IllustrationMy vehicle has recently displayed a message telling me to “Shift to Park,” even though the vehicle is in park. On 10/06/2021, twice it took 15 times shifting to get the car to go into park. Now, it does it every time I put the car into park. Have an appointment to take it to Jim McKay chevy in Fairfax on Tuesday.
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
Unknown Or Other complaints
147 reportsWhen shifting the car into park the vehicle fails to detect when the gear selector has been shifted into Park. I am not able to shut off the vehicle. This is endangering my safety by having to spend extra time maneuvering the shifter in order to be able to turn the car off. I am an elderly female and if I have to spend extra ti…
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When shifting the car into park the vehicle fails to detect when the gear selector has been shifted into Park. I am not able to shut off the vehicle. This is endangering my safety by having to spend extra time maneuvering the shifter in order to be able to turn the car off. I am an elderly female and if I have to spend extra time in my vehicle I am scared someone may take advantage of the situation and harm me. I had the same problem in 2019, brought the vehicle in with 9008 miles on it for repair. The dealer fixed the issue, though apparently only temporarily by removing and replacing the transmission control shifter assembly. The problem reappeared about 2 weeks ago. My vehicle now has just over 13,000 miles There were no warnings before this started happening again.
Shift to park. I am able to shift to park but then sometimes when I turn off my car, I receive a notification stating that my car is not in park. Most of the time i either have to jiggle the shift gear, turn off and on my car in order for the notification to go away.
Unknown. Anytime I go in reverse, then put it in drive, hit the breaks, let off the breaks and turn you can hear this popping noise coming from the rear. A lot of group forums for 2016-2019 Malibu’s are complaining about this. I have 3 kids and was told this is a safety issue and should be a recall as there are a lot of them out…
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Unknown. Anytime I go in reverse, then put it in drive, hit the breaks, let off the breaks and turn you can hear this popping noise coming from the rear. A lot of group forums for 2016-2019 Malibu’s are complaining about this. I have 3 kids and was told this is a safety issue and should be a recall as there are a lot of them out there with same problems! Could possibly get in an accident from this. A lot of forums are saying ball joints, axles, rear arm bushings, suspension knuckles and other things. Chevrolet should really look into this and make it as a recall as someone’s life could be in danger from these issues.
Shift to park error. Micro switch inside shifter not making contact. Dealership replaced shifter control assembly in June 2019 with 9,393 miles on vehicle, Issue repeating June 2021. Same part being replaced by dealership again with 15,000 miles on vehicle. Lots of online complaints. Why no recall?
While driving received recurring check engine light for p2127/p2138 code. Has been to Quirk Chevrolet twice previously for same issue, drives fine for a week or two and light comes back. Third service appointment scheduled for Monday 6/7/21. Recurring issue has made vehicle unusable while effected as car goes into limp mode whil…
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While driving received recurring check engine light for p2127/p2138 code. Has been to Quirk Chevrolet twice previously for same issue, drives fine for a week or two and light comes back. Third service appointment scheduled for Monday 6/7/21. Recurring issue has made vehicle unusable while effected as car goes into limp mode while in motion limiting speeds to 25mph which was interesting to say the least as it happens while in motion.
OBD2 codes ran on vehicle show: P0138 ("O2 sensor circuit High voltage bank 1 sensor 2") P013E (unknown) P2138 ("Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor Switch D/E Voltage Correlation") Vehicle is getting poor fuel mileage and has a drastic delay in acceleration after pressing the gas pedal, putting driver in immediate danger in traffi…
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OBD2 codes ran on vehicle show: P0138 ("O2 sensor circuit High voltage bank 1 sensor 2") P013E (unknown) P2138 ("Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor Switch D/E Voltage Correlation") Vehicle is getting poor fuel mileage and has a drastic delay in acceleration after pressing the gas pedal, putting driver in immediate danger in traffic.
2017 CHEVY MALIBU SHIFT TO PARK NOTIFICATION MESSAGE COMES ON AFTER CAR IS IN PARK AND TURNED OFF. SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE IN THIS VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE HAS 33, 304 MILES AND IS A NEW USED PURCHASE. ISSUE BEGAN 4 DAYS AFTER PURCHASE AND SEEMS TO BE ONGOING ISSUE WITH GM MOTORS HOWEVER NO RECALL.
WHILE PARKING, A "PARK TO SHIFT" WARNING COMES ON AND WILL NOT TURN OFF UNLESS I JIGGLE THE SHIFTER OR SHIFT THROUGH SEVERAL TIMES. LIGHTS AND RADIO WILL NOT TURN OFF UNTIL WARNING GOES AWAY.
THIS ISSUE HAS HAPPENED TWICE. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED IT WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY AND A MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD, "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED." IT BEGAN DEACCELERATING FROM 75 MPH TO 20 MPH. I HAD TO QUICKLY PULL OVER THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND I CUT THE CAR OFF. I TRUNED THE CAR BACK ON AND THE MESSAGE…
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THIS ISSUE HAS HAPPENED TWICE. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED IT WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY AND A MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD, "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED." IT BEGAN DEACCELERATING FROM 75 MPH TO 20 MPH. I HAD TO QUICKLY PULL OVER THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND I CUT THE CAR OFF. I TRUNED THE CAR BACK ON AND THE MESSAGE WENT AWAY. THE SECOND TIME IT OCCURRED THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY AGAIN WHEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON IN THE DASHBOARD WITH A MESSAGE, "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED." THE CAR WAS GOING 80 MPH WHEN THE MESSAGE CAME ON THIS TIME. I REACHED OUT TO THE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP AND THEY CONFIRMED THERE WAS NOT A RECALL. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE ISSUE AND DISCOVERED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME VEHICLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE.
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.