What 720 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Limited

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

Was driving to work at 5:00 am today and merged onto a busy highway. After accelerating to 60 mph, there was a message that appear on my dashboard that read engine power reduced. It was not safe traveling at the speed that I was. The check engine light came on as well as the Stability Control symbol and my car reduced its speed and would not accelerate back to a safe speed. I am going to take it to the dealership and try to get the problem diagnosed. I really hope this issue gets resolved.

NHTSA ODI 11444789

I was at a red light waiting for the light to turn green like normal I press the pedal the car goes at it's normal pace until one day I was at a red light and when I press the pedal the car suddenly shut off and didn't want to start I pulled over called a mechanic couldn't really describe what was going on at the time but i made a appointment for the next day I started up the car up again and it drove and when I reached 30 mph the dashboard flashed engine speed reduce so I took it home and didn't drive to the morning to the mechanic he change a variety of things battery, alternator,sparks plugs, throttlebody ,and mass airflow, and nothing work I finally took it to a dealer and the dealer said it's turbo bypass valve or the actual turbo they don't know which it's either you buy the part and see if it fixes the problem and if it don't buy a whole new turbo

NHTSA ODI 11444654

after 4 years My 2017 Malibu Engine light is on now with power reducing power periodically. Thus is dangerous and was not fixed at the dealer. This is serious. Why isn’t there a recall. I know there is a class action suit. The is not acceptable at all.

NHTSA ODI 11441641

STEERING ASSIST REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE message comes on car screen. The steering wheel jerks and acceleration is reduced. This is putting everyone in my car at risk as we are not able to accelerate fast enough if anything were to happen. Car has been taken to the dealership and they are unable to identify the problem. I checked online and multiple Malibus are having this problem. If you're looking for a safe car for your family member this is not the car. These cars have these errors built in the system and the dealership are unable to find the problem costing a lot of money on diagnostics to get no results. Please notice all the complaints I hope my word is heard. If mine is not heard I hope the next persons will be.

NHTSA ODI 11440155

Ever since I purchased my car I have had many issues under 36,000 miles. 1) locked out of my cars for the first 2 years and eventually there was a recall for a bad module, was replaced. 2) My gear is parked and getting notification not parked and had to fix it. 800 Switch 84733196 and harness 84955381. Parts $41.27 Labor $280.00 Total $321.27 @Gordon Chevrolet. 3) Engine light has come on and off since I purchased the car. Repaired ECM Calibration update and 02 sensor replacement 2 12701634 sensor Parts $143.92 Labor $420.00 Total $563.92. It was repaired on 8/26/2021, once again engine light is on again. 4) A/C needed a new replacement condenser which cost $907.39. I didn't buy a brand new car from now spending way too much time at the dealership to fix it and this needs to be investigated for recall. Dealership did inform me it happens a lot with 2017 Chevy Malibu. Please advise. Invoice No. [XXX], 33753 miles in / 33760 miles out. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11440023

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

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 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

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

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

NHTSA ODI 11429607

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

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

THIS IS MY SECOND COMPLAINT AND POSSIBLY THE LAST, IN MY FIRST COMPLAINT I REPORTED THE PROBLEM WITH THE CAR AFTER SHOWING A STABILITY TRACK WARNING LIGHT THEN SLOWING TO A 20 MPH VELOCITY IN A SNOW STORM , THEN MY ADVENTURE WITH THE VACUUM PUMP SHATTERING , THUS NO VACUUM, NO BRAKES, ON THE HIGHWAY GOING 70 MPH. AFTER THAT SCARE , IT HAD A CRANK NO START PROBLEM. THAT'S WHERE I ENDED MY FIRST COMPLAINT . PART 2, I COLLECTED MY STIMULUS MONEY AND HAD MY 2017 CHEVY MALIBU LS TOWED TO A CHEVY DEALERSHIP. AFTER THE SERVICE MANAGER ASKED ME FOR THE SPARE FOB, I ASKED HIM COULD THAT BE THE PROBLEM THE BATTERIES WENT LOW AND THE FOB KEYS HAD TO BE RE-PROGRAMED. HE STATED PROBABLY, I WENT HOME HOPING IT WOULD BE SOMETHING MINOR. 3 WEEKS LATER I GET A CALL FROM THE SERVICE MANAGER THAT HE WANTED TO GO THROUGH THE DIAGNOSTIC INSPECTION RESULTS WITH ME, I ASK HIM WAS IT SOMETHING MINOR, HE SAID WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO WORK ON THE CRANK, NO START PROBLEM CAUSE YOU HAVE LOW COMPRESSION ON ONE OF YOU ENGINE CYLINDERS YOU NEED A NEW ENGINE, THAT'S NOT MINOR 72,365 MILES, NEW ENGINE , ESTIMATE $8,224.80. STILL PAYING THE BANK FOR IT..THIS GENERATION MALIBU'S ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO GOOD. I OWN A 1994 CHEVROLET SILVERADO WITH 135,000 MILES BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW, RUNS GREAT, THE COST CUTTING IS BEING SACRIFICED FOR QUALITY, AND US CONSUMERS ARE GETTING THE LOW END.

NHTSA ODI 11416053

SPEED REDUCED ON FREEWAY TO 20MPH, SPEED REDUCED WARNING WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON.

NHTSA ODI 11415526

AS WE WERE GOING 75MPH DOWN THE HIGHWAY THE VEHICLE STARTED DEACCELERATING WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WITH THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE APPEARING ON THE SCREEN 'ENGINE POWER REDUCED' WE HAD TO QUICKLY PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO AVOID HAVING A WRECK. AFTER SHUTTING THE CAR OFF FOR A LITTLE BIT THE MESSAGE DISAPPEARED. AFTER LOOKING INTO THIS THERE A MULTIPLE PEOPLE WITH THE SAME CAR AND SAME ISSUES, BUT NO RECALL OR INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN STARTED.

NHTSA ODI 11413830

VEHICLE RANDOMLY PRESENTS AN ENGINE FAILURE MAKING IMPOSSIBLE ANY ACCELERATION. ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AS WELL AS THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT. IT DISPLAYS A MESSAGE 'ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED'. THIS FORCES THE DRIVER TO HAVE TO PULL OVER REGARDLESS OF TRAFFIC OR UNSAFE CONDITIONS. THE CAR HAS TO BE TURNED OFF AND BACK ON AFTER APPROXIMATELY 20 SECONDS IN ORDER TO RESET THE TRACTION LIGHT ONLY TO OFF, TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING.

NHTSA ODI 11413709

AUGUST 31, 2019 - PURCHASED A 2017 CHEVY MALIBU AT THE DEALERSHIP APRIL 4TH, 2021 - MY CAR HAD A ROUGH RUNNING ENGINE WITH THE INDICATOR LAMP ON. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK MY CAR TO BE INSPECTED (ATTACHED BELOW), A TECHNICIAN FOUND DTC P0300 SET ALONG WITH A MISFIRE LOW COMPRESSION IN ONE OR MORE CYLINDERS. HE CONCLUDED THE CONDITION WAS CAUSED BY A DAMAGED PISTON. MY MECHANIC SHOWED ME A BULLETIN FROM GM DESCRIBING THIS EXACT ISSUE AND THEN RECOMMEND ME TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE DEALERSHIP THAT I BOUGHT THE CAR AND OR THE MANUFACTURER. APRIL 5TH, 2021 - THE GM REPS THAT I TALKED TO CONCLUDED THAT MY WARRANTY ENDED AND DENIED ANY ASSISTANCE FROM THE MANUFACTURE. THEY CLAIMED TO NOT FIND THE BULLETINS THAT I ATTACHED TO THIS FORM.

NHTSA ODI 11413118

WHILE DRIVING ON MULTIPLE ACCUSATIONS MY ENGINE LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND GO OFF WITHIN MINUTES AND NOT RETURN TILL I TURN THE CAR BACK ON OR WHILE DRIVING LATER ON IN THE DAY OR DAYS AFTER SEEING THE LIGHT COME SO I WAS UNABLE TO BRING IT IN TO GET CHECKED OUT PROPERLY. A MONTH PASSED WHEN THE ISSUE APPEARED AND WHEN I DECIDED TO GO INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO POSSIBLY TRADE IN MY CAR THE LIGHT WAS NOT APPEARING FOR DAYS BEFOREHAND AND THINGS WERE NORMAL TILL A A COUPLE DAYS AFTER I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP MY CAR READ ON THE DASH 'REDUCED ENGINE POWER ' I WASN'T ABLE TO ACCELERATE QUICK ENOUGH IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC ON MILITARY TRAIL AND BELVEDERE I HAD TO PULL THROUGH A WALMART PARKING LOT TO AVOID ON COMING TRAFFIC AND BRING THE CAR TO MY HOME CLOSE BY VERY SLOW AND SLUGGISH DUE TO NOT GETTING ANY ACCELERATION FROM ME PRESSING ON THE PEDAL. THE DEALERSHIP WANTS TO REPLACE MY FUEL PUMP SYSTEM AT A COST HOWEVER IT HAS A CURRENT RECALL FOR MY SPECIFIC MAKE AND MODEL.

NHTSA ODI 11407282

THIS ISSUE HAS HAPPENED TWICE. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED IT WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY AND A MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD, "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED." IT BEGAN DEACCELERATING FROM 75 MPH TO 20 MPH. I HAD TO QUICKLY PULL OVER THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND I CUT THE CAR OFF. I TRUNED THE CAR BACK ON AND THE MESSAGE WENT AWAY. THE SECOND TIME IT OCCURRED THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY AGAIN WHEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON IN THE DASHBOARD WITH A MESSAGE, "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED." THE CAR WAS GOING 80 MPH WHEN THE MESSAGE CAME ON THIS TIME. I REACHED OUT TO THE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP AND THEY CONFIRMED THERE WAS NOT A RECALL. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE ISSUE AND DISCOVERED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME VEHICLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11405897

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE ENGINE POWER REDUCED WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE RPMS BEGAN TO LOWER AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO EXCEED 20 MPH. THE CONTACT RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND CONTINUED DRIVING WITHOUT FURTHER ISSUE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HER HUSBAND WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SCHEDULED TO BE DIAGNOSED AT FAIRGROUND AUTO PLAZA (100 FAIRGROUNDS RD, ROLLA, MO 65401, (573)364-1002) WHICH WAS STILL PENDING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND A CASE WAS OPENED. THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING A RETURN CALL FROM THE MANUFACTURER. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 68,000.

NHTSA ODI 11405590

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE FOR MY SON IN JANUARY 2017. 3/27/2021, HE WAS DRIVING IT AND LOST POWER ON THE INTERSTATE. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT GO OVER 25 MILES AN HOUR. HE HAD TO STOP ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND LET IT SIT FOR A WHILE THEN RESTART IT. IT HAPPENED 4 ADDITIONAL TIMES WITHIN 30 MINUTES.

NHTSA ODI 11405168

I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN 2018 WITH 20,000 MILES ON IT. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON MORE THAN 7 TIMES IN THE PAST 2 YEARS. I HAD TO HAVE THE FUEL INJECTOR WORKED ON, SOMETIMES IT WON'T SHIFT COMPLETELY INTO PARK, I HAD IT DECREASE IN SPEED FROM 70 ON THE HIGHWAY TO NO MORE THAN 20 MPH WITH OVER $400 IN REPAIRS JUST THAT TIME. I DO NOT DRIVE FAST OR DEPRIVE MY CAR OF REGULAR MAINTENANCE. I HAVE NEVER HAD ISSUES LIKE THIS WITH ANY OTHER VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11404256