IllustrationWHEN DRIVING THE CAR, IT WILL SUDDENLY DECELERATE. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARS WITH THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED". THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES IN THE LAST 2 MONTHS AND HAS NOT BEEN FIXED BY GM.
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
What owners actually said
702 reportsAS I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE MY CHECK ENGINE AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS FLASHED ON. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE ENGINE POWER DOWN LIGHT LIT UP AND I COULDN'T GO ABOVE 30 MPH. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE IN THE LAST WEEK. VERY SCARY WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING 60-70 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE.
DRIVING AT ABOUT 55MPH THEN WITHOUT WARNING MESSAGE ON INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SHOWED LOW POWER ENGINE MODE WITH EMISSION WARNING ICON ILLUMINATED. SPEED DROPPED ALMOST INSTANTLY FROM 55MPH TO ABOUT 35MPH!!!!! SETTING STAGE FOR POSSIBLE REAR END COLLISION BUT WAS LUCKY THIS TIME.
WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET APPROACHING A ROUNDABOUT THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, THE CAR REDUCED IT'S ENGINE POWER, AND THE TRACTION CONTROL SENSOR CAME ON
WHEN IT RAINS, THE FLOOR MATS GET WET UNDER THE BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR. IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME IT RAINS; THEY FIXED THE ISSUE WITH THE RAIN LEAKING IN THE TRUNK BUT NOT WITH THE RAIN LEAKING INSIDE THE CAR.
CAR IS BURNING MORE FUEL THAN USUAL AND IT IS HESITANT TO TAKE OFF; LIKE THE TURBO IS NO LONGER WORKING.
VEHICLE ABRUPTLY SLOWED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC FOR NO APPARENT REASON. VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING A FAULTY ACCELERATOR PEDAL. PART WAS REPLACED AT OWNERS EXPENSE 14 MONTHS INTO THE LIFE OF THE CAR. 8 MONTHS LATER THE VEHICLE STARTED TO DO THE SAME THING FOR THE NEXT 5 MONTHS, SOMETIMES 3 TO 4 TIMES IN ONE DAY OR NOT AL ALL FOR SE…
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VEHICLE ABRUPTLY SLOWED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC FOR NO APPARENT REASON. VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING A FAULTY ACCELERATOR PEDAL. PART WAS REPLACED AT OWNERS EXPENSE 14 MONTHS INTO THE LIFE OF THE CAR. 8 MONTHS LATER THE VEHICLE STARTED TO DO THE SAME THING FOR THE NEXT 5 MONTHS, SOMETIMES 3 TO 4 TIMES IN ONE DAY OR NOT AL ALL FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. CAR WAS AGAIN PRESENTED TO DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC AND IT SHOWED THAT THE SAME FAULT OCCURRED. THIS IS A SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY GENERAL MOTORS. FAULT CODES P2138 FOR ACCELERATOR PEDAL, C0242 AND U0401 FOR TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM. NEITHER OF THESE FAULTS WERE ADDRESSED BY THE DEALER DURING THE REPAIR.
ENGINE POWER REDUCED. ENGINE POWER REDUCED. AT FIRST IT SEEMED TO HAPPEN WHEN IT WAS RAINING, BUT ON DRY DAYS NO PROBLEMS. THE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, AND DISAPPEARS A FEW HOURS LATER. THE DEALERSHIP ACTS AS IF THEY CAN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING ONCE THE WARNING AND ENGINE LIGHT TURN OFF. LATELY IT'S BEEN HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTL…
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ENGINE POWER REDUCED. ENGINE POWER REDUCED. AT FIRST IT SEEMED TO HAPPEN WHEN IT WAS RAINING, BUT ON DRY DAYS NO PROBLEMS. THE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, AND DISAPPEARS A FEW HOURS LATER. THE DEALERSHIP ACTS AS IF THEY CAN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING ONCE THE WARNING AND ENGINE LIGHT TURN OFF. LATELY IT'S BEEN HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY, SO I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET IT READ. ERROR CODES P2138 AND P2127, BOTH REFERENCING THROTTLE/PEDAL POSITION SENSOR. SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY COMPLAINT I SEE ON HERE. I ALSO HAVE READ ABOUT LAW SUITS BEING FILED REGARDING THIS AS WELL.
I WAS LEAVING WORK AND GOT 5 MINUTES INTO MY DRIVE AND I HAD A WARNING LIGHT COME ON IN MY MALIBU WHILE I WAS IN MOTION DRIVING STRAIGHT IN TOWN. IT INDICATED "ELECTRIC STEERING ISSUES" IT WAS ON FOR NO MORE THAN 5-10 SECONDS THEN IT TURNED OFF AUTOMATICALLY. ALLTHOUGH THIS WARNING WENT AWAY, I DID NOT FEEL SAFE SO I PULLED OVE…
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I WAS LEAVING WORK AND GOT 5 MINUTES INTO MY DRIVE AND I HAD A WARNING LIGHT COME ON IN MY MALIBU WHILE I WAS IN MOTION DRIVING STRAIGHT IN TOWN. IT INDICATED "ELECTRIC STEERING ISSUES" IT WAS ON FOR NO MORE THAN 5-10 SECONDS THEN IT TURNED OFF AUTOMATICALLY. ALLTHOUGH THIS WARNING WENT AWAY, I DID NOT FEEL SAFE SO I PULLED OVER AND STARTED DOING SOME RESEARCH ON MY MALIBU. I DID NOT FIND ANYTHING THAT MADE ME FEEL UNSAFE TO FINISH MY DRIVE HOME, BUT I DO WANT TO RAISE ATTENTION TO THIS SO IT CAN BE LOOKED INTO SO THIS DOESNT HAPPEN TO OTHER PEOPLE.
MY 2017 CHEVY MALIBU HAS PERIODICALLY SHOWED A REDUCED POWER MODE ALERT IN THE DASH WHILE DRIVING AND THEN THE CAR DROPS DOWN TO UNDER 40 MPH AND WHEN I PUSH THE GAS IT WON'T ACCELERATE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON EVERY TIME BUT WITHIN DAYS IT GOES OFF AND DRIVES FINE UNTIL IT HAPPENS AGAIN WITH NO WARNING. MY HUSBAND WAS D…
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MY 2017 CHEVY MALIBU HAS PERIODICALLY SHOWED A REDUCED POWER MODE ALERT IN THE DASH WHILE DRIVING AND THEN THE CAR DROPS DOWN TO UNDER 40 MPH AND WHEN I PUSH THE GAS IT WON'T ACCELERATE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON EVERY TIME BUT WITHIN DAYS IT GOES OFF AND DRIVES FINE UNTIL IT HAPPENS AGAIN WITH NO WARNING. MY HUSBAND WAS DRIVING 70 ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED AND ALMOST WRECKED BECAUSE OF IT! I HAVE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY TELL ME THEY DON'T KNOW WHY IT'S DOING IT AND TO JUST BRING IT IN. I HAD THE ENGINE CODES PULLED AND WAS TOLD IT WAS A SENSOR AND ACCELERATION PEDAL. I'VE READ SEVERAL POSTS ABOUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT AND EVERYONE SAYS EVEN AFTER HAVING IT FIXED IT GOES OUT AGAIN WITHIN TIME. IT'S REALLY DANGEROUS WHEN YOURS DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS WITH TRAFFIC THEN THE CAR RANDOMLY TRY'S TO SHUT DOWN AND CHEVY IS NOT CONCERNED AT ALL ABOUT FINDING A PERMANENT FIX!
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.