47 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu cite seat belts, 5% of all 907 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.
“My airbag warning light and notification have came on and sometimes seat belt lights come on unexpectedly and will not go off I feel like this is a safety issue”
“I have tried since July of 2025 to have a recall fixed I have been in contact with multiple dealerships for Chevy and none have contacted me to fix my recall I've left messages and still no response”
“First, there is a problem with the transmission. The car will stall or stop abruptly while driving. Second, the automatic turn signals do not work. Third, the driver safety belt does tightly secure the driver.”
“The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while using the driver's side seat belt, the attachment on the seat belt fractured. The seat belt became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the seat belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.”
“The cable that connects the drivers side seatbelt to the frame of the car completely severed in half (possibly due to repeated bending/fatigue when buckling the seatbelt). If the automobile was in an accident before the cable completely severed in half it surely would have broken in an accident and the driver could have been seriously injured. General Motors has a special recall on this issue but it does not seem to be enough to prevent the problem from happening. The seatbelt cable was inspected by GM when the special recall was issued but nothing was done at that time to correct the problem - it was only inspected. If GM is just going to inspect the cable for wear and is not willing to replace it, then perhaps these seatbelt cables should be inspected on a yearly frequency. It does not seem that a one time inspection is good enough. The cable may just be inspected one time and not indicate enough wear to be replaced and then later deteriorate and completely break as mine did. The seatbelt cable on my car has now been replaced by the dealer.”
“AS TIME IS GOING ON THE STEERING IS GETTING LESS CONTROLLABLE. I HAVE YET TO GET INTO AN ACCIDENT BUT I CAN FEEL THE CAR SWERVING A BIT WHEN I'M STEERING (SWERVING I DIDN'T DO). I LOOKED UP MY VIN ON ISEECARS.COM TO SEE IF THERE WAS A RECALL AT ALL WITH THE STEERING AND THERE WAS IN 2014 . I BOUGHT THIS CAR LAST YEAR SO I AM THE OWNER AND AM NOT SURE HOW TO GO ABOUT THIS. I GOT IT CHECKED OUT AND THE MECHANIC SAID THERE IS DEFINITELY AN ISSUE WITH THE RACK AND PINION AND SHAFT . ALSO MY PASSENGER SEATBELT LIGHT REMAINS ON AT ALL TIMES AND THERE HAVE BEEN MINOR ISSUES WITH THEM.”
Showing 6 of 47 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured April 8, 2010, to October 11, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cables that connect the seat belts to the vehicle at the outside of the driver seat and the front passenger seat may be bent from being sat on while entering the vehicle. This repeated bending may result in the cable breaking.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.