2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS THE VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY LOSE POWER AND STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE IGNITION SWITCH WAS REPLACED AND THE DEFECT WAS REMEDIED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

I WENT OUT TO START MY IMPALA TO GET READY FOR WORK. UNLOCK MY DOORS AS I NORMALLY DO, AND PROCEED TO START THE CAR. IT IS THE CHEVY KEY THAT COMES WITH THE CAR. ANYWAY, I TURN THE KEY AND NOTHING, ALL I GET ON MY DASH IS THE FLASHING SECURITY LIGHT. SO I WENT BACK INSIDE AND DONE SOME RESEARCH WHILE ON THE PHONE WITH MY SUPERVISOR LETTING HIM KNOW THAT I WAS GOING TO BE LATE. TURNS OUT, THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE IMPALA OF MY BODY STYLE, THE IGNITION SWITCH OR THE PASS LOCK MODULE. VERY INCONVENIENT, THIS IS THE 5TH OR 6TH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED, REALLY HURTS WHEN YOU HAVE KIDS WITH YOU AND ITS HOT OR COLD OUTSIDE. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO! *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY FATHER'S 2004 CHEVY IMPALA AT THE TIME OF THE MECHANICAL FAILURE. I WAS MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN FROM ORCHARD LAKE RD ONTO NORTHWESTERN HWY (I BELIEVE THIS IS FARMINGTON MICH) AT THIS POINT I LOST POWER TO THE VEHICLE (ENGINE, BRAKES & POWER STEERING DEAD) AND COASTED TO THE RIGHT HAND LANE ON NORTHWESTERN HWY. I PROCEEDED TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND CONTINUED ON MY MERRY WAY. NO PROBLEMS GOING THE REST OF THE WAY HOME. THE NEXT DAY I HAD A PROBLEM STARTING THE VEHICLE. THIS WENT ON FOR SEVERAL DAYS UNTIL I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE AUTO DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY REPLACED THE IGNITION SWITCH. THE DEALERSHIP CHARGED MY FATHER $481.39 TO REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH. I HAVE THE WORK INVOICE FROM THE DEALERSHIP SHOWING THE WORK PERFORMED. I ALSO HAVE PROOF OF PAYMENT TO MASTERCARD SHOWING THE WORK WAS PAID FOR. *TR

THE TURN SIGNALS STOPPED WORKING. AFTER PANICKING AND TURNING ON HAZARD LIGHTS, THEN AGAIN TRYING THE TURN SIGNALS, DID THEY DECIDE TO BEGIN WORKING AGAIN. NOW THE TURN SIGNALS RANDOMLY DECIDE TO STOP WORKING, AND MUST USE THE HAZARD TRICK AGAIN TO GET THEM WORKING. ALMOST CAUSED NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS, AND CAUSED A TRAFFIC TICKET. CAN NOT FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM AS TO WHY THEY DO THIS, BUT READ UP ON MANY DIFFERENT SITES THAT MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME DIFFICULTIES. VERY DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN. *TR

ENGINE STOPS RUNNING ARE RANDOM TIMES. WON'T RESTART FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES. VERY UNSAFE CONDITION. DEALER SAYS THEY CANNOT REPLICATE THE OCCURRENCE, BUT WOULDN'T COME CHECK OUT THE VEHICLE WHEN IT STALLED 1 MILE FROM THEIR DEALERSHIP. *TR

I NOTICED WHEN I GET TO 30 MPH I NOTICED A KICK IN MY TRANSMISSION, AFTER THAT IT'S SMOOTH SAILING UNTIL TAKE OFF AGAIN. I SPOKE WITH A SEVERAL MECHANIC ABOUT THE ISSUE AND WAS TOLD THAT MY TRANSMISSION SOLENOID WAS GOING OUT. THEY TOLD ME THE CHEVROLET IMPALA WERE FAMOUS FOR THAT. SO I BEEN DOING RESEARCH ON THIS SITUATION AND FOUND OUT THAT EVERY PERSON I SPOKE WITH HAVE THE SAME SITUATION GOING ON. I ALSO HAVE A FRIEND THAT HAS AN 2005 IMPALA AS WELL WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. WE HAVE STARTED A GROUP FOR THIS. WILL YOU PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS SITUATION. IT WILL BE APPRECIATED. ... IN THE MEANTIME WE ARE STARTING A PETITION. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON A STATE HIGHWAY IN ALABAMA, ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS IN MY INSTRUMENT CLUSTER BECAME ILLUMINATED. I DETERMINED THAT MY ENGINE HAD SHUT DOWN. AFTER SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL, I RESTARTED THE ENGINE WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STILL IN MOTION. AFTER I ARRIVED AT HOME, I DECIDED TO TRY AND DETERMINE WHY THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. I WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT WHILE DRIVING, MY DRIVER'S SEAT WAS POSITIONED SO THAT MY KNEES WERE CLOSE TO THE IGNITION SWITCH. MY KNEE BUMPED THE IGNITION SWITCH, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SHUT DOWN. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT WHEN I START THE ENGINE, IF I SUDDENLY RELEASE THE IGNITION KEY (SWITCH) , THE IGNITION SWITCH STOPS JUST SHORT OF THE OFF POSITION. A SLIGHT BUMP OR JAR CAUSES THE IGNITION SWITCH TO MOVE TO THE OFF POSITION. I NOW DRIVE WITH MY DRIVER'S SEAT FARTHER AWAY FROM DASH TO ENSURE I DO NOT ACCIDENTALLY SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE. *TR

TL* 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.

THIS IS A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENED ON VARIOUS LONG DISTANCE TRIPS. IT OCCURED ABOUT SIX TIMES SINCE PURCHASE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 71,400 OVER 9.5 YRS. WE WERE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 65 MPH. ONCE IN KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, TEXAS, ETC. THE TOTAL ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WENT OUT. IMMEDIATELY I FELT THE LOSS OF POWER. I LOOKED AT THE SPEEDOMETER AND SAW IT DROP. I SAW AN ENGINE RED LIGHT COME ON. THE TOTAL DURATION OF OUTAGE WAS ABOUT 1.5 SECONDS. UPON RESUMPTION OF ELECTRICAL POWER, NOTHING FURTHER HAPPENED. WE NEVER LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR. OVER THE YEARS I CHECKED FOR RECALL NOTICES AND CHECKED WITH LOCAL DEALERSHIPS. NOTHING UNTIL IN JUNE 2012. FROM 2010-12 I HAD TROUBLE STARTING THE CAR WHEN I TURNED THE IGNITION ON. NOTHING HAPPENED. I WOULD WAIT FIVE MINUTES OR SEVERAL HOURS AND THEN IT WOULD START. THAT HAPPEN MONTHLY FOR TWO YEARS. I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALERSHIP AND THEY REPAIRED/REPLACED THE IGNITION PART AT THE COST OF ABOUT $600. NO PROBLEM SINCE. I STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL KEY FROM GM WITH THE WIDE HOLE. MY POINT HERE IS THAT I COULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT VICTIM FROM THESE INCIDENTS. I HAD TO PAY TO GET IT FIXED. *TR

SPEEDOMETER CHANGED TWICE BY ANOTHER CHEVY DEALER, TRANSMISSION SLIPPING, ALL LIGHTS WENT OFF WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, CRUISE CONTROL WENT OFF BY ITSELF. CALLED GM CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ABOUT THE LIGHTS AND CRUISE CONTROL, ANSWER WAS TO HAVE IT CHECKED, ALSO HAD THE TRANSMISSION CHECKED BY THREE DEALERS, ONLY ONE SAID YES IT WAS SLIPPING (TRANSMISSION HAD BEEN SLIPPING SINCE I GOT THE CAR). NO PAPERWORK DUE TO COST TO HAVE IT CHECKED BY TWO DEALERS. ONE DEALER (WHERE I GOT THE CAR) NO LONGER IN BUSINESS BUT HAD THE PAPERWORK FOR THE TRANSMISSION COMPLAINT. BUT THEY TOO SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEMS AND BECAUSE OF THIS THEY REFUSED TO WORK ON THE CAR. *TR