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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,749 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.

2008 Chevrolet Impala electrical problems

electrical problem

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2008 Chevrolet Impala Owner Comments (Page 4 of 11)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #152

Sep 142014

Impala

  • miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 14V355000 (electrical system); however, the dealer refused to service the vehicle under the recall because the contact did not have the two ignition keys available. The contact stated that he received only one key when the vehicle was purchased. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Marianna , AR, USA

problem #151

Jul 082013

Impala

  • miles
Door locks won't unlock. They will lock most of the time when put in gear. They won't unlock except manually. We have grand children in back seat at times. If we got into an accident you can't open rear doors and you can't reach lock lever to release. Car has about 65000 miles on it and locks started acting up around 40000 miles. Now they are all defective. One was replaced under warranty around 30000 miles. Car has been kept in garage since new, I think this should be a safety recall.

- Clarence Center, NY, USA

problem #150

Jul 082015

Impala

  • miles
This is the third time since I bought this car (new) that the wiring on the shift lock has failed. The problem is well reported on the web for 2007 and 2008 Impala. The car has been towed each time and wires fixed. The cost has been running #300.00 to $150 and the fix last about two years, I have googled the problem and found many others suffering the same problem, yet your recall log shows nothing.

- Gray , ME, USA

problem #149

Jun 172015

Impala

  • 140,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The dealer stated that the ECM computer failed. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14V35500 (electrical system); however, the ECM was not covered under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure; however, the contact was not offered a remedy for the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.

- Raeford, NC, USA

problem #148

Jun 262015

Impala

  • 77,120 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled and the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle did not restart. The dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 77,120.

- Semmes, AL, USA

problem #147

Mar 072014

Impala

  • 47,500 miles
The left rear door started to stay locked when put in park and the remote would not open it. Now all four doors are doing it. One might unlock or two but it's never the same doors. Now they are popping halfway up and unlocking when you put it in drive. A severe safety issue especially when kids are in my car.

- Dearborn Heights, MI, USA

problem #146

Jun 162015

Impala

  • 60,000 miles

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

I recently had a vent actuator fail; the sign was a loud clicking noise coming from the failed vent actuator located behind the glove box. According to the information that I have been able to gather, there are 4 vent actuators located behind the dash of the vehicle. These vent actuators seem to fail on a regular basis from complaints that I have been able to review on the internet. These are $25 parts, however the labor costs are ridiculous; $300-400 per vent actuator. If these vent actuators fail at random times, that is at a cost of up to $425 for each visit to the dealer, and there is no guarantee that they won't fail once again. Chevrolet is fully aware of the problem, according to their own web site. However, they continue to charge the owner of the vehicle these outrageous fees. I am seeking assistance in having Chevrolet replace all the vent actuators with a quality product; nothing like cheap chinese plastic. In addition, they need to quit passing the labor costs onto the owner for a problem that they refuse to address.

- Stephens City, VA, USA

problem #145

Jun 012015

Impala

  • 108,500 miles
Came to get in and unlock car when I noticed only the front passenger door unlocks. Had to climb through the car (while 5 months pregnant) to unlock both backseat doors for my niece and infant nephew to get them in the car. The 3 locks, besides passenger front, only work maybe once a week randomly. I have my first child on the way in November, and now I have to worry if I will have to set my baby on the ground during winter to climb through the car to unlock the back door manually.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #144

Mar 152015

Impala

  • 98,000 miles
I started my car and the RPM's went to 0. message stated "service traction control" and engine power reduced". when I looked up information online I noticed many people had the same problem with Chevy/GM cars.

- Ronkonkoma, NY, USA

problem #143

May 012015

Impala

  • 120,000 miles
Driving on the highway during rush hour thru a construction zone my car gave me the engine power reduce then not even a mile down the road the starting disabled service throttle message came then the car stalled with no shoulder to pull over on. Sat for about maybe 5 min then made it home. Not it happens more frequent. Took to the GM dealer to get it diagnosed and they told me they couldn't find a problem with it. So basically spent 40 bucks to hang out at the dealership for them to tell me nothing. They even checked my VIN and no recall.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #142

Feb 012014

Impala

  • 60,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. While the vehicle was parked, the ignition key became stuck in the ignition switch. The failure recurred on several occasions until the key was unable to be removed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and informed that the failure was not related to the recall. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 14V355000 (electrical system); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #141

Apr 152013

Impala 6-cyl

  • 99,200 miles
The car was performing wonderful for several months. This particular day, I drove to the store, put the car in park, attempt to remove the key from the ignition and it was stuck. After several attempts, I was able to remove the key. This has happened at least once weekly, to once daily. The key would not switch completely off leaving the battery source to drain and having to get boost or replace batteries more often, when the recall was issued, I was somewhat relieved, thinking that this would resolve the issue. Fast forward to October 2014, I the key was stuck in the ignition again on the particular day I took the car in for there service. The service person witnessed the key stuck in the ignition. I had to leave the car there and with some manipulation, he was able to remove the key and complete the service call. The service department manager was adamant that this was not a recall issue and that placing a hole in the plastic hub of the key was to relieved the weight to prevent the key from switching off while drive the vehicle. Now it is 2015 and this is a continued issue with my car. Upon further research (via the web) this is has been problematic with the Chevy Impala (2006- to present) with other issues to include unable to shift the vehicle of part, or will not start at all. This is not a key cylinder problem. Today I contact GM directly (case #71-14632344170) concerning this issue. Representative very understanding and attempted to help with this issue. There was a conference call with a local Chevy dealership for a diagnostic test and they could not schedule the appointment until next Tuesday. Understanding the key has been in the ignition switch since last Thursday, with the consequences, dead battery (twice), leaving the car running to keep the battery from dying while at clients homes, losing work because I can not leave the car unsecured.

- Augusta, GA, USA

problem #140

Mar 102015

Impala

  • 69,500 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving, the rear window defroster failed to activate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 69,500.

- Howell, NJ, USA

problem #139

Feb 182015

Impala

  • 105,200 miles
As I was driving, I got a notification on my dashboard that read "engine power reduced service traction control". I continued to drive to my destination or somewhere I could safely pull over. As I drove, the power to my vehicle had reduced significantly. During this time, the check engine light as well as the traction control light stayed on. After about 20 minutes or so, the lights went off and the car begin to operate without incident. After the day of the initial incident, I had the same problem occur 2 more times on 2 separate occasions. I have had my car since 2011 and I have had no accidents so I am not sure where or why this issue is happening but I am definitely not happy about it. I am also having issues with a knocking noise coming from my glovebox as well as the airbags light keeps coming on. Is there a recall that I am not aware of that affects these issues? if not, what can be done to rectify this problem. I am a proud Chevy owner and would like to remain loyal to Chevy however if I am not able to get some sort of resolution for these problems, I may have to look at going to a different manufacturer.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #138

Mar 232015

Impala 6-cyl

  • 116,230 miles
Door locks will not lock/unlock with fob or lock/unlock button and the more you press the button the weaker the signal to lock/unlock the doors become. Very dangerous!

- Nekoosa, WI, USA

problem #137

Mar 192015

Impala

  • 168,000 miles
While driving on the highway (60mph), without warning the car slows to 20mph and the check engine light comes on with an error message about the traction control. Extremely dangerous situation, but I was not rear-ended.

- Carmel, IN, USA

problem #136

Mar 042015

Impala

  • miles
No incident. This is a complaint about the recall for Chevy ignition switches. Chevy's repair is to give you a key ring that separates the ignition keys from the other keys. Most people won't bother and a friend driving your car isn't going to know. All you have done is give GM's lawyers a loophole for large lawsuits. They can claim the owner didn't separate the keys. This is [xxx]. the correct repair is to replace the bad switch. How many people have to die or get injured before you do the right thing instead of letting GM do the half ass thing that protects them from lawsuits. Hasn't GM been bailed out enough. Why would you protect GM over and above the safety of the american public. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Menomonee Falls, WI, USA

problem #135

Feb 022015

Impala 6-cyl

  • miles
2008 Chevrolet Impala. The consumer received the ignition recall. However, the vehicle was repossessed.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #134

Nov 132014

Impala 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
I received notice of a safety recall #14299 from Chevrolet instructing me to call my local dealer and schedule a time to have the ignition repair. The local dealer, campbell Chevrolet in bowling green, ky told me they did not have the parts. The dealer instructed me to leave my name and telephone number and they would call when the parts came in. This call took place on November 13, 2014. I still have not heard anything from the dealer. I believe there has been more than enough time to get the parts needed and fix this problem. Meanwhile, I am still driving the car with this known risk. If this is the manner in which car manufacturers are allowed to state they are taking care of recalls it is no wonder more deaths are not avoided. If I attempt to trade the vehicle I am sure this will be an issue and most probably devalue my car. Is there other recourse a consumer can take to remedy this issue?

- Bowling Green, KY, USA

problem #133

Jun 152013

Impala

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the key failed to eject from the ignition switch and remained in the off position. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic was able to remove the key from the ignition and stated that the linkage in the gear shift failed. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that three months later, the contact ejected the key from the ignition while in the on position. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.

- Marlette, MI, USA

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