← New search

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.

About this comparison →

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

Fuel/propulsion System complaints

57 reports
Clear category filter
13,450 miles · Jan 8, 2021
Fuel/propulsion System

FUEL TANK WILL NOT FILL COMPLETELY. IT WILL ONLY FILL TO 7/8THS AT BEST. THERE ARE OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS IN ONLINE FORUMS.

NHTSA ODI #11387235

82,540 miles · Dec 23, 2020
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

VEHICLE WILL SHUT DOWN AFTER AUTO STOP ENABLED WHEN CAR COMES TO COMPLETE STOP AT LIGHTS, INTERSECTIONS, ETC. VEHICLE WILL ALSO SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING. STALITRAK WARNING BLINKS BUT THE ELECTRICAL POWER INSIDE DOESN'T ALWAYS SHUT DOWN. CAR WILL START BACK UP ONCE YOU QUICKLY PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK , SHUT IT OFF AND THEN TURN IT…

Read full complaint

VEHICLE WILL SHUT DOWN AFTER AUTO STOP ENABLED WHEN CAR COMES TO COMPLETE STOP AT LIGHTS, INTERSECTIONS, ETC. VEHICLE WILL ALSO SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING. STALITRAK WARNING BLINKS BUT THE ELECTRICAL POWER INSIDE DOESN'T ALWAYS SHUT DOWN. CAR WILL START BACK UP ONCE YOU QUICKLY PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK , SHUT IT OFF AND THEN TURN IT BACK ON. SOMETIMES IT TAKES 3-5 TIMES TO GET IT STARTED BACK UP. BATTERY HAS BEEN CHANGED AND SENSOR REPLACED BUT IT STILL HASN'T FIXED THE ISSUE. SEVERELY UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING THE CAR ANYWHERE.

NHTSA ODI #11384671

82,000 miles · Dec 22, 2020
Electrical SystemEngineFuel/propulsion System

MY POWER STEERING ASSIST POPS UP AND DISAPPEARS. CAR COMPLETELY SHUT OFF ON ME AT A STOP SIGN(TWICE) AND WOULD NOT CRANK BACK UP

NHTSA ODI #11384597

68,880 miles · Oct 14, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

WHENEVER I FILL THE TAKE FROM E I HAVE TO AT LEAST REFILL AN ADDITIONAL TWO TIMES PER WEEK. THE GAS GOES REALLY FAST AND I CAN'T EVEN GET 13 GALLONS IN MY TANK.I GET ABOUT 21 MPG EVERY TRIP.

NHTSA ODI #11364246

83,400 miles · Jul 9, 2020
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed Control

EVERYTIME I STOP AT A RED LIGHT OR BRAKE THE VEHICLE(WHEN COMING TO A STOP IN TRAFFIC)THE CAR COMPLETELY CUTS OFF.THE ALERT STEERING ASSIST IS REDUCED, DRIVE WITH CARE CONSTANTLY COMES ON WHENEVER THERE IS AN AUTO STOP AND THE CAR RESTARTS. THE RADIO AND AIR WOULD ALSO TURN OFF WHEN AUTO STOP IS ACTIVATED. THIS TURN OFF ALSO CAU…

Read full complaint

EVERYTIME I STOP AT A RED LIGHT OR BRAKE THE VEHICLE(WHEN COMING TO A STOP IN TRAFFIC)THE CAR COMPLETELY CUTS OFF.THE ALERT STEERING ASSIST IS REDUCED, DRIVE WITH CARE CONSTANTLY COMES ON WHENEVER THERE IS AN AUTO STOP AND THE CAR RESTARTS. THE RADIO AND AIR WOULD ALSO TURN OFF WHEN AUTO STOP IS ACTIVATED. THIS TURN OFF ALSO CAUSES THE RADIO SCREEN TO GO BLACK FOR A SHORT TIME UNTIL IT RESTARTS. WHICH IS A BIG PROBLEM AND DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING IN TRAFFIC. THE NORMAL AUTO STOP WOULD BE SOMEWHAT SILENT, BUT WHEN IT TURNS BACK ON NOW IT HISSES AND TURNS BACK ON. I ALSO HEAR SOMETHING AS IF WATER IS PASSING THROUGH PIPES AFTER AND/OR DURING AUTO STOP SOMETIMES. LASTLY, LAST NIGHT(7/8/20)I ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON MY CAR AND BACK OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY. THE CAR TURNED ON BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. IT DID NOT ALLOW ME TO SHIFT INTO ANY GEARS OR ACCELERATE. I NOTICED THE LIGHTS THAT ILLUMINATE,D,R,L,ETC. WAS NOT ILLUMINATING AT THAT TIME WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT GEARS. I THEN TURNED THE CAR OFF BUT IT STATED SHIFT TO PARK. NOTE THE CAR WAS IN PARK. AFTER I LET IT SIT IN PARK FOR A WHILE I TRIED RESTARTING THE CAR AND IT RESTARTED. THE CAR SHIFTED IN TO GEARS AND ACCELERATED. NOTE: THE CAR ALLOWED ME TO MOVE THE SHIFT IN AND OUT OF GEARS BUT IT WAS NOT CATCHING. THE STOPPING ISSUE WIT THE STEERING REDUCED ALERT STARTED ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO(AROUND JUNE 25,2020). HEARING THE WATER SOUND BEGAN AROUND THE THE BEGINNING OF MARCH 2020. LASTLY THE SHIFTING ISSUE BEGAN LAST NIGHT,7/8/20. WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY I DO THE SPEED LIMIT 60-70 MPH. ON THE CITY STREETS I DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT RANGING 25MPH-40 MPH.

NHTSA ODI #11338341

85,000 miles · Feb 11, 2020
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemService Brakes

MY CHEVY MALIBU HAS STOPPED SEVERAL TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY MORE OFTEN DURNING TRAFFIC TIME IT ALWAYS STOPS WHEN IT ENTERS AUTO STOP THEN IT CUTS ALL THE WAY OFF AND I HAVE TO RESTART IT I CALLED IN ABOUT THIS LAST YEAR . ALSO IT MAKES IT REALLY TOUGH TO PUSH MY BREAKS WHEN I START THE CAR UP IT DOES MAKE THE SOUND LIKE IT WANTS TO…

Read full complaint

MY CHEVY MALIBU HAS STOPPED SEVERAL TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY MORE OFTEN DURNING TRAFFIC TIME IT ALWAYS STOPS WHEN IT ENTERS AUTO STOP THEN IT CUTS ALL THE WAY OFF AND I HAVE TO RESTART IT I CALLED IN ABOUT THIS LAST YEAR . ALSO IT MAKES IT REALLY TOUGH TO PUSH MY BREAKS WHEN I START THE CAR UP IT DOES MAKE THE SOUND LIKE IT WANTS TO START THEN IT DIES OUT

NHTSA ODI #11308588

79,336 miles · Jan 13, 2020
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed Control

AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE MY CHECK ENGINE AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS FLASHED ON. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE ENGINE POWER DOWN LIGHT LIT UP AND I COULDN'T GO ABOVE 30 MPH. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE IN THE LAST WEEK. VERY SCARY WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING 60-70 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE.

NHTSA ODI #11299150

51,000 miles · Jan 8, 2020
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed Control

WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET APPROACHING A ROUNDABOUT THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, THE CAR REDUCED IT'S ENGINE POWER, AND THE TRACTION CONTROL SENSOR CAME ON

NHTSA ODI #11298040

Mileage unknown · Jan 8, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

CAR IS BURNING MORE FUEL THAN USUAL AND IT IS HESITANT TO TAKE OFF; LIKE THE TURBO IS NO LONGER WORKING.

NHTSA ODI #11297980

64,126 miles · Dec 31, 2019
Fuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

MY 2017 CHEVY MALIBU HAS PERIODICALLY SHOWED A REDUCED POWER MODE ALERT IN THE DASH WHILE DRIVING AND THEN THE CAR DROPS DOWN TO UNDER 40 MPH AND WHEN I PUSH THE GAS IT WON'T ACCELERATE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON EVERY TIME BUT WITHIN DAYS IT GOES OFF AND DRIVES FINE UNTIL IT HAPPENS AGAIN WITH NO WARNING. MY HUSBAND WAS D…

Read full complaint

MY 2017 CHEVY MALIBU HAS PERIODICALLY SHOWED A REDUCED POWER MODE ALERT IN THE DASH WHILE DRIVING AND THEN THE CAR DROPS DOWN TO UNDER 40 MPH AND WHEN I PUSH THE GAS IT WON'T ACCELERATE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON EVERY TIME BUT WITHIN DAYS IT GOES OFF AND DRIVES FINE UNTIL IT HAPPENS AGAIN WITH NO WARNING. MY HUSBAND WAS DRIVING 70 ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED AND ALMOST WRECKED BECAUSE OF IT! I HAVE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY TELL ME THEY DON'T KNOW WHY IT'S DOING IT AND TO JUST BRING IT IN. I HAD THE ENGINE CODES PULLED AND WAS TOLD IT WAS A SENSOR AND ACCELERATION PEDAL. I'VE READ SEVERAL POSTS ABOUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT AND EVERYONE SAYS EVEN AFTER HAVING IT FIXED IT GOES OUT AGAIN WITHIN TIME. IT'S REALLY DANGEROUS WHEN YOURS DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS WITH TRAFFIC THEN THE CAR RANDOMLY TRY'S TO SHUT DOWN AND CHEVY IS NOT CONCERNED AT ALL ABOUT FINDING A PERMANENT FIX!

NHTSA ODI #11292254

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.