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2005 Chevrolet Impala

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

499 reports with mileage · 110 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 331 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 52 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

39 crash reports13 fire reports22 injury reports

What owners actually said

609 reports
83,700 miles · Apr 3, 2010
Electrical System

I BOUGHT 2005 IMPALA SS WITH 83,000 MILES AND SOON AFTER MY SPEEDOMETER STARTED SHOWING THE WRONG SPEED. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING 55 WHEN I WAS PULLED OVER FOR DOING 77. NOW THE NEEDLE JUST HANGS STRAIGHT DOWN,SO I STARTED RELYING ON MY TACH TO GUESS MY SPEED. THEN ABOUT 1 MONTH LATER MY TACHOMETER STARTED MESSING UP AND NOW IT JUS…

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I BOUGHT 2005 IMPALA SS WITH 83,000 MILES AND SOON AFTER MY SPEEDOMETER STARTED SHOWING THE WRONG SPEED. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING 55 WHEN I WAS PULLED OVER FOR DOING 77. NOW THE NEEDLE JUST HANGS STRAIGHT DOWN,SO I STARTED RELYING ON MY TACH TO GUESS MY SPEED. THEN ABOUT 1 MONTH LATER MY TACHOMETER STARTED MESSING UP AND NOW IT JUST STAYS BETWEEN 1,500 AND 2,000 RPMS SO I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST OR SLOW I'M GOING. NOW MY GAS GAUGE HAS MESSED UP IT SHOWED I HAD 3/4 OF A TANK WHEN MY CAR QUIT, I THOUGHT IT WAS SOME MAJOR PROBLEM TILL MY FRIEND TALKED ME INTO PUTTING SOME GAS IN AND IT STARTED RIGHT UP. NOW I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST I'M GOING OR HOW MUCH GAS I HAVE. THIS DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT WITH ONLY 85,000 MILES ON MY CAR. I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ON THE IMPALA INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS SO WHY DOESN'T CHEVROLET DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? IS IT THE MONEY IT WOULD COST, OR THE MONEY THEY WOULD LOSE WITH ALL OF US HAVING TO REPLACE THEM WITH ANOTHER FAULTY CLUSTER? *TR

NHTSA ODI #10323609

42,000 miles · Mar 30, 2010
Electrical System

MY CHEVROLET IMPALA 2005 STARTED RUNNING HOT AND LEAKING WATER TOOK TO CHEVROLET HERE IN FORT PIERCE THEY REPLACE THE WATER PUMP HOSES AND BELTS BUT THE CAR TEMP GAUGE IS STILL GOING INTO THE RED ON THE DASH, SO I TOOK IT BACK THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD'VE FIND NOTHING THAT WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR NOW THE IGNITION STICKS AND THE C…

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MY CHEVROLET IMPALA 2005 STARTED RUNNING HOT AND LEAKING WATER TOOK TO CHEVROLET HERE IN FORT PIERCE THEY REPLACE THE WATER PUMP HOSES AND BELTS BUT THE CAR TEMP GAUGE IS STILL GOING INTO THE RED ON THE DASH, SO I TOOK IT BACK THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD'VE FIND NOTHING THAT WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR NOW THE IGNITION STICKS AND THE CAR WON'T START, SECURITY LIGHT COMES ON, I'M THINKING THAT THERE'S A ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR AND I WANTING TO REPORT THE PROBLEM I'M HAVING.

NHTSA ODI #10322901

101,000 miles · Mar 25, 2010
Electrical SystemEquipment

MY 2005 IMPALA SPEEDOMETER AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE ARE WORKING WHEN THEY WANT TO. I SET THE CRUISE CONTROLL AT 70 MPH AND CAR SEEMS TO DO FINE. I DONT USE THE CRUISE CONTROLL AND TRY TO HOLD THE CAR AT 70 MPH AND GOT A TICKET FOR DOING 82 IN A 65. AFTER GETTING THE TICKET ON 12 MARCH THE SPEEDOMETER AFTER EITHER 20 MINUTES OF SITT…

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MY 2005 IMPALA SPEEDOMETER AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE ARE WORKING WHEN THEY WANT TO. I SET THE CRUISE CONTROLL AT 70 MPH AND CAR SEEMS TO DO FINE. I DONT USE THE CRUISE CONTROLL AND TRY TO HOLD THE CAR AT 70 MPH AND GOT A TICKET FOR DOING 82 IN A 65. AFTER GETTING THE TICKET ON 12 MARCH THE SPEEDOMETER AFTER EITHER 20 MINUTES OF SITTING OR DRIVING DOES NOT READ RIGHT SAYS BELOW ZERO, THEN I TURN CAR OFF AND ON TO TRY AND RESET THE GUAGES WORK ON AND OFF.

NHTSA ODI #10322115

125,000 miles · Mar 20, 2010
Electrical System

OVER THE PAST 6 MONTHS MY SPEEDOMETER ON MY 2005 CHEVY IMPALA HAS NOT BEEN WORKING CORRECTLY. THE SPEEDOMETER WILL SAY THAT I AM GOING 20 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN I AM ACTUALLY GOING 60 MPH OR FASTER. THE SPEEDOMETER WILL BE AT 0 MPH WHEN IN TOWN DRIVING. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST I AM GOING. THE SPEEDOMETER IS NOT WORKING 90% O…

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OVER THE PAST 6 MONTHS MY SPEEDOMETER ON MY 2005 CHEVY IMPALA HAS NOT BEEN WORKING CORRECTLY. THE SPEEDOMETER WILL SAY THAT I AM GOING 20 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN I AM ACTUALLY GOING 60 MPH OR FASTER. THE SPEEDOMETER WILL BE AT 0 MPH WHEN IN TOWN DRIVING. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAST I AM GOING. THE SPEEDOMETER IS NOT WORKING 90% OF THE TIME. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10321175

67,000 miles · Mar 17, 2010
Electrical System

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THE SPEEDOMETER WAS EXHIBITING FAILURES BY INACCURATELY READING THE SPEED OF WHICH THE VEHICLE TRAVELED. IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN AN ACCURATE SPEED, HE WOULD HAVE TO UTILIZE THE CRUISE CONTROL MECHANISM. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT CLUSTE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THE SPEEDOMETER WAS EXHIBITING FAILURES BY INACCURATELY READING THE SPEED OF WHICH THE VEHICLE TRAVELED. IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN AN ACCURATE SPEED, HE WOULD HAVE TO UTILIZE THE CRUISE CONTROL MECHANISM. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED THAT ONLY THE STEPPER MOTOR WOULD NEED REPLACEMENT AS OPPOSED TO THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. HE WAS ALSO CONCERNED WITH BEING UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE RATE OF SPEED IN WHICH HE WAS TRAVELING. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA ODI #10320407

65,000 miles · Mar 9, 2010
Electrical System

2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA. PASSLOCK SECURITY SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING. WILL NOT ALLOW CAR TO START. ELECTRICAL ISSUE. NO WAY TO RESET. FREQUENTLY LEAVES DRIVER STRANDED FOR TEN TO FIFTEEN MINUTES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10318228

55,000 miles · Mar 9, 2010
Electrical System

SPEEDOMETER ON MY 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA RANDOMLY STARTS DROPPING SPEED OR SHOWING NO SPEED AT ALL. HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES BUT ALSO RANDOM, NO CONSTANT WAY TO MAKE IT OCCUR. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10317954

12,000 miles · Mar 6, 2010
Steering

I BOUGHT A NEW 2005 CHEVY IMPALA IN MARCH 2005 AND HAD TO REPLACED THE STEERING SHAFT AFTER ABOUT 12000 MILES IN 9 MONTHS. IN FEB,2010 I HAD TO REPLACED THE SECOND SHAFT THAT'S 3 SHAFTS IN 4 AN HALF YEARS WITH LESS THAN 60,000 MILES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10317369

11,000 miles · Mar 2, 2010
SteeringCrash

DRIVING TO WORK APPROX 06:30 AM. POWER STEERING WENT OUT, MANAGED TO TURN THE CAR TOWARDS DITCH TO AVOID ONCOMING VEHICLES. APPROX 45 MPH, TWO LANE FRONTAGE ROAD. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN RATHER WEAVY ON THE HIGHWAY. THE DEALER COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG UNTIL THE RECALL FOR STEERING LINKAGE WAS POINTED OUT. EVEN AFTER T…

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DRIVING TO WORK APPROX 06:30 AM. POWER STEERING WENT OUT, MANAGED TO TURN THE CAR TOWARDS DITCH TO AVOID ONCOMING VEHICLES. APPROX 45 MPH, TWO LANE FRONTAGE ROAD. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN RATHER WEAVY ON THE HIGHWAY. THE DEALER COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG UNTIL THE RECALL FOR STEERING LINKAGE WAS POINTED OUT. EVEN AFTER THAT, THE CAR HANDLED POORLY AND WAS REPORTED TO DEALER. (STEERED POORLY) REPORTED TO DEALER, NOTHING DONE UNTIL AFTER ACCIDENT. POWER STEERING PUMP REPLACED, BUT DEALER REFUSED ADMISSION OF FAULT. BILLED US FOR ACCIDENT DAMAGE AND REPLACEMENT OF POWERSTEERING PUMP. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10315907

Mileage unknown · Feb 27, 2010
Visibility

THE WIPERS STICK IN UP POSITION 2005 CHEVY IMPALA CAUSED BY THE WIPERS TRYING TO RUN IF HEAVY SNOW. THE INTERNET SAYS IT IS A LINK BENDING IN THE WIPER MOTOR AREA. GM HAS AN UPDATED PART FOR THE 2005 BUT NOT A RECALL. WHY SHOULD CONSUMERS PAY FOR SAFETY ISSUE? *TR

NHTSA ODI #10314823

Official recalls

1

14V400000 · Electrical System:ignition

Jul 3, 2014

This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 3, 2014, that they are recalling 5,877,718 model year 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo, 1997-2003 Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2005 Malibu Classic, 1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero, 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue, 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am and 2004-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix vehicles. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 9, 2014. GM's number for this recall is 14350.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.