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8.2

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
4,444 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.

1996 Chevrolet Impala steering problems

steering problem

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1996 Chevrolet Impala Owner Comments

problem #9

Feb 262004

Impala

  • miles

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

Power steering intermittently locks up during turns at low speeds. This same thing happened 3 years ago. Chevrolet dealers and customer service both deny any evidence of a recurring problem with Impala although the NHTSA web site and an Impala owners' web site both list numerous occurrences of this malfunction. This is a very dangerous situation that renders the car temporarily out of control.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #8

Jan 012004

Impala 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 40,000 miles
Steering assist stops when turning. Not all the time but it has happened several times.its very scary when in traffic.so far no accidents, but its just a matter of time when.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #7

Oct 052002

Impala

  • miles
Odometer display goes out intermittently-dealer service department has indicated the only way to correct this problem is to replace the dash. Sounds excessive for a vehicle with less than 42,000 miles. The water pump leaking creates more of a safety hazard. It leaks onto the power steering belt, causing the belt to slip, causing the power steering to go out intermittently. There is no warning when this happens. Again, this part failing with less than 42,000 miles on a car seems out of line.

- Byron, MN, USA

problem #6

Jan 092002

Impala

  • miles

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

The first time it happened I wanted to turn left into a shopping center. I slowed down to turn left and the steering was to difficult to turn, I had to run over a curb and over a patch of grass to avoid hitting a car. I stopped the car, put it in park and attempted to turn the steering wheel to the left and right to no avail. I shut the engine off and started it back up again, put the car in drive and the steering wheel turned, but not with ease. This also occurred on my way home into my driveway. This problem has occured about fifteen times. This is a "safety hazard" and could be life threatening.

- Bay City, MI, USA

problem #5

Feb 102000

Impala

  • miles
My wife had complained of the steering going out on her for the last two years. I could never get the steering failure to manifest itself for me, so I figured it must have been an anomalie. Last month, the steering problem occurred for me at very poor times. I was turning into my neighborhood and lost all control of steering and almost ran into my subdivision's sign. The second time was when I was exiting a parking lot in nashville, and the steering froze. I rev'd the engine up to see if the increase in pump pressure would help, but to no avail. My wife instructed me to shut off the engine, and restart it. The steering responeded poorly, and I limped the car home and it is parked there today awaiting a new pump from Napa. I tried to pull the car out of the garage this weekend, but the steering couldn't even function enough for that task. This steering problem almost killed me, my wife, and possibly anyone else that would have been unfortunite enough to be in the path of this car. Without power steering, this car is almost impossible to steer, unless you are very strong and recognize what is happening. Thank god for 4 wheel ABS brakes!

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #4

Feb 102000

Impala

  • miles
My wife had complained of the steering going out on her for the last two years. I could never get the steering failure to manifest itself for me, so I figured it must have been an anomalie. Last month, the steering problem occurred for me at very poor times. I was turning into my neighborhood and lost all control of steering and almost ran into my subdivision's sign. The second time was when I was exiting a parking lot in nashville, and the steering froze. I rev'd the engine up to see if the increase in pump pressure would help, but to no avail. My wife instructed me to shut off the engine, and restart it. The steering responeded poorly, and I limped the car home and it is parked there today awaiting a new pump from Napa. I tried to pull the car out of the garage this weekend, but the steering couldn't even function enough for that task. This steering problem almost killed me, my wife, and possibly anyone else that would have been unfortunite enough to be in the path of this car. Without power steering, this car is almost impossible to steer, unless you are very strong and recognize what is happening. Thank god for 4 wheel ABS brakes!

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #3

Mar 051999

Impala

  • miles

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

While driving on highway at 45mph went to apply brakes to slow down to make a turn and the power steering went out. This has happened 4 or 5 times in the past seven months. Contacted dealer, he has checked the power steering system and has not been able to find the cause.

- Athen, AL, USA

problem #2

Dec 281998

Impala

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
When driving the power steering has gone out three times, causing the consumer to lose control. Had to replace the power steering pump twice due to a leakage. Consumer lost control of the vehicle and almost hit a tree.

- Riverside, OH, USA

problem #1

May 271997

Impala

  • miles
Broken power steering shaft.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

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