2008 Chevrolet Malibu

midsize car / 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2008-12 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LS 4-door

The Chevrolet Malibu was redesigned for the 2008 model year. Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by General Motors.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0715
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	3
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	9
Right (cm)	8
Brake pedal (cm)	5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	2
Right (cm)	1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	3
Rearward (cm)	-3
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	1

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0715
Head
HIC-15	370
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm)	15
Maximum Nij	0.27
Chest maximum compression (mm)	43
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.9
Femur force - right (kN)	6.0
Knee displacement - left (mm)	1
Knee displacement - right (mm)	1
Maximum tibia index - left	0.48
Maximum tibia index - right	0.98
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.4
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	2.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	52
Right	118

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2008-12 models built after February 2008

Tested vehicle: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LT 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Chevrolet Malibu was redesigned for the 2008 model year. Beginning with 2008 models manufactured after February 2008, design changes were made to the front door trim panels to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door).

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag (the blue strip is a kind of liner for the airbag).

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0811
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-9.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0811
Head HIC-15	493
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	48
Lateral force (kN)	2.1
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	32
Average deflection (mm)	30
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.37
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.51
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.8
Acetabulum force (kN)	3.1
Combined force (kN)	4.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.5
L-M moment (Nm)	62
A-P moment (Nm)	17

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0811
Head HIC-15	249
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.1
Compression (kN)	0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	39
Lateral force (kN)	2.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	36
Average deflection (mm)	26
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.92
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.38
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.2
Acetabulum force (kN)	3.0
Combined force (kN)	3.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.4
L-M moment (Nm)	159
A-P moment (Nm)	18

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2008-12 models

Tested vehicle: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu 1LT 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,445 lbs
Peak force	15,063 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.37

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual-power cloth seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual-power cloth seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	64
Distance below top of head (mm)	58
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Fail
Max T1 acceleration (g)	12.1
Head contact time (ms)	92
Force rating	2
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	149
Max neck tension (N)	775

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.