10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 11
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 78,084 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
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph, the engine stalled without warning. After restarting the vehicle it resumed normal operation. The failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
- Hamilton, MI, USA
My mechanic has been doing a lot of work on this car for the past month trying to figure out why my car completely powers off if I am driving on the road. After taking the diagnostic test again for the 3rd time it says we need two 02 sensors replaced and a new mass airflow sensor. Once we turned the key into the ignition the car began to smoke and burst into flames we pulled the keys out of the ignition and the fire department arrived and tried to put the fire out but gas leaked out and made a huge fire. The car tried to start up and we did not have the keys in the car the fire department had to cut my car battery out because it would not go out. Fortunately my fiance' and I made it out of the car alive. With all of the money I have been putting into this car to have it fixed and it catches on fire this makes me not want to ever purchase another Chevy car in my life and I am only 22 years old.
- St Louis, MO, USA
Engine hesitates, stalls, and shifts hard. Had to replace ignition switch and lock cylinder, heat sensor, fuel cap, reprogram antitheft, water pump, always getting bubbles in tires, gauges dnt work, puddle on pass side, heater core, 2 sets of warped rotors, traction control(ABS) keeps going off, found wires under hood chaffed( by rubbing on belt I believe)which caused no start. New problems are lights on dash and head lights will turn off at night while driving, I have a coolant leak which I think its due to blown gasket, and tonight I am driving in fog and my front window fogs up in 2 seconds. I wiped w hand and realized I was heading towards a person walkn. Way to dangerous!!!!! I have had car for only 2 yrs. I am divorced w 3 kids and 1 special needs child w lots of appts. I need a reliable car, cant afford new car or a shop to fix car. I have had to become a mechanic cause of this car and I have no time for that, thank god for internet, I wnt take kids in car after dark, it unreliable and thats sad. Please look into issues.
- Tacoma, WA, USA
Was driving down the highway and car started to slow down. No temperature light came on but car started to smoke a little underneath hood. Stopped car at an empty lot, and had it towed to a garage. They said my engine had overheated and needed a new head gasket. It had previously had a head gasket put on it about a year ago, so this would have been the second one. Mechanic advised me not to have a second head gasket job but instead advised me to get another engine for the car.
- Laurel, MS, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the temperature gauge rapidly increased and a coolant odor was emitted inside of the vehicle. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 141,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- Stockton, CA, USA
Chevy Impala 2004 ls- the vehicle is stopping completely while driving or sitting at intersection. There is no warning, no message, it just dies. The steering goes when this happens so I cannot even get off the road. Then there are times that the car will not start at all and I have been stranded. Eventually after about 20 minutes the car will start- I have already replaced the starter but the problem still exists. I have had the car checked out at 2 different shops (Firestone) and they cannot find the problem. There are no codes coming up. They are completely perplexed. Chevy states their mechanics are better. Also the cluster panel is gone and Chevy is aware of the problem but they only recalled certain models and did not include the Impala. I have 2 estimates regarding fixing this problem but the quotes are $500. I do not feel that I should have to pay for this when Chevy knew they had this problem with cluster panels and omitted the Impala in their recall. So, to recap: The car dies in traffic (almost hit twice), I do not know how much gas I have, how fast I am going, or if the car is overheating. In dealing with Chevy I was told to take the car to a Chevy dealership. They gave me a place that is 2 1/2 hours house away from my home. I was also told that I would have the honor of paying for the diagnostics. In researching this problem, I have pulled up several complaints from other Chevy Impala 2004 owners that are experiencing the same multiple problems. I also noticed that most of the complaints are stating that the same issues occurred at approx. The same mileage as mine. I have discussed this with Chevy customer service and basically that was ignored. This car is hazardous to drive and potentially will cause bodily harm. Dealing with Chevy is pointless. All they can think of is how much money their defects will bring in.
- Port Richey, FL, USA
First at buying my Chevy Impala it had 115,000mi on it already but desperately needed a car being a single mother. After having the car a little over a month the fuel injectors blew where my car would no longer start. Got it fixed. Next I had to keep putting power steering fluid in (once every week) went to a mechanic, he said my power steering is going to eventually go.. next 2 months after that my car caught on fire through the lighter. Electrical. Called the fire dept. They had to cut the wires and pull the fuse. 2 months after that, my transmission blew. Just like that. I was driving on the high way and approached an accident. After coming to a complete stop tried to pick speed back up and it wouldn't go anymore than 15 mph. I pulled off to a rest area, sat there for 30mins. Reversed out of the parking lot, put it in drive, it wouldn't budge... not to mention a month after buying the car. The turn signals, , brake lights, cruise control, flashers all worked when they wanted too and not when I needed it too. Came close to a few people running in the back of me due to back lights not working.. and my temp, gauge, speedometer and gas gauge do not work. Id be in park with a full tank of gas, it says im going 80mph and gas is empty.. hate this car with a passion.. very dangerous car...would never recommend this car to anyone....
- Lima, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated the vehicle failed to start. On a separate occasion the vehicle restarted and was taken to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 98,000 and the current mileage was 103,000.
- Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Vehicle stalled out / stopped while traveling down the road. It has done it twice now. This car is fully equipped with cruise control and traction control. After the first time (three days ago) we took it to a dealer and they could not find any code (s) and or replicate it. It just happened again today. Both times the car started right up. This could be a disaster at high speeds on an interstate. Thank you. The consumer stated the vehicle stalled for a third time. The dealer ran it for codes and immediately, it came back as a problem with the mass air sensor. It was replaced and so far, there have been no more problems. Updated IVOQ 08/01/12
- Wexford, PA, USA
- South Bend, IN, USA