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.
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. To keep the vehicle in straight line, the driver must move the steering wheel further out. Depending on what side the steering wheel is turned, there is some slack in the wheel and noises are made. The failure was repaired under warranty after the first incident and the dealer installed a short steering shaft. This repair corrected the failure for four years. When the failure recurred, the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but they refused to repair it under the warranty since it exceeded the mileage. The contact believes that the vehicle should have been repaired for free because it seems to be a manufacturer defect. He paid for the dealer to install a new short steering shaft on the vehicle. The failure mileage was 28,000 and current mileage was 70,000. Updated 10/16/08 updated 10/20/08.
The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. The steering makes a clunking noise. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic and the diagnosis was that the steering column rod needed to be replaced. On April 2, 2008, the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection prior to a road trip. At that time, the contact was informed that the steering column rod was going to need replacing again soon. He believes that this is a manufacturer defect, in which they should repair. The current mileage was 71,000 and failure mileage was 59,926. Updated 04/22/08. The steering shaft was lubricated. Updated
2002 Chevrolet Impala with a steering problem. Consumer states that the intermediate steering shaft was replaced. The problem occurred again after 20,000 miles. Consumer states that the intermediate steering shaft has been replaced twice.
I have a problem with my 2002 Chevy Impala. When you turn the steering wheel left or right, there are clunking noises coming from the steering column. The sharper the turn, the worse the problem is. I also hear an intermittent whirring noise when I make turns (the sound is like when you wear a nylon coat, and your sleeves rub against the body of the coat). It is a constant problem, and I am now afraid to drive the car because I'm afraid that I will loosing steering control. I made the mistake of looking at the complaints on this website, and I have found 17 other complaints of this exact issue with 2002 Chevy Impala vehicles. Now I am really afraid to drive the car. I am planning on getting the first available appointment with the dealer to see if they can resolve the issue. I will have to pay to fix it, of course, since it is no longer under warranty. But I feel that my life is worth the money. However, don't you think that this should be a recall issue by now" how many complaints do you need before you realize that this is a recurring problem that needs to be addressed" I hope that someone doesn't need to be injured or killed before any action is taken. I hope that my additional complaint will help other Impala owners get this problem fixed through a recall notice. I'm sure that you would have numerous more complaints about this issue (and others) if more people realized that this complaint procedure was available. Maybe the roads would be safer. Please try to have this issue resolved through a recall notice.
- Lexington Park, MD, USA
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A state inspection @30,000 miles revealed a bad upper control arm, left and right inner tie rod ends and both motor mounts. My mechanic feels as though these part failures are very premature and were caused by a very loose steering rack. He told me that I should contact someone to see if there is a repair bulletin for this problem. I don't think a car should need that kind of front end work a 30,000 miles. I'm also concerned that my wife, who drives the car on a daily basis, is at risk while driving herself and our 2 kids to and from their daily routines. Please let me know if anything can be done to correct this problem as soon as possible!! thank you!!
Noticeable looseness and "clunk" in steering when turning and/or accelerating from a stop or at low speed. Car had nearly 50,000 miles. How much longer before a loss of steering could occur?
1. low coolant light was continually on, and it did require coolant at the time, but there was no indication what was happening to the coolant - after 2 weeks of smelling antifreeze within the vehicle, it was then discovered that the coolant was leaking around the lower intake manifold gasket near the bolts and then this led to the replacement of the gasket itself..it took 8.5 hours of labor and the cost of the new gasket to correct the problem. 2. there is a loud clunking noise in the front end of the vehicle when turning the vehicle at slow speeds...apparently it is the intermediate steering shaft and has been identified by the Chevrolet dealer but will not fix the problem for us...they say that there is no recall for this problem, but admit that they have numerous complaints about this and that they have tried to get Chevrolet to recall the vehicle because of the complaints from their customers. Both problems that I have listed are a continual problem for many Impala owners and I feel as though since they have issued numerous service bulletins to their dealers about both of my complaints, that they are aware of the problems but still refuse to correct them for the consumer. As a consumer I feel as though GM should be investigated and made to fix these problems for all of us 2002 Impala owners.
Clicking or clunking sound in the front end when you turn to go around a corner. It sounds like something is loose. I have called the dealer about the problem. They were very much aware of it. They have had to replace the faulty parts quite often. My problem is that I am over my warranty in miles. This is also not just a problem on the 2002 models. It has been a problem before. Because this has been and on going problem I feel all vehicles with this problem should be recalled. Thank you for your time.
When turning the steering wheel left or right, the steering wheel made a knocking sound. The consumer believed it was the intermediate shaft. The steering felt loose as if it should have been tighter.
The steering on my 2002 Chevrolet Impala ls has been giving me problems since I first purchased it in November of 2002 with 5,000 miles on it. It feels like something is loose in the front end and the steering is terrible. I have had the vehicle at the dealer at least three times in the past year for the problem and it has yet to be resolved. I am very concerned that whatever is loose or defective in the front end is going to cause me to lose control of the vehicle on the freeway at some point. My vehicle only has 29,000 miles and it should not be having these problems.
While driving, the steering produced a loud knocking noise. The steering shaft failed. Consumer has owned GM vehicles all his life and never experienced steering failure, even at 54,000 miles. He believed the steering should be recalled.
I wanted him to check my driver side back door because it wouldn't open very easily at times, and the window to that same door would not open at times. Also, my trunk wouldn't open when one would use the trunk release button at times. I also had him check my dimming headlights, my steering which had a jerk in it when I went around curves, clicking sound in engine and an over all check since my warranty is about to run out in 1,000 miles. Turn out-after leaving the dealer my air conditioner was humming like a helicopter, my brakes were horrible and grinding and the car feels like it has no get up and go power. I took my car to brake check after leaving because when the dealer did the overall check of my car they said I needed a front brake job. And they wanted to charge me over $200 dollars. The dealer told me it was not covered under my warranty. Well brake check took off all four tires and found that my problem was due to left and right caliper problems on the inboard side and left rear hard wear problems and wear on the outboard side. The caliper is engaging but not disengaging and caused my pads to wear out and my rotors are ate up. The pads are not worn evenly which is definitely a sign of caliper problems. Also, the dealer upon the overall inspection of my car said that my intake gaskets were ruined and leaking coolant. They said they replaced them, however I am afraid that there is further damage to my vehicle that they are not telling me, just like my brakes. Due to the fact that steve at lone star told me that it was caused due to lack of oils changes and gil said it was a problem with the gaskets being improperly seated from the factory or just a defect in the gasket. Well is this why my car has no get up anymore? my car also made a grinding sound when hitting bumps under the right front fender area that nothing was done about and my headlight problem they said was due to a faulty battery cable.
Consumer states that while driving and no warning they will have erratic steering control and it will be hard for the consumer to control the vehicle. Dealer notified
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Liberty, MO, USA