Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid

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

Owners have filed 22 safety complaints about the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 11 complaints, 50% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 14,725 miles, the median across the 12 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers January 2017 to May 2025 · How this is counted

What is on file

22 complaints on file

Complaints

Describe a crash

Mention fire

People injured

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

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.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 · 50% 11 50%

POWER TRAIN 5 · 23% 5 23%

ENGINE 3 · 14% 3 14%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 · 14% 3 14%

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 · 9% 2 9%

STRUCTURE 2 · 9% 2 9%

AIR BAGS 1 · 5% 1 5%

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 · 5% 1 5%

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 5% 1 5%

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 5% 1 5%

VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 · 5% 1 5%

0 8 15

One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 22.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

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

8 6 4 2

17 2017 18 2018 19 2019 20 2020 21 2021 22 2022 23 2023 25 2025

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2025.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Defect investigations

1 on file

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.

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

AIR BAGS Filed June 20, 2017

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 Filed November 7, 2018

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 Filed April 22, 2022

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 Filed May 14, 2025

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 Filed May 9, 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

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

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Filed September 13, 2023

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 Filed May 28, 2023

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 Filed August 22, 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”.

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

Silverado 1500 712 Malibu 702 Volt 698 Traverse 361 Bolt EV 348 Equinox 273 Corvette 256 Colorado 216

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Chevrolet on this site — 304 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file, published October 2, 2026.

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 guarledes
Independent developer and analyst