1998 Chevrolet Malibu Exterior Lighting Problems
Owners have filed 79 complaints with NHTSA about exterior lighting problems on the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu, 8% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 45,000 miles.
- 79exterior lighting complaints
- 45,000median miles at failure
- 1mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 40%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
At what mileage do exterior lighting problems happen?
Based on 11 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 79 complaints, 1 mention a crash, 1 a fire.
Chevrolet Malibu exterior lighting complaints by model year
| Model year | Exterior Lighting complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Malibu | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2022 Malibu | 2 | 2% | 1,900 |
| 2020 Malibu | 1 | 1% | 61,000 |
| 2019 Malibu | 4 | 2% | 16,180 |
| 2018 Malibu | 9 | 1% | 800 |
| 2017 Malibu | 21 | 3% | 51,888 |
| 2016 Malibu | 19 | 2% | 41,500 |
| 2015 Malibu | 4 | 1% | 39,346 |
| 2014 Malibu | 5 | 1% | 35,000 |
| 2013 Malibu | 28 | 3% | 70,000 |
| 2012 Malibu | 202 | 22% | 99,750 |
| 2011 Malibu | 130 | 13% | 103,000 |
| 2010 Malibu | 194 | 14% | 96,573 |
| 2009 Malibu | 172 | 11% | 94,236 |
| 2008 Malibu | 106 | 11% | 90,000 |
| 2007 Malibu | 29 | 3% | 105,000 |
| 2006 Malibu | 63 | 6% | 72,759 |
| 2005 Malibu | 153 | 16% | 76,500 |
| 2004 Malibu | 84 | 7% | 66,000 |
| 2003 Malibu | 28 | 5% | 80,000 |
| 2002 Malibu | 143 | 25% | 61,000 |
| 2001 Malibu | 108 | 15% | 63,600 |
| 2000 Malibu | 241 | 26% | 67,000 |
| 1999 Malibu | 58 | 7% | 60,000 |
| 1998 Malibu | 79 | 8% | 45,000 |
| 1997 Malibu | 40 | 9% | 74,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists exterior lighting for the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
The complaint is for the electronic ignition and the taillights and brake lights. The brake lights and tail lights have already been fixed twice, i am told it is an electrical problem, they work when they want to. This is a problem at night when i have no tail lights or when the brake lights don't…
Tail lights on almost all chev. Malibu's are bad mostly on the right sides if you going down the road look for yourself almost always they have at least one burned out light. I own two my kids drive and almost every time they wash them or it storms i have too replace bulbs the tail light fills with…
Dt*: the contact stated while driving and depressing the brakes for any length of time the brakes light fail. The lights over heat and smoke then explode causing them to fail. The vehicle has not been inspected nor has the manufacturer been alerted. *ak
Frequently asked questions
Do all 1998 Chevrolet Malibus have exterior lighting problems?
No. NHTSA has 79 owner complaints about exterior lighting for the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu (8% of the 976 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu exterior lighting?
No recall currently lists exterior lighting for this vehicle.
At what mileage do exterior lighting problems start?
The median reported mileage is 45,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
Other 1998 Chevrolet Malibu problems
See all 1998 Chevrolet Malibu problems or exterior lighting problems across all Malibu years.