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2017 Chevrolet Malibu acceleration problems

135 complaints (19% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 58,000. 1 crash reported.

owner complaints
135
of this car's complaints
19%
typical mileage
58,000
crashes
1
recalls
0

Which part fails

  • Accelerator pedal
    3

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+

Chevrolet Malibu acceleration problems in other years

1997200020052010201520202024

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

What 2017 Chevrolet Malibu owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Feb 5, 2026 · Acceleration, Engine · MI

The Reduce Power to Engine keeps happening. It shuts my car down and lights up the traction control light, check engine light and its a serious hazard because I travel highway to and from work and its very dangerous when you loose power to your vehicle at high rates of speed. Also my emissions is bad due to a supposed fixed recall for the catalytic converter.

Filed Dec 23, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · NY

While driving at highway speeds, my vehicle suddenly experienced a loss of engine power and reduced acceleration. The traction control light and engine light illuminated, and a “Reduced Engine Power” message appeared. The vehicle would not respond to the accelerator, creating a serious safety hazard. This occurred shortly after authorized dealer service involving the PCV system and related components. The vehicle did not have this issue prior to dealer service. I returned the vehicle to the dealer, and they stated they could not replicate the issue. The sudden loss of power could have resulted in a serious accident. I believe this may be related to improper dealer service, disturbed electrical connectors, or throttle body/engine management components. I am reporting this as a safety concern. I also would like to mention this safety issue has occurred now multiple times with my car on multiple separate occasions with the last prior occurrence being 12/20/2025.

Filed Sep 16, 2025 · Acceleration, Fuel system · FL

The car smells strongly of gas. And has a problem accelerating. Check engine light came on and I got a code p1101 which is a code for the MAF SENSOR. This is not the first time that this has happened. It happened less than a year ago maybe 9-10 months ago. I don’t drive the car in fear of it catching a fire. The car has stalled before in the middle of a turn. I had to turn the car off and turn it back on. I called onstar who have no idea what was wrong with it.

Filed Sep 13, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · CA

The transmission stalls to get up and go after it has been driven for a short while causing it to slow down traffic and causing a slight risk trying to pull over to the side to allow drivers behind pass by. Once the driver stops at more than 5 stops is when the vehicle begins to hesitate to work properly.

Filed Sep 8, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · OH

I was driving my car on the highway doing 65 mph when all of a sudden my car started rapidly jerking losing the power to accelerate and entering “limp mode“ there was multiple cars behind me when my car lost the power to accelerate. I was in the far left lane and couldn’t even go higher than 7 miles an hour and had to cross across three lanes at 7 mph on a 65mph highway to pull over. I had my children in the car and almost caused a huge accident dude to this issue. The issue in hand is the vacuum pump. It completely shattered in my engine, causing severe engine damage. And it caused my brake pedal to become hard as a rock. I couldn’t break without using my emergency break. I had no brake power at all. My car had to be towed.

Filed Mar 11, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

I was driving in my neighborhood I tried to park at my house and my car wouldn’t stop I had to step down on my break hard for it to finally stop my vacuum pump broke into pieces and made my timing chain break

Filed Jan 10, 2025 · Acceleration, Fuel system · IL

Engine power abruptly stopped while driving causing drivers behind me to almost rear end me. Dashboard displays ‘Engine Power is Reduced.’ It has happened since I purchased the vehicle in 2017 but had not done this in a few years. I’m on top of maintenance and did mention this issue to the dealer but no one reached out or offered a solution.

Filed Jan 4, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · FL

When driving down a major highway going 70MPH, my 2017 Chevy Malibu speeds decreased, the brakes locked up, and the vehicle would not accelerate. Eventually the car came to a complete stop and an “engine power reduced” notification came up on the dash. I was able to pull off to the side of the road but I was traveling at a high rate of speed on a busy road, I almost got hit multiple times by people behind me who also had to swerve out of the way to keep from getting hit. After turning the car off and on again it seemed to run fine for a few months until the issue happened again going down a busy highway (65mph) again putting myself, my kids and others on the road behind me at risk. Now the car won’t move more than 5 feet before shutting off with “ engine power reduced “ still displaying on the screen.

Filed Sep 20, 2024 · Acceleration, Engine · 185,000 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal lost connection while driving 65 MPH. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power while driving. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the accelerator pedal sensor was not connecting with the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and opened a case, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.

Filed Apr 26, 2024 · Acceleration, Engine · TX

I was in the freeway and out of nowhere an alert message popped up on the dashboard saying Engine power reduced. This made my car go from 65mph to 30 mph is the freeway luckily I was able to exit and go to the nearest gas station and was able to keep myself safe as others on the road but it could've easily gone very badly. The car won't go over 30 mph. The car is available for inspection upon request, I seen a PDF in the federal safety agency website of a special coverage adjustment for loss of continuity within acceleration pedal position circuit. I will attach it to this message.

Questions about the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu acceleration

Does the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu have acceleration problems?

Owners have filed 135 complaints about the acceleration of the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, 19% of all its complaints.

At what mileage do 2017 Chevrolet Malibu acceleration problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 58,000 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu acceleration?

There is no recall for this problem on this model year.

What year does the Chevrolet Malibu have the most acceleration problems?

The Chevrolet Malibu model years with the most acceleration complaints are 2016 (152 complaints), 2017 (135 complaints) and 2010 (116 complaints).

Other 2017 Chevrolet Malibu problems

Engine 258Electrical 161Transmission 139Brakes 73Driver assistance 65Fuel system 60Steering 47Lights 21Body 19Airbags 14Suspension 10Seat belts 7Visibility 7Wheels 7Seats 6Locks 1Tires 1

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