After reading the same complaint from others I am glad to know that it is not just me that has this problem! Never know when this will happen, how long I will be stuck or where I will be stuck. Took to a mechanic who checked it high and low and said that he could not figure out what is the problem or causing it. Came home, did some browsing on line and found this site and the comments are exactly the same as what I have experienced and the mechanic. Like everyone else, I depend upon my car for getting back and forth to work, appointments, etc. What a total pain to deal w/this.

After years of my son being stuck for 15 minutes waiting for his car to decide to start and having the car in and out of the shop it is now finally fixed. The car would click but not start, lights would come on but nothing. He would wait around 15 minutes and then it would start. A few times he could put in neutral and it would start others times it wouldn't, We had a friend replace several things with no luck finally we replaced the neutral switch and its started everytime now for the last 4 months.

Car started once in a while making loud buzzing noise when directional signals were turned on, now thrice it has not started. Get same loud buzzing noise and key won't initiate the ignition to start the car. Twice it started after the 4th to 10th try. Once I left it and came back the next day and it started right up. All three times it had been driven and then shut off for about an hour and then wouldn't re-start up. So far I've replaced the battery and had my mechanic swap the positions of but not yet replace the relays. Mechanic says he tried to replicate noise and problem but couldn't. Suggestions?

this problem started 3 years ago. happened maybe three times a year but since then has occurred more often, usually about every 4-6 weeks. so far have been lucky & it hasn't been on a trip or out of town when it happened. worst was after grocery shopping with a trunk full of food. usually after 30 minutes it will start without any trouble & it runs ok until the next episode. our car does not have even 60,000 miles on it & we bought it new. spent over 100.00 but mechanic couldn't find any reason for it to have happened. the dealer wants to check it out & said would probably cost about 500.00. after reading the comments of others who are having the same problem & did have a dealer check it out with no results don't want to go that route. is there some way a recall could be made to happen. we feel really gyped after spending so much money on this car to begin with. have had other problems too but this is the most annoying as everyone says they don't have a clue as to what is causing the problem. don't want to be stranded somewhere in bad weather and am afraid to drive it out where there is not much traffic & have it parked & not able to get it started. was really glad to be able to read on your site that we are definitely not alone with this problem. Teddy

first time car wouldn't crank was at gas pump after filling up in 2005. replaced some things car went for long time and didn't happen. happened infrequently for years had car towed twice and both times mechanic got it to shop it started. 2 mechanics have put it on there computers and they are baffled. it started happening very often now, it has to sit for hours before it will crank after having been driven from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. car has 244,000miles. rides good, gets good gas mileage but it is a pain in the ass. drive straight to work and straight home can't stop anywhere unless I leave it running. disgusting situation and there is no way in hell I will take to dealership, called and talked to them and they say we can fix whatever it is and act like they haven't heard of the situation.BS.

I am going to keep this real simple. I have a problem going anywhere where I don't get a headache before I even get there because I really don't know how long I am going to be stalled because of this car. I have a 2002 Chevy Impala, love the car. I have had it since 2003. When you are a female and you get stranded at the gas pumps, hospital, work, grocery store etc., it is very embarrassing to say the least. I usually have to wait for about 5 minutes before the car will crank back up. I SEE THAT I AM NOT ALONE. Someone needs to be responsible for this.

Just bought the Impala at the end of October, thought it drove great. Little did I know that it wouldn't start that it wasn't the battery until I found this sight. I have clunky noise in the steering, the dealer that I bought it from said it was from sitting and would go away. Then the windshield pops as if a rock hit it. The first time it did that I thought it was going to explode in my face. Then the headlights went out and there was an 18 wheeler behind me, what a scarey feeling. I was on the side of the road for awhile until they came back on and then I never dimmed them any more. I got that problem fixed, it cost $700.00 and that wasn't at a dealer. Imagine how much it would cost at a dealer. Went to start the car yesterday and it wouldn't go, then after about 8 hours it went. I thought I was pretty good around old cars until now. This one didn't act up until after the warranty of 30 days was over. I sent the bill to the guy I bought it from anyhow. I didn't pay it and don't plan on it, I'll go to court first. This is my first GM always drove Dodge's and never had problems like this, just normal wear and tear. I just sold my 1989 Dodge 2000 GTX and should have kept it. At least it worked great and was still able to get inspected. The guy that sold me this Impala seen sucker written all over me. This will be the last GM product I ever buy.

I have the same passlock problems many impala owners have. The security light will come on and the car will not start. Wait a while 10-20 min and usually it will.

I took it to a big dealer in the area, they replaced the Passlock sensor ($600) the problem seemed to go away but then started again a month or so later. They then replaced the BCM ($500) the problem came back. The dialer finally told me there was nothing they could do as the computer code was too generic (problem connecting to BCM).

They stated it was probably one of the hundreds of wires connecting to the BCM and checking them all would cost thousands and may not fix it as they are not sure that is the problem.

ok now the door ajar and trunk open are coming on again and when i turn the key over it takes like a second before it starts. i still have to go out and close the trunk and then on my way. called car x today and they told me they think to fix will be 1 to 2 grand. screw that. i have been reading all the complaints and my security has not come on as of yet. i will keep in mind some of the suggestions if it won't start in the future. i also am going to look at the wires on the bcm and see if they are oxidized. its going to be a trade in. i have always been a Chevy girl, thats my family always standing by Chevy. no more i think im going to look at Toyota or Honda. its really to bad that something that started out so good turned out to be so bad. those of us that haven't been laid off from our jobs and are paying crazy gas prices to get to and from work to support our families they want us to shell out what money we do have to put a bandaid on a problem that dosen't have a guarentee it won't happen again. WTF chevy,you suck. this will be my last Chevy that i can guarentee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know how many miles my car had before it started rebelling and dying. It started dying on me last fall (first my husband changed a gas filter (or something like that) that was in the gas tank because the car died after months of the gas gauge not working. That day was the first day it didn't start (within a few tries seconds apart), then there were times it just didn't start, I would go to tell my husband, but when I would try again, it would start. Then about a week before it died, it started making interesting sounds when it tried to start, or i would crank it and there was no sound or dash lights and sometimes the security light was on. Sometimes if I waited a few minutes with the key in, the lights would come on and it would start within minutes. One day I got in and it didn't make any noise, there were no dash lights (but the security light (I think)), and all electrical systems were gone. We have been unable to get it in to get it fixed. I've been driving my husband's manual (I hate manuals), and he has been driving a relative's truck. My husband hasn't had a chance to look at it, but if he has a place to start, maybe he will be able to in the next few days. He's very handy when he has time, so I'm hoping he can fix it himself. Thanks to you all for the ideas.

I cant believe what I've read. I'm actually not alone. I don't know if that's good or bad. I can't believe how many others are out there with the same problem, same year and same make. And GM wont do a thing about it. Probably because it's not a safety issue. We only get stranded where we shut our car off. It doesn't stop when we're going down the road. My thoughts anyhow. Not right.

This is what's happening. When we get in the car in the morning after sitting all night it starts up. Drive it just a few miles down the road to school get back in it 1 1/2 hours later it won't start. Let it sit for 30 min starts right up purrs like a kitten. It started a few month ago, went to the gas station and got back in the car guess what? It wouldn't start. First time it happened. Called AAA before they got there it started. Thought it was bad gas. Little did we know..

It has happened many more times since then and is happening much more frequent. We can actually make it happen. We went to one auto shop they didn't know what was wrong with it. They had it for 2 1/2 days couldn't make it do it for them so they couldn't diagnose it. $130 later we walked out of there with the same problem. They put a fuel filter in it and some $90 worth of fluid in it. Fuel injunction fluid or something crazy. Anyhow I mentioned the problem to some people at my work. They said to try this guy about 30 miles away from me "If he can't find out what's wrong with it no one can".. So I tried him. He has been wonderful. He has had it for the last 3 weekends, last week for a few days longer. He has it right now. He can actually make it do it for him. He hooks up his meter when it happens and sometimes it spits out a code and sometimes not. He's looking at the BCM. He doesn't want to jump in and put it in right away without being completely sure. It costs a little over $200 just for the part. But that's what he is leaning towards doing. He has an internet site that he gets advice from other mechanics and that's been some other people's experience. Isn't the internet a wonderful tool?? Anyhow I come from a family of mechanics. My dad retired after 50 yrs and I have 3 brothers that work in a garage that they own. He doesn't know either. It is such a mystery. I think we are close. Especially after reading this site. I will share with my smart mechanic the info and he can try it and I will let you know when the problem is solved. Thanks for sharing..

Update from Oct 11, 2010: I have traded the car in. It wasnt worth the hassle. It ended up not starting every time we shut it off. We put hundreds of dollars into it and had the best mechanic available to me. Still would fix what we thought was the problem after a code would show up. And still the problem would just get worse. The only time it would start after shutting it off was when it would sit for 8 hrs while I was at work. Other wise forget it. So my advice to anyone who has this problem. Get rid of it. Because I PROMISE you it is NOT fixable..My only hope is that the right person comes along that has this problem and sues the crap out of GM..or Chevy..I'd love to see the day..

I have had the 2002 Chevrolet Impala for three and a half years. The security light comes on and sometimes stays on. There are times now that the car will not start until 10 minutes have passed. Reading other people's complaints there does not seem to be anything one can do. My mechanic who I trust and yes I did say trust wants to keep the car to see if the problem will happen. He will need to test it while it is happening. I just do not want to start spending a lot of money on many things that may not fix the problem. Any suggestions that have worked? I feel so lucky and relieved when I get in the car and it starts. It's like winning on a scratch ticket. It seems to be getting worse. This problem has happened 4 times this week.

My girlfriend has a very nice 2002 Impala LS that has had a few problems in the past but to our knowledge they were fixed. In the past her father had a faulty O2 sensor which somehow messed with the emissions and plugged the exhaust which took out the whole damn intake.

Not too long after that problem the car was having trouble starting, or I should say it was having trouble staying started. The car would actually start for a second or two and then stall right away. The only way we could keep it going was to slam the gas pedal as soon as it started which made the motor sound really terrible. My girlfriends father had brought the car into the dealership to see what they could find. They didn't know what the problem was but decided to charge him about $700 to replace the injectors fuel lines and fuel filter thinking that this would fix the problem. A few months went by with no problems.

Then about six months ago my girlfriends father gave my girlfriend the car thinking that it was problem free. About two months after she started driving it the starting problem came back. Not knowing what to do and not having the money to replace the whole fuel system again I heard about this website from a co-worker. As I checked the problems for 2002 Impalas I didn't see any the matched ours. So I checked later models and I found a matching problem with the 1999 Impala which said that it was the CPS or the crankshaft positioning sensor. So being convinced that I found the problem I decided to take the car back to the dealership and requested that they replace that sensor no matter if it was faulty or not and they did.

The sensor was a $65 part and it cost a total of $243 to get it put in. Its been about 6 months and no further problems have came up including the starting problem which no longer exists.

I am the single mother of three small children and it is VERY frustrating to be stuck in the middle of nowhere (heat or snow) and not be able to get my family where they need to go. The car flashes the security light while I am driving the car and then anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks later, won't start... flashing the security light when I turn it over, but never turning over. If I let the car sit for about 30 minutes it will start, but when it is cold out this is a real pain! I have taken the car into service stations and replaced several sensors but NOTHING works. Now I am having trouble with the turn signals not working. The fan has quit working except in the high setting.

I purchased the car because it was stable and dependable for my family but have experienced the total opposite. Before I learned of this problem, I paid towing bills taking it to the service station, where they would be able to turn the car on. I left with them thinking I was an idiot... No one seems confident they can fix it and before I shell out another $400-$600 on this car I want someone who is positive they can fix it!

This is ridiculous!

Second complaint about this car. In 2006 had the BCM replaced. Car was working fine yesterday. Went out today and it wouldn't turn over. The ding, ding, ding would happen sometimes but mostly the electrical elements of the care would just make weird sounds like little motors running. Every element made a different noise, like a small percussion band. It made me laugh that fed up hysterical laugh. The thought of GM trying to "find" the solution to this problem (they "tried" a solution to the BCM problem last time even though we told them it was the BCM). We have tried the key in, key out, leave for 10 minutes, door open, door closed that has been suggested by all but no success. I loved my GM vehicle (Lumina Van) and it is still going strong, problem free since 1993. I hate this car of my husband's and I fear for his safety when he drives it. I never drive it!

First door locks wouldn't work and I replaced a fuse. The car worked for a couple of days. Then I had trouble on and off for weeks with the car not starting. I figured out that if I unhooked the negative battery cable for a few minutes the car would start. Apparently that re-booted the computer. Three days ago the car wouldn't start even after I disconnected the battery cable (3 different times) I removed the cable but this time I had to leave it off for a half hour before the car started.

Took it to the shop today and the mechanic said it needs a BCM replacement. He ordered the part but after reading all of these complaints I am worried that I'll be throwing away $334. Does anyone have a suggestion? Solution? What is wrong with GM...get with it and recall these faulty impala's!!!