2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA Complaints

SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT GO TO "0" WHEN YOU STOP. YOU START OUT AT 20 OR 30 MILES AN HOUR AND THE SPEEDOMETER SHOW AN INACCURATE READING. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. YOU MUST RELY ON YOUR GPS DEVICE TO SHOW YOUR PROPER SPEED. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AS THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPLAINTS. *TR

WHEN INSTALLED IN A 2004 IMPALA, MY RADIAN XTSL WILL NOT REMAIN TIGHTLY INSTALLED WITH THE SUPERLATCH STRAP. THE RELEASE MECHANISM SITS AT SUCH AN ANGLE THAT MY OLDER TODDLER CAN EASILY BUMP IT WITH HIS FOOT AND RELEASE IT, CREATING A COMPLETELY UNSAFE INSTALLATION. (RELATED VEHICLE INFORMATION: MODEL YEAR=2004, MAKE=CHEVROLET, MODEL=IMPALA). *TR

I HAVE A 2004 IMPALA. IT ONLY HAS 36,000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE KEPT IT WELL MAINTAINED AND IS GREAT SHAPE WITH LOW MILES. THE GAUGE CLUSTER ON THE CONTROL PANEL BEGAN ACTING CRAZY AS MANY OTHER POSTINGS I HAVE SEEN ON THE INTERNET. THE SPEEDOMETER AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE IS SCREWED UP. IT READS 100 WHEN I'M GUESSING 40 OR 50 MPH OR 10 WHEN I'M AROUND 35 OR THE TOTAL OPPOSITE. I CAN RESET IT TEMPORARILY BY TURNING THE KEY ON AND OFF UNTIL THE SPEEDOMETER AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE REACHES ZERO. IT IS SOMETIME OK FOR A SHORT WHILE. BUT IT DEFINITELY WILL GO WACKY AFTER I GO OVER 50 MPH OR IF I GO OVER 60 MPH HOUR ON THE INTERSTATE. THEN I HAVE NO SPEEDOMETER UNTIL I TRY TO RESET IT AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES ME DAYS TO GET IT BACK TO ONLY TEMPORARILY WORKING. I NOTICED THIS HAPPENING IN 2009 WHEN I GOT THE CAR FROM MY BROTHER AFTER HE PASSED AWAY. THE CAR AT THAT TIME ONLY HAD AROUND 28,500 MILES ON IT. BUT AS TIMES GOES ON, THE ISSUES ARE GETTING MORE PROMINENT AND WORSE. THERE ARE SOMETIMES I HAVE TO WAIT A DAY OR TWO TO EVEN GET IT BACK TO RESET. I HAVE CALLED THE LOCAL CHEVY DEALER LARIA CHEVY IN RITTMAN, OHIO WHERE MY BROTHER HAD PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM ORIGINALLY. I TOLD THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD OF THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS I HAD READ ON THIS PROBLEM. HE INFORMED ME THERE WAS NO RECALL AND THE COST TO REPAIR IT WOULD BE AROUND $550 TO $650. I BELIEVE THIS IS A TOTAL RIP OFF BY CHEVY!! THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED PROBLEM, CONSIDERING THE MOUNTING NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS I HAVE ALREADY READ ON THE INTERNET. THERE IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY FACTOR INVOLVED AND I CAN NOT BELIEVE THERE WAS NO RECALL BY CHEVY OR BY THE NHTSA BOARD. I AM SO DISPLEASED WITH THIS VEHICLE THAT THIS WILL BE MY LAST CHEVY I WILL EVER BUY AND I HAVE VOICED MY DISPLEASURE WITH SEVERAL OF MY FRIENDS. I WILL GO BACK TO A DEPENDABLE HONDA CAR WHICH I DROVE FOR 12 YEARS AND NEVER HAD ISSUES WITH IT AS I HAVE HAD WITH THIS CHEVY!! *TR

SPEEDOMETER FREQUENTLY INDICATES THE WRONG SPEED. THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE GOT STUCK AT ZERO MPH WHEN OUTSIDE TEMPERATE WAS ABOUT 20 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. EVER SINCE THAT TIME (FOR 3 MONTHS NOW) THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE WILL FREQUENTLY STICK OR JITTER AS VEHICLE SPEED CHANGES. WHEN SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE IS STUCK IT FAILS TO RESET ALL THE WAY TO ZERO WHEN CAR IS STARTED. IT ONLY MOVES COUNTER-CLOCKWISE A LITTLE BIT WHEN STARTING THE CAR; IT DOES NOT MOVE BACK TO ITS RESET POSITION. THE RESET PROBLEM COULD BE COMPOUNDED BY A PROGRAMMING PROBLEM WITH THE SIGNALS SENT TO THE STEPPER MOTOR. THE FUEL GAUGE NEEDLE CAN BE HEARD AND SEEN DURING STARTING OF THE CAR TO SWING THE FULL RANGE OF THE FUEL DIAL TO RESET ITSELF. THE SPEEDOMETER ONLY MOVES A LITTLE BIT COUNTER-CLOCKWISE DURING STARTUP; NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO RESET TO ZERO WHEN IT GETS STUCK. *TR

PROBLEM IS SPEEDOMETER. DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 60 MPH, AS SUN WAS SETTING, SPEEDOMETER SLOWLY WENT 60 TO ZERO OR A LOW NUMBER (OVER 5-10 MINUTES) WITH NO ACTUAL CHANGE IN SPEED. THIS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL CONSECUTIVE DAYS. CURRENTLY, FOR MANY MONTHS, SPEEDOMETER IS NOT ACCURATE. E.G. GOING ABOUT 40 MPH, READS 20 MPH. E.G. GOING ABOUT 35 MPH, READS 120 MPH, REPEAT 120 MPH. E.G. CAR AT STANDSTILL, SPEEDOMETER READS 120 MPH. E.G. GOING 40 MPH, READS ZERO. OFTEN SHOWS CORRECT SPEED THEN SLOWLY GOES DOWN WITH NO CHANGE IN ACTUAL SPEED. VERY DANGEROUS ON HIGHWAY AT NIGHT NOT KNOWING HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING. SEARCHED INTERNET, MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. PROBLEM - POSSIBLY STEPPER MOTORS. NEED RECALL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY FAILED. THE CONTACT HAD TO UTILIZE THE HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS IN ORDER TO ILLUMINATE THE ROADWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER AND THEY ADVISED HIM THAT THE BRIGHT AND DIM SWITCH WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 85,000. UPDATED 5/24/11 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUAL SWITCH DID NOT WORK. THE CONSUMER STATED HE HAD TO USE THE HIGHBEAM LIGHTS. UPDATED 096/03/11

EVENT: USE THE BRAKES. FAILURE: FRONT END SHAKES. REPAIR: REPLACE ROTORS. EVENT: DRIVE AT ANY SPEED. FAILURE: SPEEDOMETER GONE HAYWIRE, SAYS YOUR GOING 20 WHEN YOU ARE GOING 70? REPAIR: REBUILT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. EVENT: ANY TIME ENGINE RUNNING. FAILURE: TEMP GAUGE HAYWIRE. YOU PULL OVER THINKING YOUR CAR IS OVERHEATING; IT'S NOT. REPAIR: REBUILT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. EVENT: ANY TIME ENGINE RUNNING. FAILURE: FUEL GAUGE HAYWIRE. DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH FUEL YOU HAVE, COULD RUN OUT OF GAS (DID NOT HAPPEN TO ME). REPAIR: REBUILT INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. EVENT: USING BLINKERS. FAILURE: BLINKERS EITHER DON'T WORK WHEN ACTIVATED, OR FLASH RANDOMLY. REPAIR: REPLACE BLINKER/HAZARD MODULE. EVENT: TURNING IGNITION KEY FAILURE: NO CRANK, NO START - SECURITY LIGHT ON. WAIT A WHILE, CAR STARTS LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED. REPAIR: BYPASSED AND DISABLED SECURITY 'PASSLOCK' SWITCH. EVENT: USING WIPERS/RAIN. FAILURE: WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOP IN MIDDLE OF WINDSHIELD, CONTINUE AFTER TURNING OFF, OR DON'T COME ON WHEN SWITCH TURNED ON. REPAIR: REPLACE WIPER MOTOR & PULSE BOARD. EVENT: STOP AT INTERSECTION WITH ENGINE RUNNING FAILURE: ENGINE SURGING AND STALLING. YOU MUST KEEP YOUR FOOT PLANTED ON THE BRAKE SO THAT YOU DON'T RUN INTO THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU. IT STALLED OUT OF STATE IN AN INTERSECTION. REPAIR: REPLACE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR (MAF). THIS MOST RECENT MAF PROBLEM WAS THE LAST STRAW. THIS CAR HAS OTHER NON-SAFETY RELATED ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, AS WELL AS THE NORMAL WEAR ITEMS THAT YOU WOULD REPLACE ON A 'REAL CAR'. THIS CAR IS A ROLLING ELECTRICAL DISASTER. THIS CAR IS A MONEY PIT, JUST LIKE ITS MANUFACTURER. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT CHEVY VOLT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ABS SYSTEM WAS DEFECTIVE AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 120,000.

WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH, I NOTICED THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE DROPPING SLOWLY WHICH IT CONTINUED TO DO UNTIL IT RESTED AT ZERO. I CONTINUED DRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC (65 MPH) AND ALL THE WHILE THE SPEEDOMETER CONTINUED TO REGISTER "0." I PANICKED AND IF I HAD NOT BEEN USING A GPS NAVIGATOR THAT TOLD ME WHAT RATE OF SPEED I WAS TRAVELLING AT, GOD KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. I HAVE BEEN ON SEVERAL BLOGS AND SEE THAT THIS PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON IN THE 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. CHEVROLET SHOULD INSTITUTE A RECALL AS THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, AND IS ALSO COSTLY TO REPAIR. IT SEEMS TO AFFLICT ALL THE MODELS AT AROUND 40,000 MILES. AFTER I STOPPED TO GET GASOLINE, AND FILLED UP THE TANK, THE PROBLEM SEEMED TO CORRECT ITSELF, BUT ACCORDING TO THE BLOGS WITH OTHER OWNER COMMENTS, I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE THAT THIS WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN WITHOUT NOTICE. PLEASE SEE THAT CHEVROLET RECALLS THIS MODEL AND MAKES THE REPAIR AT NO CHARGE. THANK YOU.

HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT COMPLETELY AFTER DARK AT 55 MPH .THE PROBLEM IS IN THE QUALITY OF THE HIGH /LOW BEAM SELECTOR I WAS TOLD .I AM REPLACING THE THIRD SWITCH THIS WEEK 3/16/11 SINCE 09/20/09 . THIS TO ME SEEMS TO BE A GM SAFETY PROBLEM WHICH I THINK SHOULD BE A MFG RECALL . HAVE OWNED MANY OF VEHICLES AND NEVER TOTALLY LOST HEADLIGHTS . THE COST IS ALSO UNHEARD OF CAN BE $500 OR MORE