2006 Chevrolet Impala (gmx 211)

GENERAL MOTORS (GM) INITIATED A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN IN OCTOBER OF 2006 TO ADDRESS A FAILURE OF THE POWER STEERING HOSE AND/OR CLAMPS THAT COULD OCCUR WHEN THE ENGINE IS STARTED IN VEHICLES PRIMARILY OPERATED IN THE FOLLOWING STATES THAT EXPERIENCE EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES:ALASKA, MAINE, MINNESOTA, MONTANA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA, VERMONT, WISCONSIN AND WYOMING.AT THE TIME THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE) WAS OPENED, ONLY 1 OF THE 33 COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) WAS FROM A STATE COVERED BY THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN.IN RESPONSE TO AN INFORMATION REQUEST SENT BY THE ODI, GM PROVIDED INFORMATION THAT INCLUDED 6 ALLEGED FIRES AND 1 ALLEGED MINOR CRASH POTENTIALLY RELATED TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT. ONE OF THE ALLEGED FIRES IS A DUPLICATE OF A REPORT RECEIVED BY ODI.OF THE FIRE INCIDENTS, 2 OF THE 6 ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENTS OCCURRED AFTER THE REMEDY DETAILED IN THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM WAS PERFORMED.ONE OF THE VEHICLES WAS TOTALED AS A RESULT OF THE INCIDENT.IT IS UNDETERMINED WHETHER THE INCIDENTS WERE RELATED TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT OR WERE A BY PRODUCT OF THE REPAIR.OF THE OTHER FOUR ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENTS, 1 INCIDENT INVOLVED SMOKE ONLY AND NO VISIBLE FLAMES.BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, THE REMAINING 3 FIRE INCIDENTS WERE LOCALIZED EVENTS THAT PRIMARILY INVOLVED DAMAGE TO THE POWER STEERING COMPONENTS AND SURROUNDING WIRING.ALL 3 OF THESE VEHICLES WERE SUBSEQUENTLY REPAIRED.NONE OF THE ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENTS OCCURRED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS UNATTENDED.ODI IS AWARE OF 1 ADDITIONAL ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENT THAT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN GM'S INFORMATION REQUEST RESPONSE.BASED ON THE CONSUMER'S DESCRIPTION OF THE INCIDENT, THE FIRE WAS QUICKLY EXTINGUISHED BY A FRIEND AND THE VEHICLE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY REPAIRED AT A DEALERSHIP.IN TOTAL ODI IS AWARE OF 6 ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENTS WHERE THE CONSUMER ALLEGED FLAMES WERE VISIBLE.ALL OF THE ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENTS OCCURRED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STILL ATTENDED. ODI IS AWARE 1 MINOR CRASH ALLEGED TO BE RELATED TO A POWER STEERING FLUID LEAK.THE CONSUMER ALLEGED A MINOR CRASH OCCURRED AS THE CONSUMER WAS ATTEMPTING TO PULL INTO A DRIVEWAY AND HAD DIFFICULTY NEGOTIATING THE TURN DUE TO EXPERIENCING HIGH POWER STEERING EFFORTS AND STRUCK A SNOW BANK.IN A LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 21, 2009, GM INFORMED ODI THAT A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM WILL COMMENCE IN DECEMBER OF 2009 FOR THE ENTIRE US. AS A REMEDY THE POWER STEERING HOSE ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLES WITH V8 ENGINES AND THE POWER STEERING RETURN HOSE AND CLAMPS FOR VEHICLES WITH V6 ENGINES WILL BE REPLACED WITH UPGRADED COMPONENTS.BASED ON THE LOW FREQUENCIES AND MINOR SEVERITIES OF THE ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENTS AND CRASH,NO SAFETY RELATED DEFECT TREND HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.GM'S EXPANDED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE FREE REPAIRS TO VEHICLES EXCLUDED FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR COMPLAINTS AND OTHER INFORMATION RELATING TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AND TAKE FURTHER ACTION IN THE FUTURE IF WARRANTED.

I WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT COMING TO A SUDDEN FALL OUT OF NOWHERE IT WAS THICK PUT MY BRAKES ON THE SLOWDOWN NEXT THING YOU KNOW I'M COMING UP ON THE TREE I LOOKED AT THE SPEEDOMETER 45 MILES AN HOUR BEST TO TRY TO HIT IT HEAD-ON BUT IT'S GOING UP INTO A HILL SO. TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BUMPER PASSENGER SIDE PUT A CHAIN ON THE BUMPER TO THE TREE SO I CAN PULL THE BUMPER OUT OF MY TIRE AND PULL MY TRUCK TO SAFETY AND PARKING LOT CROSS STREET AND CALL TOW TRUCK THE TRUCK FRAME WAS BENT 2 IN OUT OF FRAME I HAD A COUPLE BODY SHOPS LOOK AT IT I'LL GET THAT ESTIMATES BUT A LOT OF DAMAGE SWITCH ON FIXING UNLESS YOU FIND SOMETHING WRONG MY BRAKES WHICH I THINK THERE IS KNOWING MY LUCK I GOT ONE OF THOSE BRAKE SENSORS YOU RECALLED

NHTSA ID

11299505

Incident

Dec 1, 2019

Mileage

200,000 mi

DASH HAS COME UP FROM WINDSHIELD

NHTSA ID

11080072

Incident

Dec 4, 2012

Mileage

14,000 mi

TRANSMISSION SLAMS INTO GEAR FROM A START. TRANSMISSION WILL SLIP WHILE STOPPED THEN JERK INTO GEAR AND ACCELERATE ROUGHLY. DEALER WILL NOT COVER AS IT IS INTERMITTENT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10469735

Incident

Aug 8, 2012

Mileage

105,000 mi

I PURCHASED A 2006 IMPALA GT IN JANUARY. AROUND AUGUST 3, 2006, MY FOB KEY STOPPED WORKING. I CALLED THE DEALER AND SET AN APPOINTMENT FOR SAT. AUG 5. THEY FIXED MY KEY AND AS I WAS LEAVING AN EMPLOYEE INFORMED ME THAT SHE HAD TO GET HER KEY FIXED APPROX. 6 TIMES. MONDAY, AUGUST 7, 2006 AS I WAS WALKING TO MY CAR I TRIED TO UNLOCK MY DOORS AND I COULDN'T; MY KEYS FAILED ONLY 2 DAYS AFTER HAVING IT FIXED. I CALLED THE DEALER TO SEE IF I COULD BRING IT IN. I WAS INFORMED I HAD TO MAKE AN APPT. I MADE ONE FOR SATURDAY BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO LET ME BRING MY CAR IN AFTER I CAME HOME FROM WORK EVEN THOUGH THEY CLOSED AT 7:00 PM. I TOOK MY CAR IN SATURDAY AND A CUSTOMER SERVICE REP TRIED TO FIX IT HIMSELF. HE COULDN'T, SO THEY TOOK IT TO THE BACK. AS I AM WAITING FOR MY CAR, A MAN BOUGHT IN HIS CHEVY COBALT FOR THE SAME REASON, HIS KEYS WOULD NOT WORK. ONCE MY CAR WAS READY THE REP GAVE ME A RECEIPT AND TOLD ME THAT THEY USUALLY DIDN'T FIX KEYS ON THE WEEKENDS...I HAD THEM FIXED THE WEEK BEFORE AND NO ONE SAID ANYTHING, PLUS I HAD AN APPOINTMENT.*JB

NHTSA ID

10165393

Incident

Aug 3, 2006

A WEEK AFTER PICKING UP THE VEHICLE, THE DRIVER'S WINDOW WAS MAKING SCREECHING SOUND WHEN LOWERED. I TOOK IT BACK ON JULY 3, 2006. THE INSIDE DOOR PANEL WAS REMOVED AND THE ACTUATOR WAS LUBRICATED. LESS THAN A WEEK LATER THE SCREECHING NOISE CAME BACK. I THEN TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT CHEVROLET WAS IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING NEW WINDOW SEALS BUT THEY WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE. I WAS TOLD TO WAIT UNTIL MY FIRST OIL CHANGE AND BY THAT TIME THE NEW GASKETS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE. *NM

NHTSA ID

10162019

Incident

Jun 29, 2006

Mileage

500 mi

THE VEHICLE RAN HOT, WHEN I WENT TO CHECK ON IT, I SUFFERED SEVERE BURNS ON THE UPPER PORTION OF MY BODY SENDING ME TO THE HOSPITAL. A WEEK LATER THE VEHICLE DID IT AGAIN AFTER THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMED NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT. *JB

NHTSA ID

10161523

Incident

Jun 21, 2006

Mileage

16,416 mi

THE 2006 IMPALA SINCE THE DAY WE PURCHASED IT HAS A HIGH PITCH EAR PIERCING LOUD NOISE THAT COMES MAINLY FROM THE DRIVERS SIDE SPEAKER AND LAST ABOUT 23 MINUTES. TURNING THE DIRECTIONAL ON EITHER WAY WILL MAKE THE NOISE CUT OFF. OUR VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER 5 TIMES NOW AND THEY ARE UNABLE TO REMEDY OR KNOW WHAT IT IS??? WE HAVE ASKED SINCE DAY ONE FOR GM TO REPLACE THE VEHICLE. SEVERAL ITEMS HAVE BEEN REPLACED ON OUR NEW VEHICLE AND WE FEEL WE HAVE A "LEMON". GM REFUSES TO ANSWER US AND DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS DEFECTIVE VEHICLE. THE SEAT BELT KIT HAS BEEN REPLACED AND UPDATED SOFTWARE TO THE RADIO AS WELL. THERE IS RUST UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE AS WELL. ALL THESE ISSUES WERE SEEN BY US AND THE SERVICE DEPT 2 DAYS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE. WE NEED HELP!!!!! WE FEEL THE SOUND WE ARE HEARING IS SOME TYPE OF ELECTRICAL WARNING OR DEFECT. THE TURN SIGNAL BEING CONNECTED TO THE PROBLEM INDICATES SUCH. WE HAVE THE NOISE ON TAPE AND GOT A GM SERVICE SUPERVISOR TO WITNESS THE TECHNICAL ISSUE HAPPENING (6-10-06), THE VEHICLE THEN WENT IN FOR THE 5 TIME AND THEY REPLACED THE AMPLIFIER. THE NOISE CAME BACK THE NEXT DAY 6-18-06, THAT WE DROVE IT. IT HAS BEEN IN 5 TIMES NOW SINCE THE DAY WE BOUGHT IT 4-15-06 AND WE HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH IT. *NM

NHTSA ID

10160144

Incident

Apr 15, 2006

SIDE WINDOWS ARE SCRATCHING WHEN WINDOWS LOWERED AND RAISED. *JB

NHTSA ID

10158724

Incident

Mar 29, 2006

Mileage

79 mi

This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads. The J-35616-64B is the latest test probe released for checking tension or probing the .64 series terminals. The test probe terminal has been released in the terminal repair kit (J-38125-620H) located in Lear Tray 7 part number 963716-2. There are 5 terminated leads in a package part number is 13505346, which can be ordered through your normal General Motors Customer Care and Aftersales parts channel.

This service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on When and How to Submit a Field Product Report (FPR) (U.S. and Canada Dealers Only).