. Chevy needs to do a recall on all these 2018 that are having these issue.
Decent Ride
I picked this up right as the '19 models were about to come out because there was a nice discount. I was also driving a 2000(!) Malibu at the time that was literally about to destroy itself. But before this, it was a freaking tank for ages. Anyhow, the car has been solid since I've owned it. Not perfect, but solid. Pros and cons: Pros: 1) Quiet and sleek 2) USB ports and touchscreen are nice. 3) Loads of room inside 4) Passable MPG 5) Backup camera has changed the way that I drive. 6) Decently priced Cons: 1) Acceleration is acceptable, but not anything great. 2) Gear shifting is uh, let's say it does shift, but sometimes you really notice it trying harder than it should have to.
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Beautiful Chevy
It’s very tech but nice and reliable vehicle
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Nice try GM! Love your trucks but HATE your cars.
Traded in an '06 Acura TL because my mileage was high. It was very reliable, just didn't like the dash cracks and failed Bluetooth module in the roof draining the battery after a couple days of sitting. Thought I'd buy a new 2018 Malibu because I liked the last Malibu we rented on a trip, big mistake! Not too long into ownership I experienced the dreaded shift into park notification on the dash and the car wouldn't shut off (push forward really hard to get it to go away). There's a good YouTube video showing why that happens and how to fix it (poor design). Then it had trouble detecting my key fob. Developed a low tapping noise right after purchasing which for Chevy's is common (lifter), but the last day I drove it that tap was very loud after I had already made it to work. My only goal was to get home after leaving and my husband couldn't just leave work to come rescue me. No check engine light when I left and oil level was good. Made it less than 5 miles from home and got a sudden engine performance reduced notification on my dash with a check engine light, car still drove fine so my thought was just make it home and throw a scanner on it, went one more mile south and the brake pedal was rock hard and the car was trying to shut itself off, thankfully nobody was near me and I changed lanes, pressed on the pedal with the full weight of my body and parked it in a lot. Tried to restart it and it wouldn't, but it kept trying until I pushed the button again to try and stop it from starting (sounded awful). Didn't touch the button again and had to call for a tow. Was contemplating taking it to the dealer and even set up two appointments at two different dealerships, but I used to own a shop and I'm not dealing with the diagnostic charge bull when I could very easily do it myself and with all dealerships being short staffed right now (thanks COVID!) I would have had to wait weeks for a diagnosis anyway - if they got it right. Scanned the codes and did my homework - ladies and gentlemen, if you get a P0556 code that is the ONLY code you need to be focused on. The vacuum pump controls the brakes and a few other things, and it is a cheap part manufactured in China. When it fails, large shards of metal will be ejected into your motor under the valve cover. This could mean engine replacement worst case scenario if many things are damaged, plus replacing the pump itself. If you're lucky, ripping the valve cover off and removing the metal pieces/doing a pressurized flush while correcting the timing might work. Oh yeah, drop your oil pan while you're at it cause sure enough you'll find pieces there too. All major work nonetheless. Wanna guess if the replacement pump is improved? It is to a certain degree. These cars are known to sludge up internally and the wise folks at GM decided to remove a mesh screen in an oil passage on the pump to increase flow. This is not the only part they quietly improved oil flow on, and if you change the timing components you'll see what I'm talking about. Is the car fully repaired? No, after all of that work I still have codes in spite of the engine sounding better than new (tap is gone gone gone which makes me wonder if the car was damaged since birth) and driving fine but I don't trust it. I refuse to sink anymore money into it because people have had multiple vacuum pumps fail on them. Had I been just 1/4 mile down the road I could have wound up in a lake. This car is not safe, teenagers wouldn't have the know how to prevent a collision like I do. GM should be ashamed of themselves. Also look up gas pedal warranties, they did that for a reason. I plan to trade it in on a Honda product ASAP, and I refuse to buy anything with a vacuum pump ever again. Beware though, other high end manufacturers are implementing the same design, but maybe their parts are higher quality so perhaps they'll last longer. Mileage at the point of failure? 56,000 miles with most oil changes done at the dealership using free oil changes and My Chevrolet Rewards points and a few done at home since I wasn't trying to catch COVID. Still owe quite a bit on this car, so getting rid of it will be a struggle. And I'm sure someone will fix it and sell it, just like all the other Malibu's in this year range. Don't buy this car, and especially don't buy it used or you'll wind up with my reject or someone like me with the same issues.
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Solid, Comfortable Transport
Be ready to have a classic sedan experience. High points Comfortable seating in all five positions Android Auto via corded external device well implemented (no experience with Apple Auto) HVAC more than adequate for southern plains summers and winters Capless fuel fill Adequate acceleration Smooth and decisive shifting transmission Superior braking Quiet interior Sound system is good Backup camera works well even in low light Driver information center has a large variety of data about the vehicle available Qi charging pocket is large enough to accommodate most phones, my Nokia 9 Pureview and LG 8 Thinq will fit, my HP Elite 3x does not fit With back seats folded down there is a lot of space for stuff Fuel mileage is excellent, 40+ mpg on highway at 70-80 mph, good but not stellar in town ~24 mpg Low Points Driver side view mirror not wide enough to totally eliminate blind spot Replacing engine air filter more work than it should be Glove box and console do not lock No immediately visible way to open deck lid without key fob Bluetooth menu is not straight forward; has no provision for connecting an already paired device which isn't auto-connecting. USB, audio-in connector area has inadequate lighting Will not fit a two drawer metal filling cabinet in passenger compartment Door header trim is gloss and shows fingerprints, a textured trim (like on a Sonata) does not I've put about 11,000 miles on this vehicle in three years. Apart from oil changes and recalls it has required service one time - a switch in the transmission needed to be replaced because it failed, symptom was the alert "Shift into Park" when it was in Park. I would buy another Malibu if I needed to replace this one.
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Not reliable
Too many issues for the age and miles of the car.