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3.7

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,492 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 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2017 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments (Page 2 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #89

Feb 162022

Malibu

  • miles

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

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.

- Gainesville, GA, USA

problem #88

Mar 312022

Malibu

  • miles
When vehicle is engaged in auto stop, it stalls out completely or bucks forward when at a complete stop(sign or red light). Upon review, two mechanics stated it has to do with the transmission and tork converter. Repair is upwards of $4000-$6000. 2017 Malibu has less than 75000 miles. Will be contacting dealership today 4/10/22.

- Howell, NJ, USA

problem #87

Mar 192022

Malibu

  • miles
While I was driving my car went into engine saving mood. My speed was reduces rapidly.

- Chesterfield, MI, USA

problem #86

Feb 012019

Malibu

  • 32,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the accelerator pedal sensor failed with the check engine vehicle entered reduced power mode, the vehicle independently slowed down as the contact pulled to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and took the vehicle to a dealer. The dealer informed him warning light and several other unknown warning lights illuminated. As the that the accelerator pedal sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. The contact was also informed that the parts to repair the vehicle were unavailable. The contact then had an independent mechanic replace the accelerator pedal and the sensor. The contact also stated that while merging onto a highway at 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle entered reduced power mode as the contact pulled off to the side of the highway. The contact was able to exit the highway and drove the vehicle slowly back to his residence. The following day, the vehicle was towed back to the dealer where he was informed that the high-pressure fuel pump failed and that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V358000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The manufacturer was not notified of failure. The vehicle was repaired but remained at the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.

- Coon Rapids, MN, USA

problem #85

Mar 092022

Malibu

  • miles
The shifter will get not recognize it's in park. I will typically have to move around the shifter or force it from low to park multiple times for it to recognize. This has happened multiples times over the past year. I have also read online multiple other chevy malibu owners have also experienced this.

- Bentonville, AR, USA

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problem #84

Aug 102021

Malibu

  • miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle speed reduced message was displayed on the instrument panel, and the vehicle decelerated from 70 to 30 MPH. The contact pulled over and waited for 5 minutes before restarting the vehicle. The message disappeared and the vehicle was driven back to the residence. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Del Valle, TX, USA

problem #83

Jun 232021

Malibu

  • 7,210 miles

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

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after pulling the vehicle into the driveway and attempting to shift the vehicle into Park; however, the engine revved up as if trying to accelerate forward. There was an error message on the instrument to shift the vehicle to Park however, the vehicle failed to remain in Park. After several attempts, the vehicle was shifted into Park and remained in Park. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the gear shifter wiring harness and switch were damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,210.

- Wyoming, MI, USA

problem #82

Oct 202021

Malibu

  • miles
I purchased my vehicle in August of 2020, in October while driving down a main highway the engine light came on with a warning that stated "driving with reduced power". The vehicle slows to 20 mph and will not accelerate any faster. I called my dealers service center and was told this issue was a "quirk that happens" and to "turn my vehicle off and start it again" and that by doing this it would make it go away and it would not happen again. Approximately 8 months later this happened again, so I called the service department and was told that a line was freezing and that I could bring my vehicle in so they could empty & refill the frozen line costing $500, but it would not solve the problem, the dealer then recommended that I park in a heated space to avoid it freezing, but again it would not resolve the problem long term. A month later while driving home from work in a blizzard, my vehicle once again lost power, with the engine light on and a warning that I was driving with reduced power and slowing to 20mph. This put myself and other travelers on this busy main road at risk. When I reached out to my dealer they said that there was nothing they could do that would guarantee a fix, but they could try three different options, again with no guarantee of a fix. None of this is covered under warranty and costs roughly $1500.

- Brainerd, MN, USA

problem #81

Jan 132022

Malibu

  • miles
I have a 2017 Chevy Malibu, I have 10 months with me since I bought last year, it and it was 25000 mille now is 30000 m my real problem is on several times driving in freeway or hiway my car drop the speed from 55 to 40 to 20 and appear a light says POWER ENGINE REDUCED, after that my car LOOSE POWER - CHECK ENGINE IS ON I got nervous for what happens and is really confused I just buy my first car from dealer and now this !!!! This is not fear help please I read a lot of comments regarding with this problem in this cars models and everyone from 2016 to 2018 has the same problem POWER ENGINE REDUCED. and dealers just charge and charge and don-€™t resolve the problem thank you blessings all

- Manassas, VA, USA

problem #80

Jan 042022

Malibu

  • miles
Low Engine Power message appears, my driving speed dismished I was on the highway driving and the light appeared, I also needed some fuel, but I did eventually stop added gas engine light disappeared but it eventually reappeared again and has remained with full tank of gas

- Monticello , NY, USA

problem #79

Nov 032021

Malibu

  • miles

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

Car voltage stays very high (between 14.8 and 15 volts) for extended periods of time. At which point the windows have fogged up and there is a raw egg smell in the cabin - probably Sulfur. Both the hybrid and the 12v car battery are located in the truck and there are vents that draw air from the cabin to ventilate those batteries. The car voltage will also stay at 12.5 to 12.6 for extended periods of time. During both high and low periods numerous internal systems have failed, including bit not limited to steering assist, anti-locks bakes, Stabilitrack, On star, Hybrid Control Processor and ECM. Car has been brought to the dealer 3 times. First time (early November 2021) it was diagnosed with an hybrid inverter and a software update was installed. Issues continued. As of 12/28/21, Coggin Chevrolet (Jacksonville, FL) has had the car for 2 weeks and can't fix or confirm what is wrong with the car. I have received numerous e-mails from On-star with engine error codes as well as 5 messages saying there is an issue with the Electric Drive Unit in the car. The car has roughly 24K miles on it.

- St Augustine , FL, USA

problem #78

Dec 212021

Malibu

  • miles
Driving on highway at about 65 mph on family trip to Delaware.. Car suddenly gave reduced acceleration error and speed started declining while in traffic. No warning.checked chevron app on phone and it did not see anything wrong. There was NO check engine or anything. Got to a dealer and they said it was probably a sensor for gas pedal. 5 days later driving home to Georgia from trip on highway around same rate of speed. No warning. The check engine light and reduced engine power warning message came on. This time the Chevrolet app notified me of trouble and said I needed the car seen within a day..Got to a dealer and now they say they think it may be the cam shaft based on the code but they cannot replicate issue. I took a photo of the alert from the second incident. Car has about 46,000 miles and is well maintained. Our safety was at risk both times but especially the first time as we were in traffic and speed declined.

- Duluth, GA, USA

problem #77

Nov 162021

Malibu

  • miles
Intermittent shifts, no reverse, MIL illuminated Happened in rush hour traffic, could not move out of EMS workers way because of reverse failure. Nearly ran into vehicle in front of me due to such harsh sift from 1st gear to 2nd gear. Currently being inspected by local Chevrolet dealer. No warning light when incident occurred, only came on when I was able to turn the car off and back on. Extremely dangerous circumstance that could have easily been prevented had GM issued a recall on Service Bulletin 18-NA-081.

- Ladson, SC, USA

problem #76

Oct 252021

Malibu

  • miles
This class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by three separate plaintiffs in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Maryland, Car Complaints reports. The suit alleges certain GM vehicles fail to detect when the gear selector has been shifted into Park, blocking the ability for the user to shut the vehicle off. Typically a -€˜Shift to Park-€™ warning message will appear on the driver information center when this happens. The user can jiggle and or move the gear shifter in order to remedy the issue, although this technique does not always work. GM dealer witnessed the problem. MY REPAIR COST AT A GM DEALER WAS $391.11.

- Crystal Lake, IL, USA

problem #75

Oct 042021

Malibu

  • miles
I get a -€˜Shift to Park-€™ message when car is placed in PARK and turn off ignition. This is not covered under the bumper-to-bumper warranty since it is over 3 years old, but I only have 28,800 miles on the car. This shouldn-€™t be failing after so soon. This happened about 2 years ago, but it stopped and has worked fine for two years. Now it's back and won't go away. There seems to be no way to shut off the car unless it is in PARK. Until I an able to get it fixed I am concerned it won't shut-off one of these times, and what happens if it won't shut-off? None of the options are good if I'm driving after hours and the dealer or service center is closed. This can easily turn into a dangerous situation. (Repair is scheduled for next week.) This seems to be a common error reported on many 2016 through 2020 Chevrolet vehicles. There are service bulletins with regard to this problem. Why has Chevrolet/GM not had a recall for this widespread issue of a faulty micro switch?

- Taneytown, MD, USA

problem #74

Jul 192021

Malibu

  • miles
My 2017 Malibu (50K miles) has begun giving me the "Shift to Park" error. When I have parked my car, shifted to park, and turn off the ignition I get the display message saying "Shift to Park" even though I have already done that and turned off the car. To clear the message, I have had to restart the car, shift out of park and back into park more forcefully than I want to or, while the ignition is off, push the gear shift harder to park. This error went from 1 a week to multiple times a day. I spoke with GM and they are saying they are not aware of this problem and I will have to pay for repairs out of pocket. I read today that a class action suit has been filed specifically about this problem. I am hoping with enough owners reporting their shift to park issue, GM will have to issue a recall.

- Lothian, MD, USA

problem #73

Aug 022021

Malibu

  • miles
I was going 70mph on the highway, when I got a sudden alarm from the car saying "reduced power". The car would not accelerate and started slowing rapidly, almost resulting in a collision. The car would not go more than 20mph. I had to pull off to the shoulder, restart the car several times, and then was able to get the power to come back, but the check engine light remained on.

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #72

Jul 022021

Malibu

  • miles
Error message on dash "shift to park". The car will not shut off completely with message on. I did some research, and it seems to be happening with a lot of Malibus and GMs. This is the second time it happens on my 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. My car is still fairly new with only 35k miles. The first time warranty covered it (shifter was replaced), but I'm not so sure if they will cover this second time. This is a manufacturer error and we should not have to pay the price every time this happens.

- Union City, NJ, USA

problem #71

Mar 302021

Malibu

  • 89,000 miles
While driving on multiple accusations my engine light would come on and go off within minutes and not return till I turn the car back on or while driving later on in the day or days after seeing the light come so I was unable to bring it in to get checked out properly. A month passed when the issue appeared and when I decided to go into the dealership to possibly trade in my car the light was not appearing for days beforehand and things were normal till a a couple days after I left the dealership my car read on the dash 'reduced engine power ' I wasn't able to accelerate quick enough in the middle of traffic on military trail and belvedere I had to pull through a walmart parking lot to avoid on coming traffic and bring the car to my home close by very slow and sluggish due to not getting any acceleration from me pressing on the pedal. The dealership wants to replace my fuel pump system at a cost however it has a current recall for my specific make and model.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #70

Apr 032021

Malibu

  • 120,000 miles
Car goes into an engine power reduced mode while traveling at highway speeds.

- Bellingham, MA, USA

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