2006 CHEVROLET IMPALA Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS FOR FAILURES WITH THE HEATER BLOWING COOL AIR, THE GEAR SHIFT CHANGING INCORRECTLY, AND THE TIRE MONITOR INDICATOR CONSTANTLY ILLUMINATING. ON JANUARY 30, 2008, THE CONTACT DROVE APPROXIMATELY 25 MILES. SHE THEN PULLED INTO THE DRIVEWAY AND NOTICED SMOKE UNDERNEATH THE HOOD, FOLLOWED BY FLAMES. SHE QUICKLY EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING HOSE FAILED AND CAUSED THE FLUID TO LEAK. THE VEHICLE WILL BE REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 51,000.

I PULLED OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY AND THE CAR'S POWER STEERING WAS LIMITED. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY COLD MORNING, AND IT STARTED WORKING PROPERLY. I CHECKED THE FLUID WHEN I STOPPED AND IT SEEMED FINE. A WEEK LATER, I PULL OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY AND THE SAME THING! MY HUSBAND CHECKED THE FLUID AND IT WAS LOW. WHEN I RETURNED HOME, NOT ONLY WAS THERE A BUNCH OF FLUID ON THE DRIVEWAY, BUT YOU COULD SEE HOW I PULLED OUT AND THE STREAM OF FLUID OF WHERE I WENT. THANK GOODNESS, I LEARNED TO DRIVE ON A JEEP THAT HAD NO POWER STEERING!!! IF IT HAD BEEN ONE OF MY TEENAGERS, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT STORY. FROM WHAT I HAVE READ, THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE AND CHEVROLET NEEDS TO STEP UP AND PLACE A RECALL ON THESE HOSES!!! *TR

I HAVE ONLY HAD MY CAR FOR 9 MONTHS AND HAVE HAD TROUBLE FROM THE BEGINNING, THE HEATER WILL NOT HEAT UP AND WHEN IT DOES IT GOES COLD UNLESS YOU ARE PRESSING THE GAS AND WILL NOT DEFROST AND IT KEEPS LOSING FLUID SO THEY REPLACE THE RADIATOR CAP.IT HAS A BAD SHIMMY AND A POPPING IN THE STEERING WHEEL IT HAS LESS THEN 45,000 I REALLY THINK THEY NEED TO CHECK IN ON ALL THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE ARE HAVING WITH THE 2006 IMPALA. *TR

LAST MARCH, 2008 POWER STEERING WENT OUT OF CAR, SO TOOK TO MECHANIC. AFTER PAYING OVER $400 TO REPAIR HOSE AND POWER STEERING PUMP ON CAR THAT HAD ONLY 30,000 MILES. NOW IN FEBRUARY OF 2009, LESS THAN ONE YEAR LATER, I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE POWER STEERING GOING OUT AGAIN. I SEE THAT THERE ARE ALOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME THING. I THINK GM SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND LAUNCH A RECALL TO FIX THE PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT SERIOUSLY OR WORSE KILLED. *TR

WITHOUT WARNING, THE POWER STEERING "WENT OUT" ON MY CAR AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. I SENSED THE STIFFNESS IN THE STEERING, WAS ON A VERY STRAIGHT ROAD, AND WAS ABLE TO SLOW THE CAR AND BRING IT TO A STOP. HAD I BEEN ON A ROAD WITH CURVES, I WOULD MOST CERTAINLY HAVE HAD A BAD ACCIDENT. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR, AND WHEN I PICKED IT UP I NOTED THIS ON THE DESCRIPTION: "CUSTOMER STATES CAR HAS NO POWER STEERING. CAUSE: IMPROPERLY SEALED. " FURTHER: "DIAGNOSE AND REPLACE SPLIT POWER STEERING COOLER PIPE HOSE AND PER BULLETIN 060232014." I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A REFERENCE THAT IS STRICTLY "HOW TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM" OR IF THIS INDICATES THAT THIS IS A NOTED PROBLEM. IF SO, IT SHOULD BE A RECALL! MY CAR HAS LESS THAN 30,000 MILES AND HAS BEEN DRIVEN VERY CONSERVATIVELY. IF THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED WITH ANY FREQUENCY, THEN IT IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION THAT REQUIRES A RECALL. WHEN THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT COMPLETELY AND WITHOUT WARNING, AND YOU'RE ON THE EXPRESSWAY OR A ROAD WITH CURVES, A SERIOUS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IS BOUND TO OCCUR. *TR

FIRST THE WHEEL HAD A SHIMMY IN IT. THE ROTORS WERE REPLACED AND NEW BRAKES. THAT WASN'T IT . IT WAS THE FRONT BALL JOINT. 2. CAR WOULDN'T HEAT UP. RADIATOR CAP REPLACED AT DEALER FOR 45 DOLLARS. REAR DEFOGGER QUIT WORKING. 4. POWER STEERING OUT NOW AND IT FEELS LIKE THE RACK AND PINION GOING TO FAIL. CAR NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY NOW WITH 64K. I AM TIRED OF THIS LEMON. *TR

LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST DUE TO BLOWN HOSE AND COMPLETE LOSS OF FLUID. APPROXIMATELY 65,000 MILES. PAID FOR REPAIR MYSELF. *TR

I OWN A 2006 CHEVROLET IMPALA LS WITH 45,500 MILES ON IT. IN DECEMBER 2008, I EXPERIENCED WOBBLING IN MY FRONT LEFT TIRE. THE OUTER TIE ROD WAS BROKEN AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE TIRES WERE SEVERELY AND UNEVENLY WORN, REQUIRING A NEW SET OF TIRES DUE TO BAD ALIGNMENT, AND NOW I AM HEARING AND FEELING VIBRATIONS AND CLUNKING IN THE STEERING COLUMN. A GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALED DOZENS OF SIMILAR AND RECURRENT STEERING COLUMN AND ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS AND COMPLAINTS WITH BOTH THE 2006 AND 2007 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING COLUMN IS ONLY A TEMPORARY FIX. IT COMES BACK. I DID NOT PURCHASE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY, BUT GM DOES NOT REGARD THIS AS BEING COVERED IN THE EXTENDED WARRANTY OUTSIDE OF 36,000, ANYWAY. SEVERAL HAVE COMPLAINED OF STEERING FAILURES AND LOCK-UPS WHICH RESULTED IN BOTH INJURIES AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND OTHER VEHICLES. THIS IS CLEARLY A PROBLEM THAT CAN HAVE FATAL RESULTS IF NOT CORRECTED. CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING COLUMN WOULD INCUR AN OUT-OF-POCKET COST EXCEEDING $1,000. PLEASE ISSUE A RECALL, IF NOT FOR ME, THEN FOR THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEGUN TO OCCUR AND SPARE THEM INJURY AND/OR DEATH. *TR

PULLING OUT OF DRIVEWAY STEERING WAS HARD PULLED BACK IN AND NOTICED FLUID ON THE PAVEMENT WHICH ENDED UP BEING POWER STEERING FLUID. INSPECTED UNDER THE HOOD AND FOUND THE LEAK WAS COMING FROM THE RETURN HOSE FROM THE POWER STEERING PUMP. TOOK TO LOCAL CHEVROLET DEALER AND IT WAS FIXED. AFTER I HAD MY CAR BACK FOR 6 DAYS THE SAME HOSE BLEW A HOLE IN IT IN A DIFFERENT SPOT. TOOK TO THE DEALER TWO DAYS AGO AND THEY REPLACED IT AGAIN PICKING UP TOMORROW. I CONSTANTLY HEAR ABOUT OTHER HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM ON CHEVY'S MAINLY IMPALAS' AND IT SEEMS TO BE PRIMARILY THE 2006 MODEL. THIS IS RIDICULOUS THAT THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS. I'VE CALLED GM AND THEY ARE NO HELP AT ALL AND SEEM TO JUST IGNORE THIS ONGOING PROBLEM. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY HURT IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND WAS UNABLE TO BE TURNED. THE VEHICLE SWERVED OFF THE ROAD AND CRASHED INTO SEVERAL TREES, AND THEN OVERTURNED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE THREE PEOPLE IN THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED A CONCUSSION AND HEAVY BRUISING. THE REAR SEAT PASSENGERS WERE CHILDREN AND THEY RECEIVED MAJOR CUTS, WHICH NEEDED STITCHING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY, BUT HAS NOT YET BEEN DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE DESTROYED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 52,000. UPDATED 3/16/09 */CN UPDATED 03/20/09.*JB