2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA Complaints

I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT AN INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED TO ME ON SATURDAY, JUNE 14TH 2014. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 70 MPH (I HAVE A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA) WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. NOT LONG AFTER THAT DID I NOTICE THAT MY ENGINE HAD SHUT OFF AND MY POWER STEERING HAD WENT OUT. COME TO FIND OUT TODAY (6/17/2014), GM HAD AN IGNITION RECALL. SINCE THE SAME EXACT DESCRIPTION HAPPENED TO MY VEHICLE I THOUGHT FOR SURE THAT IT WAS UNDER THE RECALL. I TRIED TO CALL MY LOCAL DEALER TO GET IT RESOLVED, AND SHOCKINGLY MY CAR DID NOT HAVE A RECALL UNDER IT. I TRIED TO CALL GM DIRECTLY AND TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED TO ME, BUT THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT HELP ME BEING THAT MY CAR WAS NOT UNDER THE RECALL. MY CONCERN IS THAT GM IS NOT TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL OF THESE INCIDENTS. ITS JUST NOT RIGHT, ITS NOT GOOD BUSINESS ON THEIR BEHALF, AND ITS NOT ETHICAL. IF ANY OF MY DRIVING CONDITIONS HAD BEEN DIFFERENT, I COULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A LETHAL ACCIDENT. NOT ONLY DOES IT POSE A THREAT TO MYSELF, BUT IF I HAD OTHER PASSENGERS IN MY VEHICLE AND ALSO OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS AND GM NEEDS TO TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FAULTS THAT THEY PRODUCED. *TR

I WAS ON HIGHWAY ONE EVENING AND MY CRUISE CONTROL WAS ENGAGED. MY POWER WENT OUT COMPLETELY ON THE CAR. I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THAT THE CAR SHUT DOWN AND I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. AFTER GATHERING MY BEARINGS, I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE CAR BACK ON AND DRIVE OFF THE FREEWAY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MY OIL WAS LOW (NO WARNING LIGHT). PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, I WAS GOING DOWN HILL ON A LOCAL STREET WHEN MY WARNING SYSTEM CAME ON AND INDICATED THAT I HAD REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND TRACTION STABILITY CONTROL ISSUES. AFTER GOING TO THE DEALER, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MY OIL WAS EXTREMELY LOW, HOWEVER NO LEAKS OR CAUSE WAS EVER FOUND. PRIOR TO THIS, I HAD TO GET MY ACCELERATOR SENSOR REPLACED BECAUSE THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER WARNING CAME ON. IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND I HAD TO PAY SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS TO 'FIX' THE ISSUE. AS RECENTLY AS YESTERDAY, JUNE 16, 2014, I TURNED MY CAR ON AND THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND TRACTION CONTROL WARNING CAME ON. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED THE CAR OFF AND CHECKED THE OIL. IT WAS LOW BUT NO WARNING LIGHT TO INDICATE THIS ISSUE CAME ON (SAME AS IN THE PAST). I FAITHFULLY GET MY OIL CHANGED EVERY 3,000 MILES OR 3 MONTHS, WHICHEVER IS FIRST. MY OIL LIFE WAS AT 54% YESTERDAY AND I DID TAKE IT IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE THIS MORNING. IT IS OBVIOUS BASED ON OTHERS EXPERIENCES, THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AMONGST 2009 IMPALA OWNERS. THE FACT THAT I DID NOT RECEIVE A WARNING WHEN I WAS ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND MY CAR SHUT OFF WHILE STILL IN MOTION, IS EXTREMELY SCARY AND IT TRAUMATIZED MY SON TREMENDOUSLY. I AM HOPING THAT SOME TYPE OF INVESTIGATION WILL BE INITIATED BECAUSE IT COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURIES OR EVEN DEATH. *TR

MY VEHICLE STARTED HAVING A KNOCKING NOISE FROM THE GLOVE BOX AREA OF THE VEHICLE WHICH I FOUND OUT TO BE THE BLEND DOOR ACTUATOR. THERE ARE TONS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PART FAILING IN IMPALAS WITH NOT THAT MANY MILES ON THEM. *TR

CLIMBING UP ALPOWA GRADE ON HIGHWAY 12 IN WASHINGTON STATE, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED" CAME ON IN THE ODOMETER WINDOW. APPROXIMATELY 35 MILES LATER, BEYOND DODGE JUNCTION AND BEFORE STARBUCK TURNOFF, THERE WAS ANOTHER MESSAGE FLASHED IN THE ODOMETER WINDOW, "IGNITION SWITCH DISABLED. SERVICE ENGINE" THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN, AND THE POWER STEERING BECAME SUPER SLUGGISH. THE CAR SLOWED DOWN, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET STOPPED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AT THIS POINT WHEN WE GOT THE CAR RUNNING AGAIN, THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT WORK. WHEN WE REACHED WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON, WE STOPPED AT O'REILYS AUTO PARTS, HAD ONE OF THE PARTS SPECIALISTS COME OUT AND CHECK WHAT THE CODE WAS ON THE COMPUTER, AND FOUND OUT IT WAS THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE SENSOR THAT IS DEFECTIVE. THIS IS A PILOT CAR ESCORT VEHICLE, MAKING THE HAZARD EVEN MORE DANGEROUS, BECAUSE HAD I BEEN TRAVELING WITH AN OVERSIZED LOAD, I COULD HAVE BEEN HIT BY THE SEMI PULLING THE LOAD, OR I COULD HAVE IMPACTED THE REAR OF THE LOAD, DEPENDING IF I WERE FOLLOWING OR LEADING. ALSO, HAD THAT HAPPENED WHILE ON A JOB, THE LOAD WOULD HAVE HAD TO STOP UNTIL ANOTHER PILOT CAR ESCORT VEHICLE COULD ARRIVE TO CONTINUE WITH THE LOAD. THIS IS A DANGEROUS THING TO HAVE SHUT OFF WHEN DRIVING IN AREAS THAT ARE NOT STRAIGHT. UNABLE TO CONTROL STEERING, BRAKES LESS THAN RESPONSIVE, AND POSSIBLE HAZARDS OF VEHICLES ONCOMING OR FOLLOWING US COULD BECOME IMPACT HAZARDS. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

LAST NIGHT, I STARTED UP MY CAR AND IMMEDIATELY THE CAR STARTED TO SHUDDER PRETTY HARD. MY CAR STARTED CHIMING AND A SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL SHOWED UP ON MY DASH, FOLLOWED BY AN ENGINE POWER REDUCED. THE LIGHT INDICATOR FOR MY TC WAS LIT. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED THE CAR OFF AND TRIED TO RESTART IT. THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. I TURNED IT OFF AND WAITED 2 MINUTES BEFORE RESTARTING. IT STARTED FINE, WITH NO BAD INDICATIONS. THE CAR ALSO DROVE NORMALLY. A FEW HOURS LATER AS I WAS STARTING HOME, IT HAPPENED AGAIN. MY CAR WAS STILL PARKED AS BEFORE WHEN THE INDICATIONS SHOWED UP. SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED AND IT CLEARED OUT. NO PROBLEM ONCE I STARTED DRIVING. THIS MORNING WAS NO DIFFERENT. SO FAR, THIS ONLY HAS HAPPENED WHEN I WAS STARTING MY CAR UP. I HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE THAT THIS HASN'T HAPPENED TO ME WHILE THE CAR WAS IN MOTION- YET. OTHER PEOPLE WITH THIS PROBLEM HAVEN'T BEEN SO FORTUNATE. THERE HAS BEEN NO BAD WEATHER AT ALL. DRY AS A BONE. I BOUGHT THIS CAR IN 2010 KNOWING IT USED TO BE A RENTAL. I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT UNTIL NOW. I TOOK MY CAR INTO MY CHEVY DEALERSHIP, WHO THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE THE THROTTLE BODY SENSOR. THEY ARE ORDERING THE PART IN, BUT I'M STILL SKEPTICAL IF THAT IS REALLY WHAT IS CAUSING IT. I HAVE HEARD THE SENSOR ON THE HUB ASSEMBLY COULD CAUSE THIS, AS WELL AS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR. FROM READING MULTIPLE FORUMS, MANY OWNERS HAVE HAD SCARY EXPERIENCES WITH THE CAR DECELERATING ON FREEWAYS OR OTHER DANGEROUS PLACES THAT COULD RESULT IN WRECKS AND PERSONAL HARM. THEY HAD TAKEN THEIR CARS IN MULTIPLE TIMES AND SHELLED OUT THOUSANDS TRYING TO FIX THIS PHANTOM GHOST PROBLEM. FRANKLY I AM AMAZED THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL FOR THIS. I AM MOVING TO CA, AND I'M DRIVING THERE BY MYSELF IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. I CAN'T HAVE MY CAR TRY TO DO ME IN RIGHT NOW, NOR DO I HAVE ENDLESS AMOUNTS OF CASH TO FIX A MECH'S GUESS. WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER THIS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE TRACTION CONTROL, EMISSIONS AND ENGINE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC.THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

CPSC: I1450233A. 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. CONSUMER STATED THAT HE HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER TO INFORM THEM HE HAD A BROKEN CONTROL ARM, AFTER FINDING OUT SEVERAL OTHERS HAD THE SAME ISSUE. *LN

I WAS ACCELERATING TO MERGE LEFT INTO A HIGHWAY. WEATHER WAS DRY AND HOT. TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON ALONG WITH ENGINE LIGHT CAR SHOWS MESSAGE: "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL", "ENGINE POWER REDUCED". CAR TAKES LONGER TO ACCELERATE. AFTER I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND TURN IT ON, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT DISAPPEARED. ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON. *TR

I WAS ACCELERATING AND TURNING LEFT AT THE SAME TIME AFTER A STOP SIGN INTO A 40 MPH ROAD. WEATHER WAS HOT AND DRY. TRACTION CONTROL AND ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON IMMEDIATELY. CAR SHOWS MESSAGE: SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL, ENGINE POWER REDUCED. *TR

WHILE DRIVING, SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL WILL COME ON ALONG WITH THE ENGINE LIGHT, AND THEY FLICKER ON AND OFF, AND CAUSE THE CAR TO JERK, THE LOCKS TO RELOCK, MY FUEL GAUGE TO GO OUT OF PLACE, AND SOMETIMES CAUSE THE CAR TO TURN OFF. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO AN ACTUAL CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP, BUT THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR BECAUSE THEY TRIED AND NO PROBLEMS WERE DIAGNOSED WHEN THEY USED THE SCAN TOOL. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT IT MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH MY TRANSMISSION; OTHERS SAY THAT IT IS SOMETHING ELECTRICAL; WHILE OTHERS SAY THAT A WIRE IS NOT CONNECTING OR IS TOUCHING SOMETHING. ONE DEALER STATED THAT THIS IS HAPPEN IN ALL 2007-2012 IMPALA ONCE THEY HIT A CERTAIN MILES. *TR