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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2007 Chevrolet Malibu Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
47about this part
Share
5%of 977 total for the year
Median mileage
88,920miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 47 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2007 Chevrolet Malibu, 5% of the 977 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 88,920 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I am having issues with my transmission shift cable. Says its in park but the vehicle is not in park. I am also having issues with my brake lights go out when I step on the brakes and come back on when I let off the brake. Being told my vehicle is not part of the ongoing GM recalls for my model year and make.”

NHTSA complaint #10605408, filed 2014-06, 105,000 miles

“When turning on the car and stationary and attempting to shift the automatic transmission with foot on brake gear shifter does not move. Requires several attempts and extreme brake pressure to get the gear shifted to move into reverse or drive. This results in the inability to move the vehicle to begin driving. There is a recall for this exact same problem on this same make, model, and year but my vehicle is not included when my VIN is entered.”

NHTSA complaint #10993664, filed 2017-06, 87,000 miles

“After shifting the car into park on a small hill, the car began rolling backwards. I applied the brakes and verified the shifter and the dash display said the car was in park. When I released the brakes the car again began moving backwards as if in reverse, despite the indicators showing the car in park. After several attempts I managed to shift the car into drive and repark the car, which then went into the correct gear.”

NHTSA complaint #10604928, filed 2014-06, 135,600 miles

“As I pulled into my driveway, I shifted my car in park and when I released off of the brake the vehicle started to move backwards.I shifted back into drive, then park and it was in neutral. Once more I shifted to drive then park and it stayed in drive. The transmission shift cable had snapped.”

NHTSA complaint #10451846, filed 2012-03, 90,841 miles

“My 4 year old son was in the vehicle with me helping to clean out the car when he was able to put the car into drive without any keys or anything. Luckily, I was in the car and was able to get the car back into park but only after it hit a fence and damaged the vehicle because of this issue. I am able to put the vehicle into drive while the car was not running and there were no keys in it. There have also been several instances where I was able to leave it in drive after turning the car off and taking the keys out. …”

NHTSA complaint #10342944, filed 2010-07, 50,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202518%
2024614%
2023811%
20222424%
20212831%
20205930%
20196835%
201817124%
201713920%
201616620%
20153111%
20145215%
2013546%
2012495%
201111211%
201013310%
20091218%
2008869%
2007475%
2006434%
2005657%
2004646%
2003132%
200251%
2001183%
2000263%
1999213%
1998505%
199792%

Other parts of the 2007 Chevrolet Malibu

Steering
667 complaints
Electrical system
113 complaints
Fuel system
87 complaints
Air bags
75 complaints
Brakes
51 complaints
Vehicle speed control
31 complaints
Exterior lighting
29 complaints
Engine
28 complaints
Electronic stability control
22 complaints
Suspension
22 complaints
Other or unknown
18 complaints
Seats
16 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2007 Chevrolet Malibu

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology