What 687 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

My car shut off when I stopped at a blinking traffic light (normal). There was a higher than normal amount of traffic on the route I was waiting to turn onto. So the car remained off for close to 5 minutes. When I removed my foot from the brake the car did NOT RESTART ON ITS OWN (not normal) and after trying to restart the car manually it still wouldn't restart and I couldn't roll down the driver's window to wave several cars around me at a dangerous intersection. I had to open the driver's door to wave vehicles around me. A message came on on the Driver Information Center (D.I.C.) that read "Stabil" and those are the only characters I could see in the small character box. It took me several tries to rest the car. Very dangerous situation. I will try to contact the dealer about this.

NHTSA ODI 11438355

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle speed began to decelerate. The contact stated that engine power reduced warning light was illuminated. The contact parked on the side of the road for approximately 5-10 minutes before being able to drive to her destination. The contact stated she had to disconnect the battery to reset the software and warning light. The contact stated she had experienced the failure multiple times. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer but was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11437780

I get a ‘Shift to Park’ message when car is placed in PARK and turn off ignition. This is not covered under the bumper-to-bumper warranty since it is over 3 years old, but I only have 28,800 miles on the car. This shouldn’t be failing after so soon. This happened about 2 years ago, but it stopped and has worked fine for two years. Now it's back and won't go away. There seems to be no way to shut off the car unless it is in PARK. Until I an able to get it fixed I am concerned it won't shut-off one of these times, and what happens if it won't shut-off? None of the options are good if I'm driving after hours and the dealer or service center is closed. This can easily turn into a dangerous situation. (Repair is scheduled for next week.) This seems to be a common error reported on many 2016 through 2020 Chevrolet vehicles. There are service bulletins with regard to this problem. Why has Chevrolet/GM not had a recall for this widespread issue of a faulty micro switch?

NHTSA ODI 11436583

Vehicle has started to make a clanking sound when going in reverse or forward at low speeds. Have taken to multiple mechanics that say there is no visible reason for the issue although they also noticed it when driving. It is alarming that the mechanics cannot find the issue and it is getting worse by the day.

NHTSA ODI 11436230

My 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.

NHTSA ODI 11436175

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.

NHTSA ODI 11435161

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that since purchasing the vehicle, the check engine warning light had remained illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would vibrate and stall without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer as well as several independent mechanics where various repairs were performed; however, despite each repair, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the independent mechanic. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434493

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed but felt rigid, causing the contact to almost stand up and forcefully depress the pedal. The contact stated that the brake pedal responded. The check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle at a slower speed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434237

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while her daughter was at a red light, the engine failed to start-up upon depression of the accelerator as the STOP/START feature failed to operate as needed. The "steering assist reduced, drive with care" warning message appeared on the instrument panel. Her daughter was able to restart the vehicle and resumed normal driving; however, the failure continued to occur intermittently. The contact called the dealer and they informed her that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 46,550.

NHTSA ODI 11433887

While pulling into a parking lot, the brake pedal failed to push down, making me to have to exert force on the brake pedal to stop the car. I had been hearing a "grinding" sound but thought it was from the brake pads needing to be replaced and this was incident was from the calipers being over extended. After replacing the brake pads with the new ones (the old ones were only half the size of the new ones and did not need replacing) the brake pedal still did not push easily. I took the vehicle to the repair shop I always use and they affirmed there was a problem and gave the price for the parts (908.37 for the brake vacuum pump and 107.98 for the Brake Fluid Exchange with ABS). There is visible damage to the end of the camshaft from the pump freezing and being torn apart by the camshaft as a result. The total cost of the repairs was $3409.96, which was unexpected. I was quoted $1134 and change originally for parts and labor at the beginning of the problem being addressed.

NHTSA ODI 11433496

When driving my car and I stop at a red light and then when the light turns green I accelerate. I notice I get a message on my dashboard power assist and reduce speed. This constantly shows up on my dashboard. I have am appointment with Gm on 9/21/21 to take it in to get service.

NHTSA ODI 11433451

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light would remain illuminated. Additionally, after the auto start, the fuel-saving feature was activated, the vehicle was hesitant to restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the ignition switch was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 97,000.

NHTSA ODI 11431160

Car accelerates on its own while I’m driving. In addition , without warning the car engines suddenly reduced speed. This has accrued while I’m on the freeway without any warnings.

NHTSA ODI 11431293

My 2017 Malibu (50K miles) has begun giving me the "Shift to Park" error. When I have parked my car, shifted to park, and turn off the ignition I get the display message saying "Shift to Park" even though I have already done that and turned off the car. To clear the message, I have had to restart the car, shift out of park and back into park more forcefully than I want to or, while the ignition is off, push the gear shift harder to park. This error went from 1 a week to multiple times a day. I spoke with GM and they are saying they are not aware of this problem and I will have to pay for repairs out of pocket. I read today that a class action suit has been filed specifically about this problem. I am hoping with enough owners reporting their shift to park issue, GM will have to issue a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11430572

While pulling out of my driveway in my 2017 Chevy Malibu, my brake pedal pulsed a few times and the pedal would not fully compress. Granted, I was barely moving but the issue made be very nervous. By the time I reached my stop sign, approximately 100ft, the brakes worked normally. This same issue has happened at least a dozen times and, thank fully, never while I was driving at posted speed limits. My OnStar has sent me email notifications acknowledging an ABS issue was detected. After the 3rd time this incident occurred, I did some research and found quite a few owners experiencing this exact issue and some whose brakes failed while driving at speed causing accidents! I have complained to GM, but they are sticking to not knowing anything about this problem and not covering any portion of the repairs. I got the standard canned response that GM will notify owners if and/or when a recall is issued. I am hopeful additional owners will complain so GM has to do something about this.

NHTSA ODI 11430544

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.

NHTSA ODI 11430525

Get "SHIFT TO PARK" after putting car in park to shut it off. I am unable to turn the car off - so do I leave it running in my garage? This is a known error that they charge to fix. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10186071-9999.pdf Attached is my bill to have this known error fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11430077

Reduced Engine Power while driving on highway. Car does not go over 20 MPH.

NHTSA ODI 11429607

There needs to be a recall on the third brake light on the Chevy Malibu. Everyone that I speak with that has a Malibu has had to replace the third brake light because of it breaking and when it rains water leaks into the car.

NHTSA ODI 11429629

I was going 70mph on the highway, when I got a sudden alarm from the car saying "reduced power". The car would not accelerate and started slowing rapidly, almost resulting in a collision. The car would not go more than 20mph. I had to pull off to the shoulder, restart the car several times, and then was able to get the power to come back, but the check engine light remained on.

NHTSA ODI 11427437

Throttle Position Sensor is falfuctioning. Class action law suit against this already. Chevy Malibu Class Action Lawsuit is Hutchinson v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 8:19-­cv­-01551, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Vehicle decelerates at highway speeds down to 20 mph and engine power reduce comes across the screen. Has almost caused me to be in three accidents. Need to recall all malibus and have this part replaced before someone is killed.

NHTSA ODI 11425329

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed going downhill, the brakes failed to engage when the brake pedal was depressed, almost causing a collision. The vehicle struck a curb however, the driver was able to maneuver the steering wheel to go uphill and park the vehicle. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact to not take the vehicle in for diagnosis. The dealer instead referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that he would be contacted after reviewing the information that was provided. The failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11424956

I was driving on the interstate and the dashboard said Engine loss of power. It was very dangerous because it reduced my speed drastically in the middle of traffic! My whole family was in the car and this is the 3rd time this has happened to me since purchasing the car. And now my check engine light is on. I don’t understand why this happens, but defective parts that create this problem put our lives in danger! Why is there not a recall on this? This is very important and should be fixed immediately! I almost wasn’t here to write this so please show me and other owners of these cars in these model years how to not die in your vehicles please?!

NHTSA ODI 11424213

2017 Malibu with less than 36000 miles, complete shutdown of all power. Engine auto stop shuts down engine but does not restart. Have sat in traffic for 15 minutes or longer before the engine would start. When restarted there is no volume on the radio. Has happened 10 to 12 times in the last 2 months. Dealership said they could not recreate issue and gave a load bull as to why it may happen...

NHTSA ODI 11424257

The contact owned a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at undisclosed speeds, without warning as the brake pedal was depressed the vehicle accelerated forward independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal again the vehicle failed to stop causing, the vehicle to crash into the other vehicle in front. No airbag deployed. No police report was filed. The contact and the passenger sustained severe whiplash, 1 week later the contact and his wife sought medical attention and checked in a hospital. The insurance company was contacted and towed the vehicle to the collision shop where it was deemed a total loss. The contact mentioned that the other vehicle was totaled as well. The dealer nor the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11423834