There are 14 stored owner reports matching the air bags & restraints leading-label group for the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 14 of 14 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)The service notification for my airbag was coming on. I took it to a mechanic and they said the module under the passenger seat could be broken. They said to take it to the dealer because other 2017 Chevrolet Malibus have this issue and were recalled. My VIN doesn’t have a recall associated with it, but has the exact issue that the other Malibus with recalls do. I brought it to the dealer and they said it was not included in a recall, but are now charging me full price to get a new module under the seat.
shift to park
I was traveling at 55 mph and hit a deer with my car's front end. The impact affected about 60% of my front end. I couldn't escape from my vehicle through either front doors, I had to use the rear passenger doors. Upon impact, the front dash Indicated "airbag" buy not 1 airbag deployed. Even the car dealership indicated that they noticed the airbag light, but assured me it was okay.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 -35 mph and making a turn, a 2009 Hyundai Elantra sideswiped the vehicle and crashed into the driver's rear quarter panel. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The driver sustained injuries to the neck and indicated it was whiplash and a cervical sprain. Medical attention was provided. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire. The vehicle was towed to an independent lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH a second vehicle t-boned into the passenger side of the vehicle causing substantial damage to the passenger side body of the vehicle. During the crash, no air bags were deployed including the passenger side curtain airbags. The front seat passenger sustained neck back and hip injuries and the driver sustained neck and back injuries both requiring medical treatment. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was drivable. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 130,000.
The seatbelt became locked in the full retracted position and could no longer be used. The trim of the car was removed to confirm there were no obstructions or twists on the belt.
SEATBELT LOCKING UP. WILL NOT RELEASE. WILL 'CORRECT' ITSELF. AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME BUT THAT DOESN'T HELP OF THE SEATBELT IS NON FUNCTIONAL. DEALERSHIP SAID IT WOULD BE $400 TO FIX AND THE PART IS BACK ORDERED. LEADS ME TO BELIEVE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS THIS ISSUE. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR THAT I'VE OWNED THE VEHICLE. I USUALLY NOTICE THE PROBLEM WHEN PUTTING THE SEATBELT ON BEFORE MOVING ON THE ROAD.
SEAT BELT WOULD NOT RELEASE WHILE BUCKLING, STUCK IN THE UNBUCKLED POSITION. WILL NOT RELEASE. STATIONARY.
EMGINE REDUCED SPEED HAS BEEN COMIN ON FOR A WHILE ON MOST CHEVY MODELS. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY SLOWS ON THE FREEWAY DURING TRAFFIC AND ANYWHERE. THE SEATBELTS DO NOT ALWAYS ATTACH.
NOVEMBER 2018, I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT WHERE A VEHICLE WAS MAKING AN ILLEGAL U-TURN IN THE MIDDLE OF CLIFTON ROAD, AS I WAS COMING DOWN CLIFTON ROAD IN THE TURNING LANE AND T-BONED MY VEHICLE CAUSING FRONT END DAMAGE TO THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF MY VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE WAS TOTALLY SHUT DOWN AND HAD TO BE TOWED AWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS DEEMED TOTALED THE FOLLOWING WEEK. ALL AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AND AFTER READING THE REPORT FROM MY INSURANCE COMPANY STATING THAT THERE IS AN AIRBAG RECALL ON MY VEHICLE, WHICH WAS ALLEGEDLY KNOWN AT THE TIME I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE AND NO ONE TOLD ME AND AGAIN BY THE TIME I HAD MY LAST OIL CHANGE AND AGAIN NO ONE EVER TOLD ME. NO, I TOTALLY LOST A VEHICLE AND COULD HAVE LOST MY LIFE OVER AIRBAGS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU. ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT, THE ENGINE RPMS WOULD SUDDENLY INCREASE AND THE VEHICLE ATTEMPTED TO SURGE FORWARD. THE DRIVER HAD TO DEPRESS HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE FROM SURGING FORWARD. ON FEBRUARY 17, 2018, WHILE IN A BANK PARKING LOT, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO A TREE. DURING THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED TO APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH. THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED; HOWEVER, THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TOWED. THE LOCAL DEALER (DAVIS CHEVROLET IN HOUSTON, TX) AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,800. *TT VIDEO ATTACHED *BF
VEHICLE MOVING SLOWLY AND ALMOST STATIONARY WHEN STRUCK IN DRIVER SIDE REAR DOOR AREA BY FULL SIZE PICKUP TRUCK WITH EXTENSIVE AND SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND LIKELY A TOTAL LOSS BUT NO AIR BAG DEPLOYED.
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.
ON 27 APRIL, 2017, I WAS RIDING AS A PASSENGER IN A 2017 MALIBU. WE WERE TRAVELLING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WHEN WE NEEDED TO STOP RAPIDLY, TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT. THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT DID NOT FUNCTION AT ALL. BECAUSE I HAVE ZERO TRUST IN GM, I WAS PROTECTING MYSELF (THE BEST ONE CAN) FOR JUST SUCH AN OCCURRENCE. THIS WAS A RENTAL CAR, UNKNOWN WHICH RENTAL COMPANY, AS I WAS A PASSENGER. BUT THIS SCARES ME BECAUSE IN DECEMBER OF 2000, I WAS DRIVING A RENTED PONTIAC GRAND AM (TRULY THE LAST TIME I HAVE DRIVEN OR RIDDEN IN A GM VEHICLE), AND THE SEAT BELT, NOR THE AIR BAG FUNCTIONED CORRECTLY. SADLY, GM HAD KNOWN ABOUT BOTH PROBLEMS FOR YEARS, BUT REFUSED TO ISSUE A RECALL. I WAS NEARLY KILLED, AND WILL SUFFER FROM A LIFE ALTERING TBI FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. IT IS NOT SURPRISING (AT LEAST TO ME) THAT GM STILL HAS ISSUES WITH THEIR SEAT BELTS. I JUST DON'T WANT ANYONE TO REPEAT WHAT HAPPEN TO ME. I CAN FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION CONCERNING WHERE THAT RENTAL CAR IS FROM IF NECESSARY.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.