IllustrationBOTH MINE AND MY WIFES 2017 MALIBU GOES IN TO REDUCE ENGINE POWER MODE WITH STABILITY TACK LIGHT ON AND SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT ON.AND WHEN IT HAPPENS ON THE FREEWAY CAR JUST DROPS TO 25 MILES AN HOUR.VERY DANGEROUS
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 →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Malibu years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
870–25K
12025–50K
11050–75K
5275–100K
22100–150K
6150K+
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
Fuel/propulsion System complaints
57 reportsCAR DO NOT ACCELERATE
MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE STARTER WOULD TRY AND TURN THE ENGINE OVER FOR 10 SECONDS THEN THE STARTER WOULD SHUT OFF. THIS HAPPENED ON 3/7/18 AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED IN FOR SERVICE. THE FUEL PUMP 'CONTROL MODULE' WAS REPLACED AT THE DEALERSHIP AND I TOOK POSSEION OF THE CAR ON 3/10/18. ON 3/12/18 THE VEHICLE HAD THE SAME …
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MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE STARTER WOULD TRY AND TURN THE ENGINE OVER FOR 10 SECONDS THEN THE STARTER WOULD SHUT OFF. THIS HAPPENED ON 3/7/18 AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED IN FOR SERVICE. THE FUEL PUMP 'CONTROL MODULE' WAS REPLACED AT THE DEALERSHIP AND I TOOK POSSEION OF THE CAR ON 3/10/18. ON 3/12/18 THE VEHICLE HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH NO FUEL PRESSURE AND RESULTED IN THE CAR TURNING OFF WHILE DRIVING AND I WAS UNABLE TO START THE VEHICLE AGAIN. IT WAS THEN TOWED TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP WHICH IS NOW REPLACING THE 'FUEL PUMP' DUE TO A GM TSB COMMUNICATION 16-NA-225.
AFTER FILLING VEHICLE FULLY WITH FUEL THE FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT REGISTER FULL. MY DEALERSHIP CONTACTED GM AND THEY SAID IT IS A "NON-ISSUE" BUT THE DEALERSHIP DISAGREES SINCE THEY HAVE HAD NUMEROUS VEHICLES WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT.
DRIVING ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON CALLED ON STAR DIAGNOSTIC SAID INJECTOR ERROR SAME THING I HAD FIXED ON JANUARY 11TH 2018
WHILE DRIVING ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON I CALLED ON STAR DIAGNOSTIC REVEALED INJECTOR ERROR
INACCURATE GAS METER OR OTHER FUEL COMPONENTS. THE METER DOES NOT MATCH THE READING ON THE MYCHEVROLET APP. I JUST FILLED MY TANK UNTIL THE PUMP STOPS AND THE METER READS FULL IN MY CAR. THE APP READS 78% THUS I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH GAS I REALLY HAVE LEFT. THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE THE DAY I PURCHASED MY CAR ON 12/10/2016. AF…
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INACCURATE GAS METER OR OTHER FUEL COMPONENTS. THE METER DOES NOT MATCH THE READING ON THE MYCHEVROLET APP. I JUST FILLED MY TANK UNTIL THE PUMP STOPS AND THE METER READS FULL IN MY CAR. THE APP READS 78% THUS I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH GAS I REALLY HAVE LEFT. THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE THE DAY I PURCHASED MY CAR ON 12/10/2016. AFTER 2 OR 3 VISITS TO MY DEALER, THEY FIXED THE PROBLEM AFTER CALIBRATING THE METER MONTHS AGO AND IT WAS FINE UNTIL TODAY. TODAY 11/27/2017, THE METER IS NOW INACCURATE AGAIN. I DO NOT HAVE THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM WITH ANY OF MY OTHER CHEVROLET VEHICLES. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS RELATING TO THIS VEHICLE'S GAS METER AND THE CAR IN GENERAL IF YOU CHECK CHEVROLET'S FACEBOOK PAGE. THIS CAN CAUSE SOMEONE TO RUN OUT OF GAS BEFORE EXPECTED IN AN INCONVENIENT PLACE POSSIBLY CAUSING A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND INJURIES. THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THIS BECOMES A MAJOR PROBLEM.
Official recalls
421V649000 · 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.