Total Complaints
1 filings
CHEVROLET METRO · model year
1 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1997CHEVROLETMETRO carries 1 consumer safety complaint in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1997 METRO is electrical system with 1 filings. Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 57 investigation files overlapping the 1997 METRO, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
1 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
I PURCHASED A USED 1997 MALIBU ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO. SINCE I HAVE BROUGHT IT I HAVE HAD TO PUT ALOT OF MONEY INTO IT. MY MAIN CONCERN IS THE THEFT SYSTEM. IT HAS LEFT ME SITTING QUITE A FEW TIMES. I HAVE HAD THE IGNITION REPLACED ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO AND IT LOOKS LIKE I WILL HAVE TO HAVE IT DONE AGAIN. I HAVE ALSO REPLACE CALIBERS AND ABOUT 7 BRAKE PADS SET. I HAVE HAD TO HAVE THE HEAD GASKETS REPLACED AND THE PULLEY FOR THE BELTS. I HOPE YOU LOOK INTO THE THEFT SYSTEM PROBLEM. IT IS GETTING EXPENSIVE TO KEEP THIS CAR GOING. MY SON ALSO HAS A MALIBU AND HE HAS TROUBLE WITH HIS THEFT SYSTEM. I WOULD HOPE CHEVY COMPANY WOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS SINCE WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE KEEPING THEM IN BUSINESS. THANK YOU NORMA BELANGER *TR
Loss of motive power due to engine failure
Loss of Motive Power due to the Battery Energy Control Module
Electric Vehicle Battery Fires
Outboard Front Seat Belt Anchor Cable Failure
Fuel Line Leak
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.