10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 7 / 7
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 4 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 70,132 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
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
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
2004 Impala odometer malfunction in winter cold whether condition most of the time.
- Brampton, 00, USA
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
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
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
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
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
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
Speedometer sticks or shows inaccurate speed. Dealership says instrument cluster needs to be replaced.
- New Rockford, ND, USA
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
- Cottondale, AL, USA