2016 Chevrolet Malibu Service Brakes Problems
Owners have filed 94 complaints with NHTSA about service brakes problems on the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, 11% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 54,500 miles. The words owners use most often: “vacuum pump” (20% of reports).
- 94service brakes complaints
- 54,500median miles at failure
- 9mention a crash
- 2mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 34%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Vacuum pump: mentioned in 19 of 94 complaints (20%)
- Brake pedal depressed: mentioned in 12 of 94 complaints (13%)
- Hard stop: mentioned in 6 of 94 complaints (6%)
- Power reduced: mentioned in 5 of 94 complaints (5%)
At what mileage do service brakes problems happen?
Based on 56 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 94 complaints, 9 mention a crash, 2 an injury.
Chevrolet Malibu service brakes complaints by model year
| Model year | Service Brakes complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Malibu | 1 | 9% | — |
| 2024 Malibu | 4 | 9% | — |
| 2023 Malibu | 3 | 4% | — |
| 2022 Malibu | 5 | 5% | — |
| 2021 Malibu | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2020 Malibu | 42 | 21% | 57,000 |
| 2019 Malibu | 22 | 11% | 68,000 |
| 2018 Malibu | 61 | 9% | 24,112 |
| 2017 Malibu | 68 | 10% | 56,000 |
| 2016 Malibu | 94 | 11% | 54,500 |
| 2015 Malibu | 16 | 6% | 40,000 |
| 2014 Malibu | 42 | 12% | 52,000 |
| 2013 Malibu | 44 | 5% | 55,640 |
| 2012 Malibu | 66 | 7% | 51,150 |
| 2011 Malibu | 38 | 4% | 75,000 |
| 2010 Malibu | 184 | 13% | 73,400 |
| 2009 Malibu | 142 | 9% | 75,000 |
| 2008 Malibu | 62 | 6% | 88,000 |
| 2007 Malibu | 36 | 4% | 104,669 |
| 2006 Malibu | 50 | 4% | 84,000 |
| 2005 Malibu | 43 | 4% | 112,300 |
| 2004 Malibu | 30 | 3% | 100,000 |
| 2003 Malibu | 14 | 2% | 84,000 |
| 2002 Malibu | 11 | 2% | 82,000 |
| 2001 Malibu | 6 | 1% | 125,000 |
| 2000 Malibu | 8 | 1% | 170,000 |
| 1999 Malibu | 4 | 1% | 155,000 |
| 1998 Malibu | 4 | 0% | 80,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists service brakes for the 2016 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.
Vacuum pump failure causing hard brake pedal which made near to impossible to brake safely and properly that lead to timing chain issues
The brake vacuum pump broke, causing my brakes to go rock hard and pieces fell down into the camshaft, causing engine damage
On December 16, 2025 the check engine light and service stabiltrek warning light appeared on my 2016 Chevy Malibu Hybrid. On December 17, 2015 I took the car the Capital Cheverolet service dept who has been servicing my car regularly for the past five years. They performed a complete diagnostics on…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2016 Chevrolet Malibus have service brakes problems?
No. NHTSA has 94 owner complaints about service brakes for the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu (11% of the 839 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 2016 Chevrolet Malibu service brakes?
No recall currently lists service brakes for this vehicle.
At what mileage do service brakes problems start?
The median reported mileage is 54,500 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about service brakes problems on the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu?
The most frequent phrase is “vacuum pump”, in 19 of 94 complaints, followed by “brake pedal depressed” (12).
Other 2016 Chevrolet Malibu problems
See all 2016 Chevrolet Malibu problems or service brakes problems across all Malibu years.