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3.6

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
35,137 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 1 of 6)

problem #107

Sep 012022

Malibu

  • miles

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

Error message reads "Engine Power Reduced". I was on the highway and suddenly the engine gives out and only lets me go to a max capacity of 20 mph. I able to safely remove myself to the side of the freeway. A week later without moving my vehicle I checked to see the status of my car and the error message removed itself. It's been over a year now with my engine power coming and going, just as fast as it comes, it goes-- making driving very unreliable and unsafe to step onto the road. Apparently I'm not the only one with this concern according to carparts.com, a class action lawsuit has been charged against Chevrolet in The Rothschild v. General Motors LLC Chevy Malibu Class Action Lawsuit is filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York under case number 1:19-CV-05240.

- South Gate, CA, USA

problem #106

Aug 012023

Malibu

  • miles
In 2019 I took my vehicle under warranty to the purchasing dealership to fix a "shift to park" reading after the vehicle is parked. It precludes turning off the car. Repeatedly restarting the car and shifting to park and/or jiggling the controller in park usually stopped the reading. The dealer replaced the control shifter, which fixed the problem for many years. This August, the problem started recurring and I have been attempting to make an appointment in the last week, but none of the local dealers say they can repair this for some time. Most cannot even diagnose the problem for a week or two.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #105

May 012023

Malibu

  • miles
I get a notification for shift to park and I can-??t put car in park. I-??ve paid for the repair once at about $500 and it-??s doing it again.it-??s clearly an issue because many people have put complaints in and the dealerships are seeing it frequently. Is this a recall or will gm reimburse me since clearly it-??s a major issue for this make and model.

- Wentzville , MO, USA

problem #104

Oct 272022

Malibu

  • miles

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

Fail to ingage into park Car can roll away if not staying park mode. Yes dealer Inspected and repaired by dealer Dashboard stater shifter not engaged, first appeared 10/27/2022

- Rotonda West , FL, USA

problem #103

Jun 112023

Malibu

  • miles
I was driving my car at a normal rate of speed when all of a sudden it slowed down to a crawl and almost caused an accident, reduced engine power and engine came one after getting the codes they were 2122 and 2097

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

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problem #102

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 #101

Mar 272023

Malibu

  • miles

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

2017 Chevy Malibu has P2138 showing up.. I was on the highway loss half the power to my car, almost causing a major accident, went from 65 mph to 30mph in seconds.. This is a safety issue & needs to be address ASAP!! I have my vehicle at the dealership, the service teams seems to have no clue that there is an issue with the mailbu's !! The P2138 is defined as -??Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch -??D-??/-??E-?? Voltage Correlation.-?? It is triggered when the vehicle's Engine Control Module (ECM) detects that the signals from the two throttle position sensors or the two accelerator pedal position sensors don't correlate.

- Thornton, CO, USA

problem #100

Jan 242023

Malibu

  • miles
When parking car we place the shifter in park, and psh the button to turn off car it states to -€œPut shifter in Park-€ after wiggling the shifter that is clearly in park the car will shut off. Also the breaks will pulsate at slower speeds like the ABS is kicking in, but is not the case. Along with the pulsating there are loud thumping noises. Car today when driving did same thing the said -€œreducing engine power-€ almost made it home then completely died on me in middle of road. Was told it could be because of bad vacuum pump, brake booster sensor, and brake booster by my mechanic. He said in newer cars this would prevent the car from starting.

- St. Clair, MO, USA

problem #99

Jan 182023

Malibu

  • miles
When the vehicle is in park and you try to turn it off with the start/stop button an on dash error code of -€˜Shift to Park-€™ appears even though the vehicle is clearly in park. You are not able to turn the vehicle off. I am very concerned this could cause major safety issues! When I searched for it, it appears a lot of GM owners are having the same issue. Please issue a recall!

- Muse, OK, USA

problem #98

Jan 022023

Malibu

  • miles
Driving vehicle like normal and then the check engine light comes on with the stabilitrak light, and get message "reduced engine power". Car goes down to less than 50 miles per hour and is struggling to go must faster while I am on the freeway. The RPMs keep going higher and higher even though the car is not going very fast. Get home and let it rest. Keep having same issue on and off past two weeks. Sometimes it comes on and goes off, has been on past three days acting the same way. Check engine light says Pedal Sensor issue. Known recall for it listed with letter sent out in 2019, but of course this was only if you were having the issue at the time (which I didn't) and it is only covering for cars under 150K miles. My car has 192K miles, so they will no longer cover it, even though it is a known issue has been for some time now! It is very expensive and unfortunate that they will not cover this issue regardless of miles, knowing that this can happen to the 2017 Chevy Malibu's at any time. Still driving it the way it is. Did try to clean out the Throttle body and see if that helped, but issue still is there. Will try to replace sensor at some point and see what happens.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #97

Nov 182022

Malibu

  • miles

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

Engine light came on along with decreased engine power light. Felt the transmission downshifting. Speed went from 50 down to 20 while on an expressway and I had to pull off the road and shut it down. Waited awhile, turned it back on and it continued several times to downshift. Took it to the dealer, had to wait a few weeks for the part and the accelerator pedal sensor needed to be replaced. Thank god I was not in the passing lane or there would 've been a very bad accident.

- Scranton, PA, USA

problem #96

Sep 242022

Malibu

  • miles
Contined chevk engine light concerns despite paying for repairs multiple times at chevy dealership. Always issues with throttle body and PCM. Additionally receiving codes for reduced engine power/speed reduction while driving and frequent messages of "shift to park, " when already parked.

- Alexandria , LA, USA

problem #95

Apr 042022

Malibu

  • miles
Shifting into park, transmission control assembly. Cannot put the car into park, have to fiddle with the shifter to get the car to turn off, drains my battery. Have to make certain car is off and in park before putting gas into the car. First incident was in April, and now ongoing every time I try to turn the car off. Error Message: Shift to Park

- Brick, NJ, USA

problem #94

Aug 202022

Malibu

  • 22,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle lost motive power and electrical power. The contact stated she was able to jump start the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The battery was replaced and the stability trac warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 22,000.

- Lake Worth, FL, USA

problem #93

Jul 112022

Malibu

  • miles
Shifting delays that cause loss of power for the past 2 years. I would have reported sooner but did not know how until now.

- South El Monte, CA, USA

problem #92

May 132020

Malibu

  • miles
First incident, vehicle in motion moving about 45 MPH approached red light vehicle started making loud tick noise when to start to slow down and break pedal was solid not able to slow the vehicle down. Panicked, 3 children in my car in fear for their safety. Was able to put both feet and press as hard as I could to attempt to stop the car. Car thankfully came to a stop and was able to pull over exit the car and have towed to dealership. Dealership inspected vehicle and decided that the vacuum pump had locked up and the case and gear had broken apart. Replaced part and everything was working. Second incident, noticed fluid on driveway, took car to dealership and they stated the vacuum pump was leaking, changed gasket. Third incident, driving car down the highway, vehicle lost speed (jumped) and check engine light came on. Exited highway and car shut off and breaks were again solid had to again use two feet to press as hard as I could in order to not blow through an intersection. Was able to get off road call tow truck and tow to closest shop. They inspected vehicle and found the vacuum pump locked up again and broken pieces where sent into the engine and destroyed the cam shaft.

- Clayton, NC, USA

problem #91

May 092022

Malibu

  • 67,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the automatic START/STOP feature intermittently failed to operate as needed and the vehicle would shut off while at a complete stop. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. During the most recent failure, the vehicle failed to restart after several attempts. A fellow motorist assisted her in jump-starting the vehicle and the contact was able to resume normal driving. The contact then took the vehicle to a dealer where it remained in their possession while awaiting a diagnostic test. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #90

May 162022

Malibu

  • 97,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle shut off and the warning messages "Power Engine Low", "Steering Reduced; Be Careful" were displayed. The contact stated upon restarting the vehicle, the warning messages were no longer illuminated and she was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 45-55 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently to 25-30 MPH. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring intermittently. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the convertor actuator voltage performance for the power train system had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for the repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

- Lillington, NC, USA

problem #89

Feb 162022

Malibu

  • miles
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

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