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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 7
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,132 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2004 Chevrolet Impala electrical problems

electrical problem

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2004 Chevrolet Impala Owner Comments (Page 14 of 21)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #144

Aug 012009

Impala 6-cyl

  • 130,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Dash gauges not moving at all, or when they do work they are not even close to being correct. My speed will show I'm going over 120 mph (I know I am not going 60). Temp shows the car is running hot when it not. RPM will stay on red. Some days the gauges will work fine and then all of a sudden they will go haywire. I am terrified that my gas gauge is going to stop working or show I have more gas that I do and I end up running out of gas. I am a 24 year old female and I don't know what I do if I ran out of gas somewhere all alone. I don't know what to put for as the date. It just started happening and I continue to have the problem. I googled 2004 Impala gauges and there are a lot of people having the same problem. Some one is going to get hurt by not knowing how fast they are going, someone could be having problems with there motor and will not able to tell (running hot, low oil, etc).

- Cottondale, AL, USA

problem #143

Sep 162007

Impala 6-cyl

  • 49,974 miles
I have a 2004 Chevy Impala that the electronic instrument cluster does not work on. The gas gauge, temp gauge, and speedometer have not worked consistently on this car since I purchased this car back on 09/2007. The speedometer will show that I am going 0 miles an hour when I am actually moving, and my gas gauge will be pointing straight down, same as my temp gauge. I have taken the car back to bill seidle Chevrolet, the dealer that I purchased it from, and they will not address the issue. I have also contacted chevorlet about this situation and was told that it is not important enough and life threatening enough to have this addressed. Even though there are blogs out there with hundreds of people with the exact same problem that I am experiencing. I feel that this is extremely dangerous not just to my 2004 Chevy Impala but to virtually every GM owner since thru 2005, that there is a serious known safety issue resulting from the failure of the instrument cluster unable to determine speed of vehicle, when or if a vehicle is overheating, unable to determine how much or if any gas remains in the vehicle, these are serious issues when driving a 2004 Chevy Impala. A driver has no way of knowing critical information needed when driving a vehicle. The gas gauge, temp gauge, speedometer do not work. Chevy is aware of the issue and has consistently refused to make repairs of the faulty instrument panel. I implore you to please demand the Chevy recall on this electronic instrument cluster failures for the safety of all of us. I challenge you to google 2004 Chevy Impala, invariably every result will pertain to electronic instrument cluster. How could this not rise to the level requiring a recall?

- Davenport, FL, USA

problem #142

Mar 262010

Impala 6-cyl

  • 61,400 miles
2004 Chevrolet Impala, instrument cluster gauge malfunction, beginning with temperature gauge showing incorrect temperature (cold start - temp readout 160 F), subsequently showing traction system failure indicator, finally progressed to speedometer failure at highway speed approximately one week later - speedometer began showing random speeds at approximately-steady cruise, reading 42 mph at about 70 mph. Internet research demonstrates multiple such instances. Chevrolet has addressed identical problem in Silverado and Avalanche models, but refuses to acknowledge that a problem exists in the Impala.

- Casper, WY, USA

problem #141

Nov 202009

Impala

  • 55,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2004 Impala odometer malfunction in winter cold whether condition most of the time.

- Brampton, 00, USA

problem #140

Aug 142008

Impala 6-cyl

  • 24,000 miles
2004 Chevrolet Impala speedometer quick working, no idea how fast car is going. The temperature gauge also quit, car could overheat without knowing.

- Boswell, PA, USA

problem #139

Sep 272009

Impala 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
2004 Chevrolet Impala speedometer stopped working properly. It sticks(does not return to 0 mph when stopped) at the current speed on deceleration and increases readings from the deceleration point. So, car appears to going at 60 mph even though it is moving slowly in traffic. Cannot determine proper speed to adjust speed to speed limits. My car registered 120 mph in a school zone, even though I was trying to maintain proper speed. This defect makes the driver unable to determine actual speed vehicle is moving at.

- Holden, MA, USA

problem #138

May 012009

Impala

  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The headlights on my 2004 Chevy Impala randomly go out at night without any warning. This seems to be caused by a defective dimmer switch. The only way to get the lights back on is by activating/flicking the dimmer switch so as to switch between high/low beams. No significant events led up to this problem. It appeared randomly and without any warning. This problem occurred roughly once every two weeks throughout several months until the dimmer switch had completely failed. Approximately halfway through the time period from onset of the problem until failure of the switch, the switch itself began to feel odd. It would allow the headlights to change beam without actually clicking into position. During the latter half of the failure period, the light failure seemed consistent with the improper operation of the switch. The switch now is completely failed with my lights stuck on low beam. I can pull back on the switch to activate the high beams, but they do not remain on when I release the switch. The lights go back to low beam. I am currently in the process of changing the switch which is proving very costly.

- Vanderbilt, PA, USA

problem #137

May 152008

Impala

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. While driving 30 mph all of the lights on the instrumental panel, headlights and rear lights shut off. He then pulled over to check and replace the fuses. The fuses blew out again immediately after he drove a few miles. The dealer diagnosed the failure and stated that there was nothing wrong. A different dealer stated that someone tampered with the light switch and it was repaired. The failure mileage was 70000 and the current mileage was 80000.

- Alger, MI, USA

problem #136

Mar 032010

Impala

  • 38,000 miles
Chevrolet 2004 Impala speedometer quit working and manufacturer does not fix although I am certain it is a manufacturing issue. Speed can not be monitored so is a safety issue.

- Lake Wales, FL, USA

problem #135

Mar 022010

Impala 6-cyl

  • 72,000 miles
2004 Chevy Impala ss cluster malfunction. Speedometer not working, unable to know how fast I am going. No recall as of yet. Seems to be a common problem with Chevy vehicles.

- Browns Mills, NJ, USA

problem #134

Dec 102009

Impala

  • 58,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Speedometer sticks or shows inaccurate speed. Dealership says instrument cluster needs to be replaced.

- New Rockford, ND, USA

problem #133

Feb 172010

Impala

  • 91,400 miles
2004 Chevy Impala my wife and kids are driving to Florida and the speedometer goes out. Now if you are driving from Michigan to Florida and have no idea at midnight how fast you are going- that is a huge safety problem. From looking on the web this seems to be a very common problem with these vehicles. Recall on this would be great!

- Hudsonville , MI, USA

problem #132

Jun 092009

Impala

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. The contact was driving on normal road conditions. The speedometer displayed an inaccurate reading. The failure occurred at any given speed rate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The failure was contributed to the instrument panel cluster. The vehicle was prepared for the malfunction. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Colts Neck , NJ, USA

problem #131

Feb 142010

Impala

  • 60,000 miles
Speedometer does not work! shows that I am going 130mph, then 60 when parked. Dealer say no recall even though my husbands truck had the same problem and they recalled the part in the Silverado. $500 to fix. This needs to be recalled!!! I am reading hundreds of complaints on the Impala for the same thing. My 21 year old daughter is driving this car on the highway every day..very dangerous!!!

- Cheshire, CT, USA

problem #130

Oct 142008

Impala

  • 85,000 miles
The speedometer has gone haywire. Sometimes it says I am doing 0mph and at other times it says I am going 120 mph. Can not get an accurate read on the speedometer. The same can be said for my fuel gauge and coolant temperature readings. The panels are not working properly.

- New Carrollton, MD, USA

problem #129

Feb 052010

Impala

  • 143,122 miles
I just had my second multi-function switch (headlight dimmer, turn signal, cruise, wiper/washer) fail on this car for the same reason resulting in complete loss of headlights. This is a very common issue as seen by numerous bulletin board postings. I dissected the original switch to determine if this could be fixed. It became quite obvious what was happening. The contacts on the hi/lo beam portion of the switch foul and overheat. This switch had melted plastic from the switch housing that had flowed over the contacts and prevented proper switch operation. This is an incredibly dangerous situation that manifests itself with little or no warning. This overheating is obviously due to poor engineering that has resulted in undersized contacts that foul due to relatively high load currents in the headlight circuit.

- Grant Township, MI, USA

problem #128

Jan 012007

Impala

  • 40,000 miles
Sometime around 2007 the instrument cluster started to mess up. It would say that I was going 100 mph when I was parked in my drive way. My tachometer would say that the engine was doing 5000 to 6000 RPM when parked in my drive way. I did a little research on the internet and discovered I am no the only one with this problem. I called Chevy and they told me that there were no recall on my vehicle. The problems still exists today.

- St Helens, OR, USA

problem #127

Jul 152009

Impala

  • 65,000 miles
My 2004 Chevrolet Impala is having problems with the entire instrument cluster. There are thousands or the same complaints about Impala models from 2003-2006, as well as other Chevy models. The gas gauge has gone completely out, and the volt gauge has now stopped working, and the speedometer randomly goes haywire and moves erratically, reading incorrectly. The most common report is that GM has installed a defective stepper motor in the instrument cluster of these models. And the dealers estimate a repair cost of $600 to replace the cluster completely. This is a dangerous safety issue. GM need to step up and recall this obviously defective part.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #126

Jan 012010

Impala

  • 74,000 miles
2004 Chevrolet Impala, speedometer works one day and doesn"T work the next day. Will be going down the highway shows speed one minute and maybe nothing the next. Really have no idea how fast I am going. Seems very dangerous. GM has to know that have a safety problem.

- Southaven, MS, USA

problem #125

Jan 102010

Impala

  • 82,500 miles
My speedometer runs wildly up and down. It doesn't work well at all. I think I'm driving 55 and it shows 100. I want Chevrolet to have a recall on this. I have a 04 Chevy Impala. I have read over 100 complaints on the computer.

- Newton, NC, USA

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