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2008 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

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

Fuel System, Gasoline complaints

3 reports
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Mileage unknown · May 1, 2011
Fuel System, Gasoline

I HAVE A 2008 IMPALA LT WITH A GAS GAUGE THAT FAILS ESPECIALLY IN BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES. IT READS 1/4 FULL WHEN YOU FILL IT AND GOES ABOUT 100 MILES AND READS EMPTY WITH THE LIGHT COMING ON TO GET GAS IMMEDIATELY. I HAVE BEEN TO THE DEALER,SAWYERS CHEVROLET TWICE BUT THEY WILL DO NOTHING SINCE I HAD 40,000 MILES ON IT. …

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I HAVE A 2008 IMPALA LT WITH A GAS GAUGE THAT FAILS ESPECIALLY IN BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES. IT READS 1/4 FULL WHEN YOU FILL IT AND GOES ABOUT 100 MILES AND READS EMPTY WITH THE LIGHT COMING ON TO GET GAS IMMEDIATELY. I HAVE BEEN TO THE DEALER,SAWYERS CHEVROLET TWICE BUT THEY WILL DO NOTHING SINCE I HAD 40,000 MILES ON IT. I THINK IT SHOULD BE RECALLED. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI #10398404

Mileage unknown · Oct 10, 2008
Fuel System, Gasoline

I OWN A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA THAT TAKE E85 FUEL. ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, I'VE FILLED UP WITH E85 AND DRIVEN OUT THE ENTIRE TANK OF E85 FUEL, THEN SWITCHED BACK TO 87 OCTANE. WITH DRIVING 10 - 20 MILES, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND I'M DIRECTED BY MY ONSTAR SERVICE TO REPORT THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME ON…

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I OWN A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA THAT TAKE E85 FUEL. ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, I'VE FILLED UP WITH E85 AND DRIVEN OUT THE ENTIRE TANK OF E85 FUEL, THEN SWITCHED BACK TO 87 OCTANE. WITH DRIVING 10 - 20 MILES, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND I'M DIRECTED BY MY ONSTAR SERVICE TO REPORT THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME ON BOTH OCCASIONS, THAT MY FUEL SYSTEM DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE CHANGE IN ALCOHOL LEVELS BETWEEN THE E85 AND 87 OCTANE; THE REASON FOR THE ALERT. THE FUEL SYSTEM IS NOT ABLE TO TELL THAT I'VE SWITCHED FROM E85 TO 87 AND REPORTS A FAILURE IN THE FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM. THIS CAUSE MY REMOTE START TO NOT WORK. I HAVE TO REPORT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THEM TO MANUALLY RESET THE FUEL SYSTEM THAT MONITORS THIS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10245085

500 miles · Aug 21, 2008
Fuel System, Gasoline

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT HAD BEEN DRIVING HIS VEHICLE AT VARIOUS SPEEDS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE HE NOTICED THAT IT WAS NOT GETTING THE MILES PER GALLON THAT WAS STATED ON THE EPA STICKER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY FOUND NO FAILURES RELATED TO THE FUEL MILEAGE. THE CURRENT A…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT HAD BEEN DRIVING HIS VEHICLE AT VARIOUS SPEEDS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE HE NOTICED THAT IT WAS NOT GETTING THE MILES PER GALLON THAT WAS STATED ON THE EPA STICKER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY FOUND NO FAILURES RELATED TO THE FUEL MILEAGE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 500. UPDATED 09/10/08. *LJ UPDATED 09/12/08. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10239184

Official recalls

2

14V355000 · 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

1

DP14001 · 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.