What 687 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY TODAY GOING AROUND 70 MPH AND MY CAR DISPLAYED "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" AND IMMEDIATELY LOST POWER AND DECELERATED. IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT IT HAS DONE THIS BUT IT WAS THE FIRST TIME DRIVING AT THAT HIGH RATE OF SPEED. THE OTHER TIMES IT HAS HAPPENED ON CITY STREETS WHEN I WAS GOING MORE THAN MAYBE 40 MPH. EACH TIME IF I TURN THE CAR OFF AND THEN WAIT A FEW SECONDS AND START IT AGAIN, THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER DISPLAY IS GONE AND I DONT HAVE ANYMORE IMMEDIATE ISSUES WITH IT, SOMETIMES FOR DAYS OR WEEKS AT A TIME. I HAVE NOTICED ONLINE THAT SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH THEIR 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU.

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THE HORIZONTAL SEAT ADJUSTMENT MOTOR HAS A SHAFT THAT BROKE. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AT THE TIME.

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WHEN I PUSH THE BUTTON TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE WHILE HAVING MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE IT DISPLAYS A MESSAGE SAYING 'SHIFT TO PARK'. IT WILL NOT LET YOU TURN OFF THE CAR. I HAVE TO PUSH THE BUTTON TO 'RESTART THE ENGINE' THEN SLAM IT INTO PARK. IT TYPICALLY TAKES 3 REPEATS OF THIS BEFORE THE CAR FINALLY ALLOWS ME TO SHUT IT OFF. IT'S FRUSTRATING, TIME CONSUMING AND NOISY AS IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE MESSAGE AND GO TO OPEN THE DOOR, IT BEEPS NOISILY NOTIFYING YOU THAT THE CAR IS NOT OFF. APPARENTLY QUITE A FEW DRIVERS HAVE THIS ISSUE, AS I HAVE READ THE COMPLAINTS LISTED. MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP QUOTED ME AT REPAIR COSTS OF OVER $700 TO FIX THIS. THIS SEEMS UNFAIR SINCE CLEARLY IT IS A MANUFACTURER ISSUE. *TR

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WHEN I PUT MY CAR IN PARK AND TURN THE ENGINE OFF I AM GETTING A MESSAGE THAT SAYS SHIFT TO PARK. THIS APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE.

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SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST MONTH OR SO MY CAR HAS DISPLAYED A WARNING THAT SAYS ENGINE POWER REDUCED, AND EVEN IF YOU'RE GOING HIGHWAY SPEED, WILL REDUCE YOUR SPEED DOWN TO AROUND 20 MPH. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, IT WAS AROUND 6PM IN BUSY TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY, ALMOST CAUSING ME TO WRECK. IT STOPPED HAPPENING FOR A WHILE, BUT NOW IT HAS DONE IT OVER 20 TIMES IN THE PAST 48 HOURS. IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN YOUR VEHICLE IS IN MOTION.

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LATELY WHEN I STOP AT A LIGHT OR INTERSECTION MY VEHICLE AUTO STOPS BUT WHEN I TRY TO GO THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF AND WILL NOT START. I HAVE TO PUT ON MY FLASHERS WHILE IN TRAFFIC AND SHUT THE VEHICLE ON AND OFF UNTIL IT RESTARTS. ONE OF THE WARNINGS READ STABIL AND ANOTHER READS POWER SHUT OFF AS WELL AS BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE. I HAVE TAKEN IT IN BUT HAVE BEEN TOLD THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS WRONG SO THEY RESET THE SYSTEM HOWEVER, THIS DANGEROUS ISSUE REMAINS. THIS STARTED THE BEGINNING OF MARCH AND HAS CONTINUED.

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1ST SCENARIO/INCIDENT:WHEN AT A FULL STOP THE CAR IS IN "AUTO STOP". AFTER WHEN I RELEASE THE BREAK AND ACCELERATE THE CAR TURNS BACK ON AND THE STEERING WHEEL WILL JERK TO THE LEFT, WITHOUT ME MOVING THE STEERING WHEEL. THE DASH WILL DISPLAY MESSAGE "STEERING ASSIST IS REDUCED, DRIVE WITH CARE". 2ND SCENARIO/INCIDENT:WHEN AT A FULL STOP AT AN UPWARD STEEP ROAD AFTER I RELEASE THE BREAK AND ACCELERATE THE MESSAGE "STEERING ASSIST IS REDUCED, DRIVE WITH CARE" WILL APPEAR ON THE DASH AND THE CAR WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD IT WILL ROLL BACKWARD UNTIL THE BREAK IS PRESSED IT WILL STOP ROLLING BACK. AFTER THAT WHEN THE ACCELERATOR IS PRESSED AGAIN IT WILL FINALLY MOVE FORWARD.

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SEAT BELT WOULD NOT RELEASE WHILE BUCKLING, STUCK IN THE UNBUCKLED POSITION. WILL NOT RELEASE. STATIONARY.

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EVERYT I PUT MY CAR IN PARK I GET AN ERROR STATING SHIFT TO PARK AND THE CAR WILL NOT TURN OFF. THE CAR IS IN PARK WHEN I'M TRYING TO TURN THE CAR OFF. TOOK MY CAR TO CHEVY AND THERE IS SOME FAULTY PAPER WORK . I SIGNED OFF ON ONE CONTRACT THEN I WAS CALLED IN AND WAS TOLD SOME OF MY SIGNATURE DIDNT DO THROUGH AND NOW ITS SHOWING I CANCELED THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WHICH I NEVER DID. I STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL PAPERWORK. THEY REVISED MY ORIGINAL CONTRACT WITH GOING OVER THE NEW CONTRACT. NOW IM STUCK WITH AN EXPENSIVE BILL FOR REPAIR BECAUSE I ASSUMED I WAS SIGNING THE SAME CONTRACT. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDED TO THE RECALL LIST FOR REPAIR. ITHIS IS NOT A USER ISSUE THIS IS A GM ISSUE.

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VEHICLE STABILITY TRACK DISABLED AND STEERING GET STIFF AND HARD TO CONTROL. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE AND 1000'S OF PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED IT. DEALER WANT TO CHAR $2,700 TO FIX FOR AN ISSUE THAT WAS REPORTED AS A DANGEROUS AND KNOWN TO THE MANUFACTURER. THE WARNING COME ON INTERMENT AND MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL SPECIALLY AT HIGH SPEED. ALL OTHER SAFETY FEATURES SUCH AS ACCIDENT WARNING OR LANE DEPARTURE GETS DISABLED

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WHILE DRIVING 60MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, MY CAR BEGAN BEEPING AND DISPLAYED 'REDUCED ENGINE POWER' ON THE SCREEN. THE TRACTION LIGHT AND ENGINE LIGHT ALSO CAME ON. THE CARS SPEED WAS IMMEDIATELY REDUCED ALMOST CAUSING A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AS I WAS IN THE LEFT LANE ON THE HIGHWAY WITH A SEMI BEHIND AND BESIDE ME. I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER TO THE SHOULDER. I HAD TO RESTART THE CAR TWICE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE DRIVE IT HOME. THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING SITUATION. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS STILL ON. UPON GOOGLING THIS ISSUE, MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM AND THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL! IF MY REACTION TIME WASN'T A FAST AS IT WAS TODAY, I WOULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY HURT, OR WORSE. GM NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS.

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WELL I'M DRIVING IN THE FREEWAY AND THE CAR STAR LOSSING POWER I ALMOST CRASH THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURN ON AND IT'S SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE STABILITY SOMENTIHIN LIKE THAT AND THAT I HAVE TO BE BECARFULL DRIVING

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IN AUGUST OF 2019 MY CAR WOULDN'T SHIFT OUT OF PARK. I HAD TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED TO A LOCAL CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP AT NIGHT WHERE IT WAS THERE FOR A WEEK THIS VISIT WAS FOR THE GEAR SHIFT TO BE REPLACED. OCTOBER 2019 MY CAR START STOP FEATURE MADE MY CAR SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF RUSH HOUR MORNING TRAFFIC THIS TRIP WAS SAID TO BE THE CHARGING SYSTEM AND THE BATTERY. IN JANUARY 2020 I STARTED TO HAVE THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE CAR JUST STOPPING THIS TIME IT WAS THE ELECTRICAL MODULE I ALSO HAD THE OIL CHANGED AND A ALL WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND I PICKED UP MY CAR AND 10 DAYS LATER MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON SO BACK TO THE CHEVY DEALERSHIP 2 DAYS THEY SAY WE FIXED IT. 48 HOURS LATER THE ENGINE LIGHT IS BACK ON. I WAS TOLD THAT WE JUST CLEARED THE ENGINE LIGHT IN HOPE'S THAT WOULD JUST FIX THE PROBLEM SO NOW 2 AND HALF WEEKS LATER THEY STILL HAVE MY CAR. THEY HAVE NO CLUE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.

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I WAS ON A HIGHWAY IN WARREN OH DRIVING TO WORK TRAVELING AT 65 MPH IN THE LEFT LANE. A MESSAGE APPEARED AND SAID LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND THE AT WENT FROM 65 TO 20 IN 1 SECOND. THERE WERE VEHICLES BEHIND ME AND BESIDE ME. I WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED AND WHEN I TRIED TO GET OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD I WAS ALMOST SMASHED BY A SEMI. AS WELL AS THAT MESSAGE IT THEN STATED STEERING ASSIST INACTIVE SO IT WAS THEN HARD TO TURN MY WHEEL AS IF THERE WASN'T ENOUGH OF A PROBLEM. THANK GOD I AM OK BUT SOMEONE ELSE MAY NOT BE SO LUCKY. THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS THAT I SEE ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THIS ISSUE. HOW IS THERE NOT A RECALL. GM SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE REPAIRS. I JUST PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN NOV 2019.

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ON TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020, I WAS TRAVELING ON THEY HIGHWAY WHEN SUDDENLY MY CAR REDUCED SPEED. AND THE ENGINE POWER REDUCE LIGHT CAME ON. THIS WAS AT APPROXIMATELY 5:30 PM DURING RUSH HOUR ON THE HIGHWAY. THERE WAS NO ALERT PRIOR TO THIS HAPPENING AND A VEHICLE BEHIND ME HAD TO QUICKLY GO AROUND ME. I COULD NOT GO OVER 20 MPH. ONCE I GOT BACK ON THE HIGHWAY AND THEN I HAD TO PAY TO HAVE MY VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP.

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REDUCED ENGINE POWER FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED I WAS MAKING A U TURN AT SLOW SPEEDS WHEN MY DASH DISPLAYED ' REDUCED ENGINE POWER' CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AS WELL AS TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT . I PULLED OVER TURNED MY CAR OFF AND BACK ON A FEW MINS LATER LATER LIGHTS WENT AWAY AND CAR DROVE FINE . ( NOVEMBER 2019 ) SECOND TIME WAS MID FEBRUARY 2020 I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 40 MPH WHEN SAME THING HAPPENED . DASH LIGHTS CAME ON REDUCED ENGINE POWER CAME BACK ON AND CAR SLOWED DOWN TO LESS THE 20 MPH WITHIN SECONDS . ONCE AGAIN I HAD TO PULL OVER TURNED MY CAR ON/OFF ABOUT 3 TIMES IN 20 MINS FOR LIGHT TO GO AWAY AND CAR DRIVE NORMAL AGAIN . THIRD TIME TODAY 2/27/20 AT MAYBE 10 MPH MY DASH LIT UP ONCE AGAIN CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DID NOT GO AWAY THIS TIME . BUT CAR DROVE FINE AFTERWORDS LUCKILY IT HASN'T HAPPENED ON HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR . ALL THIS IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS I BOUGHT MY CAR WITH 20 MILES JUNE 1ST 2017 AND CURRENTLY HAS 38K MILES . THIS DEFINITELY HAS TO BE FIXED BEFORE IT CAUSES SERIOUS ACCIDENTS !

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THE CAR KEEPS SAYING SHIFT TO PARK, HAD TO PUT IN REVERSE SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT DOESN'T SAY THIS. TOOK IT TO DEALER JEFF SMITT. THEY DID DIAGNOSTIC AND SAID IT WAS SHIFT HARNESS. COST 237.94 TWO DAYS LATER CAR CONTINUES TO SAY SHIFT TO PARK. TOOK BACK TO DEALER, THEY NOW SAY WHOLE HARNESS NEEDS REPLACED. $312. I HAVE NOT PAID IT. DOING RESEARCH LOOKED ON INTERNET AND SEE SEVERAL OTHERS ARE HAVING THE EXACT ISSUE WITH THE MALIBU. IT SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THIS. I WORKED FOR GENERAL MOTORS FOR 14 YEARS. THIS IS A PROBLEM GM SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR, NOT THE PEOPLE WHO GIVE THEM BUSINESS. IT NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ASAP

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REDUCED ENGINE POWER STARTED POPPING UP ON THE DASHBOARD AND FORCEFULLY REDUCES SPEED TO 20MPH. HUNDREDS OF CHEVY OWNERS ARE REPORTING THIS ABNORMALITIES RECENTLY AND CHEVROLET IS CONCEALING THIS MANUFACTURE DEFECT.

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HYBRID BATTERY CORROSION DUE TO FAULTY BRAKE LIGHT LETTING WATER INTRUDE INTO TRUNK. I WAS OUT OF COUNTRY FOR MOST OF 2019 AND WHEN I RETURNED I WENT THROUGH MAIL AND DISCOVERED A LETTER FROM GM STATING THAT WATER CAN GET INTO TRUNK AND CABIN FROM A CHMSL. I CHECKED MY TRUNK AND IT WAS FULL OF WATER AND METAL ITEMS ARE AND WERE OXIDIZED AS WELL AS THE HYBRID BATTERY IN THE TRUNK. THIS CORROSION WILL NOT STOP ONCE ESTABLISHED ESPECIALLY WITH CHARGED ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS. AND PREMATURELY SHORTENING THE LIFE OF THE HYBRID BATTERY DUE TO POOR QUALITY AND DEFECTIVE NUTS USED TO SECURE THE CHMSL.

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THE RADIO PANEL SCREEN WENT OUT JUST BLANK BUT THE RADIO STILL WORKS JUST YESTERDAY MY GIRLFRIEND GOT IN THE CAR AND IT WOULD NOT START SO WE TRIED TO JUMP IT IT WENT DEAD. SO I HAD TO TOW IT HOME WHERE IT SITS

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I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT AT 47MPH ON A MAJOR STREET IN DENVER AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. AT THE SAME TIME, THE DISPLAY READ "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED" AND I LOST ALL ACCELERATION. MY SPEED DROPPED TO ABOUT 20MPH VERY QUICKLY (5 TO 8 SECONDS). LUCKILY THERE WAS RELATIVELY LIGHT TRAFFIC. I PULLED INTO AN AUTOZONE THAT WAS AT THE NEXT INTERSECTION AND THEY READ THE ERROR CODE P2138. COME TO FIND OUT THIS SHOWS AN ERROR WITH THE THROTTLE/PEDAL POSITION CENSOR. I GOT BACK IN MY CAR TO DRIVE HOME AND WITHIN 30 SECONDS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT OFF AND MY CAR RAN LIKE NORMAL. I'M STILL VERY WORRIED ABOUT THIS SENSOR HOWEVER. WHEN I LOOKED THIS UP ONLINE TONIGHT, I CAME TO FIND OUT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM YET CHEVY HAS DECIDED NOT TO RECALL THIS PART. DOING MORE RESEARCH LEAD ME TO THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT WHICH HAS BEEN BY ROTHSCHILD V. GENERAL MOTORS LLC, CASE NO. 1:19-CV-05240, IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. FROM WHAT I READ, AND KNOWING THAT I DRIVE 35,000 MILES PER YEAR FOR WORK, I BELIEVE THIS COULD BE A HUGE IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN WHEN I'M DOING 75+MPH ON THE INTERSTATE. I URGE THE NHTSA TO REVIEW THIS VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION CAREFULLY AND STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU HAVE CHEVY DO THE RIGHT THING AND GET THIS PART FIXED AND REPLACED TO KEEP US DRIVERS SAFE!!

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MY CHEVY MALIBU CURRENTLY HAS ABOUT 20K MILES ON IT IN ADDITION TO THAT IT IS UP TO DATE ON OIL CHANGES ETC. ABOUT 20 MINS AGO WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE MESSAGES ME SAYING "ENGINE POWER REDUCED" AND ALL OF A SUDDEN MY VEHICLES POWER WAS REDUCED. THANKFULLY I WASNT DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY OR ANYTHING BUT THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS AND ALARMING TO ME. I RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM ONLINE AND FOUND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS FOR MY PARTICULAR MODEL AND FIND THAT VERY IRRESPONSIBLE OF GM TO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY ON THIS ISSUE AND FIX IT. I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET HURT. THANK YOU

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WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE DOWN THE ON-RAMP ONTO A HIGHWAY ALL OF A SUDDEN I LOST POWER AND COULD NOT EXCEED 40MPH. I ALMOST GOT SIDESWIPED WHILE TRYING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC BUT COULDN'T GAIN SPEED. BEFORE ABRUPTLY PULLING ONTO THE SHOULDER THE ANTI-SKID AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON ALONG WITH A DASH WARNING THAT STATED :"ENGINE POWER REDUCED". I TOOK IT TO A VENDOR WHO SEARCHED THE CODE MY CAR PRODUCED AND IT WAS "P2138", WHICH IS "THROTTLE/PEDAL POSITION SENSOR/ SWITCH D/ E VOLTAGE CORRELATION". I SEARCHED THIS ISSUE ONLINE TO FIND A TON OF SIMILAR IF NOT THE EXACT SAME ISSUES WITH OTHER CHEVY MALIBUS.THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE! I COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED.

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I WAS DRIVING 35MPH ON CITY STREET GOING STRAIGHT ON THE ROAD AND ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR SLOWED DOWN TO 10MPH. A POP UP SAYING CAR ENGINE POWER REDUCED CAME UP ON THE DASH BORED ALONG WITH MY ENGINE LIGHT

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MY CHEVY MALIBU HAS STOPPED SEVERAL TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY MORE OFTEN DURNING TRAFFIC TIME IT ALWAYS STOPS WHEN IT ENTERS AUTO STOP THEN IT CUTS ALL THE WAY OFF AND I HAVE TO RESTART IT I CALLED IN ABOUT THIS LAST YEAR . ALSO IT MAKES IT REALLY TOUGH TO PUSH MY BREAKS WHEN I START THE CAR UP IT DOES MAKE THE SOUND LIKE IT WANTS TO START THEN IT DIES OUT

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