2008 Chevrolet Impala

Q-What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? A-Suspension and steering effective. Any time I drive and make turns it makes like a clunking noise. You can actually feel it in the floor board. It's worse when you are driving down a not so smooth road. You can look at it as soon as possible. Q-How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? A-Control arm might SNAP causing you to lose control of my vehicle and crash into other drivers. Q-Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? A-Firestone has inspected my car. Q-Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? A-No my vehicle has not. Q-Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? A-No warning signs of any kind. This started within the last month or two.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle was vibrating and jumping. The contact drove to his brother's residence to inspect the vehicle. The contact removed the front passenger’s side tire and wheel and upon removing the hub, the engine moved. The contact was self-diagnosed that the front lower control arm was fractured. The contact was able to drive to his residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 218,000.

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.

ONE DAY I WAS DRIVING MY CAR HOME MAKING A RIGHT TURN AND MY ENGINE STARTED MAKING NOISE AND WAS ACTING AS IF IT WAS GOING TO CUT OFF. SO I PARKED MY CAR CALLED MY MECHANIC HE CAME OVER AND LOOKED AT THE CAR I SAID IT COULD BE A POSSIBLE ROCKER ARM THAT HAS GONE IN THE CAR OR I COULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON GIVING ME A CODE FOR A CAM POSITIONING SENSOR / SOLENOID. ALSO WHEN I PURCHASE THE CAR NOT TOO LONG AFTER ME DRIVING I NOTICED THERE WAS SOME NOISE COMING FROM MY BACK TIRES. I COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT FOR A WHILE UNTIL ONE DAY I LOOKED AT MY TIRES AND NOTICED THAT ON THE INSIDE THERE WAS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF SCRAPING GOING ON WEARING AWAY MY TREAD. IT WOULD ALWAYS SEEM TO HAPPEN WHEN I GOT NEW TIRES ON THE CAR SO I THOUGHT MAYBE THE TIRES WERE TOO BIG FOR THE CAR BUT I ORDERED WHAT THE MANUFACTOR SUGGESTED THE TIRE SIZE SHOULD BE FOR THE CAR. SO I HAD A TIRE SPECIALIST LOOK AT IT AND AN ALIGNMENT SPECIALIST LOOK AT IT AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE SUSPENSION SPRINGS MAY BE CAUSING MY ISSUE. THEY SAID THAT I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CHANGE THE SIZE OF MY TIRE FOR THEM TO FIT BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER SPECIFICATIONS ARE CORRECT AND THE TIRES WERE THE RIGHT SIZE FOR THE CAR.

2008 CHEVY IMPALA LTZ -- I AM HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE REAR INNER TIRES WEARING DOWN TO THE CHORDS JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER COMPLAINTS ON HERE. I KNOW IT'S NOT THE TIRE BRAND, ETC. AS I'VE HAD A REPUTABLE MECHANIC PUT ON TWO SETS OF TIRES. I FOUND ARTICLES ON A LAWSUIT AND THE FACT THAT GM WILL FIX THE POLICE CARS WITH THIS ISSUE, BUT NOT THE GENERAL PUBLIC'S. I BOUGHT THIS CAR AS A COMMUTER CAR FOR MY SONS THAT WILL BE COLLEGE STUDENTS AND I NEED IT TO LAST. I WANT A COPY OF THE TSB #08032A THAT ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE. I JUST WANT MY CAR FIXED SO THAT I DON'T KEEP BLOWING THROUGH SETS OF TIRES IT IS GETTING RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE. MY LAST SET WAS SUPPOSED TO WEAR OUT AT 60,000 AND ONLY LASTED 20,000. I AM ACTUALLY ON MY SECOND SET, SO BASICALLY $1600 INTO TIRES ALONE, NOT TO MENTION WHAT IT'S GOING TO COST ME FOR THE SPINDLE/CAMBOR/REAR TIE RODS THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TSB MENTIONED ABOVE. GM SHOULD BE PAYING FOR THIS AND IT SHOULD BE A MASSIVE RECALL. THESE CARS ARE PROLIFIC IN SOCIETY. LOL....WE BAILED THEM OUT IN 2008, AND THEY WERE CRANKING OUT LEMONS THE SAME YEAR....IRONIC!! GM REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS AND MAKING A TURN IN ANY DIRECTION, A LOUD KNOCKING NOISE WAS HEARD COMING FROM THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE EMISSION WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED, BUT COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE FUEL CAP. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A FAILURE IN THE LOWER DRIVER SIDE CONTROL ARM, WHICH NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT FOUND NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 12V377000 (SUSPENSION), WHICH ONLY INCLUDED CHEVROLET IMPALA POLICE VEHICLES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 102,000.