2012 Chevrolet Malibu exterior lighting problems
202 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the exterior lighting on the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu — 22% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“Was driving home on the parkway and the headlights shut off on their own had to call for roadside assistance to get my vehicle home they will work on dim but brights will not work and if I drive for more than an hour and a half they will not work at all the speed sensor keeps going bad after having…”
filed Feb 22, 2026
“Passenger side headlamp burned out took off bumper to inspect and the wiring pigtail to the headlight has melted causing it to malfunction so now in order to make it work you have to disconnect the daytime running lights so that the melting stops this is supposedly happened to a lot of Malibu's why…”
filed Jun 1, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Exterior Lighting problems in other Malibu years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 Malibu | 1 | 2% |
| 2022 Malibu | 2 | 2% |
| 2020 Malibu | 1 | 1% |
| 2019 Malibu | 4 | 2% |
| 2018 Malibu | 9 | 1% |
| 2017 Malibu | 21 | 3% |
| 2016 Malibu | 19 | 2% |
| 2015 Malibu | 4 | 1% |
| 2014 Malibu | 5 | 1% |
| 2013 Malibu | 28 | 3% |
| 2011 Malibu | 130 | 13% |
| 2010 Malibu | 194 | 14% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.