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2017 Chevrolet Malibu

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Malibu years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu are substantially higher than the model-year median of 310.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

397 reports with mileage · 305 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 253 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 161 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 139 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

16 crash reports4 fire reports8 injury reports

Engine complaints

253 reports
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Mileage unknown · Oct 24, 2025
EngineCrashInjury

The contact owned a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while backing out of the driveway, the engine revved up and accelerated independently. The contact's vehicle accelerated independently in reverse(R) and clipped the tow hitch of a vehicle parked on the street, and that was where the vehicle came to a stop. No air…

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The contact owned a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while backing out of the driveway, the engine revved up and accelerated independently. The contact's vehicle accelerated independently in reverse(R) and clipped the tow hitch of a vehicle parked on the street, and that was where the vehicle came to a stop. No air bags deployed. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was inspected. However, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while parking in reverse into the contact's assigned parking space, the engine revved up and accelerated independently. The vehicle accelerated in reverse(R) and hit a tree, where it came to a stop. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that the back windshield was shattered, the rear bumper fell off, and smoke was emitting from under the hood.  A police report was not filed. The contact was taken to the hospital by a family member later that day. The contact sustained minor injuries; a contact had a CT scan due to hitting the steering wheel. The contact sustained minor cuts from the flying glass from the back windshield. The contact stated that the day after the accident, her daughter turned on the vehicle, and the air bag warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was left at the residence pending an inspection from a mobile independent mechanic. The contact stated that prior to the accident, the gear shift failed to function as intended. When the contact moved the shift lever to park(P) and the contact turned off the engine, the light on park(P) would stay on. The contact then turned on the engine and turned it off the engine, and the light on the gearshift turned off. The insurance company was not contacted. However, the contact did not have coverage for the accident. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI #11695429

Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed Control

The transmission stalls to get up and go after it has been driven for a short while causing it to slow down traffic and causing a slight risk trying to pull over to the side to allow drivers behind pass by. Once the driver stops at more than 5 stops is when the vehicle begins to hesitate to work properly.

NHTSA ODI #11687127

Mileage unknown · Sep 8, 2025
EngineService BrakesVehicle Speed Control

I was driving my car on the highway doing 65 mph when all of a sudden my car started rapidly jerking losing the power to accelerate and entering “limp mode“ there was multiple cars behind me when my car lost the power to accelerate. I was in the far left lane and couldn’t even go higher than 7 miles an hour and had to cross acro…

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I was driving my car on the highway doing 65 mph when all of a sudden my car started rapidly jerking losing the power to accelerate and entering “limp mode“ there was multiple cars behind me when my car lost the power to accelerate. I was in the far left lane and couldn’t even go higher than 7 miles an hour and had to cross across three lanes at 7 mph on a 65mph highway to pull over. I had my children in the car and almost caused a huge accident dude to this issue. The issue in hand is the vacuum pump. It completely shattered in my engine, causing severe engine damage. And it caused my brake pedal to become hard as a rock. I couldn’t break without using my emergency break. I had no brake power at all. My car had to be towed.

NHTSA ODI #11685667

Mileage unknown · Aug 30, 2025
Electrical SystemEngineExterior Lighting

Okay so my car had 2 recalls but the they were not repaired the same problem reoccurred . Which was the car engine not turning on and electrical problems etc. I don’t really know how to explain it but yes it’s having the same problems .

NHTSA ODI #11684084

75,000 miles · Jul 16, 2025
Electrical SystemEngine

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the message to depress the brake pedal and shift to park(P) was displayed. The vehicle was restarted but stalled again. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic wh…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the message to depress the brake pedal and shift to park(P) was displayed. The vehicle was restarted but stalled again. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the oxygen sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the failure only occurred while driving at speeds below 40 MPH. The vehicle was returned to the same mechanic, and it was determined that the oxygen sensor needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the PCV valve and the valve cover were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and advised that the oxygen sensor was not OEM and replaced the Oxygen sensor with an OEM part. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and reprogramed the hybrid engine control module. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The contact had not taken the vehicle back to the dealer or to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact informed the manufacturer of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

NHTSA ODI #11673917

Mileage unknown · May 17, 2025
EngineService Brakes

Vacuum pump failure caused engine damage.

NHTSA ODI #11661631

75,000 miles · May 9, 2025
Engine

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was contacted and referred t…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for further assistance. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

NHTSA ODI #11659953

124,000 miles · Mar 19, 2025
Engine

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Low engine power" message was displayed. The contact was able to arrive at the destination where the vehicle stalled and was unable to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Low engine power" message was displayed. The contact was able to arrive at the destination where the vehicle stalled and was unable to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 124,000.

NHTSA ODI #11649298

Mileage unknown · Mar 11, 2025
EngineService BrakesVehicle Speed Control

I was driving in my neighborhood I tried to park at my house and my car wouldn’t stop I had to step down on my break hard for it to finally stop my vacuum pump broke into pieces and made my timing chain break

NHTSA ODI #11647738

Mileage unknown · Mar 5, 2025
Engine

Reduced engine power that causes vehicle to lose power at dangerously low speeds.

NHTSA ODI #11646593

Official recalls

4

21V649000 · Seat Belts:critical Fasteners; Seat Belts:rear/other:retractor

Aug 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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: 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.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Seat Belts:rear/other:retractor

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.

Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: 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.

Seat Belts:critical Fasteners

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.

Consequence: An improperly secured seat belt retractor may not function properly in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: 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.

18V400000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Jun 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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash, improper air bag deployment can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: 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.

18V358000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

May 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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.

Remedy: 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.

16V870000 · Air Bags:side/window

Dec 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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.