CSR

Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

22

Complaints

1

Crashes

0

Fires

2

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid have filed 22 safety complaints with NHTSA between January 2017 and May 2025. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 11 of them (50%). The typical failure was reported at 14,725 miles, the median across the 12 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Pedestrian alert sounds

DP22005

Closed defect petition · opened January 27, 2023 · closed August 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000

the electrical system

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 22.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 50%
POWER TRAIN 5 23%
ENGINE 3 14%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 14%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 9%
STRUCTURE 2 9%
AIR BAGS 1 5%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 5%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 4.

2017 2019 2025
2017 to 2025

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 5,000 miles

6/13/2017 I WAS INVOLVED IN A 2 VEHICLE COLLISION ON A HIGHWAY. I WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH WHEN A VEHICLE PULLED OUT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME, ATTEMPTING TO CROSS MY LANE OF TRAFFIC. BOTH VEHICLES WERE TOWED. STAFF AT THE TOW SERVICE DISCOVERED THE REAR DOOR AIRBAGS HAD NEVER BEEN PLUGGED IN AT THE FACTORY. THIS IS A LACK OF QUALITY CONTROL AT MANUFACTURERS LEVEL.

NHTSA complaint 11000133. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured · 15,450 miles

THE CAR WAS PARKED AND I WAS EXITING MY VEHICLE. I PIVOTED TO CLOSE THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR. I ACCIDENTALLY DID NOT HAVE MY LEG FULLY CLEAR OF THE DOOR. THE WING TIP EDGE ACTED LIKE A SHOVEL AND TOOK OUT A PIECE OF SKIN ON MY LEG AS I CLOSED THE DOOR REQUIRING STITCHES. I WAS USING A NORMAL AMOUNT OF FORCE TO CLOSE THE DOOR AND WAS SHOCKED AT THE DAMAGE THE DOOR TIP DID TO MY LEG. IT WENT THROUGH THE SKIN LAYER DOWN TO THE MUSCLE. I BELIEVE THE WING TIP DESIGN OF FORWARD CAR DOORS ARE A SAFETY HAZARD AND RISK FOR INJURY. PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING THE EDGE MORE ROUNDED LIKE THE REAR DOORS. THE FILES I AM INCLUDING ARE FROM THE DAY OF INJURY (11/11/17) AND AFTER STITCHES (11/13/17).

NHTSA complaint 11149817. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

towed · 57,733 miles

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that after his wife parked the vehicle, the "Shift to Park" message was displayed while the gear selector was shifted into park(P). The vehicle would not turn off until after several attempts; however, the failure recurred with the doors locking the contact's wife and 3 children inside of the vehicle. The contact's wife was able to turn off the vehicle while the brake pedal was depressed and the Start/Stop button was pressed and unlocked the doors with the key fob. The dealer was made aware of the failure and sent a tow truck to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of

NHTSA complaint 11461784, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Hundreds of times since I purchased the car in July, 2017 I've had a "shift to park" problem. Here is what happens. I go to park my car. I put the car into park. I go to turn off the engine. The engine will not turn off. A sign on the screen says, "shift to park". Apparently as GM explains it, the car is not recognizing that the car is put into park and therefore will not turn off. This first started happening around 2019. The Chevy dealership said it wasn't a big deal and replaced the shifter control assembly. The problem went away for a few years and then popped up again around 2021. Since then it has been an ongoing problem. I end up stuck in the car until the engine turns off. I

NHTSA complaint 11661031, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
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

NHTSA complaint 11660023, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
In 2019 I took my vehicle under warranty to the purchasing dealership to fix a "shift to park" reading after the vehicle is parked. It precludes turning off the car. Repeatedly restarting the car and shifting to park and/or jiggling the controller in park usually stopped the reading. The dealer replaced the control shifter, which fixed the problem for many years. This August, the problem started recurring and I have been attempting to make an appointment in the last week, but none of the local dealers say they can repair this for some time. Most cannot even diagnose the problem for a week or two.

NHTSA complaint 11544252. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
the secondary battery that sits in the trunk, above the back driver side tire had a short. the cable bunt out and my car reduced speed and it had me pull over. I did not know this is what had happened until i drove it again and i could no longer start it. the shift knob is locked and cant put it on drive or neutral. initializing wait to shift, theft deterrent system, transport mode on, stabilitrak, among other things popped up. Had that short sparked up into an actual fire, yes, my life could have been at risk as the car could have caught on fire. Due to it being a long weekend (memorial day weekend) I couldn't take it to a Chevy dealer. I am on an out of town trip for my kids soccer

NHTSA complaint 11524202, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:FLOOR SHIFT
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”.

NHTSA complaint 11480658. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2018 11 0
2016 24 1

Other 2017 Chevrolet models

Every Chevrolet on this site — 298 vehicles, 747 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst