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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.

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

What owners actually said

702 reports
Mileage unknown · May 28, 2022
Seat Belts

The seatbelt became locked in the full retracted position and could no longer be used. The trim of the car was removed to confirm there were no obstructions or twists on the belt.

NHTSA ODI #11466542

Mileage unknown · May 24, 2022
Electrical System

shift to park warning stays on and will not shut off when shifter is in park dealer replaced shifter assembly $800.00 when car electrical will not shut off that is a safety issue

NHTSA ODI #11465975

Mileage unknown · May 23, 2022
Electrical SystemEngine

Car looses power randomly “engine power reduced” comes up on the dash screen have to pull over shit car off and then turn back on to reset.

NHTSA ODI #11465764

Mileage unknown · May 22, 2022
Electrical SystemEngine

I have had this issue 3 times since purchasing new in 2017. Power completly turns off while driving. No warning no nothing just turns off. I had my pistons and all that replaced back in 2019, I have also had the battery replaced 3 times since getting this vehicle as that Is what gm recommended. Nothing is helping. It now tells m…

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I have had this issue 3 times since purchasing new in 2017. Power completly turns off while driving. No warning no nothing just turns off. I had my pistons and all that replaced back in 2019, I have also had the battery replaced 3 times since getting this vehicle as that Is what gm recommended. Nothing is helping. It now tells me to service stabilitrack. Tells me my power steering is out. It’s not safe to drive. It sits in my driveway and I am waiting money monthly paying on it. It also gives me a shift to park error while it’s already in park. This is a dangerous car and do not recommend it. Chevy was so gracious to tell me they’ll give me half of what my vehicle loan is. So nice. Ya right what a joke. I have pulled up these issues from other buyers of this car and they say there’s ni recall so nothing they can do. I’m not sure what other steps to take I just need out of this car. And so does everyone else. It’s dangerous and the fact that nothing has been done by the federal government about this is worriesome.

NHTSA ODI #11465601

Mileage unknown · May 20, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineSteering

Since purchase from dealer at 40,000 miles I have complained numerous times. Dealer can not reproduce and refuses to do anything about it. When driving vehicle with and sometimes with out AC on. The vehicle doesn't want to go. I could have the gas peddle to the floor and it won't accelerate. Does is whenever it wants to seems as…

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Since purchase from dealer at 40,000 miles I have complained numerous times. Dealer can not reproduce and refuses to do anything about it. When driving vehicle with and sometimes with out AC on. The vehicle doesn't want to go. I could have the gas peddle to the floor and it won't accelerate. Does is whenever it wants to seems as if when AC is on it does it the most. This past week the vehicle has thrown a warning steering asist reduced please drive with care. It quickly comes on and then goes back off. The vehicle is also stalling out of no where. I come to a stop light it goes to auto stop then I go to start accelerating and the vehicle will shut down engine light comes on and vehicle will not start back up for a min or 2. Once engine shuts off I put in park and try and start it again it won't. A few mins go by it will start again. I notice if I keep foot on break at a stop light and foot on gas to keep the RPMs up and don't allow it to auto stop it won't shut down. I made a appointment with jud kuhn the dealer I purchased it from. For next week. Hoping they can do somthing about it but chances are they will look at me like I'm crazy like they do every time and tell me no codes or they can't reproduce. I still owe 14,000 on the vehicle I'm livid. My children drive this car and it's extremely unsafe. If dealer doesn't help I'm contacting a lawyer for lemon law please help The acceleration issue started the week I purchased it 2 years ago the stalling started last week. And the steering assist started last week

NHTSA ODI #11465399

Mileage unknown · May 18, 2022
Unknown Or Other

I have a 2017 Malibu and I pulled into my driveway to park and the car would not shift into park. The car’s stick shift malfunctioned and it was stuck in reverse. The vehicle would not shut off and the brakes would not work. It began rolling backwards out into a busy street. I was able to find the emergency brake to stop it fr…

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I have a 2017 Malibu and I pulled into my driveway to park and the car would not shift into park. The car’s stick shift malfunctioned and it was stuck in reverse. The vehicle would not shut off and the brakes would not work. It began rolling backwards out into a busy street. I was able to find the emergency brake to stop it from rolling too far out into the street but the car would not turn off or switch out of gear. I was unable to exit, lock, or turn off my vehicle due to the shifting malfunction, which was draining my battery. The vehicle was unable to physically shift into the park gear, but the car was also incapable of detecting the shift. No warning lights or shift to park warning came on the dashboard. I immediately called AAA to tow my vehicle to a repair shop. I was without a vehicle for 4 days and had to pay a costly repair of $444.95 for a known defect with Malibu vehicles. The repair shop replaced the automatic transmission shift cable and the GM/automatic transmission range selector lever. General Motors needs to recognize the problem and resolve it by recalling these vehicles, and notifying vehicle owners of this defect before someone gets injured or killed and should also reimburse customers for the repairs which they had to pay out of pocket! Had this defect occurred while I was driving I could have been injured or killed or could have been parked somewhere in an unsafe situation unable to drive away or my vehicle could have rolled out into the busy street and hit a pedestrian, damaged someone’s property or hit another vehicle causing damages, death or injury to others.

NHTSA ODI #11465199

Mileage unknown · May 15, 2022
Unknown Or Other

The carpet on both front driver and passenger side is too short and sticks out from below the trim piece.

NHTSA ODI #11464736

Mileage unknown · May 9, 2022
Electrical SystemSeatsUnknown Or Other

Engine light continues to come on repeatedly. Resetting does not fix the problem. Engine shuts off while driving. Then suddenly the engine comes back on at an accelerated speed. Engine shuts off at traffic light when my foot is on the brake. When I remove my foot from the brake and press the accelerator the car jerks into g…

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Engine light continues to come on repeatedly. Resetting does not fix the problem. Engine shuts off while driving. Then suddenly the engine comes back on at an accelerated speed. Engine shuts off at traffic light when my foot is on the brake. When I remove my foot from the brake and press the accelerator the car jerks into gear. Sometimes the STABIL TRACK appears on my dash board. Also, STEERING REDUCE BE CAREFUL appears on my dash board. Sometime the driver side window will not go up or down. I have CAR SHIELD but I can not find a mechanic to accept it. They all say that CAR SHIELD is a rip-off.

NHTSA ODI #11463906

Mileage unknown · May 7, 2022
EngineSteering

An alert “Engine power is reduced” came on are 6pm 5/7/22. Never seen it before. My car began to click and wouldn’t go over 40mph. Steering wheel locked up when attempting to turn. I cut the car off to try to restart it and it did allow me to turn but there was immediate smoke released from car.

NHTSA ODI #11463747

Mileage unknown · May 5, 2022
Power Train

Frequently the car will say that the transmission is not in park, but the shifter is in the park position, and the car will not turn off until I take it from park to reverse to park again. Sometimes it takes several tries before the car will register that it is in park.

NHTSA ODI #11463444

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.