RoadVitals

2016 Chevrolet Malibu Seat belts Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Seat belts reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
9
Latest Sep 17, 2024
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
1%
of 835 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
1
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
1

What this page shows

Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming seat belt

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Seat belts
Filed Sep 17, 2024

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and attempting to fasten the seat belt, the seat belt failed to retract. The failure occurred with the driver’s and passenger’s side front seat belts. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the retracting mechanism had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID
11615042
Incident
Sep 10, 2024
ElectricalSeat belts
Filed Feb 1, 2024

REAR SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT. WILL NOT ENGAGE INTO PARK WHEN CAR IS TURNED OFF. TRUNK, BACK SEAT, HEADLINER, ENTIRE CARPETED FLOOR, FRONT SEATS GET WET WHEN CAR IS WASHED OR IT RAINS. MOLD IS BEGINNING TO GROW INSIDE TRUNK AND HEADLINER.

NHTSA ID
11569220
Incident
Feb 1, 2022
BrakesPowertrain (other)Seat belts
Filed Aug 15, 2023
Crash reported

The contact's finance owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the brake pedal would hardened when depressed without warning. While driving at 15 MPH, the contact crashed into another vehicle due to the hardened brake pedal. The driver side air bag failed to deploy as needed; the air bag slightly popped out of place but did not deploy. A police report was filed; no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the mechanic verified that the vacuum pump needed repair. In addition, the contact mentioned that the vehicle would independently downshift while driving at a high rate of speed as the "engine reduce speed" warning message would appear on the instrument panel. The dealer and the manufacturer were both notified the failures; a case was filed with the manufacturer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

NHTSA ID
11538729
Incident
Aug 14, 2023
Mileage
70,000 mi
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Mar 9, 2022

Purchased vehicle from Car Key Autoplex at 13546 Method St, Dallas TX 75243 (214) 210-9998 in March 2020. Vehicle was involved in previous wreck and owner purchased this vehicle and made repairs. Repairs were verified cause the air bag light stopped coming on. In December 2021 vehicle was involved in a wreck. Auto body shop looked into replacing seat belts. Noticed that seat belts had deployed, one of the seat belts was the wrong one for the vehicle as well as an incorrectly installed bolt for the SRS. Had to replace both seat belts and pretensioners and airbag control module installed ($2,250). Then the auto body shop noticed that pigtails were missing and spliced together. Had this fixed at a dealership for $1,800 along with programming of the airbag control module to the vehicle. Owner of Car Key Autoplex said that vehicle was repaired 100% when it wasn’t. He committed fraud and sold us a vehicle that was unsafe for the road and cost me over $4,000 to fix all of this.

NHTSA ID
11455794
Incident
Mar 13, 2020
Seat belts
Filed Feb 11, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated the driver’s side seat belt was inoperable. The contact attempted several times but the seat belt had seized in place and was not retractable. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the seat belt retractor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ID
11451555
Incident
Feb 7, 2022
Mileage
48,000 mi
Seat belts
Filed Aug 30, 2021

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the front driver’s side seat belt retractor malfunctioned, and the seat belt would not secure the driver. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 60,450.

NHTSA ID
11430975
Incident
Aug 27, 2021
Mileage
60,450 mi
ElectricalSeat beltsSteering
Filed Mar 12, 2021

POWER STEERING IS LOCKING UP WHEN MAKE A TURNAROUND OR FOR A TURN WHEEL IN MOTION. THE CAR WILL BE ON AND WHEN THE POWER STEERING IS ABOUT TO LOSE THE POWER, MY STEREO SCREEN WILL BLACK OUT ALONG WITH THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKING. IT FEELS AS THOUGH MY POWER STEERING IS OUT WHILE MAKING A TURN. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN, ONLY HAPPENS RANDOMLY.

NHTSA ID
11402687
Incident
Feb 27, 2021
Mileage
81,286 mi
ElectricalSeat belts
Filed Jan 10, 2019

WATER LEAKED INTO THE BODY OF THE CAR THROUGH THE CENTER MOUNT STOP LAMP AT THE TOP OF THE REAR WINDOW. EITHER THE GASKET WAS DEFECTIVE, OR IT WAS SIMPLY MISSING FROM THE CAR. OVER TIME, WATER SEEPED INTO THE CAR FROM UNDER THE DRIVERS SEAT. THE HEAT FROM THE SUMMER CAUSED MOLD TO GROW ON THE VEHICLE FLOOR BOARDS AND THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BLET. MOISTURE IN THE CAR CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS. THE CAR IS TOTALED AND CURRENTLY AWAITING INSPECTION AT THE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN MY AREA. *LN*TP THE CONSUMER STATED HE NO LONGER OWNS THE VEHICLE. *JS

NHTSA ID
11166377
Incident
Aug 15, 2018
Mileage
21,593 mi
Seat belts
Filed May 10, 2017
1 injury reported

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 CHEVROLET MALIBU. WHILE THE CONTACT'S GRANDCHILD WAS SEATED IN THE REAR PASSENGER SEAT, THE CONTACT STOPPED THE VEHICLE TO LET THE CHILD OUT OF THE VEHICLE. WHILE THE SEAT BELT WAS UNBUCKLED, THE CHILD BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE SEAT BELT AND WAS UNABLE TO BE REMOVED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT BECAME EXTREMELY TIGHT AROUND THE CHILD'S MIDSECTION. THE SEAT BELT HAD TO BE CUT WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS FOR THE CHILD TO BE RELEASED. THE CHILD SUSTAINED SEVERE BRUISING TO THE CHEST AND ABDOMEN, WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO BE INSPECTED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE SEAT BELT WOULD BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,100.

NHTSA ID
10984692
Incident
May 4, 2017
Mileage
3,100 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .