Other engine problem on the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
4 crashes 1 fire 3 injuries 1 death 9 of the 226 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu report other engine problem at a median of 50,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 76,000 miles, from 133 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 17,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 94,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 76,664 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
29% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17,400 miles | 30,000 miles | 50,000 miles | 76,000 miles | 94,064 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 4 a crash, 1 a fire, 3 an injury and 1 a fatality are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 27 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 48,000 miles, and latest on the 2004 at 105,000 miles.
By volume the 2016 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 chevrolet malibu. While driving 45 MPH, the speed reduced inadvertently and a message that the speed reduced to 25 MPH appeared. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact stated that onstar sent an email advising that a critical engine and transmission repaired were needed. The dealer was unable to duplicate the issue. The issued recurred after leaving the dealer and the vehicle reduce speed and check engine indicators illuminated. The contact was unable to drive above 20 MPH. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who stated that they would need to contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 1,695.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 chevrolet malibu. While driving various speeds, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The issue occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, but the diagnosis was unknown. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an auto parts store where a diagnostic test produced code p2097 (post catalyst fuel trim system too rich bank 1). The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 5,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 chevrolet malibu. While driving 70 MPH, the engine power would reduce and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. Also, the reduce power message displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a undetermined failure, but the vehicle was rewired. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the accelerator pedal was replaced. The issue occurred several times with different repairs, but with an undetermined diagnosis. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 3,200.
Also reported on the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
Other electrical problem
Other powertrain problem
Other speed control problem
Other driver assistance problem
Other brake problem
Tail light, brake light or signal failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 226 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu?
Across 133 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 50,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 76,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu?
226 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 144 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed