IllustrationThe key gets stuck and I can't remove the key; I can't take the key out and then the battery drains and car is dead.
2008 Chevrolet Impala
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Impala years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
890–25K
11125–50K
14950–75K
11675–100K
141100–150K
59150K+
665 reports with mileage · 145 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 221 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 134 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 117 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
51 crash reports10 fire reports36 injury reports
Electrical System complaints
221 reportsThe engine electric brakes all shut down steering wheel locked up and my daughter smashed into telephone pole on August 31 2023. Airbags didn't deploy for front and side airbags were deflated no air.no warning lights prior that I'm aware of. My daughter was injured PCS and cervical sprain
While driving at highway speeds the car will act up and the engine will shut off, I get the message on the odometer display that reads, Engine power is reduced, service throttle, starter disabled. This is not a good thing to have happen while driving.
Heating and air conditioning actuators and/or blen door getting stuck so the air will not switch from cold to hot or hot to cold without pulling the glove box out and manually turning them by hand. Heater will blow hot air and then randomly switch to cold air. When it's cold outside, I cannot defrost my windows cause it gets st…
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Heating and air conditioning actuators and/or blen door getting stuck so the air will not switch from cold to hot or hot to cold without pulling the glove box out and manually turning them by hand. Heater will blow hot air and then randomly switch to cold air. When it's cold outside, I cannot defrost my windows cause it gets stuck on cold air which impairs visibility.
WHILE WIFE WAS DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED CAR WENT INTO LIMP MODE MANY TIMES OVER LAST FEW MONTHS CAUSING ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR CODES.WE HAVE SINCE CHANGED THIS PEDAL SENSOR 6 TIMES AND SAME ISSUE AND CODES POP UP. WE ALSO CHANGED THROTTLE BODY W SENSOR AND CONNECTOR PIGTAIL.I THINK THERE IS CORROSION IN ECM AND ALL THESE ITEMS …
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WHILE WIFE WAS DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED CAR WENT INTO LIMP MODE MANY TIMES OVER LAST FEW MONTHS CAUSING ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR CODES.WE HAVE SINCE CHANGED THIS PEDAL SENSOR 6 TIMES AND SAME ISSUE AND CODES POP UP. WE ALSO CHANGED THROTTLE BODY W SENSOR AND CONNECTOR PIGTAIL.I THINK THERE IS CORROSION IN ECM AND ALL THESE ITEMS HAVE FAILED. THESE ITEMS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED AS MANUFACTURER DEFECTS IN MY OPINION.WE ARE STILL HAVING PROBLEMS SAME CODES AND IM NOT THE ONLY ONE!
IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET TURNING LEFT , PEDAL STUCK BRAKES NOT WORKING AND HIT BY ON COMING CAR , FLIPPED IN AIR ABOUT A BLOCK , ROLLING OVER AGAIN AND AGAIN , NO AIR BAGS DEPLEATED, BROKEN RIBS, CONCUSSION, SKIN LACERATIONS , BRUISES,GLASS LOGGED IN PARTS OF BODY , FACE AND FEET
CAR WAS RUNNING FINE. PUT CAR IN PART TO RUN INTO THE STORE AND CAME BACK AND WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT CAR OUT OF PARK.
HAVE GONE THROUGH 2 ALTERNATORS, AND 2 BATTERIES, AIRBAGS SENSOR IS SOMETHING PROBLEMS, RATTLING WHILE DRIVING FROM UNDERNEATH VEHICLE.
WHEN FIRST PURCHASED I HAD TO CHANGE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP I WAS TOLD THEY GET A LOT OF PEOPLE W IMPALAS SAME AS MY YEAR 2008 THAT NEEDED TO HAVE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CHANGED EVERY SO OFTEN BECAUSE THEY WOULD GO OUT AND IT WOULD CAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO GO ON AND OFF BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS SENDIN…
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WHEN FIRST PURCHASED I HAD TO CHANGE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP I WAS TOLD THEY GET A LOT OF PEOPLE W IMPALAS SAME AS MY YEAR 2008 THAT NEEDED TO HAVE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CHANGED EVERY SO OFTEN BECAUSE THEY WOULD GO OUT AND IT WOULD CAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO GO ON AND OFF BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS SENDING THE WRONG SIGNALS.I WOULD DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY AND STREET IT WOULD CAUSE REDUCED ENGINE TO COME ON AND SLOW MY CAR DOWN ALMOST LEADING INTO ACCIDENTS BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT WOULD COME AND GO ON AS IT WANTED. THE ELECTRICAL PART OF THE CAR IS SOMETHING IN THE CAR CONTINUES TO DRAIN MY BATTERY. I'VE GOTTEN A NEW BATTERY AND IT STILL DRAINS CAUSING ME TO HAVE TO GET IT RECHARGED. THE SUSPENSION I WAS ALSO TOLD FOR THE YEAR OF MY CAR IS BAD. WHEN PURCHASED I FOUND OUT THAT AGAIN PEOPLE THAT PURCHASED THESE YEARS OF VEHICLES HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE CONTROL ARMS AND THAT I NOW HAVE TO TAKE IT TO GET FIXED BECAUSE ONE HIT TO A POT HOLE CAN CAUSE THE UNDER PART OF THE CAR TO BREAK AND CAUSE A BAD ACCIDENT. I DID NOT KNOW IMPALAS HAD THIS MANY PROBLEMS. I SEEN THE POLICE IMPALAS FOR 2008 WERE RECALLED FOR SUSPENSION, BUT THEY ALL SEEM TO SHARE THIS COMMON PROBLEM AS WELL AS THE ACTUATOR CONTINUOUSLY CLICKING. IT SEEMS TO BE AN EASY FIX, BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO FIX SOMETHING THAT IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THE IMPALAS.
ENGINE POWER REDUCED THROTTLE DISABLED - CAR SHUT COMPLETELY DOWN ON THE HIGHWAY GOING 65
Official recalls
214V355000 · Electrical System:ignition
Jun 23, 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) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the weight on the key ring and 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. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
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 23, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), and 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.
12V377000 · Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm
Aug 3, 2012
General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Chevrolet Impala police vehicles because the front lower control arms may fracture. This safety recall does not include non-police Chevrolet Impala vehicles.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front lower control arms, free of charge. The safety recall began on August 21, 2012. Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.
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
1DP14001 · Passenger Air Bag Ocs Algorithm
Opened Jul 22, 2014 · Closed Mar 7, 2017
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags; Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE
The Agency received a petition on November 14, 2013 requesting an investigation into the operation of the passenger air bag Occupant Classification System (OCS) software logic and algorithm.The petitioner states that due to this alleged defect, the passenger air bag may be suppressed at point of impact and not provided the occupant protection as needed in a crash.On July 22, 2014, NHTSA opened DP14-001 to further review the crash event and perform a more comprehensive search and analysis of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).The Agency also collected manufacturers reports on the alleged OCS issue on the subject Impala vehicles and other GM and non-GM peer vehicles.After examination of the petition and available data relating to the subject vehicle's OCS and the specific crash incident where the OCS allegedly failed to operate properly, NHTSA did not identify an issue with the MY2008 Impala involved in the subject crash, nor has it identified a safety-related defect trend existing in the OCS used in the MY 2006-2008 Impala vehicles, in GM peer vehicles or in other non-GM peer vehicles.NHTSA has concluded that further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources is not warranted. The agency accordingly has denied the petition.However, the agency will take further action if warranted by changing future circumstances. The official petition denial, as published in the Federal Register, is available in the document file for this defect petition.The single complaint and crash noted in the Failure Report above is the petitioner's VOQ (10568388) and can be reviewed online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=10568388.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE
The Agency received a petition on November 14, 2013 requesting an investigation into the operation of the passenger air bag Occupant Classification System (OCS) software logic and algorithm.The petitioner states that due to this alleged defect, the passenger air bag may be suppressed at point of impact and not provided the occupant protection as needed in a crash.On July 22, 2014, NHTSA opened DP14-001 to further review the crash event and perform a more comprehensive search and analysis of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).The Agency also collected manufacturers reports on the alleged OCS issue on the subject Impala vehicles and other GM and non-GM peer vehicles.After examination of the petition and available data relating to the subject vehicle's OCS and the specific crash incident where the OCS allegedly failed to operate properly, NHTSA did not identify an issue with the MY2008 Impala involved in the subject crash, nor has it identified a safety-related defect trend existing in the OCS used in the MY 2006-2008 Impala vehicles, in GM peer vehicles or in other non-GM peer vehicles.NHTSA has concluded that further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources is not warranted. The agency accordingly has denied the petition.However, the agency will take further action if warranted by changing future circumstances. The official petition denial, as published in the Federal Register, is available in the document file for this defect petition.The single complaint and crash noted in the Failure Report above is the petitioner's VOQ (10568388) and can be reviewed online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=10568388.
Air Bags
The Agency received a petition on November 14, 2013 requesting an investigation into the operation of the passenger air bag Occupant Classification System (OCS) software logic and algorithm.The petitioner states that due to this alleged defect, the passenger air bag may be suppressed at point of impact and not provided the occupant protection as needed in a crash.On July 22, 2014, NHTSA opened DP14-001 to further review the crash event and perform a more comprehensive search and analysis of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).The Agency also collected manufacturers reports on the alleged OCS issue on the subject Impala vehicles and other GM and non-GM peer vehicles.After examination of the petition and available data relating to the subject vehicle's OCS and the specific crash incident where the OCS allegedly failed to operate properly, NHTSA did not identify an issue with the MY2008 Impala involved in the subject crash, nor has it identified a safety-related defect trend existing in the OCS used in the MY 2006-2008 Impala vehicles, in GM peer vehicles or in other non-GM peer vehicles.NHTSA has concluded that further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources is not warranted. The agency accordingly has denied the petition.However, the agency will take further action if warranted by changing future circumstances. The official petition denial, as published in the Federal Register, is available in the document file for this defect petition.The single complaint and crash noted in the Failure Report above is the petitioner's VOQ (10568388) and can be reviewed online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=10568388.