Chevrolet Malibu Complaints (2017)

727 consumer complaints on file.

#11773757October 26, 2026
TIRES, TIRES:SIDEWALL, TIRES:TREAD/BELT
Noticed a sidewall bulge in my tire upon parking. 245 40 R 19
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11773310October 23, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have two separate incidents regarding the vacuum pump on my 2017 Chevy Malibu. About two years ago, I was driving on the freeway, my brakes locked up, Car was dying, turns out my vacuum pump had exploded internally, causing metal pieces to go into my engine, it was in my oil as well. I had to replace the vacuum pump, and because it broke, it threw off the timing on my camshaft. I had a mechanic look at it and he had to tap the camshaft back into timing. Today, October 2026, I was on my way home from work, and my brakes were locking up and grinding. I had to use a lot of pressure for the brakes to even work. The break is very hard. Again, another vacuum pump failure. I’m hoping this time it does not lead to another camshaft issue as that is an expensive repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11769492October 7, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving on the tollway at 75 mph when I saw stopped traffic ahead of me, and when I tried to apply the brakes, they went from soft to hard and completely stopped working; I had to swerve across lanes into the grass to avoid a massive accident and to save my life, as well as the lives of my passengers and the people who would have been involved. The vacuum pump had completely blown up, causing the brakes to fail, and it also destroyed my camshaft, so I lost engine power as well. I looked it up online and it is a very common issue that GM needs to address because of how severely dangerous it is.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11763134September 9, 2026
POWER TRAIN
Turbo cooler and turbocharger failure, diagnosis and replacement on February 4 and February 17, 2026 by a certified GM dealership. Replacement of these parts was not included in service bulletin N222372590 (issued 12/22/22), which covered 100% replacement for the exact parts for the exact engine for a number of other GM vehicles manufactured from 2016-2022. The total repair cost for these two part replacements was $4,951.11 for a car that was purchase just two months prior for $17,000. A great disappointment! Code for issue in both cases was P0299. The failed parts resulted in significant engine power loss, which made it unsafe to drive as acceleration away from intersections and on entering the highway was poor!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11760675August 29, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The vehicle is experiencing an apparent fuel-system malfunction. The vehicle has a very strong raw gasoline odor, significant difficulty starting, and appears to be consuming fuel at an abnormally high rate. After filling the fuel tank completely, I drove approximately 20 miles at most and the fuel gauge decreased by approximately one-quarter of a tank. The engine oil also has a strong gasoline odor, indicating that fuel may be entering the engine oil. The exact failed component has not yet been diagnosed. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The strong raw gasoline odor and apparent rapid loss of fuel create a concern for a fuel leak and potential fire hazard. The vehicle also has difficulty starting and shuts the engine off when the automatic stop/start system activates while stopped at a traffic light. This creates a safety concern because the vehicle may not restart normally when traffic begins moving. I am concerned that the vehicle may have a fuel-system defect similar to the high-pressure fuel pump/fuel-line issue previously recalled on certain 2016-2018 Chevrolet Malibus. No. The problem has not yet been diagnosed or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The symptoms have been personally observed while operating the vehicle. This was my first step as this happened at 10:30pm. No. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or another official representative. I am reporting the problem because of the severity of the symptoms and the potential safety risk. There were no warning lamps or messages that I noticed before the problem occurred. The first symptoms were a very strong gasoline odor, unusually rapid fuel loss, and significant difficulty starting the vehicle. The vehicle also shuts off completely when the automatic stop/start system activates while stopped at a traffic light. These symptoms began recently.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11759708August 26, 2026
STEERING
I have a 2017 Chevy Malibu that in 2022 had a shift malfunction causing it to become stuck in reverse and roll backwards. It ended up having to be towed and was repaired in May 2022. On August 25 and 26, 2026 the car is now experiencing another SHIFT TO PARK malfunction whereby the vehicle DOES NOT detect that the shifter is in the park position. It shows a "shift to park" error on the car's dashboard and will not let me turn the car off until it detects it is in park which takes multiple times of shifting and cycling the car through the gears or repeatedly jiggling the gear selector. This is a temporary workaround and NOT a safe or satisfactory solution as this can cause a serious or even fatal accident! This Malibu seems to have a continuing problem with the shift malfunctioning and GM needs to recognize this is a continual problem and resolve it by recalling this issue AGAIN before someone is hurt or killed. I am requesting GM repair this at their expense or replace my vehicle as it seems to be a LEMON!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757192August 15, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
While driving my 2017 Chevrolet Malibu LT equipped with the 1.5L turbocharged engine, the brake vacuum pump failed due to the pump’s mechanical drive/tang shearing. The failure resulted in loss of vacuum assistance to the power brakes, creating a significantly harder brake pedal and a serious safety concern because braking assistance can be reduced and stopping may require substantially more effort. After removing the failed pump, I found that part of the pump’s drive mechanism had sheared off and had to be retrieved from the camshaft area. I am retaining the failed pump and broken component. I am requesting that this failure be investigated as a potential safety defect because a failure of a component responsible for brake-assist vacuum can affect the vehicle’s ability to stop safely.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749453July 10, 2026
SEATS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Transmission has been slipping since the day I bought the car in 2023 approximately at 90,000 miles, I have been keeping up with the manufactured recommendations on the transmission and march of 2026 I went to move the passenger seat and it no longer moves
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749242July 9, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, POWER TRAIN
When the vehicle is shifted into Park and the ignition button is pressed, the vehicle fails to shut down. The dashboard displays a "Shift to Park" warning message, indicating the vehicle does not recognize that the gear selector is physically in the Park position.To shut the engine off, the driver must repeatedly wiggle, slam, or cycle the gear shifter back and forth into Park until the electrical sensor finally registers the connection. This creates a severe safety hazard, as the vehicle can roll away if left unsecured, drains the car battery, and prevents the doors from locking properly.Crucially, this defect traps drivers inside an operational vehicle for extended periods while they repeatedly struggle to force it to shut down. This poses an immediate risk of heat-related illness or death (hyperthermia), especially in high-temperature environments, during heatwaves, or for vulnerable occupants like children and the elderly who cannot exit the vehicle safely until it is off.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11748825July 7, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
I have a 2017 Chevy Malibu 2.0 T. The incident involved the braking system. I was driving and as traffic came to a stop, I pressed the brake to stop and my brakes gave out. I immediately lifted my foot and press extremely hard on my brake pedal and was able to stop though the stopping distance was much further and nearly caused an accident. I have now taken the vehicle to a Chevy certified dealer and it has been identified as a brake vacuum pump failure. GM has had many issues with the brake vacuum pump across many of its models.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11748133July 3, 2026
ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving back home and stopped at a red light. When the light turned green I started driving, but my car was jerking a little too much. I pulled over and turned my car off. When I cut my car back on my brake became very hard to the point I had to push down extra hard to stop my car. I started back driving home once I realized my car needs to be turned completely off and sit. While I'm driving I see a message on my dashboard saying "Engine power reduced." Luckily I made it home safely with no wrecks, but when I had to brake my car was still moving jerking while in place. Also when I made it home and turned my car off I heard a fan like noise that eventually stopped.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746422June 25, 2026
ENGINE, SUSPENSION, WHEELS
the trottle body position sensor just started acting up. took it to mechanic. they stated they can try to fix it but it may only work for a month then go back out. may end up paying over 6k and the car isn't worth it
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11742521June 7, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Shift to park error on dash. GM is aware of this issue and won't do anything about it. This causes stress and can cause battery drain. The issue lies within the microswitch that reads that the shifter is in park. The metal arm that activates the switch wears down or the wiring is faulty. Several Malibus, as well as other models have this issue and Chevy dealerships want hundreds to thousands of dollars to fix this. If it's a known, repetitive issue on several models, it should be a recall. This causes owners to try to fix this issue themselves, which can cause more damage and more money.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11737804May 14, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
MY BACK-UP CAMERA HAS NOT WORKED IN ABOUT 3-4 YEARS. THE SCREEN IS COMPLETLY BLANK. MY MECHANIC WILL NOT TOUCH IT AND I'M AFRAID TO GO TO THE DEALER BECAUSE OF THE COST. I DID NOTICE THERE IS A RECALL ON NEWER MODELS OF THIS VEHICLE.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11737410May 12, 2026
POWER TRAIN
The SHIFT TO PARK warning light comes on when shifting to park and WILL NOT allow you to shut the vehicle off. This is a WIDELY KNOWN DEFECT in multiple GM vehicles and yet there’s still no recall! WHY?! It causes the vehicle to not completely shut down, killing the battery and could potentially cause the car to roll. It’s been WIDELY REPORTED and it’s absolutely a defect with a part inside the shifter! It’s an expensive repair that consumers SHOULD NOT have to pay when it’s a DEFECT on GM!!! PLEASE RECALL!!!!!! After researching this issue, there’s MULTITUDES OF COMPLAINTS and even a class action lawsuit (of which I wasn’t aware of) but it shouldn’t have to turn into a lawsuit when the NHSTA has the ability to force GM to MAKE THIS RIGHT by REPAIRING IT!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11731087April 14, 2026
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the message "Engine Power Reduced" was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. Due to the issue, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode, and the contact was forced to pull over and turn off the vehicle. The contact waited approximately 30-40 minutes before restarting the vehicle and resuming normal driving. The vehicle was previously taken to a dealer; however, no codes were found. The mechanic informed the contact that the failure could be caused by the floormat being under the accelerator pedal. The contact had the floormat removed; however, the failure persisted. The dealer was notified of the failure, and another appointment was scheduled to service the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11721652March 3, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When car is in park. Shift to park is on dashboard. Car won't fully turn off. It's been doing it for years. Was worked on at dealership. It's still doing it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11718196February 16, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, POWER TRAIN
In the last 6 months I’ve had to put 3 Brake Boosters on my 2017 Chevy Malibu and it’s NOT cheap…. I don’t know what else to do.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11716053February 5, 2026
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The Reduce Power to Engine keeps happening. It shuts my car down and lights up the traction control light, check engine light and its a serious hazard because I travel highway to and from work and its very dangerous when you loose power to your vehicle at high rates of speed. Also my emissions is bad due to a supposed fixed recall for the catalytic converter.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11715400February 3, 2026
ENGINE
I was driving my car on the highway and the car begin to feel like it was about to shut off. Shortly after, the car check engine light turned on with a warning sign on dashboard stating “engine reduce.” the check engine is still on and my mechanic states my turbo needs to be replaced. I have an appointment for second consult with chevy dealer to verify.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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