69 complaints reported

2017 Chevrolet Malibu Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
69
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Sep 2025

The car completely lost power while being driven on a freeway in Sacramento, California. The car was towed to a Chevrolet dealer in Davis, California and they determined that the car lost power due to a faulty Auxiliary Battery Negative Cable Assembly (Part # 84085823). The Chevrolet dealer cannot find the part because GM has discontinued production of the part. Also, despite extensive internet searches for the part including after-market sites, E-Bay, Amazon, AC Delco, all major auto part supply chains, etcetera, the part has not been found. The car has been at the dealer's facility for ~ 6 weeks with no resolution. The car is a hybrid, has been serviced regularly and properly, has never been in an accident and is very good shape. In other words, if the car is safely repaired, it is still going to be a very useful family vehicle. GM representatives have told the dealer to try to find the part in a local junk yard. The car will likely not be safe if a junkyard part is ultimately used in the repair - the reason the the car is at the dealership is because the car completely died at freeway speed. The cost of the needed part was only ~ $50 (fifty dollars) when it was being produced.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU HYBRID, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Mar 2025
Aug 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle was shifted to park, but failed to turn off. The shift to park message was displayed. The contact wiggled the gear shifter, and the vehicle eventually turned off. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the gear shifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed there was no warranty coverage and referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2025
Jul 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that on several occasions after shifting the gear shifter to park(P), and turning off the vehicle, the contact observed a dinging notification and the message "Shift to Park" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2025
May 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the gear shifter failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the gear shifter was shifted to park(P); however, the shift to park message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact was informed that it would be several days before the diagnostic results could be provided. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2025
Jan 2025

While driving, random and complete engine power loss for several seconds, unable to accelerate at all. After power is regained, a cloud of white smoke is seen from the exhaust. The vehicle then drives completely normal, and no codes show up on the dashboard. This has happened three times within two months at around 100000mi on the odometer. Complete power loss could result in being a hazard to other drivers, along with not allowing the driver to make decisions to avoid an accident or propel their vehicle forward. The vehicle is going in for inspection within the next two weeks to determine cause.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2025
Nov 2024

Approximately 2-3 times a month the car's transmission intermittently fails to engage from a stop. Wont go forward or in reverse. Need to restart the car to fix the issue. Dont feel safe driving the car in traffic where a failure to accelerate could cause an accident. The issue started at under 17000, and the now has only 18846 miles. Chevy Malibu 2017 Premier. Dealer not sure what this issue is but wants to replace the transmission which I dont have the budget to cover. GM only offered to cover 15% of the repair and does not seem concerned about the safety issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2024
Oct 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and shifting to the park, the message "Shift to Park" was displayed, and the vehicle could not immediately be turned off. After shifting the transmission selector several times, the message disappeared, and the contact was able to turn off the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 15,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2024
Aug 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the gear shifter failed to move into gear. The contact had to depress the brake pedal and restart the vehicle. The message that the vehicle was not in park was displayed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle failed to turn off. The local dealer was contacted, and informed the contact that there were no associated recalls for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and informed the contact that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
Jun 2024

Vehicle says to shift to park when it is in park. This doesn't allow you to turn off the car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2022
Aug 2023

I get a notification for shift to park and I can’t put car in park. I’ve paid for the repair once at about $500 and it’s doing it again.it’s clearly an issue because many people have put complaints in and the dealerships are seeing it frequently. Is this a recall or will gm reimburse me since clearly it’s a major issue for this make and model.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
Jun 2023

Fail to ingage into park Car can roll away if not staying park mode. Yes dealer Inspected and repaired by dealer Dashboard stater shifter not engaged, first appeared 10/27/2022

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Oct 2022
May 2023

Vehicle has trouble turning off once in park. Vehicle doesn't acknowledge the shift change in order to allow the vehicle to shut off the engine.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2023
Jan 2023

When the vehicle is in park and you try to turn it off with the start/stop button an on dash error code of ‘Shift to Park’ appears even though the vehicle is clearly in park. You are not able to turn the vehicle off. I am very concerned this could cause major safety issues! When I searched for it, it appears a lot of GM owners are having the same issue. Please issue a recall!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
Dec 2022

Shifting into park, transmission control assembly. Cannot put the car into park, have to fiddle with the shifter to get the car to turn off, drains my battery. Have to make certain car is off and in park before putting gas into the car. First incident was in April, and now ongoing every time I try to turn the car off. Error Message: Shift to Park

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Apr 2022
Nov 2022

The contact's mother owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(P) however, the “Shift to Park” message was displayed, preventing the vehicle from turning off. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth and then shifted into park(P) before the proper gear was recognized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Nov 2022
Oct 2022

PROBLEM WITH THE SHIFTER. PLACED IT IN PARK. MESSAGE CENTER SAYS TO PUT IT IN PARK. HAD TO JIGGLE THE SHIFTER A FEW TIMES, THEN THE MESSAGE WOULD STOP. SOMETIMES, I HAD TO RESTART THE CAR AND TAKE IT OUT OF PARK AND BACK IN. IT WOULD HAPPEN ONCE IN AWHILE AND NOW MORE FREQUENTLY . TOOK IT TO A CHEVY DEALER AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE SHIFTER.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 2022
Sep 2022

When shutting off vehicle, will get an alert to put vehicle in park. Even though you’re in park. Engine will shut off but everything else stays on. Car will continuous beep. You then have to turn car on and off until message goes away.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2022
Sep 2022

The shifter will get not recognize it's in park. I will typically have to move around the shifter or force it from low to park multiple times for it to recognize. This has happened multiples times over the past year. I have also read online multiple other chevy malibu owners have also experienced this.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Sep 2022
Aug 2022

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle lost motive power and electrical power. The contact stated she was able to jump start the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The battery was replaced and the stability trac warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 22,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Aug 2022
Aug 2022

The car will show shift to park. It has been repaired before. GM is aware of this but it can happen multiple times. It will cause the battery to drain faster, the starter to go faster due to starting the car over and over.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2022
Aug 2022

In order to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle must be in park. I have experienced several incidences where, despite being in park (shifter is moved all the way forward and the “P” is red on the dash display), the vehicle will not turn off and states to shift to park to turn off. Sometimes I can just return the car to drive and then put it in to park again, but I have had several incidences where I was unable to turn off my vehicle after 10 or more tries to get it in to “park”.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU HYBRID, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 2022
Jul 2022

When the vehicle is in park and turned off, there is a message that appears on the dashboard that reads, "Shift to Park," despite the gear shift in the park position. This is a safety hazard because the vehicle will not turn off and will continue to use the vehicle's battery unless the "Shift to Park" message is cleared from the dash board. To clear the message, one must press the gear shift button several times or wiggle the gear shifter. My spouse spent 10 minutes doing this earlier today and was almost late for a doctor's appointment. If my spouse did not clear the "Shift to Park" message, my spouse would have risked having a dead battery after the doctor's appointment and would have had to call for a ride home or walk in weather with heat indices in the mid-90 degree F. The "Shift to Park" message has showed up on the dashboard with increased frequency over the past several weeks and Chevy should issue a recall to remedy this issue at no cost to consumers. This is a known issue by Chevy, according to GMauthority.com, as a class action lawsuit has been filed because Chevy has not acted to fix a known problem in their vehicles. I am writing to add my complaint to the list complaints this agency has received regarding this issue. Please promptly issue a recall to remedy this issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2022
Jul 2022

For the past almost year, my vehicle states to shift to park b ut it is in park. This is happening on a regular basis. I should not have to sit there and wrestle with the transmission shifter to get this to turn off. This has caused my battery to die and now my transmission is slipping. This is a known issue for several models and is becoming a serious issue for me.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jul 2022
Jun 2022

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle shut off and the warning messages "Power Engine Low", "Steering Reduced; Be Careful" were displayed. The contact stated upon restarting the vehicle, the warning messages were no longer illuminated and she was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 45-55 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently to 25-30 MPH. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring intermittently. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the convertor actuator voltage performance for the power train system had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for the repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: May 2022
May 2022

Frequently the car will say that the transmission is not in park, but the shifter is in the park position, and the car will not turn off until I take it from park to reverse to park again. Sometimes it takes several tries before the car will register that it is in park.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 2022

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2017 Chevrolet Malibu has 69 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.