2017 Chevrolet Malibu Steering Problems

Was driving on highway and starting to exit and my engine light came on and it alerted reduced engine power. I had to slam on my brakes but they were very hard to press and almost non existent and steering was also difficult. Managed to get car to side of road but due to very hard to non existent brakes I did graze a truck and damaged my rear drivers side fender. I am very lucky I didn’t get injured and was able to mostly miss the cars stopped in front of me. I also have the shift to park issue happen at least 4 times a week.

NHTSA ID

11704980

Incident

Dec 5, 2025

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering was inoperable. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized, and the steering wheel was extremely difficult to turn. The “Service Power Steering” soon warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,544.

NHTSA ID

11569133

Incident

Jan 31, 2024

Mileage

125,544 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Steering Assist Reduced message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

NHTSA ID

11554008

Incident

May 25, 2023

Mileage

87,000 mi

I was driving at 70 MPH on the freeway when off a sudden my car haulted back and said engine power reduced. I had my kids in the car and traffic behind me when my car went into an auto decline in MPH reaching 30 MPH before I could quickly pull over. I called the company I bought my car at the next day. They told me I needed an inspection but my check engine light only stayed on overnight and was off by the time I went in. In the last year this has happened over 10x. It’s manageable but incredibly dangerous if going at a fast speed. The weird part is if you turn your car off for 1-2 minutes, you turn it back on the there is no longer a power reduction and all is back to normal.

NHTSA ID

11512035

Incident

Mar 1, 2022

Issue 1 Changing lanes at a red light and car steering wheel locked up causing the car to go one lane too many to the right and get struck by another vehicle Issue 2 car shuts off at every stop and hesitates to take off causing unsafe conditions

NHTSA ID

11492833

Incident

Nov 8, 2022

I have a 2017 Malibu and have gotten a message on my MFD (Multi-Function Display) screen on the dash that said Steering Assist Reduce, drive with care. It happens while driving city streets and at a complete stop. Now the doors are unlocking when the message pops up at stops. Also the care is losing power at the stops now and coming back on. It does not allow me to accelerate. This is very dangerous. I took my car into the dealership a couple months ago for the same error message but they blew it off saying I needed some type of fluid (if I remember correctly). Now, I have the same issue amplified. It wrecks lemon! I filed another complaint months ago, but I’m filing again due to scheduling yet another service appointment at the Chevrolet dealership. (Hence why I put todays date of the incident).

NHTSA ID

11488738

Incident

Oct 11, 2022

My car has been in and out of the dealership since I purchased it back in 2017. The vehicle shuts off while I am driving it. The first time this happened I was on the highway with my 5 year old son. I completely lost power and had no control being my steering wheel locked. Since then I have repeatedly had the same issue. Each time calling the dealership and each time they find either nothing wrong with it. Or say they fixed the issue which I was charged for. For the same issue that was fixed to happen again. This happened yet again today as I was making a left hand turn onto a 4 lane highway. It happens atleast once a day. I lost all power to my car. Steering wheel locked and car refused to start. There is something going on with this car and many others. The dealership I purchased it from agreed and offered to get me into a new Malibu being it’s a safety issue but I want nothing to do with another Chevy after my research. Too many issues with this car. THIS car has already been fixed for the recall involved AND this is still happening. And the car also won’t go into park. It says shift to park which drains the battery because the car never really shuts off. Before the recall I payed for repairs out of pocket for what the dealership “thought” it was which it was not. Clearly because the same thing keeps happening. Nothing different. It’s all the same. This car is a lemon. God forbid my car stops in the middle of a highway and won’t start. I won’t say the rest but if there are any injuries or the worst I have documented everything through my dealership. My family and I will sue.

NHTSA ID

11473784

Incident

Jul 13, 2022

Since purchase from dealer at 40,000 miles I have complained numerous times. Dealer can not reproduce and refuses to do anything about it. When driving vehicle with and sometimes with out AC on. The vehicle doesn't want to go. I could have the gas peddle to the floor and it won't accelerate. Does is whenever it wants to seems as if when AC is on it does it the most. This past week the vehicle has thrown a warning steering asist reduced please drive with care. It quickly comes on and then goes back off. The vehicle is also stalling out of no where. I come to a stop light it goes to auto stop then I go to start accelerating and the vehicle will shut down engine light comes on and vehicle will not start back up for a min or 2. Once engine shuts off I put in park and try and start it again it won't. A few mins go by it will start again. I notice if I keep foot on break at a stop light and foot on gas to keep the RPMs up and don't allow it to auto stop it won't shut down. I made a appointment with jud kuhn the dealer I purchased it from. For next week. Hoping they can do somthing about it but chances are they will look at me like I'm crazy like they do every time and tell me no codes or they can't reproduce. I still owe 14,000 on the vehicle I'm livid. My children drive this car and it's extremely unsafe. If dealer doesn't help I'm contacting a lawyer for lemon law please help The acceleration issue started the week I purchased it 2 years ago the stalling started last week. And the steering assist started last week

NHTSA ID

11465399

Incident

May 12, 2021

An alert “Engine power is reduced” came on are 6pm 5/7/22. Never seen it before. My car began to click and wouldn’t go over 40mph. Steering wheel locked up when attempting to turn. I cut the car off to try to restart it and it did allow me to turn but there was immediate smoke released from car.

NHTSA ID

11463747

Incident

May 7, 2022

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, the "Steering Assist Reduced - Drive with Care" and other unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that a nearby independent mechanic who witnessed the failure assisted her with restarting the vehicle with an unknown device and assisted the contact with pulling to the side of the road. The contact sated that the vehicle shut-off and failed to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The Used car dealer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The contact stated that the failure occurred the same day she had purchased the vehicle at the Used car dealer. Upon investigating on Carfax, the contact became aware that the vehicle had previously been totaled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

NHTSA ID

11456000

Incident

Mar 9, 2022

Mileage

106,000 mi

While driving the electronic power steering stopped working almost causing me to crash.

NHTSA ID

11453277

Incident

Feb 17, 2022

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while she was driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stoplight, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle suddenly lost electrical power. The warning message "Steering Assist Reduced, Drive with Care" was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued to drive; however, the failure recurred increasingly while depressing the brake pedal at stoplights. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

NHTSA ID

11448026

Incident

Oct 15, 2021

Mileage

83,000 mi

I received steering assist reduce multiple times on the vehicle. I took it to the repair shop the warranty company Silver Rock recommended. The repair company stated my car is having a computer issue. The car also does not go into auto stop, when making a full stop. The car now has to be towed to a Chevy dealership to handle the issue.

NHTSA ID

11441409

Incident

Nov 19, 2021

STEERING ASSIST REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE message comes on car screen. The steering wheel jerks and acceleration is reduced. This is putting everyone in my car at risk as we are not able to accelerate fast enough if anything were to happen. Car has been taken to the dealership and they are unable to identify the problem. I checked online and multiple Malibus are having this problem. If you're looking for a safe car for your family member this is not the car. These cars have these errors built in the system and the dealership are unable to find the problem costing a lot of money on diagnostics to get no results. Please notice all the complaints I hope my word is heard. If mine is not heard I hope the next persons will be.

NHTSA ID

11440155

Incident

Sep 3, 2021

When driving my car and I stop at a red light and then when the light turns green I accelerate. I notice I get a message on my dashboard power assist and reduce speed. This constantly shows up on my dashboard. I have am appointment with Gm on 9/21/21 to take it in to get service.

NHTSA ID

11433451

Incident

Sep 11, 2021

AFTER GETTING MY 2017 CHEVY MALIBU MINOR SERVICE A FEW WEEKS LATER AS I WAS DRIVING AND CAME TO A STOP LIGHT WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AS I LIFT MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE I NOTICED THE STEERING WHEEL DID A JET AND THE A MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL THAT SAID SOMETHING LIKE "STEERING ASSIST REDUCED USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME NOW I'VE SEEN THE MESSAGE MULTIPLE TIMES AND IT ALWAYS HAPPENS AFTER I'VE COME TO A COMPLETE STOP AND THEN RELEASE MY FOOT FROM THE BRAKE PEDAL TO START BACK DRIVING

NHTSA ID

11415621

Incident

Apr 16, 2021

Mileage

39,800 mi

MY VECHILE SHUT OFF. AND IT WAS SAYING STERRING ASSIST REDUCED. PLEASE BE CAREFUL. THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME.

NHTSA ID

11413620

Incident

Apr 23, 2021

Mileage

83,233 mi

REDUCED STEERING ASSIST DRIVE WITH CARE MESSAGE POPPED UP AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP AND GO INTO AUTO STOP MODE. CAR WOULD COMPLETELY SHUT OFF AFTER LETTING OFF BRAKE TO HIT ACCELERATOR. BEEN TO DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. GM SHOULD ISSUE RECALLS DUE TO BEING A SAFETY CONCERN.

NHTSA ID

11395536

Incident

Jan 29, 2021

Mileage

72,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON I-85 SOUTH AT 70 MPH THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AND I COULD NOT STEER THE VEHICLE AND WHILE BRAKING THE STEERING CAME BACK ONCE I HIT THE EMERGENCY LANE. AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES IT HAPPENED AGAIN ON AND OFF FOR THE NEXT TEN MILES. I AM TURNING THE VEHICLE IN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR.

NHTSA ID

11387580

Incident

Jan 6, 2021

Mileage

70,000 mi

IT'S GIVING ME A MESSAGE SAYING STEERING ASSIST REDUCE DRIVE WITH CARE

NHTSA ID

11386412

Incident

Jan 2, 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING ASSISTANCE REDUCED WARNING MESSAGE WOULD INTERMITTENTLY APPEAR ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT HAD INITIALLY TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO MALCOLM CUNNINGHAM CHEVROLET AUGUSTA (2031 GORDON HWY, AUGUSTA, GA 30909) WHERE SHE WAS INFORMED THAT SHE HAD A DEFECTIVE RACK AND PINION. THE CONTACT THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE WITH A DEFECTIVE TIE ROD AND HAD THE TIE ROD REPLACED. RECENTLY, THE CONTACT STATED THAT AN ABNORMAL SCRAPING NOISE WOULD EMIT FROM THE VEHICLE UPON DEPRESSION OF THE BRAKE PEDAL AS THE ABS WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO JOHNSON MOTOR COMPANY OF SOUTH CAROLINA (490 JEFFERSON DAVIS HWY, GRANITEVILLE, SC 29829) WHERE THEY REPAIRED THE VEHICLE FOR A DEFECTIVE PCV HOSE. AN HOUR AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE CONTACT, THE SAME FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN NOTIFIED SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT THE FAILURES AND SEVERAL CASES WERE FILED. THE MANUFACTURER OFFERED NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE HAD YET TO BE REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,757.

NHTSA ID

11384743

Incident

Apr 1, 2018

Mileage

10,757 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING ASSIST WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED WITH MESSAGE TO DRIVE WITH CARE. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND FAILED TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE MANUFACTURE WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 82,000.

NHTSA ID

11384601

Incident

Jan 10, 2020

Mileage

82,000 mi

"STEERING ASSISTANCE REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE" WARNING APPEARS ON DASH RIGHT BEFORE I'M GOING TO ACCELERATE AFTER BEING STOPPED.

NHTSA ID

11382759

Incident

Dec 9, 2020

WHEN DRIVING AT AUTO STOP, WHEN BEGINNING TO ACCELERATE, CAR ACTS LIKE IT SHUT OFF AND SAYS STEERING ASSIST REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE. I NOTICED THE BATTERY VOLTAGE GOES DOWN TO 11.0 V. ALSO THE RADIO SCREEN FLICKERS BLACK. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES IN MULTIPLE DAYS.

NHTSA ID

11376980

Incident

Nov 29, 2020

Mileage

64,838 mi

BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW FOR MY DAUGHTER TO DRIVE BACK AND FORTH TO COLLEGE, I WANTED A SAFE CAR FOR HER, BUT THIS CAR IS ANYTHING BUT SAFE. STARTED HAVING ISSUES WITH GETTING RANDOM STEERING ASSIST WARNING LIGHTS, THEN TPMS LIGHTS, THEN IT SHUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION AND IT HAD TO BE TOWED. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND NOW ITS OUT OF WARRANTY AND IS COSTING US HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS IN SERVICE FEES. BATTERY HAS BEEN REPLACED AND ITS STILL HAVING ISSUES. LATELY SHE HAS BEEN COMPLAINING THAT THE CAR SUDDENLY DRIFTS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND SHE HAS TO MAKE CORRECTIONS THAT JERK HER ALL OVER THE ROAD. IT DOES THIS AT RANDOM, NOT EVERY DRIVE, MAYBE EVERY OTHER, IT FEELS LIKE AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE AND NOT A MECHANICAL ISSUE. SHE HAS ALMOST CRASHED TWICE, WAS PULLED OVER THIS PAST WEEKEND COMING HOME FOR ANOTHER DEALERSHIP VISIT BECAUSE AN OFFICER NOTICED THE WEAVING AND CORRECTIONS AND ASSUMED SHE WAS DRUNK. AGAIN, THE DEALERSHIP CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. I HAVE EXPLAINED THE ISSUE, BROUGHT IN A TECHNICAL BULLETIN THAT EXPLAINS THE EXACT ISSUE, STILL NO RESOLUTION, THEY STILL SAY THEY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING AND SEND ME HOME WITH ANOTHER BILL. THIS CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE, AND ONCE WINTER HITS AND THE ROADS BECOME SLICK, THIS ISSUE WILL LIKELY RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE REFUSED TO LET HER DRIVE IT TO COLLEGE AT THIS POINT AND THE CAR IS SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. THE DEALERSHIP IS USELESS EVEN AFTER SHOWING THEM HUNDREDS OF INTERNET COMPLAINTS. WHY IS GM IGNORING THIS ISSUE?

NHTSA ID

11363796

Incident

Oct 8, 2020

Mileage

60,000 mi