Vehicle report
2005 CHEVROLET MALIBU
This model year
What the record shows
The 2005 Chevrolet Malibu is a midsize car, and the 42nd model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 1964 to 2025.
The EPA rated two configurations: engines from 2.2-litre four-cylinder to 3.5-litre six-cylinder, front-wheel drive only, a single transmission, Automatic 4-spd and running on regular gasoline.
Combined fuel economy ranges from 23 to 25 mpg depending on which one you have.
The federal record holds 974 owner complaints, 5 safety recalls, 1 investigation and 551 service bulletins for it.
Counts are reports, not rates. A complaint is something an owner chose to file; it is unverified and unadjusted for how many of these cars were sold, so the useful comparison is against other model years of the same car. Recalls and investigations carry more weight because a manufacturer or regulator acted on them.
Reading this report
Complaint counts are reports filed with NHTSA, not failure rates. A common model collects more of them than a rare one that breaks more often.