2001 Chevrolet Impala Exterior lighting Problems

BOTH HEADLIGHTS UNEXPECTEDLY TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING. FLICKER ON AND OFF AND THEN GO OFF. USED TO BE ABLE TO LET THE CAR SIT A FEW HOURS AND THEY WOULD WORK AGAIN. NOW 2 NIGHTS AGO THEY WENT OFF WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT....WON'T COME BACK ON AT ALL. PARKING LIGHTS STAY ON, TURN SIGNALS, AND 4 WAY FLASHERS STILL WORK, PULL SWITCH LEVER BACK FOR BRIGHT LIGHTS AND BOTH HEADLIGHTS WORK IN BRIGHT MODE AS LONG AS YOU KEEP HOLDING BACK ON THE LEVER. THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM THAT NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT. HAVE HAD IT LOOKED AT SEVERAL TIMES AND PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. REPLACED HAZARD FLASHERS SWITHC, REPLACED MUTLIFUNCTION SWITCH, REPLACED HEADLIGHTS SWITCH. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. NOW LIGHTS ARE OFF AND WON'T COME BACK ON NO MATTER WHAT WE TRY.....LOOKING ON THE INTERNET THIS IS HUGE PROBLEM FOR IMPALA'S COVERING ALOT OF YEARS, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE WHEN YOU LOOSE YOUR HEADLIGHTS TOTALLY AT NIGHT WHILE DRIVING.......ONCE THEY GO OUT/OFF IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU STOP, PARK, MOVE, BANG ON THEM, WIGGLE WIRES AND CONNECTORS, THEY MAY OR MAY NOT COME BACK ON. SO FAR, THIS TIME, OURS ARE NOT COMING BACK ON......CAN'T KEEP THROWING MONEY AWAY TO A DEALER WHEN THEY CAN'T FIX THE PROBLEM EITHER. THEY JUST WANT TO START THROWING PARTS AT IT AND HOPEFULLY THEY FINALLY FIX IT....THAT HASN'T WORKED SO FAR EITHER.....

NHTSA ID

11353772

Incident

Sep 2, 2020

Mileage

245,000 mi

TAKATA RECALL WHEN GOING TO FASTEN SEAT BELT IT WILL NOT FASTEN YOU HAVE TO MESS WITH IT A COUPLE TIMES BEFORE IT WILL LATCH AND SOMETIMES WILL UNLATCH WHILE DRIVING. TAKATA RECALL THE DRIVER FRONT BLINKER BULB HAS BEEN REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES BUT AFTER BUYING NUMEROUS BULBS IT STILL WILL NOT WORK. TAKATA RECALL WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL LEFT WHEN I SLOW DOWN TO GO AROUND A CURVE IT TIGHTENS UP LIKE THE STEERING PUMP IS GOING OUT BUT IT ONLY DOES IT WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO TURN, ALSO WHILE DRIVING ITS LIKE THE VEHICLE IS ALL OVER THE ROAD SWAYING AROUND.

NHTSA ID

11197093

Incident

Apr 3, 2019

Mileage

343,232 mi

DASH LIGHTS WENT OUT,REPLACED LIGHT SWITCH,BLOWS FUSE IF DASH LIGHTS ARE TURNED ON,HORN WILL COME ON WHEN CAR IS OFF.EARLIER BRAKE PEDDLE WORE WIRES BEHIND IT DOWN, CAUSED SHORT,CAR WOULD DIE WHILE DRIVING.LOW TIRE PRESSURE LIGHT ON,TIRES ARE FINE.

NHTSA ID

10927741

Incident

Nov 20, 2016

Mileage

150,000 mi

ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS I'VE BEEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WHEN I GO FROM BRIGHT TO DIM MY HEADLIGHTS SHUT OFF. THEY COME BACK ON SHORTLY AFTER, IT'S ONLY MY HEADLIGHTS AS I CAN SEE MY SIDE LAMPS ILLUMINATED. QUICKLY GOING BACK TO BRIGHT SEEMED TO BRING THEM ON QUICKER THE SECOND TIME THEY WENT OUT. THESE TWO ISSUES BOTH OCCURRED AS I WAS MEETING ANOTHER VEHICLE AND WENT FROM BRIGHT TO DIM. THEY OCCURRED OVER THE TIME PERIOD OF TWO MONTHS.

NHTSA ID

10788863

Incident

Oct 8, 2015

Mileage

100,000 mi

THE TURN SIGNALS STOP WORKING AND COULD POSE A SAFETY HAZARD AS TO NOT BEING ABLE TO SIGNAL WHICH DIRECTION YOU TRAVELING TO. SO OTHER DRIVERS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO KNOW THAT YOUR ARE MAKING A TURN AND COULD RESULT IN A CRASH. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM ON MANY GM VEHICLES NOT JUST THE IMPALA, SUCH AS GRAND AM, MONTE CARLO, OLDSMOBILE ALERO, AND MORE. THE PROBLEM IS IN THE HAZARD SWITCH RELAY WHICH ALSO CONTROLS THE TURN SIGNALS WHICH IS A DEFECTIVE PART AND PREMATURELY FAILS. GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD MAKE A RECALL WITH HOW MANY VEHICLES HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND IS A KNOW ISSUE ON MANY OF THERE CARS.

NHTSA ID

10783548

Incident

Jul 13, 2014

I BEGAN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH MY TURNING SIGNALS. APPROXIMATELY IN APRIL THEY BEGAN TO NOT WORK AUTOMATICALLY WHEN INSTRUCTED TO USE. IN RECENT MONTHS THEY MAKE NOISE AS THEY ARE INSTRUCTED TO BE USED AND WELL NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. ALSO, THE EMERGENCY LIGHTS ARE INOPERABLE AT THIS TIME. *TR

NHTSA ID

10639740

Incident

Apr 1, 2014

ALL AT ONCE THE CAR WOULD NOT START DEPENDING ON HOW KEY WAS IN IGNITION. COULD WIGGLE THEN START, SOMETIMES HAD TO WAIT A PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE YOU COULD WIGGLE IT AND IT STARTED. UNRELIABLE. AT THE EXACT SAME TIME THE FRONT END ELECTRICAL SEEMED TO ALL GO HAYWIRE. HEADLIGHTS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. HIGH BEAMS WITH NO LOW. WIPERS WENT INTO UPRIGHT POSITION WHEN CAR STARTED AND WON'T GO DOWN. ALL ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND TUNEUPS WERE ON SCHEDULE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10639032

Incident

Sep 6, 2011

Mileage

180,000 mi

THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START IF THE SECURITY LIGHT IS FLASHING... I HAVE TO WAIT ATLEAST 15-20 MINUTES WITH THE KEY POSITIONED IN THE ON POSITION UNTIL THE SECURITY LIGHT STOPS FLASHING.. THEN IT STARTS. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THE BRAKE LIGHT AND THE BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON AT THE SAME TIME AND THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT WANTS TO STALL. FINALLY, IF THE CAR IS RUNNING IN PARK.....ALL OF THE EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR LIGHTS STARTS TO FLASH. *TR

NHTSA ID

10637841

Incident

Apr 9, 2014

Mileage

107,000 mi

THE LIGHT WENT OUT ON THE SPEEDOMETER. THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTING CLUSTER WAS REPLACED AT THE DEALER FOR $614.00 AND IT WENT OUT AGAIN IN ABOUT ONE YEAR. IT IS OUT NOW. THE SPEEDOMETER SPEED CANNOT BE READ AT NIGHT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10560636

Incident

Jan 14, 2009

Mileage

89,124 mi

MY TURN SIGNALS WORKED INTERMITTENTLY. PRESSING THE HAZARD SWITCH A COUPLE TIMES FIXED PROBLEM. ONLINE FORUM SAID REPLACE THE HAZARD SWITCH. FIXED THE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT A MONTH. NOW, MY CAR NEEDS TO BE RUNNING AND WARMED UP BEFORE THE TURN SIGNALS WORK CORRECTLY. PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE WORSENING HAS THE TEMPERATURE DROPS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10438914

Incident

Aug 1, 2011

Mileage

126,000 mi

TURN/ HAZARD SIGNALS INTERMITTENLY MALFUNCTION. *TR

NHTSA ID

10416298

Incident

Jul 26, 2011

Mileage

157,412 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TURN SIGNALS DID NOT FUNCTION. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 144,000. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 85,000.

NHTSA ID

10367191

Incident

Nov 22, 2008

Mileage

85,000 mi

THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM AND ABS LIGHTS COME ON IN MY CAR AND I HAVE HAD EVERYTHING REPLACED THAT THE MECHANIC HAS TOLD ME TOO AND ITS STILL ON. THIS IS ON EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR. THE ABS BEING ON IS VERY DANGEROUS AND I HAVE KIDS. PLEASE THERE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS ON THIS PARTICULAR TYPE OF CAR CHEVY IMPALA 2001 - 2002. *TR

NHTSA ID

10353841

Incident

Jul 26, 2010

Mileage

119,000 mi

ON THE 2001 IMPALA THE TURN SIGNALS WORK INTERMITTENTLY. THERE IS NO CONSISTENCY ON WHEN THE ISSUE HAPPENS, IT SUDDENLY STARTS. WHAT ACTUALLY CAUSES IT IS UNKNOWN. SOMETIMES PUSHING THE HAZARD BUTTON SEVERAL TIMES WILL CORRECT THE ISSUE TEMPORARILY. THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THIS ISSUE IS TO $400+ TO REPLACE THE SWITCH ON A WELL KNOWN ISSUE AFFECTING 1000'S OF IMPALA OWNERS OVER MANY YEARS OF THE DESIGN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10351547

Incident

Aug 19, 2010

Mileage

125,000 mi

2001 CHEVY IMPALA HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT ON OUR WAY HOME FROM THE FIRE WORKS ON JULY 4TH. LUCKY THE COP STOPPED US AT THE CORNER WHILE DIRECTING TRAFFIC. THE MULTISWITCH HAS GONE OUT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10341455

Incident

Jul 4, 2010

Mileage

129,000 mi

2001 IMPALA. PRESSED UNLOCK ON VEHICLE REMOTE AT 4:30 AM. THE HEADLIGHTS WERE SUPPOSED TO COME ON AND DID NOT. I TRIED THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH, AND STILL NO HEADLIGHTS. TWO DAYS LATER, THE HEADLIGHTS CAME ON MOMENTARILY, THEN WENT OUT. THE HEADLIGHTS HAVEN'T WORKED SINCE. I TALKED TO A MECHANIC THAT AGREED THAT THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH HAS GONE BAD AND NEEDS REPLACEMENT. HE HAS REPLACE QUITE A FEW. *TR

NHTSA ID

10327105

Incident

Apr 20, 2010

2000-2005 CHEVY IMPALAS EXPERIENCE FLICKERING INTERIOR LIGHTS AND EXTERIOR LIGHTS, FAULTY DASH GAUGES, NO SHIFTER SIGNS ON DASH, NO MANUAL INTERIOR LIGHTING OR EXTERIOR LIGHTS, NO CRANK OR START. WAS TOLD THAT A BAD BCM WAS THE PROBLEM. (BODY CONTROL MODULE) PART# GMAB166 IS VERY OLD FOR THE MAKE OF CAR THE IT WAS PUT IN. THERE IS A NHTSA BULLETIN OUT AND GM REFUSE TO FIX IT. BULLETIN $ 010603005 AND 110501. BECAUSE OF THIS HAZARD I CRASHED MY CAR INTO THE BACK OF ANOTHER GOING 65 MPH WHEN THE CAR JUST SUDDENLY STALLED AND THERE WASN'T ADEQUATE BRAKE PRESSURE TO STOP THE CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10315038

Incident

Feb 2, 2010

Mileage

110,000 mi

ON MY 2001 IMPALA, THE TURN SIGNALS SOMETIME FAIL TO OPERATE - I HAVE FOUND THAT I CAN TURN ON THE EMERGENCY FLASHERS AND THEN DISENGAGE THEM TO RESTART NORMAL TURN SIGNALS. INSTRUMENT LIGHTS ALSO DIM AT TIMES MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO READ SPEED OR ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS - PROBLEMS DO NOT NECESSARILY OCCUR TOGETHER BUT CAN AND IT DOES AT TIMES - RANDOM IN PROBLEM OCCURRENCE I ALSO HAVE A GAS GAUGE PROBLEM WHERE IT WILL READ FULL WHEN IT IS NOT AND SHOW DIFFERENT AMOUNTS. NOW IT IS STARTING TO SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING IT WILL HOWEVER RESTART. BUT SOMETIMES SHUTDOWN AFTER A COUPLE OF RESTARTS BEFORE IT STAYS RUNNING. THIS HAS OCCURRED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS AND APPEARS TO BE GETTING WORSE; MILEAGE APPROX 105,000. *TR

NHTSA ID

10300107

Incident

Jan 14, 2010

Mileage

98,000 mi

THE TURN SIGNAL ON MY 2001 CHEVY IMPALA INTERMITTENTLY DOES NOT WORK. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM, CAN CAUSE ACCIDENTS WHEN DRIVING. THIS PROBLEM IS THE SAME AS THE RECALL ON THE CHEVY MALIBU LISTED BELOW, RECALL ID # 03V327000 - EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HAZARD FLASHING WARNING LIGHTS:SWITCH. PLEASE ADD THIS RECALL TO THE CHEVY IMPALA BEFORE MANY SERIOUS ACCIDENTS OCCUR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10279641

Incident

May 10, 2009

Mileage

75,000 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE HEADLIGHTS FAILED AND WOULD NOT ILLUMINATE AGAIN. THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD TAKE TEN MINUTES OR THE NEXT DAY TO ILLUMINATE. THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED AT LEAST THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY ARE INSTALLING NEW PARTS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. UPDATED 05/05/09 *BF THE DIMMER SWITCH WAS REPLACED. UPDATED 05/07/09.*JB

NHTSA ID

10264902

Incident

Feb 6, 2009

Mileage

80,000 mi

HEADLIGHT DIMMER SWITCH CAUGHT ON FIRE AND BURNED WIRING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10247679

Incident

Oct 10, 2008

Mileage

120,000 mi

THE TURN SIGNALS AND BRAKE LIGHTS QUIT WORKING IN MY 2001 CHEVY IMPALA. AFTER SEARCHING ON LINE TO SEE HOW TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM I AM FINDING THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO IS HAVING OR HAS HAD THIS ISSUE HAPPEN TO THEM. I AM ALSO FINDING OUT THAT IT IS BECAUSE OF A BAD TURN SIGNAL SWITCH LOCATED ON THE STEERING COLUMN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10239604

Incident

Jul 10, 2008

Mileage

141,551 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE AT A RED LIGHT, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO ACTIVATE THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH AND IT FAILED TO OPERATE. HE BELIEVED THAT THE BULBS OR THE FUSE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED; HOWEVER, THEY WERE OPERABLE. THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH WOULD NOT OPERATE UNLESS THE CONTACT TURNED THE HAZARD LIGHT SWITCH ON AND OFF. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,500 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 91,100.

NHTSA ID

10234516

Incident

May 15, 2008

Mileage

90,500 mi

THE TURN SIGNALS/ HAZARD WARNING FLASHERS WORK INTERMITTENTLY. THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT WORK WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL IS ACTIVATED WHEN THEY ARE NOT WORKING. THIS IS ONLY ON THE SIDE THAT THE TURN SIGNAL IS TURNED TO AND THIS ONLY OCCURS WHEN THE TURN SIGNALS ARE NOT WORKING. THEY SEEM TO WORK BETTER WHEN IT IS COOL AND THEY SEEM TO FAIL MORE OFTEN WHEN IT IS WARM OR HOT. FREQUENTLY THE TURN SIGNALS SEEM TO WORK EARLY IN THE DAY AND THEY QUIT AS THE DAY GETS WARMER. THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ANY OTHER CORRELATION TO WHEN THEY WORK. SOME MORNINGS THEY DO NOT WORK AND THEN AFTER I PARK THEY MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT WORK WHEN THE CAR IS RESTARTED. WHEN THE TURN SIGNALS WORK NORMALLY THERE IS NO PROBLEM. WHEN THEY DO NOT WORK THE BRAKE LIGHT ON THE SIDE THAT SHOULD BE SIGNALING QUITS WORKING WHEN THE TURN SIGNALS ARE ACTIVATED BUT NOT WORKING. WHEN THEY ARE NOT WORKING THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT WORK CORRECTLY IF THE TURN SIGNAL IS ACTIVATED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10232219

Incident

Jan 1, 2008

Mileage

15,000 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TURN SIGNAL WORKS PERIODICALLY. THE TURN SIGNAL MODULE WAS REPLACED, BUT STILL WORKS INTERMITTENTLY. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 137,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000. UPDATED 07/29/08 *BF UPDATED 07/29/08

NHTSA ID

10231602

Incident

Dec 2, 2007

Mileage

120,000 mi