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
724 reports, newest first.
Engine, Jun 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the reduced speed warning light and the check engine warning light were illuminated. The vehicle decelerated and the brake pedal became stiff while depressed, while the RMP’s fluctuated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the vacuum pump was replaced; however, the contact stated that the RPM’s was still fluctuating. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving, if the accelerator pedal was not depressed, the vehicle would shut off. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 60 MPH while driving. The contact stated that a DTC code for the camshaft was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Jun 7, 2023
Reduce Power Engine appears on the dash board. The car starts slowing down, I can’t speed up, I Have to park on the side of the heavy traffic in the Highway. I have to wait around 5 minutes and then drive. I still have the engine symbol on. This happens regularly like 2 to 3 times a week.
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Jun 7, 2023
My car has reduce engine speed. I’m driving on the highway and out of nowhere the car shots down and a symbol appears on my dashboard that says Reduce Engine Speed. Literally the car slows down to a minimal speed until I can’t drive anymore. I have to stop and turn off the car for 5 minutes until I can turn it on and drive to my destination in a reduce speed.
Service brakes, Hydraulic, Jun 5, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH and attempting to depress the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to stop as needed. The contact was able to get to the side of the road but ended up in a ditch which stopped the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the brakes had failed and that the vacuum pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, due to the manufacturing of the braking system, the damages was extensive, and the vehicle was undrivable. The contact stated that additional parts were needed to fix the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 121,000.
Electrical system, May 28, 2023
the secondary battery that sits in the trunk, above the back driver side tire had a short. the cable bunt out and my car reduced speed and it had me pull over. I did not know this is what had happened until i drove it again and i could no longer start it. the shift knob is locked and cant put it on drive or neutral. initializing wait to shift, theft deterrent system, transport mode on, stabilitrak, among other things popped up. Had that short sparked up into an actual fire, yes, my life could have been at risk as the car could have caught on fire. Due to it being a long weekend (memorial day weekend) I couldn't take it to a Chevy dealer. I am on an out of town trip for my kids soccer tournament. i currently have it sitting a tow yard waiting to take it to my house, and then towed to Chevy dealer in Hemet, CA, where I live.
Other or unspecified, May 21, 2023
shift to park message appears most often
Service brakes, May 16, 2023
Brake failure, turning into my parents driveway I had to swerve to miss a truck and drove in the yard because of it. It has been diagnosed a faulty brake vacuum pump that caused this failure. I am getting it looked at by a mechanic of Friday and hope that this issue didn't cause further problems with the engine/camshaft. From doing research it seems that many other people have experienced the same issue with the same year vehicle (2017 Chevrolet Malibu). I have also in the past had to get my car fixed by a GM mechanic for the issue of the car giving the "reduced power mode" and basically shutting off while driving down the street. That has now been fixed but was also an issue GM was aware of but I never received a letter or anything about the issue or that there was a recall on it.
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
Other or unspecified, Engine, May 1, 2023
I purchased a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu LT for my son Memorial Day weekend in 2019. The first night we got the vehicle home it rained overnight. We checked the trunk and found water in the trunk. After a search online we found that this was a known issue for the Malibu yet Chevrolet/GM did not issue a recall. After putting pressure on the dealership that sold the vehicle to us they agreed to send us to a Chevrolet dealership to have the issue fixed at no charge. Last Monday, April 24, 2023, my son was driving his vehicle and the StabiliTrak came on and his car would not accelerate. He took the car into the dealership and they determined his pistons were cracked and it would be $6,900.00 to repair the pistons/engine. After doing an internet search I found a letter on a commercial attorney's website and on the GM website that was sent to Malibu and Cruz customer's in 2017. The piston damage was a known issue. The letter from 2017 stated it was a misfiring of an ECM module that could lead to piston damage. Owners of the Malibu and the Chevy Cruz were given to March 31, 2019, to come in and have the module reprogrammed and new oil placed in the vehicle. We bought the care at the end of May 2019 so there was no way to know of this issue. There was no recall so the information was not readily found. I did not find out this was a known issue until I did the Google search last week. I have reached out to Chevrolet and filed a claim. Chevrolet at first said they could maybe pay 20% for the repairs. They should be paying 100% due to the fact they knew of the issue and should have issued a recall.
Suspension, Apr 13, 2023
Rear suspension knuckles damaged. Make loud clunking noise when entering/exiting vehicle and anytime I ride over bumps
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.
Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 29, 2023
bought this kind of new and while still under warranty reduced power engine light came on & engine is reduced to 20 mph have to pull over shut it off wait a few minutes and start it back up and then it will be all right for a while we called dealer made an appointment but by the time the appointment came around the light had gone out they said the light needs to be on in order for them to diagnose the problem the light goes off after about 50 miles after this happens so we could never get it into them within that 50 mile time frame we gave up after a while now it's happening more often and I hear that maybe a class action suit coming they don't seem to be able to solve the problem. we still own this 2017 Chevy Malibu and it is still doing it today.
Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance, Mar 24, 2023
Back left door will not open, from inside or outside. Has happen before and then will open a few days later. this time it’s been a week. Black paint also needs to be recalled.
Steering, Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Mar 15, 2023
I was driving at 70 MPH on the freeway when off a sudden my car haulted back and said engine power reduced. I had my kids in the car and traffic behind me when my car went into an auto decline in MPH reaching 30 MPH before I could quickly pull over. I called the company I bought my car at the next day. They told me I needed an inspection but my check engine light only stayed on overnight and was off by the time I went in. In the last year this has happened over 10x. It’s manageable but incredibly dangerous if going at a fast speed. The weird part is if you turn your car off for 1-2 minutes, you turn it back on the there is no longer a power reduction and all is back to normal.
Structure, Mar 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that water was leaking into the vehicle from the headliner by the rear third brake light. The dealer was contacted and notified of the failure, and the dealer stated that the warranty had expired on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 92,000.
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 23, 2023
2017 Chevy Malibu over 15 times this happens since we owned buying it brand new it has "Reduced Engine Power" error come on and the car can't accelerate over 30 miles per hour. This is a continued problem all the time and very dangerous when we are on the tollway that has a 70-mph speed limit, and you can't get the car to over 30 mph. This same problem happens on our 2018 Chevy Malibu over 5 times since we owned it too and it's getting worse! This is extremely dangerous and takes you a long time to get home when you can only go 30 mph or less because of the "Reduced Engine Power" Limit. Same 2017 Chevy Malibu also has the "Shift to Park" Error so we can't shut off the engine because the car won't go into park, you have to back up and keep trying to get the shifter to let you put into park if you're lucky it will finally after many shifting attempts back and forth to get rid of the error so you can shut off the engine to exit your car. GM should be responsible for a recall on these two very important errors that these Chevy Malibu cars are having on both of the problems are very dangerous "Reduced Engine Speed" and "Shift to Park" can't shut off the engine is dangerous.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Feb 11, 2023
Battery charging system is faulty. Drains battery and alternator shuts off. Car and other components shut off. Third brake light brakes when car is lifted or jacked, causes safety issue and concern. Worst part is cause expensive property damage to interior of vehicle from water leaking in.
Engine, Feb 5, 2023
“Engine power reduce” error on dash as well as check engine light. Driving on highway at fast speeds when this message displayed and my cars mph dropped to 30mph. I’ve had this issue fixed once already with the dealership and it turned out to be the sensor throttle or something with the pedal. Yet, 5 months later, I am having the SAME problem. This is very unsafe
Engine, Feb 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic retrieved fault code: P0138 (engine control module (ECM). The vehicle had unknown repairs completed; however, the failure recurred. The contact made the independent mechanic aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not taken back to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Electrical system, Engine, Jan 31, 2023
Engine light comes on, reduced engine power message displays. Have had numerous issues with this. Replaced gas pedal, was fine for a year. The issue is back. Why has'nt NHTSA acted on this well known issue? Car goes from 70 to 40 on the highway. GM has done nothing to fix the problem! First started around 10,000 Miles.
Engine, Jan 25, 2023
My wife has had this happen three times now in her Malibu: she's driving on the interstate and the engine suddenly loses power. A light comes on that says "engine low power mode," and the check engine light comes on. She has to complete the journey at low speed (less than 30 mph). Once she gets home, shuts the car off, opens the door, and when she comes back and restarts it 10 minutes later, it's fine. Today, it didn't shut the check engine life off, so we brought it in for diagnostic. We researched online and found the class action suit for "accelerator pedal sensor" being faulty. We believe this is what's going on. It's currently at the garage getting diagnosed. This is a known, dangerous issue that GM should take responsibility for!
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!
Electrical system, Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Jan 19, 2023
Driving down highway slowed down brake assist kicked in for no reason I was stuck in traffic not moving but maybe 2 mph brakes locked up got super hard codes read brake booster and vacuum pump. Screen went black “parking assist off” came on dashboard earlier that morning but nothing seemed to be wrong with the car. Thank God I wasn’t going faster I could have died!