Chevrolet has issued a recall order for about 2,100 Malibu sedans from the model years 2022 and 2023 that may have a rare and dangerous defect that could make them unsafe in a crash.
Chevy tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that a front impact bar, “a structural portion of the vehicle frame, may be improperly welded to the front frame rail.” That poses all kinds of problems, from structural instability in an accident to front crash sensors that can’t perform as designed.
The company believes the defect is only on cars built on specific dates, affecting as few as 1% of them.
There’s no easy fix to a problem like that. So, dealers will inspect the recalled vehicles. General Motors will then buy back the car from the owner if the defect is found.
Many cars face recalls at some point in their lives. Automakers try to contact every owner to let them know they need to bring their vehicle in for repairs, but they aren’t always successful in finding everyone. You can check whether your car has any unaddressed recall issues using our recall center.
