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.
Driving my 2004 Chevrolet Impala on the expressway, at the speed limit of 65 in rush hour traffic my speedometer started advancing until it was over 120mph. I maintain my place, pacing the other but I had no idea of my speed. I found out that Impala have a history of defective speedometers. Since my vehicle was over warranty, they wanted to charge me to replace the speedometer. A GM mechanic told me how to temp fix it, but I recurs often. GM must recall these defective speedometers! even if you take your vehicle to a mechanic or GM dealership you don't know if the temp fixed it or actually replaced the speedometer? someone is going to get killed because they can not judge their highway speed. I understand that some other GM vehicles (eg.Tahoe) has the same problem. Can you get us a recall and fix? GM mechanics know about this problem.
My 2004 Chevy Impala speedometer is not working. I have my children in the car with me you people should recall this problem. I don't want anything to happen to me or my children.
Speedometer is erratic. Cannot tell what actual speed is at any time. Also gas gauge does not work properly. Cannot tell how much gas is in the tank. Also wipers are not working properly. Where's GM with a recall to fix these problems? these are all safety issues.
Speedometer is giving false readings. Gauge will not go down past 60mph even when parked and turned off. Recently bought car used from a friend who also complained of this problem. Speedometer goes haywire frequently. Luckily I have not been pulled over. Nothing has been done about this problem due to lack of money for repairs. This is a safety issue and needs to be addressed.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala ls. While driving 35 mph, the speedometer dial suddenly began to rise. The dial did not stop and went into the hundreds when the vehicle was really only traveling at an estimated speed of 35 mph. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the failure still occurred. When the vehicle was restarted, the dial did not move. After a few days, the dial began to drop and eventually went back to zero. The dealer stated that the steeper motor cluster needed to be replaced, which has not yet been done. The manufacturer refuses to assume responsibility for the defect. Through research, the contact found numerous complaints regarding the same defect. The current and failure mileages were 63,000.
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA
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While driving to Chicago the tachometer went all the way to the red. After pulling over to confirm the car was not running hot, I found that I could reset the gauge by slowly turning the key on and off to the accessory position; until the needle reached its original position. This continued to happen sporadically for a month or so, and then I noticed I was driving on the interstate with the flow of traffic, but the speedometer was only reading 30 miles per hour. I had previously used my cruise control at the set speed, and was able to use the 'resume' button to give me an approximation of how fast I was currently going. This allowed me to get home safely. Again, I was able to reset the speedometer by turning the key in the ignition to the on and off position. The next failure came shortly thereafter, with the gas gauge. Knowing that it was a full tank, it was reading empty; again being reset with the on/off of the key in the ignition. I took the car to the local dealership to get these safety issues taken care of, and was informed this was going to cost me $600 because it was out of warranty... it only has 40K miles on the vehicle. I have been trying to resolve this through Chevrolet ever since then, and they agreed to pay 1/2. this only leads me to believe that it is indeed a safety issue that should be covered by the manufacturer. I can't drive a vehicle without a speedometer, tachometer, or gas gauge, and I can only wonder how many other individuals are out there that have been in this same situation.
Speedometer on 2004 Impala stops working--freezes up. Have to stop car and about 15 to 30 minutes for speedometer to work. This malfunction of the speedometer is occurring more and more. Dealer and Chevrolet customer service said that they would not pay to fix this problem. GM issued a bulletin #07187B stating that they would repair this problem on 2003-2004chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe along with GMC Sierra, Yukon etc. I want to know why the 2004 Chevrolet Impala is not included in this extended warranty that they issued as it is the same problem as the other vehicles.(definitely a safety problem) please help me.
All three gauges in the instrument panel have ceased functioning. At first, the defect affected only the temperature gauge. Shortly thereafter, the speedometer stopped working. Finally, the problem also affected the fuel gauge which no longer functions either.
Intermittent vechile speedometer. & tachometer starting two days ago, the speedometer on this vechile started acting odd. After turning a curve, the speedometer rose to 70mph and remainded there. Had to turn my key from the on to off position many times to get it to reset. However this fix only worked for a few minutes. I am afraid that if I continue to do the key cycle, my starter will be worn out. According to a Chevrolet dealership, the repair cost for this will be $600. I do not understand why this issue has not been brought up to the attention of GM for a recall. Many people have attempted to do so; however, GM does not seem to care. This type of issue can cause many issues up to and including road hazards. It would be wise for GM to place out a recall for this. I will be collecting emails for this at the following E-mail addy:
I bought a 2004 Chevy Impala drove it less then one year when the instrument panel began to not work. It started out by giving a high temp. Reading then the speedometer would not go back down to 0 when stopped. When the car drove again the speedometer would increase where it left off. I was able to reset the speedometer by turning the ignition to accessory then off then back on; it would go down in small increments. This temporary fix is no longer working and the speedometer does not work at all. I have gone to numerous websites and this appears to be a common problem on this car once the mileage reaches above 50000. I would like for there to be a recall so that Chevy is required to replace this defective part at their expense.
Speedometer on 2004 Impala maxed out when driving and also read 40-70 while parked. The entire cluster panel was replaced. This is a common problem and a recall should be issued since it potentially could be a safety issue.
2004 Chevrolet Impala speedometer operating erratic. Driving on ice is dangerous because I was going approx 60mph and it showed 38mph. I was going past the mile markers at one per 60 seconds.
My speedometer was reading 75 and it felt like we were barely moving. I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped, the speedometer read 40 miles an hour.. so we continued on our way home, and it is still stuck on 15. I will get checked out as soon as possible. The reason that I'm complaining is that I just learned of your web site by browsing on my pc for warranty's on 2004 Impala's. I read a lot of the complaint's about people complaining about there Impala's. I noticed that I have or have had the same problems that they have, or have had with the stepper motors going bad. Sounds like there is a recall type problem here that GM is not taking care of it has to do with all GM products for the years 2003 to 2006. This is not a part that can be abused by the car owner. It is a defective part and needs to be replaced by the manufacture. There is a very serious safety issue here and needs to be taken care of before someone gets hurt or killed. There is thousands of people with the same problem I have seen searching the web for Impala speedometer problems.
Speedometer on my 2004 Chevrolet Impala has stopped working properly and gives erroneous readings. Can read anywhere from 0 to 120+ mph at normal highway speeds and from 0 to 60 mph when you are stopped at a traffic light. Additionally, the temperature gauge instrument is also malfunctioning. The vehicle was taken to the Chevrolet dealer and they inform me that the repair will cost $460. The speedometer defect is extremely hazardous as this is an important piece of safety equipment. I contacted Chevrolet customer service 800-222-1020 who advised that they have a service bulletin #07-187 for this same problem on other Chevrolet models but the Impala is not included on the bulletin. NHTSA now has 48 pages of complaints on this same problem with the same vehicle.
After 20 to 30 minutes on the interstate, the speedometer slowly falls to 20 or 0 mph, all while you are still moving at around 70 mph. The odometer continues to function during this time. If you stop the vehicle, the speedometer seems to recalibrate, and takes another 20 to 30 minutes to reinduce. No trouble codes were set. To replicate the problem, you would need to get a dealer to drive on the highway for 1/2 an hour...it never fails around town. The dealer acted like they had never heard of such a thing, but they wanted big $$ to replace the instrument cluster. Based on piles of corroborating information online, I replaced the instrument cluster stepper motors myself with switch part # X25.168 which fixed the problem. If you are handy, you can do it in an hour with only a screwdriver and a solder iron. The failing speedometer motor that I removed was binding slightly; the working motors for the fuel and temp gauges were not. GM's denial of this problem while it is all over the internet is hard to understand. I guess they would go bankrupt if they replaced the failing clusters, but they would not even provide information like the GM part number for the failing motor, nor would they identify the vendor. I had to use news group hearsay and order the parts from a vendor on ebay.
Speedometer does not work properly. Think I'm driving the legal speed limit and come to find out I am not and have not been for a year or so now. New problem as of 11/08, headlights go out completely when high beams are turned on for a short time. Major safety hazards and GM has done nothing to fix the problems (see carcomplaints.com re: 2004 Chevy Impala's). I can not afford to fix another problem with this car, so nothing has been done to fix it.
Dashboard instrument failures. First the RPM gauge stopped working. Then the temperature gauge stopped working. Then the gas gauge stopped working. All within the last 6 months.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. While driving approximately 50 mph, the contact noticed that the speedometer displayed 120 mph. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, parked the vehicle, and the speedometer displayed 70 mph. The contact drove to his residence. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls related to his vehicle; however, they were not liable for the repairs. The dealer has not been notified. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current mileage was 49,000 and failure mileage was 48,970.
I am a single parent, mother of 2 boys who travels with me everytime I drive my car, for about 2 weeks now in my 2004 Chevy Impala the speedometer has not worked, when my car is parked the speedometer reads 60 mph and when I drive my car the speedometer had gone past the 120 mph all the way to the D for drive. I am so upset I can not afford to pay for a new cluster because from my internet search that seems to be the problem I don't have that kind of money. It's a safety issue because I don't know how fast I am really going sometime I might be going to slow for the person behind me and they might get upset thinking I am doing it on purpose an follow me out of anger who knows and if I am going to fast I may cause an accident. This is not good somebody has to do something about this, I am sooooooo upset.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ephrata, PA, USA