2017 Chevrolet Malibu acceleration & cruise control problems

Related recalls

No recalls on file.

What owners say

1. Filed Feb 5, 2026MIEngineOther / UnknownAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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.

   NHTSA complaint #11716053 · source
2. Filed Dec 23, 2025NYEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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…

   NHTSA complaint #11706844 · source
3. Filed Sep 16, 2025FLFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionOther / UnknownAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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.

   NHTSA complaint #11687504 · source
4. Filed Sep 13, 2025CAEngineFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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.

   NHTSA complaint #11687127 · source
5. Filed Sep 8, 2025OHBrakesEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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…

   NHTSA complaint #11685667 · source
6. Filed Mar 11, 2025CABrakesEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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

   NHTSA complaint #11647738 · source
7. Filed Jan 10, 2025ILFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

   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.

   NHTSA complaint #11635361 · source
8. Filed Jan 4, 2025FLEngineOther / UnknownAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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.…

   NHTSA complaint #11634066 · source
9. Filed Sep 20, 2024185,000 miOHEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

   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…

   NHTSA complaint #11615666 · source
10. Filed Apr 26, 2024TXEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

    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 nhtsa website of a special coverage adjustment for…

    NHTSA complaint #11585454 · source
11. Filed Feb 19, 2024TXBrakesEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

    The Power Brake Vacuum Assist Failure nearly caused a wreck. The part failed while we were driving on [XXX] going 65 miles per hour on a busy highway. As the breaks gave out the engine light said “Reduced Power”. Moments later, the breaks stopped working and the engine stopped running. We were able to coast off the highway and into an HEB parking lot and have the vehicle towed. The mechanic took the part off and found that it was in pieces causing further examination of the…

    NHTSA complaint #11572743 · source
12. Filed Jan 26, 2024MIElectrical SystemEngineAcceleration & Cruise Control

    Ice and sludge accumulated and froze causing the CAC system to fail resulting in engine issues, performance loss this was caused from GM poor design of a shield that they are aware of. GM knows that this can happen and have now designed a new shield to prevent this from happening but it is at the owner’s expense to fix. If GM knows that this will happen they should fix the issue I am now out of pocket 3,000.00 shame on them

    NHTSA complaint #11568057 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology