2017 Chevrolet Malibu
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 724 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 14th highest complaint count among 26 Malibu model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 17 involved a crash and 4 involved a fire. 16 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Seat belts, critical fastenersAug 20, 2021
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2021 Chevrolet Malibu and 2019-2021 Cadillac XT4 vehicles. The rear seat belt retractors may be improperly secured with loose or missing fasteners.
An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Dealers will inspect and tighten the rear seat belt retractors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212333380.
Campaign 21V649000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationJun 14, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. During servicing, a Passenger Presence System (PPS) may have been installed that was not correctly calibrated to the vehicle's seat type. As a result, the PPS may not properly identify an adult passenger from a child passenger in the front passenger seat, potentially causing the air bag to not deploy when it should, or causing the air bag to deploy when it shouldn't.
In the event of a crash, improper air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger PPS seat service kit, free of charge. The recall began August 7, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18208.
Campaign 18V400000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpMay 31, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.
A damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.
Campaign 18V358000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, side/windowDec 2, 2016
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2017 Malibu vehicles manufactured on November 10, 2016. The right-hand rear side air bag inflator manifold may have insufficient welds.
Insufficient welds could cause the inflator to separate and propel air bag debris into the cabin during a crash. Also, the inflator could fail to inflate during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear side air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began on January 25, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 16146.
Campaign 16V870000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
144 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Apr 12, 2024
Unknown. Original owner.24,000 miles. When car turned off, shift to park message occurs. Required 10 on off cycles to turn car off. Dangerous since could be draining battery.
Power train, Engine, Jan 16, 2024
Engine reduced power while driving in traffic car gets no power to accelerate and engine light also on.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Oct 2, 2023
Error message reads "Engine Power Reduced". I was on the highway and suddenly the engine gives out and only lets me go to a max capacity of 20 mph. I able to safely remove myself to the side of the freeway. A week later without moving my vehicle I checked to see the status of my car and the error message removed itself. It's been over a year now with my engine power coming and going, just as fast as it comes, it goes-- making driving very unreliable and unsafe to step onto the road. Apparently I'm not the only one with this concern according to [XXX] , a class action lawsuit has been charged against Chevrolet in The Rothschild v. General Motors LLC Chevy Malibu Class Action Lawsuit is filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York under case number [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Power train, Electrical system, Sep 13, 2023
In 2019 I took my vehicle under warranty to the purchasing dealership to fix a "shift to park" reading after the vehicle is parked. It precludes turning off the car. Repeatedly restarting the car and shifting to park and/or jiggling the controller in park usually stopped the reading. The dealer replaced the control shifter, which fixed the problem for many years. This August, the problem started recurring and I have been attempting to make an appointment in the last week, but none of the local dealers say they can repair this for some time. Most cannot even diagnose the problem for a week or two.
Power train, Aug 31, 2023
I get a notification for shift to park and I can’t put car in park. I’ve paid for the repair once at about $500 and it’s doing it again.it’s clearly an issue because many people have put complaints in and the dealerships are seeing it frequently. Is this a recall or will gm reimburse me since clearly it’s a major issue for this make and model.
Power train, Jun 22, 2023
Fail to ingage into park Car can roll away if not staying park mode. Yes dealer Inspected and repaired by dealer Dashboard stater shifter not engaged, first appeared 10/27/2022
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Jun 12, 2023
I was driving my car at a normal rate of speed when all of a sudden it slowed down to a crawl and almost caused an accident, reduced engine power and engine came one after getting the codes they were 2122 and 2097
Power train, May 13, 2023
Vehicle has trouble turning off once in park. Vehicle doesn't acknowledge the shift change in order to allow the vehicle to shut off the engine.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, May 11, 2023
My car Engine failed on me and I have Taken this car Back to dealership over and over again and they kept telling me nothing was wrong and kept clearing my codes on the car and now out of a car I have to still pay on this car cost me 22,000 dollars I bought the car with 34,000 miles in Dec of 2019 and have had problems since the first power loss i cant remember exact date I found out this car had a recall and at 3,300 miles with the valve and gotten fixed I had loss of power with the gas pedal which was also recall car felt like it was gonna stop on me multiple times with power loss engine was riding rough I wold smell a burning smell at times my shift into park as well needed fixed the dealership said I needed a new computer and they couldn't do nothing about it I even Contacted GM and nothing was done before my car engine went out on me every time I took the car in the codes that came up was in the car history which i asked why do codes keep pop up in history if you keep clearing them that means something wrong and they couldn't give me a answer My extended warranty denied my claim they had a inspector come out and take a look due to consumption of oil and bent valve is a part in the engine they wont cover and I even asked my advisor all the times I brought my car in this could of been issue and he said possibly I have all my invoices as well have I dont have a way to upload them at the moment
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Apr 10, 2023
2017 Chevy Malibu has P2138 showing up.. I was on the highway loss half the power to my car, almost causing a major accident, went from 65 mph to 30mph in seconds.. This is a safety issue & needs to be address ASAP!! I have my vehicle at the dealership, the service teams seems to have no clue that there is an issue with the mailbu's !! The P2138 is defined as “Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch “D”/”E” Voltage Correlation.” It is triggered when the vehicle's Engine Control Module (ECM) detects that the signals from the two throttle position sensors or the two accelerator pedal position sensors don't correlate.
Power train, Service brakes, Jan 24, 2023
When parking car we place the shifter in park, and psh the button to turn off car it states to “Put shifter in Park” after wiggling the shifter that is clearly in park the car will shut off. Also the breaks will pulsate at slower speeds like the ABS is kicking in, but is not the case. Along with the pulsating there are loud thumping noises. Car today when driving did same thing the said “reducing engine power” almost made it home then completely died on me in middle of road. Was told it could be because of bad vacuum pump, brake booster sensor, and brake booster by my mechanic. He said in newer cars this would prevent the car from starting.
Power train, Jan 20, 2023
When the vehicle is in park and you try to turn it off with the start/stop button an on dash error code of ‘Shift to Park’ appears even though the vehicle is clearly in park. You are not able to turn the vehicle off. I am very concerned this could cause major safety issues! When I searched for it, it appears a lot of GM owners are having the same issue. Please issue a recall!
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Jan 13, 2023
Driving vehicle like normal and then the check engine light comes on with the stabilitrak light, and get message "reduced engine power". Car goes down to less than 50 miles per hour and is struggling to go must faster while I am on the freeway. The RPMs keep going higher and higher even though the car is not going very fast. Get home and let it rest. Keep having same issue on and off past two weeks. Sometimes it comes on and goes off, has been on past three days acting the same way. Check engine light says Pedal Sensor issue. Known recall for it listed with letter sent out in 2019, but of course this was only if you were having the issue at the time (which I didn't) and it is only covering for cars under 150K miles. My car has 192K miles, so they will no longer cover it, even though it is a known issue has been for some time now! It is very expensive and unfortunate that they will not cover this issue regardless of miles, knowing that this can happen to the 2017 Chevy Malibu's at any time. Still driving it the way it is. Did try to clean out the Throttle body and see if that helped, but issue still is there. Will try to replace sensor at some point and see what happens.
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Dec 1, 2022
ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON ALONG WITH DECREASED ENGINE POWER LIGHT. FELT THE TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTING. SPEED WENT FROM 50 DOWN TO 20 WHILE ON AN EXPRESSWAY AND I HAD TO PULL OFF THE ROAD AND SHUT IT DOWN. WAITED AWHILE, TURNED IT BACK ON AND IT CONTINUED SEVERAL TIMES TO DOWNSHIFT. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, HAD TO WAIT A FEW WEEKS FOR THE PART AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THANK GOD I WAS NOT IN THE PASSING LANE OR THERE WOULD 'VE BEEN A VERY BAD ACCIDENT.
Power train, Engine, Sep 24, 2022
Contined chevk engine light concerns despite paying for repairs multiple times at chevy dealership. Always issues with throttle body and PCM. Additionally receiving codes for reduced engine power/speed reduction while driving and frequent messages of "shift to park," when already parked.
Power train, Sep 14, 2022
When shutting off vehicle, will get an alert to put vehicle in park. Even though you’re in park. Engine will shut off but everything else stays on. Car will continuous beep. You then have to turn car on and off until message goes away.
Power train, Sep 12, 2022
Shifting into park, transmission control assembly. Cannot put the car into park, have to fiddle with the shifter to get the car to turn off, drains my battery. Have to make certain car is off and in park before putting gas into the car. First incident was in April, and now ongoing every time I try to turn the car off. Error Message: Shift to Park
Power train, Aug 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle lost motive power and electrical power. The contact stated she was able to jump start the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The battery was replaced and the stability trac warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 22,000.
Power train, Aug 22, 2022
The car will show shift to park. It has been repaired before. GM is aware of this but it can happen multiple times. It will cause the battery to drain faster, the starter to go faster due to starting the car over and over.
Power train, Aug 22, 2022
In order to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle must be in park. I have experienced several incidences where, despite being in park (shifter is moved all the way forward and the “P” is red on the dash display), the vehicle will not turn off and states to shift to park to turn off. Sometimes I can just return the car to drive and then put it in to park again, but I have had several incidences where I was unable to turn off my vehicle after 10 or more tries to get it in to “park”.
Power train, Aug 11, 2022
The contact's mother owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(P) however, the “Shift to Park” message was displayed, preventing the vehicle from turning off. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth and then shifted into park(P) before the proper gear was recognized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.
Power train, Jul 19, 2022
When the vehicle is in park and turned off, there is a message that appears on the dashboard that reads, "Shift to Park," despite the gear shift in the park position. This is a safety hazard because the vehicle will not turn off and will continue to use the vehicle's battery unless the "Shift to Park" message is cleared from the dash board. To clear the message, one must press the gear shift button several times or wiggle the gear shifter. My spouse spent 10 minutes doing this earlier today and was almost late for a doctor's appointment. If my spouse did not clear the "Shift to Park" message, my spouse would have risked having a dead battery after the doctor's appointment and would have had to call for a ride home or walk in weather with heat indices in the mid-90 degree F. The "Shift to Park" message has showed up on the dashboard with increased frequency over the past several weeks and Chevy should issue a recall to remedy this issue at no cost to consumers. This is a known issue by Chevy, according to GMauthority.com, as a class action lawsuit has been filed because Chevy has not acted to fix a known problem in their vehicles. I am writing to add my complaint to the list complaints this agency has received regarding this issue. Please promptly issue a recall to remedy this issue.
Power train, Jul 18, 2022
For the past almost year, my vehicle states to shift to park b ut it is in park. This is happening on a regular basis. I should not have to sit there and wrestle with the transmission shifter to get this to turn off. This has caused my battery to die and now my transmission is slipping. This is a known issue for several models and is becoming a serious issue for me.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Jul 11, 2022
Shifting delays that cause loss of power for the past 2 years. I would have reported sooner but did not know how until now.
Power train, Jul 10, 2022
PROBLEM WITH THE SHIFTER. PLACED IT IN PARK. MESSAGE CENTER SAYS TO PUT IT IN PARK. HAD TO JIGGLE THE SHIFTER A FEW TIMES, THEN THE MESSAGE WOULD STOP. SOMETIMES, I HAD TO RESTART THE CAR AND TAKE IT OUT OF PARK AND BACK IN. IT WOULD HAPPEN ONCE IN AWHILE AND NOW MORE FREQUENTLY . TOOK IT TO A CHEVY DEALER AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE SHIFTER.