2008 Chevrolet Impala

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 3 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVEN OTHER TIMES AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND ALWAYS WHEN THE GROUND WAS WET. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 47,000.

MY WIFE AND I PURCHASED THE CHEVY IMPALA TO BE OUR FIRST VEHICLE TOGETHER AFTER GETTING MARRIED. BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE BRAND NEW ONLY 102 MILES ON IT BEFORE WE DROVE IT OFF THE LOT. LITTLE DID WE KNOW IT WAS GOING TO BE 4 YEARS OF NIGHTMARES AND HEADACHES. AT THE TIME READ MANY REVIEW ABOUT THE IMPALA, NOTHING TOO MAJOR WAS FOUND. AFTER THE FIRST WEEK, THE POWER STEERING SEEMED TO BE FAILING, ESPECIALLY DURING RAIN. TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE INCIDENT. THEY TOLD US THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG AND TO BRING IT BACK IF THE PROBLEM CONTINUED. IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG AND WE WERE BACK AT THE DEALER WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. DEALER SAID THEY CHECKED THE BELTS AND THE FLUID ALL WORKING PROPERLY. AFTER A FEW OTHER TIMES OF THE POWER STEERING FAILING TOOK THE VEHICLE TO ANOTHER DEALER AND THEY TOO COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE PS. SO, AFTER SEVERAL TRIPS BACK TO DEALER WE DECIDED TO JUST DEAL WITH IT. WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT COMPLAINT ABOUT THE 2008 IMPALA, AT JUST OVER 10,000 NOTED ABNORMAL WEAR ON TIRES, AND WIRES PEEKING THROUGH ON THE INSIDE. TOOK IT IN TO DEALER AND THEY ACCUSED US OF ABUSIVE DRIVING BEHAVIOR AND NEGLECT, WHICH WAS A NEW ON TO ME. ANYWAY, THEY REFUSED TO REPLACE THE TIRES SITTING THE WARRANTY ONLY COVERS DEFECTS AND NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. SO, BY THIS TIME WE ARE STARTING TO REGRET THE PURCHASE OF THIS VEHICLE. WE HAD TO REPLACE ALL 4 TIRES @ 98.00 EACH. ABOUT YEAR LATER AT 28,000 MILES BEGAN TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM ONCE AGAIN. AFTER MANY HOURS OF DEBATES AND PHONE CALLS THEY AGREE TO "CHECK OUT OUR PROBLEM" WITH NO COST TO US. LOW AND BEHOLD WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND ADVISED US TO PURCHASE BETTER BRAND TIRES. THE LAST TIME I LOOKED MICHELIN WAS A TOP BRAND TIRE. ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE, MAIN SEAL IN MOTOR BEGAN TO LEAK. THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR WHEELS WERE NOT ALIGNED AND CAUSED THE REAR TIRES TO WEAR PREMATURELY. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL MECHANIC TO HAVE THE TIRES REPLACED. THE MECHANIC DID NOT KNOW WHY THE TIRES WERE WEARING PREMATURELY HOWEVER THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD BECOME UNCONTROLLABLE WHEN DRIVING IN INCLEMENT WEATHER AT 40 MPH. THE CONTACT DID NOT TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 46,000.

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY LEADING INTO AN OVERPASS. AS L ENTERED ONTO THE OVERPASS MY SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL, ENGINE POWER REDUCED, AND SERVICE THROTTLE BODY DISABLED FLASH ACROSS MY DASH BOARD, KILLING THE POWER TO MY VEHICLE AND LOCKING MY STEERING WHEEL. WHILE I WAS STOPPED UNABLE TO MOVE MY VEHICLE, CARS FLEW ME AND I WAS ALMOST HIT. AT ONE POINT ANOTHER VEHICLE WAS ALMOST RAN OFF THE ROAD DUE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC TRYING TO DODGE ME. THIS WAS THE WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. I HAVE NEVER FEARED FOR MY LIFE LIKE I DID AT THIS TIME. AFTER DOING MY RESEARCH ONLINE, I HAVE FOUND MANY OTHERS HAVE BEEN IN MY SITUATION. I WAS TOLD THAT MY ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR HAS GONE BAD. I FEEL THAT GM SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE AND NEEDS TO REMEDY THE SITUATION BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED. *TR

KEY GETS STUCK IN IGNITION AND WILL NOT TURN TO LOCK POSITION. THE BATTERY RUNS DOWN AFTER SITTING FOR AWHILE. I "GOOGLED" COMPLAINTS OF THIS HAPPENING AND THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS. THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE CENTER CONSOLE OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CARS. CHEVROLET DESIGNED THE WIRING HARNESS TO DRAG ACROSS THE FLOOR WHILE MOVING THE SHIFTER LEVER FROM GEAR TO GEAR. THIS EVENTUALLY CAUSES THE WIRES TO BREAK. DEPENDING ON WHICH OF THE FIVE WIRES BREAK CAUSES PROBLEMS WITH THE IGNITION SWITCH (CAR WON'T START, TRANSMISSION WON'T SHIFT, STEERING WHEEL WON'T LOCK, KEY WON'T COME OUT ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS). AS I STATED THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS AND FEEL TO ISSUE A RECALL BY CHEVROLET WOULD BE INLINE. *TR

I WAS GOING DOWN THE ROAD AND OUT OF NO WHERE MY CAR SAYS SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL, FOLLOWED BY SERVICE STABILITRAK, FOLLOWED BY ENGINE POWER REDUCED WITH A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. LOST ALMOST ALL POWER TO THE CAR, COULD BARELY TURN THE WHEEL AND THE BRAKES FELT EXTREMELY STRANGE. I COULD ONLY GO ABOUT 5MPH TOPS DOWN THE ROAD. LUCKILY I WAS ONLY 2 MIN FROM HOME. WHICH ACTUALLY TOOK 6 MIN BECAUSE OF THE REDUCED ENGINE SPEED. RIGHT BEFORE I PULLED IN THE DRIVEWAY THE MOTOR DIED. THE NEXT DAY I WENT OUT AND TRIED STARTING IT. THE REMOTE START WASN'T WORKING AND MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS STILL ON BUT IT DID START UP WITH A TURN OF THE KEY. I LOOKED UP CODES AND FOUND THAT IT WAS TELLING ME THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR WAS BAD. I HAVE GOOGLED THIS ISSUE AND FOUND THAT IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS, COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE CHEVY IMPALA. ALTHOUGH THAT IS THE CODE IT IS GIVING ME, OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THEIR THROTTLE BODY TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. GM SHOULD RECALL IT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. I WILL NOT BE BUYING ANOTHER GM VEHICLE IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO CHEAP TO FIX THIS COMMON ISSUE WHICH COULD ESSENTIALLY COST SOMEONE THEIR LIFE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 2 MPH, THE POWER STEERING BELT FRACTURED AND THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PERSONAL MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIRS. SIXTY DAYS AFTER THE REPAIRS, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF PARK. THE CONTACT WAS FORCED TO APPLY THE BYPASS RELAY BUTTON TO GET THE CAR OUT OF PARK. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE KEY BECAME STUCK IN THE IGNITION AND THE BATTERY WAS DRAINING ABNORMALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT FURTHER REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

SYMPTOMS WERE NOISE WHEN STEERING AT LOW SPEED, PLAY IN STEERING WHEEL AND VEHICLE "WANDERING" WHEN DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE. PROBLEM WAS DEFECTIVE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT. GM REDESIGNED THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT IN 2008 IN RESPONSE TO THESE VERY PROBLEMS. GM HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL FOR THIS PART, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE TECHNICAL SERVICES BULLETINS, INCLUDING TSB # 01-02-32-0010. THE TSB INDICATES THE NEED FOR REPLACING, NOT LUBRICATING, THE PART. THE TSB STATES "ENGINEERING CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE SERVICE PARTS AVAILABLE THROUGH SPO. THE SERVICE PARTS FOR THE VEHICLES LISTED IN THIS BULLETIN WILL NO LONGER REQUIRE LUBRICATION OF THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT" GM RE-ENGINEERING THE PART INDICATES TO ME AS AN OWNER THAT THEY KNOW THE ORIGINAL PRODUCT WAS DEFECTIVE, BUT ARE CHOOSING TO REPLACE A DEFECTIVE, POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PART AT THE OWNERS EXPENSE. THIS PROBLEM IS WIDELY DOCUMENTED ON GM OWNER AND DEALERSHIP FORUMS ACROSS THE INTERNET. THIS PROBLEM IS SHARED BY CHEVROLET IMPALAS, CHEVROLET MONTE CARLOS, BUICK REGALS, BUICK LACROSSES, OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE AND PONTIAC GRAND PRIX. ALL OF THESE VEHICLES ARE BUILT ON THE GM "W BODY" PLATFORM. DUE TO THE POPULARITY OF THESE VEHICLES, THE PROBLEM LIKELY AFFECTS MANY MILLIONS OF OWNERS. I HAD THE PART REPLACED AT MY OWN EXPENSE. I HAD A CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED WARRANTY THAT, ACCORDING TO MY INVOICE, ONLY SAVED ME $30 ON THE REPAIR. I WAS CHARGED A $200 DEDUCTIBLE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE PART. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THE SIDEWALLS ON THE TIRES WERE WEARING PREMATURELY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THE REAR TIE ROD WAS DEFECTIVE. AS A RESULT, THE BRAKES, ROTORS AND TIRES WERE WEARING PREMATURELY. THE DEALER REPLACED THE TIE ROD AND ALL OF THE COMPONENTS WHICH WERE WEARING PREMATURELY, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 75,000.