Print this page

6.4

fairly significant
Typical Repair Cost:
$320
Average Mileage:
28,900 miles
Total Complaints:
14 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (13 reports)
  2. replaced the shifter (1 reports)
2017 Chevrolet Malibu transmission problems

transmission problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2017 Chevrolet Malibu Owner Comments

problem #14

Feb 292024

Malibu SD

  • Automatic transmission
  • 33,000 miles

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

click to see larger images

I keep seeing recalls problems and class action lawsuits. Evidently mine does not qualify for this. I just got this as a used vehicle at the end of 2023 with 33,000 miles on it. I did find an easy fix for my son in law to do on google but that does not really fix the problem. And if I pay a dealer 600.00 to fix it, there is no guarantee that it will remain fixed. Sitting in my driveway trying to get my car to turn off is not fun. 2017 Malibu. As far as I am concerned, I bought a lemon...Engine light turned on after a week. Got that fixed and now it is out of warranty.

- Rose C., Catonsville, md, US

problem #13

Jun 242022

Malibu Premier 2.0L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 26,000 miles

2017 Malibu Premier 2.0 with 26,000 miles. I shifted to park. Message center says "shift to park". I had to jiggle the shifter a few times before the message went out... It happened a few times on and off but now recently happening more frequently, and the jiggle didn't work anymore. Had to restart the car, shift out of park and get back in. I took it in to Chevy dealer. Asked if it was still under warranty for powertrain and was told no. They replaced the shifter and charged me for it. Filed a report to National Safety.

- Deb K., Scranton, US

problem #12

Jun 212019

Malibu LS 3.2L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 29,000 miles

This happens when I put my car into park. It happened once and then after that it was like almost every time I park my car. When I turn the car off is when the alert happens, then you have to restart the car and take out of gear and try again. It happens up to 4 times before it finally works. It is like you have to jam it into park to make it realize it is in park.

I'm taking it into the dealer to have it looked at on 06/27/19. Hopefully it will get fixed. Too new of a car to have issues this early. Not a happy camper at all!!!!

- Jackie P., Bellevue, US

problem #11

Oct 012019

Malibu

  • Automatic transmission
  • 56,000 miles

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

Is this the responsibility of Chevrolet? Why does this happen? The car does not shift into park, you have to really pay attention to this when you turn your car off. What can be done?

- Gayle W., Ft Worth, US

problem #10

Dec 112019

Malibu Limited 1.6L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 31,000 miles

Well, I have the random shift to park issue on my 2017 Malibu. Seems it is a known problem of GM's. At the dealer now, and we will see what happens. No recall on this issue.

- golfguy711, Thomasville, US

problem #9

Aug 212019

Malibu LT

  • Automatic transmission
  • 24,989 miles

I told the dealership about this and was told that there have been several complaints about the shift to park. But, there has been no recalls for it yet.

- Janie W., Saint Albans, US

problem #8

Oct 082018

Malibu LS

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20,000 miles

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

My 2017 Chevy Malibu first started exhibiting the Shift to park error message in Oct 2018. My car was still under warranty and the dealership fixed it in December 2018. Fast forward to April 2021, and my car starts displaying the error message again and will not shut down completely. Battery was also completely drained because of the issue. I called the dealership and they let me know that since it has been more than 2 years (in this case 2 yrs and 4 months) since it was last fixed then I now have to pay for fixing it. When I asked if this was a common problem, since it happened to me twice in less than 3 years, the mechanic said yes it was common with Malibus, Volts and some other Chevy SUVs. How is this not a recall issue is beyond me. I am so very annoyed with Chevrolet.

- Samar M., Lynn Haven, FL, US

problem #7

May 172021

Malibu 6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 25,400 miles

Made me feel crazy when I know I put car in park and and it tells me to shift to park, so then I jingle it.

- mancha, Fort Worth, US

problem #6

Dec 162020

Malibu 2.0L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 21,127 miles

The car has a standard power train warranty, 5 years or 160,00 km. Apparently the warranty does not cover the transmission since it is not part of the power train according to the service people at the GM dealer. According to the GM experts you can drive the Malibu without a shifter for the transmission. Wow, I can't believe the expertise at GM. If you want to use the shifter to drive the car you just have to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket. It is very annoying and at times it requires 10 minutes of moving the lever to shut the car off. It is a good thing I have a carbon monoxide detector since I can't shut the vehicle off all the time and sometimes I forget. Who knows what can happen?

- George B., Princeton, ON, Canada

problem #5

Jul 012019

Malibu LX 2L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 24,000 miles

I like my Malibu but I worry that if I have problems putting it in park and can not get it to shut down, it will be an expensive issue. The park system was replaced but it has occurred once in a while just to let me know it could still be an issue. It is the only issue I have with this car and I have over 37,000 miles on it now.

- Carol P., Griswold, IA, US

problem #4

Jan 012019

Malibu

  • Automatic transmission
  • 34,000 miles

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

When shifting into park, the shifter does not fully engage resulting in the inability to park the car or turn it off. The message on the dash says "shift into park" even though the shifter is actually in park. This happens every time the driver tries to park the vehicle. This is a known issue with GM and has been an ongoing issue, but very intermittent and now that I am over my warranty, GM will not help pay for it to be fixed. It has been going on for about 6 months now but because it was so intermittent and still is, I thought it was operator error. There is a known issue and a service bulletin but GM will still not budge on paying to get it fixed. Has anyone else experienced this issue and if so, have you contacted GM?

- hammer69, Leroy, US

problem #3

Oct 252018

Malibu

  • Automatic transmission
  • 22,891 miles

click to see larger images

My car is a 2017 standard malibu and for 4 days this has been happening to my car and chevy dealership is always where i go for all my services on my car when i called dealership they say they never heard of this and wants to charge me to just look at it. This is unacceptable for my year of car and mileage. this should be under warranty. i try keep going in and out of park and different gears and still it gives me those messages and then if you ignore it, the car will beep and alert you until you keep playing with switching out gears and finally it works and stops after playing with ears for 15 minutes and looking stupid , but each time i drive it does this. something is obviously wrong and GM/Chevy should take care of this under warranty. im not paying for a defect in car which should be under warranty still

- Sunshine D., Boynton Beach, FL, US

problem #2

Dec 062018

Malibu Premier

  • Automatic transmission
  • 46,550 miles

The problem starting happening about a week ago. At first, it just happened once that day, and then not again for a couple days. Then once a day after that, and now it happens every single time I turn the car off. At first, I was able to just give the shifter a little extra push, and it recognized it was in Park. Now, it takes a lot of messing with it, turning it back on and off and such, to finally get it to recognize it is in Park.

The strange thing is that the car already knows it is in park; letting off that gas doesn't make me roll forward or backward, and the display under the speedometer shows I am very clearly in Park.

I have an appointment at the local Chevy dealer next week to see if this can be fixed. When I described the problem, the guy on the phone acted like he was very familiar with the issue.

- chamalibu, Bryan, US

problem #1

Apr 012018

Malibu Premier 2.0L Turbo

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10,284 miles

click to see larger images

Car indicating to place in park after placing the shifter into park and shutting down the car. Info screen clears after wiggling the shifter back and forth.

- Jorge G., Sarnia, ON, Canada

Not what you are looking for?