This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Approximately 60K miles, pass lock light came on. Dealer said it was common in Impala, would cost $1500, needed to replace computer module which runs the entire vehicle. Started having starting issues, air bag malfunctions, power door locks not working, wiper & window malfunctions, trunk opening on its own, etc. Took to mechanic, said same as dealer, has seen a number of Impala with similar problem. Car randomly does not start, airbag malfunction, and doors not working.
Tried to start my car and I thought someone was after me. When I got in the car to start it, it wouldn't start. Luckily no one was there. Mechanic said that the tumbler in the key system is bad and that this is a very common problem for Impala.
When driving at night and using the "high beams, " they go out after awhile. Nearly crashed until I could slow down enough to safely stop! by moving high/low beam lever, I was able to get headlights to come back on in the low beam position. In checking NHTSA web site, found this is a problem General Motors is aware of but expects owners to pay for repair of poorly designed part.
The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. The contact attempted to exit his vehicle, but was locked inside the passenger compartment. The radio displayed "locked" and he could not exit the vehicle through the doors nor the windows because the electrical system failed. The representative at the dealer stated that he owned the same year, make, and model vehicle and had experienced the same failures. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with an electrical system defect and repaired it at the estimated cost of over $1,400. The failure persisted and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. They replaced the key switch at the cost of $492.13 the failure mileage was 32,301 and current mileage was 32,328. Updated 020209 the windows would not roll down. Updated 02/03/09. Several components within the electrical system were replaced and the security light illuminated twice. Updated 02/20/09. The consumer was informed an intermediate shaft was needed at a cost of $300. When the steering wheel was turned, it made strange noises as if it were about to break. Updated 0423/10. Updated 04/29/10.
The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. At least once a week, whenever the contact attempts to start the vehicle, the security light illuminates on the instrument panel and the vehicle will not start. The vehicle loses total power. She has to disconnect the positive battery cable and then reconnect the cable. After she waits for it recharge itself, the vehicle will start immediately or two hours later. The dealer stated that the body control module needed to be replaced at the cost of $445. The failure mileage was 133,000. *updated 10/20/08 updated 10/21/08.
- Canterbury, CT, USA
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The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. Whenever the contact attempts to start his vehicle while the security light is illuminated, the vehicle will not start. The dealer stated that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The contact has noticed the failure since purchasing the vehicle. The current mileage was 62,000 and failure mileage was 45,000.
The passlock seems to be failing on my 2002 Chevy Impala..74,000 miles. When I attempt to start it, nothing happens, and I have to wait 10-20 minutes before I can start it again. This has happened 3 times since March 2008.
On many occasions, car will not start after sitting for several minutes. This has happened since new and it has been in the shop many times to be fixed. Lots of money spent and no resolution. Leaves my elderly parents stranded and could result in major issue if in the wrong place. Someone needs to address this issue - GM is not!!!
Car would not start changed passlock and still will not start. Security light is on, radio is locked and the Chevy dealership does not know what is wrong with it, they are guessing that is the BCM and the SDM but they cannot promise that it will work.
2002 Chevrolet Impala ls - security/passlock system problem - summer 2007 - took in to Chevrolet dealer (since out of business - palm bay Chevrolet in Florida) because security light would come on at times, eventually disabling car for short periods of time. First repair, BCM replaced - same issue two months later - ignition cylinder replaced - two months later, security light would come on again. Dealership out of business that did two original repairs for $1200 - today, security light was flashing and car would not start. Looking online, this is a very common issue with Impala from 2000 - 2005 - why is there no recall?
Initially started with the engine not turning over. Full battery power, put car in N to start, nothing. Put car in emergency park to start and it did. This happened repeatedly, with no warning. Now the car starts every time. The problem now is interior/exterior lights flash like strobe lights every time I start my car till the time I turn it off, so I can't drive at night. The "security" light pass lock issue interferes with the A/C compressor and will blow hot air. A constant clicking from the relays in the passenger side fuse box. Why is it many GM dealerships across the country cannot diagnose this when consumers have brought in the vehicle for assessment. Check out the website of carcomplaints.com for more of the same issue. Fellow Impala owners; lets file class action law suit again GM to get this resolved. But sadly it will take one death or more for any action from GM. "the american way is lets do something after the fact and not be proactive to prevent".
The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Impala ls. While waiting in a line, the contact turned off the vehicle and it would not restart. The vehicle had to be towed to a mechanic and they found no failures. The contact believes that the failure was due to the pass lock. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 50,000.
At random times, the car will not start when the ignition is turned. There is no response from motor at all. The security light will flash on the information center display when this happens. After waiting 10-20 minutes the car will start. The first incident occurred about 1 year ago and has been occurring at random times ever since. Vehicle was taken to a GM dealer service department after the first time it occurred and they were unable to diagnose the problem. Since then I have noticed that the fan for the HVAC system will not work at times and the security light and other lights will appear on the information center display at random times.
I own a 2002 Chevy Impala. On 5/20/05 the security light started coming on and would remain on. The security light continued to come on and now the car would not start. It would take 10-30minutes before I could start the car. I took the car to a dealership and they replaced the ignition cylinder. On 6/15/05 the same exact problem started up again. This time the dealership installed a new starter. On 7/16/05 same problem arose again with security light. A diagnostic was done and codes came up from a notice from GM (8/04). The code #'s were B2958 and B2960. The code said to repair poor terminal connections at body control module. The security light continues to come on and car does not start. This continues on/off from 9/11/05-11/28/05. On 11/28/05 the ignition lock/sensor is replaced and the PCM is reprogrammed. And I am given a new key. Looks like at the moment the problem is solved. Well today 7/17/08 I notice that the security light is back on and I begin to cringe because of what I went through in 05'. I get online to see if anyone else is experiencing the same problem and I was shocked to see the # of complaints from disgruntled customers about this security light. This is an outrage! GM by now is well aware of the problem with this security light going on. It would seem to me that there would have been a recall notice going out to Chevy Impala owners. I have contacted GM. My complaint is on file. I have 2 file #'s. one for in 2005--# [xxx] and a new one just started today (7/17/08)--#-[xxx]. please google Chevy Impala and security light problem and see the list of complaints that come up. This is an absolute disgrace! I feel that this is something that needs to be looked into asap. Thank you, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
When the car starts, security light appears on dash, A/C malfunctions, trunk opens automatically, radio displays "locked out" message, lights flicker off and on, quick clicking sound on passenger side of dashboard. The car has a 50/50 chance of starting.
20002 Chevrolet Impala, frequently does not start about one in every ten tries. I have taken it to two different mechanics one said could find nothing the second time I left it at the garage for a week and a half before it wouldn't start for the mechanic. He checked the codes and they said it need a new ignition switch. I am reluctant to install a new switch because of all of the complaints with this year and model car and in many cases a new switch and computer did not correct the problem.
The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The dealer changed the BCM module; however, the failure continued to occur. The dealer then replaced the BCM module again. Approximately six months later the failure occurred again. As a result, the power windows were inoperable. The mechanic stated that an electrical short caused the failure. They replaced the wires however approximately one month later the failure occurred again. As of April 14, 2008, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. The failure mileage was 10,000 and current mileage was 121,000.
The air bag light began illuminating with the radio locking out on our 2002 Impala at 15,630 miles. Love Chevy Hummer reset the computer. Later the same problem recurred. At 16,009 miles love Chevy Hummer replaced the inflatable restraint sensing and diagnostic module. Later, the same problems recurred many times but, we found that we could reset the computer by shutting the car off, opening and closing the door and restarting the car. At 23720 mile the car was taken back to tuscaloosa Chevrolet. The computer indicated the problem was the body control module. It was reprogrammed. Several weeks later the same problems recurred over and over. We took the vehicle in to barkley Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC. The computer code indicated a body control module wad needed but that since the car was out of warranty I would have to pay for it. It was not repaired at this time. While driving at night the headlights went out. I was able to get them back on by flashing the low beam / high beam leaver. Notified General Motors customer relationship specialist spoke with carley leblanc. (service request: 71-437167435). After several emails and phone conservations we were told us to fix it ourselves if we were so concerned. We sent addition information to carley leblanc and later angelina moncivais contacted about our complaints. After several more emails and phone conversations angelina said she was not able to help us. In January of 2008 all warning indicators started cycling and the warning bells started ringing. On February 6, 2008 the Impala would not start. I charged the battery and on February 15, 2008 took it back in to tuscaloosa Chevrolet. After another diagnostic check was told the body control module would need replacing at a cost of nearly $600. Called GM asking for help since the same problems with the car have occurred since it was purchased new on June 6, 2002. After about 2 weeks of phone conversations we were told there was nothing GM would do.
On a 2002 Chevrolet Impala, the security light comes on while driving. Following this event various electrical abnormalities occur. Dashboard warning lights all flash together, dash goes dark. Sometimes when you start the car the security light comes on and the headlights flash as if they were icc flashers. There are numerous complaints about this on the internet. Chevrolet doesn't seem to have any finite fix for this and randomly replaces the BCM and ignition switch as possible causes. Most people report having the exact same problem over again several days later"?" due to this erroneous reporting I thought I had a battery problem and the garage changed my alternator. At a cost of $306 dollars. Which I now believe was totally un-necessary.
On 01/22/08 while driving, the "security" light appeared in the message center on the instrument panel. When I stopped the car, turned it off, and restarted, all was fine and the light remained off. The following day, after driving approximately 10 miles, the "security" light appeared. This has happened a total of four times, most recently on 01/27/08. When the light appeared, the headlights dimmed for a moment. When I stopped the car, the lights on the radio were extremely dim. On 01/28/08, I went to start the car and the battery appeared to be dead. An attempt to jump off the car was unsuccessful. This seems to be related to the very common "passlock" problems on other GM products.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Highland Park, IL, USA