2017 Chevrolet Malibu Electrical System Problems
Owners have filed 161 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, 23% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 50,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “shift park” (34% of reports).
- 161electrical system complaints
- 50,000median miles at failure
- 0mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 47%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Shift park: mentioned in 54 of 161 complaints (34%)
- Turn off: mentioned in 22 of 161 complaints (14%)
- Engine power: mentioned in 20 of 161 complaints (12%)
At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?
Based on 76 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 161 complaints, 1 a fire.
Chevrolet Malibu electrical system complaints by model year
| Model year | Electrical System complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Malibu | 4 | 36% | — |
| 2024 Malibu | 18 | 42% | — |
| 2023 Malibu | 12 | 17% | 31,000 |
| 2022 Malibu | 33 | 34% | 15,901 |
| 2021 Malibu | 30 | 33% | 53,100 |
| 2020 Malibu | 57 | 29% | 22,324 |
| 2019 Malibu | 62 | 32% | 43,500 |
| 2018 Malibu | 192 | 27% | 46,560 |
| 2017 Malibu | 161 | 23% | 50,000 |
| 2016 Malibu | 222 | 26% | 51,650 |
| 2015 Malibu | 68 | 25% | 54,000 |
| 2014 Malibu | 86 | 25% | 64,550 |
| 2013 Malibu | 376 | 45% | 76,904 |
| 2012 Malibu | 291 | 32% | 87,830 |
| 2011 Malibu | 235 | 24% | 80,000 |
| 2010 Malibu | 294 | 22% | 85,000 |
| 2009 Malibu | 368 | 24% | 90,000 |
| 2008 Malibu | 233 | 24% | 82,000 |
| 2007 Malibu | 113 | 12% | 118,850 |
| 2006 Malibu | 142 | 13% | 97,980 |
| 2005 Malibu | 180 | 18% | 102,500 |
| 2004 Malibu | 151 | 13% | 90,000 |
| 2003 Malibu | 289 | 51% | 80,000 |
| 2002 Malibu | 259 | 46% | 78,000 |
| 2001 Malibu | 285 | 40% | 88,000 |
| 2000 Malibu | 199 | 22% | 80,000 |
| 1999 Malibu | 144 | 18% | 86,000 |
| 1998 Malibu | 130 | 13% | 91,500 |
| 1997 Malibu | 87 | 20% | 88,500 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists electrical system for the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
The vehicle is experiencing an apparent fuel-system malfunction. The vehicle has a very strong raw gasoline odor, significant difficulty starting, and appears to be consuming fuel at an abnormally high rate. After filling the fuel tank completely, I drove approximately 20 miles at most and the fuel…
When the vehicle is shifted into Park and the ignition button is pressed, the vehicle fails to shut down. The dashboard displays a "Shift to Park" warning message, indicating the vehicle does not recognize that the gear selector is physically in the Park position.To shut the engine off, the driver…
Shift to park error on dash. GM is aware of this issue and won't do anything about it. This causes stress and can cause battery drain. The issue lies within the microswitch that reads that the shifter is in park. The metal arm that activates the switch wears down or the wiring is faulty. Several…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2017 Chevrolet Malibus have electrical system problems?
No. NHTSA has 161 owner complaints about electrical system for the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu (23% of the 703 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu electrical system?
No recall currently lists electrical system for this vehicle.
At what mileage do electrical system problems start?
The median reported mileage is 50,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about electrical system problems on the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu?
The most frequent phrase is “shift park”, in 54 of 161 complaints, followed by “turn off” (22).
Other 2017 Chevrolet Malibu problems
See all 2017 Chevrolet Malibu problems or electrical system problems across all Malibu years.