2009 Chevrolet Impala

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE TRACTION CONTROL AND THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO DECELERATE AND THEN STALLED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE ELECTRONICS IN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,630. UPDATED 08/11/14*LJ

ONE DAY BEFORE I WAS TO TAKE A VACATION FROM MISSOURI TO TEXAS, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THE CODE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH A FUEL CANISTER, BUT IT SHOULDN'T POSE A PROBLEM. AS I WAS DRIVING 75 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY INSIDE THE TEXAS STATE LINE, AFTER 7 HOURS OF DRIVING, MOSTLY IN RAIN ALL DAY, THE CAR STARTED DOING A JERKING TYPE ACTION & THEN MY TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON, W/A WARNING MSG SAYING, "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL; ENGINE POWER REDUCED." GOING 75 MPH I LOST ALL CONTROL! NO LIGHTS, NO A/C (WHICH IS A SEPARATE, LOUD, CLICKING ISSUE I COULD ADDRESS), NO POWER STEERING, NO POWER BRAKES! I HAD ALL I COULD DO TO JUST POINT MY CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD & COAST TO A STOP, IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE W/OUT A SERVICE STATION IN SIGHT! I TRIED 3X TO RESTART THE VEHICLE TO NO AVAIL. AS I SAT THERE IN BEWILDERMENT & FRIGHT OF WHAT JUST HAPPENED, I CONTEMPLATED WHAT TO DO. AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES, I DECIDED TO TRY & START IT 1 MORE TIME. THIS TIME, IT STARTED UP. HOWEVER, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT & THE SERVICE AIRBAG LIGHT (AGAIN, ANOTHER ISSUE I'VE HAD WITH THE VEHICLE SINCE THE DAY I PURCHASED IT) WERE STILL LIT UP BUT THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT & THE WARNING MESSAGES HAD GONE OFF. I CONTINUED TO MY DESTINATION & THE FOLLOWING DAY (SATURDAY) I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL GM DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY PROCEEDED TO DO A DIAGNOSTIC TEST &, OF COURSE, "COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM," THEREFORE THEY COULD NOT "FIND ANYTHING WRONG." THEY GLADLY DEPLETED MY VACATION EXPENSES OF $100 & SENT ME ON MY WAY WITH A REASSURANCE THAT "IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN WHILE YOU'RE HERE, COME BACK BY & WE WILL TEST IT AGAIN BUT WE WON'T CHARGE YOU FOR IT." HOW NICE OF THEM. :{ GM SEEMS TO ENJOY DOING THAT. AND THE NHTSA DOESN'T SEEM TO WANT TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO INVESTIGATE THIS PREVALENT PROBLEM W/THESE CARS. IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS, I'LL SUE THE PANTS OFF OF THEM. *TR

UPON STARTING AND ATTEMPTING TO BACK OUT OF MY GARAGE TO GO TO WORK, THE RELEASE BUTTON ON THE FLOOR MOUNTED GEARSHIFT LEVER WOULD NOT DEPRESS, THEREBY PREVENTING ME FROM SHIFITNG INTO REVERSE, LET ALONE DRIVE IF I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN BACKING OUT OF THE GARAGE. HERE IS THE DESCRIPTION ON MY RECEIPT FOR REPAIR: "INSPECTED LOSS OF POWER AT SHIFTER AT R.T.S.I. SOLENOID - (PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED GROUND CIRCUIT 1135 GREEN VOLTAGE SUPPLY BROKE AT CONNECTOR) - NEC TO REPLACE COMPLETE CONNECTOR AND HARNESS AND ROUTE CORRECTLY -- GRID# 013, DOC ID#'S 1912937, 2417697" THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I'VE HAD THIS ISSUE. THE DEALER TOOK CARE OF ME APPROPRIATELY EACH TIME. HOWEVER, I SEE THAT OTHER OWNERS OF IMPALAS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM VIA THE INTERNET. I SURE WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF IT WAS LOOKED INTO. I'D HATE TO SEE ANY BODY HAVE THIS PROBLEM IN A NOT TOO FRIENDLY AREA, LET ALONE MY SPOUSE. THANK YOU. *TR

THE VEHICLE DISPLAYS A "SERVICE AIR BAG" LABEL AND ALSO A ICON ASSOCIATED WITH THE WRITTEN WARNING. MY 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA LT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, ACCORDING TO THE MY VIN NUMBER. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY THIS VEHICLE IS DISPLAYING SERVICE AIR BAG. THIS VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN IN ANY ACCIDENTS. I HAVE NEVER HAD A CAR DISPLAY SUCH A WARNING. I AM VERY AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE. *TR

THERE IS A CONSTANT KNOCKING IN THE DASHBOARD, WHEN I ATTEMPT TO TURN ON THE AIR CONDITION OR THE HEATING SYSTEM IN THE VEHICLE. THIS KNOCKING CAUSES THE HEAT TO BE PASSED THREW THE VEHICLE, IN THE SUMMER TIME I WOULD HAVE TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND ON, THEN KEEP ADJUSTING THE AIR CONTROL UNTIL THE AIR BEGAN TO BLOW. MAJORITY OF THE TIME THE AIR DOES NOT COME ON, THERE IS JUST CONSTANT HEAT COMING FOR THE DASHBOARD AND THE FLOOR BOARD. I BEGIN TO NOTICE THAT THIS KNOCKING WOULD OCCUR WHILE I WAS NOT IN THE CAR, WHILE HITTING THE REMOTE FOR ENTRY INTO CAR AND WHILE THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN. I HAD A NEIGHBOR WHOSE VEHICLE WAS DOING THE SAME THING. AS TIME WENT ON I COULD BE WALKING THREW A PARKING AND HEAR THAT SAME SOUNDS IN OTHER IMPALA MODELS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON I95 MERGING ONTO 175 IN COLUMBIA, MD, MY SPEED WAS 65MPH. MY "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" LIGHT AND "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR SHUT COMPLETELY OFF. I HAD NO CONTROL OVER THE CAR, COULD NOT APPLY BRAKES. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED THE IGNITION SWITCH TO OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES. LUCKILY THERE WASN'T ANY TRAFFIC BEHIND ME CAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE HIT ME AND KILLED ME. I WAITED ABOUT 5-10 MIN TURNED THE CAR ON PROCEEDED TO MY DESTINATION. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON. I CALLED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT BOB BELL CHEVROLET ON KANE STREET IN BALTIMORE. I WAS SEVERAL MILES FROM THERE THEY COULDN'T COME GET THE CAR SO I DROVE IT TO THEM. THEY HAD MY CAR APPROXIMATELY 2-3 DAYS AND COULD NOT REPLICATE THE INCIDENT. SINCE THIS TIME IT HAS HAPPENED 8-10 TIMES OR MORE SINCE MAY 11, 2014 I'VE CALLED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND WAS TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT, THEY CAN LOOK AT IT, NO CODES REGISTERED IN DECEMBER WHEN THEY LOOKED AT IT SO THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG. THEY WANT ME TO BRING MY CAR IN BUT DON'T WANT TO GIVE ME A RENTAL. THIS IS TOO DANGEROUS. I AM SCARED EVERYTIME I GET BEHIND THE WHEEL OF MY CAR. *TR

I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT AN INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED TO ME ON SATURDAY, JUNE 14TH 2014. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 70 MPH (I HAVE A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA) WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. NOT LONG AFTER THAT DID I NOTICE THAT MY ENGINE HAD SHUT OFF AND MY POWER STEERING HAD WENT OUT. COME TO FIND OUT TODAY (6/17/2014), GM HAD AN IGNITION RECALL. SINCE THE SAME EXACT DESCRIPTION HAPPENED TO MY VEHICLE I THOUGHT FOR SURE THAT IT WAS UNDER THE RECALL. I TRIED TO CALL MY LOCAL DEALER TO GET IT RESOLVED, AND SHOCKINGLY MY CAR DID NOT HAVE A RECALL UNDER IT. I TRIED TO CALL GM DIRECTLY AND TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED TO ME, BUT THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT HELP ME BEING THAT MY CAR WAS NOT UNDER THE RECALL. MY CONCERN IS THAT GM IS NOT TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL OF THESE INCIDENTS. ITS JUST NOT RIGHT, ITS NOT GOOD BUSINESS ON THEIR BEHALF, AND ITS NOT ETHICAL. IF ANY OF MY DRIVING CONDITIONS HAD BEEN DIFFERENT, I COULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A LETHAL ACCIDENT. NOT ONLY DOES IT POSE A THREAT TO MYSELF, BUT IF I HAD OTHER PASSENGERS IN MY VEHICLE AND ALSO OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS AND GM NEEDS TO TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FAULTS THAT THEY PRODUCED. *TR

I WAS ON HIGHWAY ONE EVENING AND MY CRUISE CONTROL WAS ENGAGED. MY POWER WENT OUT COMPLETELY ON THE CAR. I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THAT THE CAR SHUT DOWN AND I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. AFTER GATHERING MY BEARINGS, I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE CAR BACK ON AND DRIVE OFF THE FREEWAY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MY OIL WAS LOW (NO WARNING LIGHT). PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, I WAS GOING DOWN HILL ON A LOCAL STREET WHEN MY WARNING SYSTEM CAME ON AND INDICATED THAT I HAD REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND TRACTION STABILITY CONTROL ISSUES. AFTER GOING TO THE DEALER, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MY OIL WAS EXTREMELY LOW, HOWEVER NO LEAKS OR CAUSE WAS EVER FOUND. PRIOR TO THIS, I HAD TO GET MY ACCELERATOR SENSOR REPLACED BECAUSE THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER WARNING CAME ON. IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND I HAD TO PAY SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS TO 'FIX' THE ISSUE. AS RECENTLY AS YESTERDAY, JUNE 16, 2014, I TURNED MY CAR ON AND THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND TRACTION CONTROL WARNING CAME ON. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED THE CAR OFF AND CHECKED THE OIL. IT WAS LOW BUT NO WARNING LIGHT TO INDICATE THIS ISSUE CAME ON (SAME AS IN THE PAST). I FAITHFULLY GET MY OIL CHANGED EVERY 3,000 MILES OR 3 MONTHS, WHICHEVER IS FIRST. MY OIL LIFE WAS AT 54% YESTERDAY AND I DID TAKE IT IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE THIS MORNING. IT IS OBVIOUS BASED ON OTHERS EXPERIENCES, THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AMONGST 2009 IMPALA OWNERS. THE FACT THAT I DID NOT RECEIVE A WARNING WHEN I WAS ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND MY CAR SHUT OFF WHILE STILL IN MOTION, IS EXTREMELY SCARY AND IT TRAUMATIZED MY SON TREMENDOUSLY. I AM HOPING THAT SOME TYPE OF INVESTIGATION WILL BE INITIATED BECAUSE IT COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURIES OR EVEN DEATH. *TR