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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
23,691 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2017 Chevrolet Malibu miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2017 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 1 of 7)

problem #126

Aug 012024

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

A "Shift to Park" message occasionally appears on the dash of my 2017 Chevy Malibu. I currently have 56570 miles on this vehicle. This is the second time that this issue has occurred in this vehicle. The first time it occurred I had 21849 miles on the car. On Dec. 20, 2019, a local Chevy dealership replaced the shifter (8460140 transmission electronic control replacement) at no charge since the car was still under warranty. My warranty is now expired but the same problem has occurred after putting less than 35000 miles on the car. Since this problem started, my back driver's side door will not always lock. This problem may be related to the Shift to Park issue. I have my invoice from the dealership where I first had this problem fixed and am hoping they will fix it again at no cost to me. When I searched this issue online, it appears to be a problem with many 2016-2019 Chevy Malibus. There should be a recall issued by GM for this problem. This is a safety issue because the problem will cause the battery to continuously die and the vehicle to remain running although the shifter has been placed in the Park position.

- Essex, MD, USA

problem #125

Jul 252024

Malibu

  • miles
Vacuum Pump exploded, my breaks went out on the freeway. Metal pieces from the pump went into engine. Broke the camshaft. Now having to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars to repair. I am missing out on work u til this can be fixed.

- Ontario, CA, USA

problem #124

Jun 272024

Malibu

  • miles
Vehicle shut down completely while at intersection with no warning including no dash board warnings, recently had vehicle repaired at dealership computer was replaced, injectors cleaned, fuel system flushed. This car is unpredictable at times and not safe if turning off with no warning, if I did get a warning it's after the vehicle shut down then started back up with "Stabil break" code and reduced steering. I have kept up with the maintence on this vehicle since purchase had no wrecks and it's money gone down the drain. I'm not understanding why there hasn't been a recall on this cars electrical component's there seems to be some time of communication issue between the computer & parts causing the car to completely shut down.

- Dallas , TX, USA

problem #123

May 012024

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Shift to Park Error. Then the battery goes dead.

- Corbin, KY, USA

problem #122

Mar 182024

Malibu

  • miles
On March 18, 2024, I noticed that water began to enter the car when it was in the carwash. I opened a claim with the insurance company and an investigation was carried out that lasted approximately 3 months. On June 11, the body shop received my car to diagnose and provide a quote to the insurance company for the necessary repairs due to this water damage. The workshop considered it to be a problem in the upper rear brake light and mentioned that this is a Chevrolet recall on these cars. The insurance company called me and told me that I had to go directly to the dealer to have the necessary repairs made to my car that were caused by this water problem. However, I cannot find information about this recall online.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

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problem #121

Sep 112023

Malibu

  • miles
When the car stops the auto stop turns on, but when the car is ready to move the auto stop will turn the car off or lose power. Another issue is that when the car is in park an error message says shift into park. This will not allow you to turn the car off. The car is in the park.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #120

May 032024

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Shift to park light com s on after I am parked and the the car is parked. My son got out of the car thinking it as off. It since has happened to me at least 8 times the last week

- Kentwood, MI, USA

problem #119

Mar 292024

Malibu

  • miles
Engine power reduced while driving on I83 on my way to work. I was driving at 65mph and it was reduced to 25mph. The check engine light is on. Since there is no safe way to drive the car home, ( I have to cross the susquhannah river which is only done by highway) I am having it towed and dropped off at my local mechanic. I already had the gas pedal sensor replaced in 2019 at faulkner chevorlet in lancaster, pa. I also have another issue with the car since early 2018, when I park the car, it says shift to park, even though it is in the park position and the electronics in the car do not shut off. When I told faulkner abouth this they said that there was nothing they can do since it wasn't happening when I was at the dealership.

- Emigsville, PA, USA

problem #118

Mar 072024

Malibu

  • miles
The warning light comes on and off and is showing (P0498/P0449) which is the evaporative emission system vent control electrical circuit signal has low voltage for a predetermined period of time. Its calling to replace the evaporative emissions canister vent solenoid and I have seen 3 vehicles the same as mine needed the same thing fixed. When the vehicle is in park you can feel it jerk and also while pressing gas when you pull off it stalls. When cranking you can smell fumes.

- Opp, AL, USA

problem #117

Feb 092024

Malibu

  • miles
Car will NOT recognize being shifted to park so transmission stays engaged, lights stay on you are basically trapped in your car until it recognizes the shifter is in park

- Gainesville, FL, USA

problem #116

Dec 302023

Malibu

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My car displayed "reduced engine power" and slowed down on the highway while I was doing 65mph. My car would not accelerate past 20mph. There were no issues with my vehicle, and this happened out of nowhere. It caused a lot of other drivers to have to swerve around me, and drastically reduce their speeds as well in order to avoid collision. This was highly unsafe and now I can not safely drive my own car.

- Niles, MI, USA

problem #115

Nov 012023

Malibu

  • miles
I receive a "shift to park" warning when putting the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu I just bought into park. The car will not shut off and if I exit the car it will sound the horn at me 4 times and still not shut off. It's done this at least 6 different times in the 3 days I've owned it. I bought it used on 10/31/23 with 86,741 miles and have only driven it 200 miles. If the car is not actually in park then it is still able to move and can hurt someone. This is clearly a known defect spanning multiple models and years and likely many thousands of cars and it's criminal there's no recall for it with a proper solution.

- Rushville, IL, USA

problem #114

Jul 072023

Malibu

  • miles
Intermittent Shift to Park Message Displayed While Vehicle in Park. Frequently when I shift the car into park and turn off the engine, a "Shift to Park" display appears on the driver dashboard. The "Shift to Park" display doesn't clear unless turning the car back on and turning it off again.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #113

Jul 152023

Malibu

  • miles
shift to park

- Powell, TN, USA

problem #112

Jun 122023

Malibu

  • miles
Driver door will not unlock from outside of car when car is sitting out in the heat and sun. Yes car Is available for inspection If I need to get in car while out somewhere I can-??t in a hurry. I went to dealership in November 2022 when it happened 3 times it was hot outside. No warning message or symptoms before failure. Hot weather when sitting in sun lock will not work. Now that it is very hot lock is not working again June12, 2023 happened 2 times today

- Rotonda West , FL, USA

problem #111

May 212023

Malibu

  • miles
shift to park message appears most often

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #110

Jan 262023

Malibu

  • miles
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

- Desmoines , IA, USA

problem #109

Apr 242023

Malibu

  • miles
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 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.

- Mint Hill, NC, USA

problem #108

Mar 012022

Malibu

  • miles
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.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #107

Feb 232023

Malibu

  • miles
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.

- Ingleside, IL, USA

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