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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 →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

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

What owners actually said

702 reports
112,693 miles · Jan 26, 2022
EngineVehicle Speed Control

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 35 MPH. The contact was able to pull over safely. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the “Reduced Power” message was displayed. The contact called the local dealer but, the v…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 35 MPH. The contact was able to pull over safely. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the “Reduced Power” message was displayed. The contact called the local dealer but, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 112,693.

NHTSA ODI #11449006

93,400 miles · Jan 25, 2022
Engine

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the "Engine Power Reduced" warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle independently downshifted and decelerated to 35 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed to the floorboard. The contact was able to regain normal spee…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the "Engine Power Reduced" warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle independently downshifted and decelerated to 35 MPH with the accelerator pedal depressed to the floorboard. The contact was able to regain normal speed after several minutes; however, the warning message remained on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however, a diagnostic test showed no codes were retrieved. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 93,400.

NHTSA ODI #11448787

Mileage unknown · Jan 24, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineVehicle Speed Control

On January 2022, Wednesday the 19th. My husband, myself and our two daughters 12 & 4 are on the Northbound freeway 99 in the far-right lane and the car pops up with the warning “Engine Power Reduce” and then proceeded to decline in speed from 70 MPH to 15 Mph almost instantly almost causing an accident. WE all were so shaken up!…

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On January 2022, Wednesday the 19th. My husband, myself and our two daughters 12 & 4 are on the Northbound freeway 99 in the far-right lane and the car pops up with the warning “Engine Power Reduce” and then proceeded to decline in speed from 70 MPH to 15 Mph almost instantly almost causing an accident. WE all were so shaken up! Had we been in front of a big rig we would have been crush from the backseat as fast as the speed declined. WE just bought this vehicle 5 months ago no more than 10K miles on it. The dealership says its not there problem to contact GM. Nobody will help this is a death trap vehicle. There are already multiple class action lawsuits about this issue and the vehicle. We are simply being told to buy a newer vehicle rather then someone taking ownership of this issue. This is a deadly issue and why there is not a recall is outrageous, There are cars out there that are capable of causing a deadly crash and killing thousands of people and everyone is turning there head when the consumers are reaching out for help.

NHTSA ODI #11448652

Mileage unknown · Jan 20, 2022
Engine

An error message appears on the dash, ENGINE POWER REDUCED. It happen three times this morning and twice yesterday - probably a dozen times over the past year. I've had it into the dealer but they could not find anything by the time I got there. It has happened at 35 MPH and between 45-55 MPH, suddenly and with no other warni…

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An error message appears on the dash, ENGINE POWER REDUCED. It happen three times this morning and twice yesterday - probably a dozen times over the past year. I've had it into the dealer but they could not find anything by the time I got there. It has happened at 35 MPH and between 45-55 MPH, suddenly and with no other warnings. Turning off the engine for a few minutes clears the message on the dah, but the check engine light remains lit. The check engine light will clear eventually - it may be a few hours or two days of driving. Again, I've had it checked on multiple occasions as the car was "certified" by GM, but now the warranty has expired, the issue continues and I see a LOT of reports of the same online.

NHTSA ODI #11448200

83,000 miles · Jan 19, 2022
Electrical SystemSteering

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while she was driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stoplight, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle suddenly lost electrical power. The warning message "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care" was illuminated. The contact was able to restar…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while she was driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stoplight, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle suddenly lost electrical power. The warning message "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care" was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued to drive; however, the failure recurred increasingly while depressing the brake pedal at stoplights. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

NHTSA ODI #11448026

Mileage unknown · Jan 14, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

The reduced engine speed popped up on the dashboard and slowed my speed down to 20 mph in the middle of traffic and it will not correct even though I have turned it off and restarted the engine.

NHTSA ODI #11447448

Mileage unknown · Jan 13, 2022
Unknown Or Other

Engine reduce power keep coming on it's been going on for a while today while driving in freeway it completely just went to 20 mph and I have to turn vehicle off to get it to go away this Is very dangerous.

NHTSA ODI #11447281

Mileage unknown · Jan 6, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineService Brakes

Start and stop function at a stop failed car turns off but when releasing the brakes car doesn't turn back on everything is intermittent and can't reproduce check engine code when car goes in to fix the problem when I put it on L gear so the start and stop function won't try to engage but it doesn't sense its on L gear also back…

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Start and stop function at a stop failed car turns off but when releasing the brakes car doesn't turn back on everything is intermittent and can't reproduce check engine code when car goes in to fix the problem when I put it on L gear so the start and stop function won't try to engage but it doesn't sense its on L gear also back up camera not longer work as well as a.c blower or heater doesn't kick on a lot of electrical problems like if the brain is slowly dropping everything it knows and forgetting how to function also engine reduce and abs light as well as a lot of oil cusumption with no leaks a lot of complaints on these cars and you tube videos why hasn't this been recalled please investigate in an honest investigation please.

NHTSA ODI #11446437

Mileage unknown · Jan 4, 2022
EnginePower TrainVehicle Speed Control

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

NHTSA ODI #11446135

Mileage unknown · Dec 31, 2021
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion System

Engine Power is Reduced

NHTSA ODI #11445733

Official recalls

4

21V649000 · 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.