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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

What owners actually said

810 reports
19,961 miles · Sep 16, 2009
StructureTires

EXTREME INSIDE REAR TIRE WEAR IN A VERY SHORT TIME. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10284099

Mileage unknown · Sep 7, 2009
Tires

REAR TIRES HAD EXTREME EXCESSIVE WEAR ON INSIDE IN SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. THESE WERE NEW TIRES. NO WARNINGS. TIRE WAS WORN IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME IF I HAD NOT BEEN LOOKING AT SOMETHING IN DRIVEWAY IT WAS ON THE VERGE OF A BLOWOUT. THESE WERE NEW TIRES SO YOU DO NOT THINK THE INSIDE WHERE YOU CAN NOT SEE WOULD BE DOWN T…

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REAR TIRES HAD EXTREME EXCESSIVE WEAR ON INSIDE IN SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. THESE WERE NEW TIRES. NO WARNINGS. TIRE WAS WORN IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME IF I HAD NOT BEEN LOOKING AT SOMETHING IN DRIVEWAY IT WAS ON THE VERGE OF A BLOWOUT. THESE WERE NEW TIRES SO YOU DO NOT THINK THE INSIDE WHERE YOU CAN NOT SEE WOULD BE DOWN TO THE WIRES ON THE INSIDE OF TIRE. WAS GOING ON LONG TRIP IN 2 DAYS SOMETHING JUST MADE ME LOOK DOWN AND I SAW IT. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. I TOOK PICTURES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10283084

24,900 miles · Aug 29, 2009
Service Brakes, HydraulicCrash

WHEN DRIVING 2008 CHEVROLET 4 DOOR LOST CONTROL AT THE TOP OF A HILL ON A HIGHWAY. I BRAKED TO MISS A STOPPED CAR. NO SPEEDING AND NO TICKET. THIS CAR A SAFETY ISSUE WITH STEERING AND THE BRAKES. I HAVE A 2009 IMPALA LT *TR

NHTSA ODI #10282278

17,000 miles · Aug 29, 2009
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

FEEL VIBRATION FROM THE BRAKE PEDAL. I DO NOT KNOW IF IT FROM THE FRONT OR BACK, I FEEL THE VIBRATION AT 25 + MPH. I HAVE A 2009 IMPALA LT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10282275

40 miles · Aug 21, 2009
Electrical System

08 CHEVROLET IMPALA HAS CRACKED AND BROKEN WIRES IN THE ENGINE WRING HARNESS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10281365

24,000 miles · Aug 20, 2009
Suspension

DURING ANY DAMP, WET OR SNOWY ROADWAY CONDITIONS, MY 2008 CHEVY IMPALA SS HANDLES DANGEROUSLY POOR. THIS OCCURS EVEN IF THE CAR IS PUT INTO NEUTRAL DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. THE REAR-END KEEPS WANTING TO GO SIDEWAYS. I TOOK IT TO A CHEVY/GM CERTIFIED DEALER AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10281173

18,000 miles · Aug 16, 2009
Steering

WHEN I TURN MY WHEEL OF MY CAR IT FEELS AS IF ITS KNOCKING. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10280576

Mileage unknown · Jun 29, 2009
Fuel System, Other

WE OWN 2008 CHEVY IMPALA WITH 40,000 + MILES. THE ENGINE LIGHT GOES ON AND OFF. WE OFTEN CHECK IF THE GAS CAP IS ON TIGHT. THIS USUALLY HELPS. THIS PAST WEEK, ALL WE TRIED WITH GAS CAP DID NOT HELP. WE TOOK CAR TO GM DEALER. THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE GAS CAP. HOWEVER, THE NEW GAS CAP COST US $80 PARTS PLUS LABOR AND COST O…

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WE OWN 2008 CHEVY IMPALA WITH 40,000 + MILES. THE ENGINE LIGHT GOES ON AND OFF. WE OFTEN CHECK IF THE GAS CAP IS ON TIGHT. THIS USUALLY HELPS. THIS PAST WEEK, ALL WE TRIED WITH GAS CAP DID NOT HELP. WE TOOK CAR TO GM DEALER. THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE GAS CAP. HOWEVER, THE NEW GAS CAP COST US $80 PARTS PLUS LABOR AND COST OF ANALYSIS. WE HAVE OWNED MANY CARS AND NEVER HAD TO REPLACE A GAS CAP. EVEN A CAR WITH 350,000 HAD ORIGINAL GAS CAP. THIS IS UNFAIR FOR OWNER TO BEAR THIS EXPENSE. THANK YOU. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10275200

28,000 miles · Jun 15, 2009
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

BOTH FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WARPED 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA LT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10273906

41,040 miles · Jun 9, 2009
Suspension

MY 08 IMPALA SS HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH TIRES EXCESSIVELY. I REPLACED THE BACK TIRES ALMOST 4 MONTHS AGO AND NEW TIRES ARE NEEDED AGAIN. THE REAR TIRES ARE WEARING ON THE INSIDES OF THE TIRES. I BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF MY LOCAL GM DEALER WHO "ASSURED" ME THAT NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE REAR SUSPENSION AND THAT I NEED TO R…

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MY 08 IMPALA SS HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH TIRES EXCESSIVELY. I REPLACED THE BACK TIRES ALMOST 4 MONTHS AGO AND NEW TIRES ARE NEEDED AGAIN. THE REAR TIRES ARE WEARING ON THE INSIDES OF THE TIRES. I BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF MY LOCAL GM DEALER WHO "ASSURED" ME THAT NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE REAR SUSPENSION AND THAT I NEED TO ROTATE THE TIRES EVERY 6000 MILES THAT WAS WHAT WAS WRONG THAT I WASN'T FOLLOWING THE OWNERS MANUAL. SO I THOUGHT IT REALLY WAS MY FAULT SO I SPENT THE $500 TO BUY TWO NEW TIRES AND NOW ALMOST 4 MONTHS LATER THE SAME THING IS HAPPENING. I HAVE ONLY PUT ABOUT 6000 MILES ON THE NEW TIRES AND THE CORDS ARE ALREADY SHOWING ON THE INSIDES OF THE REAR TIRES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10273225

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.