Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Chevrolet Impala submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 103 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 103, in the owner's own words
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE EXTERIOR HEADLIGHTS FAILED INDEPENDENTLY WHILE BEING OPERATED AT NIGHT. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 260,000.
TURN SIGNALS DO NOT OPERA RATE ALL THE TIME, WHEN THEY FAIL HITTING THE HAZARD LIGHTS BUTTON SEAMS TO MAKE THEM OPERATE.
MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH RANDOMLY FAILS TO TURN ON LOW BEAM IN MOTION AND STOPPED. TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE WITH SOME LIGHTS ON AT NIGHT, LEFT HAND HAS TO HOLD DOWN THE HIGH BEAM AS IT FAILS TO STAY ON. STEERING WHEEL MUST THEN BE OPERATED WITH ONLY WHEN HAND. REPLACING THE THE MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH FIXES THE PROBLEM UNTIL IT FAILS AGAIN. AVERAGING 6 MONTHS BETWEEN FAILURES AND HAVE REPLACED THE SWITCH 3 TIMES ALREADY.
I WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT AND TURNED ON MY BRIGHTS AND SHORTLY AFTER MY HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT. I HAD TO MESS WITH THE SWITCH BEFORE THEY WOULD COME BACK ON. THEY KEPT DOING THIS UNTIL I SWITCHED BACK TO DIMS. *TR
AFTER SITTING FOR A COUPLE MONTHS, UPON DRIVING THE CAR AGAIN THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS DON'T WORK. REPLACED THE MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH, CHECKED ALL THE RELAYS AND FUSES. STILL NOT WORKING. HIGH BEAMS AND DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS WORK. THIS BASICALLY RENDERS THE VEHICLE UNDRIVABLE, AS IT GETS DARK AT 4:30 IN THE WINTER, AND I AM NOT ABLE TO DRIVE IT AT NIGHT. *TR
I BOUGHT MY 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA (3800 V6 ENGINE) NEW, WHICH HAS NOW LESS THAN 12,000 MILES, & I DROVE PRIMARILY FOR RUNNING ERRANDS. ONE MONTH AGO, ITS BODY COMPUTER MEMORY WENT BONKERS. THE DAY AFTER I RETURNED AFTER XMAS, I WENT TO GET GROCERY. AS THE CAR WAS NORMAL THE PREVIOUS DAY, I DID NOT EXPECT ANY PROBLEM. HOWEVER, UPON FINISHING SHOPPING 30 MINUTES LATER, I FOUND THE CAR (1) HONKING NON-STOP, (2) ITS DOME LIGHTS COULD NOT BE TURNED OFF, (3) THE 'DOOR AJAR' WARNING JINGLED ALL THE WAY ' EVEN THOUGH I STOPPED BY ROADSIDE TO ENSURE ALL DOORS WERE CLOSED. ON TOP OF THAT, (4) THE TURNING SIGNALS (BOTH LEFT & RIGHT) STOPPED WORKING. ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER RETURNING HOME AND LOCKING UP THE CAR, (5) THE HONKING/DOME LIGHTS/DOOR WARNING STARTED AGAIN. ALTHOUGH I RESET THE CONTROL PANEL, THE PROBLEMS DID NOT GO AWAY. I THEREFORE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, BUT THEIR MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSES OFFHANDEDLY, AND AN APPOINTMENT WAS MADE TO THOROUGHLY CHECK THE CAR WITH DIAGNOSTIC INSTRUMENTS. HOWEVER, ON THE DAY OF THE APPOINTMENT (1/26/16), EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL AGAIN, AND DIAGNOSTIC TESTS COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG BY THE DEALER. TODAY (2/12/16), THE TURNING SIGNALS MALFUNCTIONED AGAIN BRIEFLY AND WORKED AGAIN, BUT (6) THE INSTRUMENT PANELS WERE ALL ERRONEOUS, WITH READINGS OF FUEL, COOLANT TEMPERATURE, TACHOMETER ABOVE LIMITS - EVEN WHEN THE CAR IS STATIONARY. I EXPECT THAT IT IS A MATTER OF TIME THAT (7) THE SPEEDOMETER WILL ALSO GO DEFECTIVE. AT THAT TIME, THE DASH BOARD WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED AS A WHOLE, COSTING MORE THAN $500 DOLLARS. OBVIOUSLY, THE COMPUTER SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING RIGHT. I SHOULD ADD THAT MY CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED REGULARLY WITH THE DEALER. I HOPE MY REPORT WILL BRING NHTSA'S ATTENTION TO THE ABOVE PARTS/WORKMANSHIP PROBLEMS OF GM.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE CONTACT TURNED OFF THE HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS AND THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT HAD TO PARK THE VEHICLE AND MANIPULATE THE HIGH BEAM SWITCH ON THE STEERING COLUMN IN ORDER FOR THE LIGHTING/ELECTRICITY TO RETURN. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE RECEIVED A RECALL REPAIR FOR THE IGNITION KEY WHERE THE KEY WAS REPLACED. AFTERWARDS, WHEN THE KEY WAS IN THE IGNITION AND TURNED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED AND THE KEY WAS IN THE ON POSITION, THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT HAD TO MANIPULATE THE KEY IN THE START POSITION SEVERAL TIMES IN ORDER TO START THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE SWITCH ON THE STEERING COLUMN AND BODY CONTROL MODULE FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS OVER 10 YEARS OLD, THEY WERE UNABLE TO ASSIST WITH THE REPAIR. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,536.
THE HEADLIGHTS NO LONGER WORK. HIGH BEAMS AND LOW BEAMS BOTH WORK, BUT THE REGULAR HEADLIGHTS ARE NO LONGER IN SERVICE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. NOW, THE LOW BEAMS GO ON WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS USED TO GO ON. WHEN I DRIVE AT NIGHT, I AM FORCED TO KEEP ON THE HIGH BEAMS. THIS HAS BEEN THE CASE FOR THE LAST 2 WEEKS. IT NEVER HAD A PROBLEM LIKE THIS BEFORE. IT STARTED RIGHT AROUND THE TIME THE VEHICLE REACHED 150,000 MILES DRIVEN.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS AT NIGHT, THE HEADLIGHTS FLICKERED AND POWERED OFF WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 240,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE LOW BEAM HEAD LIGHTS BEGAN TO FLCIKER AND SUDDENLY FAILED. THE CONTACT INDICATED THAT THE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS ALSO WOULD NOT TURN ON. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE HEAD LIGHT SWITCH FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 180,000.
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD LAST NIGHT MY HEAD LIGHTS FLASHED 3 OR 4 TIMES AND THEN I LOST ALL HEADLIGHTS. AND NOW WHEN I TURN MY BRIGHTS I LOOSE ALL HEADLIGHT
THE AIRBAG LIGHT GOES OFF WHEN STARTING ENGINE THEN COMES BACK ON AGAIN AND STAYS ON
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE LOW BEAM AND HIGH BEAM LIGHTS FAILED TO WORK. THE CONTACT HAD TO MANEUVER THE SWITCH TO GET THE LOW BEAMS AND HIGH BEAMS TO WORK. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED THAT THE FAILURE COULD HAPPEN AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED NO REMEDY. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,270.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE LOW BEAM HEAD LAMPS FAILED TO WORK. THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY THE HIGH BEAMS EACH TIME THE FAILURE RECURRED. ALSO, THE TURN SIGNALS FAILED TO WORK WHEN APPLIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000. MA 10/19/2015 *CN
COME ON NOW, I SEE THE COMPLAINTS ON A BUNCH OF THINGS THAT IS WRONG WITH MY 2004 IMPALA. AN THERE IS MORE THAN ONE PERSON SAYING IT. THERE SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM HERE THAT YOU GUYS SEEM TO BE IGNORING AN REFUSING TO FIX. I THINK ITS ABOUT TIME FOR SOME PEOPLE TO GET TOGETHER AND FILE SOME KIND OF LAWSUIT AGAINST YOU GUYS IF YOU DON'T ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. NOW FOR THE SAME COMPLAINTS FOR MY IMPALA, NUMBER 1 IT DOES NOT LIKE TO START SOMETIMES AND THEN I HAVE TO WAIT 20 MINS TO AN HOUR JUST FOR IT TO FINALLY START. NUMBER 2 THE SECURITY LIGHT STAYS ON. NUMBER 3 THE GAGES TO MY SPEEDOMETER AND GAS MOVE ALL OVER THE PLACE AND DOESN'T GIVE ME THE ACCURATE READING. OTHER EXPERIENCES I'VE HAD NOTICED IS THAT MY BRIGHTS DON'T ALWAYS LIKE TO SHUT OFF THE FIRST TIME, THE CAR PULLS MAINLY TO THE RIGHT, BUT ALSO BACK AND FORTH. AND ALL THE BUTTONS AND LIGHT TO MY RADIO WORKS BUT NO SOUND COMES THREW. I HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED ANY OF THE OTHER THINGS IN THE COMPLAINTS YET BUT THESE ONES I HAVE AN THEY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED LIKE I SAID BEFORE SOMETHING IS DONE ABOUT IT BY THE PEOPLE. THANK YOU
HAD HIGH BEAMS ON, HEADING HOME, LIGHTS ALL OF A SUDDEN WENT OFF! PULLED OVER AND STOPPED. LOW BEAMS WORK FINE, HIGH BEAMS DO NOT. *TR
DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WITH MY HIGH BEAMS ON, MY HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT COMPLETELY. MY LOW BEAMS WORK OK BUT IF I USE HIGH BEAMS THEY RANDOMLY GO OUT. THIS IS THE SECOND GM VEHICLE I HAVE HAD WITH THIS PROBLEM. THE MECHANIC AT THE GM DEALERSHIP SAID 4 OF HIS 6 FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEM. A FORMER CO-WORKER HAD SAME PROBLEM. I CONTACTED GM AND WAS TOLD MY CAR WAS TO OLD FOR THEM TO FIX IT... *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LIGHT DIMMER SWITCH FAILED TO ACTIVATE AND WAS ABLE TO ACTIVATE ONLY ONE SETTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNAVAILABLE.
SWITCH BECAME DIFFICULT TO CHANGE TO HIGH BEAMS, SOMETIMES THE LIGHTS WOULD GO BLACK. NOW HIGH BEAMS ONLY STAY ON BY HOLD SWITCH BACK. *TR
I WAS OUT RUNNING ERRANDS. I TURN ON MY LEFT TURN SIGNALS AND IT WAS NOT WORKING. I DEPRESSED MY HAZARD SWITCH, AND TURNED IT OFF AND TURNED MY LEFT TURN SIGNALS AGAIN AND IT STARTED WORKING. I HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM OFF AND ON SINCE THE BEGINNING OF JULY,2014. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME ISSUE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT GM NEEDS TO ADDRESS TODAY! *TR
THE DAY I BOUGHT THE CAR USED, THE LIGHTS WENT OUT ON THE WAY HOME. AFTER COMPLAINING ON A CHEVY FORUM, I BOUGHT A USED MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH WHICH I LEARNED WAS A COMMON PROBLEM IN IMPALAS AND MONTI CARLOS. THIS YEAR IN SPRING (SORRY I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT DATE OR MILES) THAT PART MALFUNCTIONED WHEN ON BRIGHT. THE SALVAGE YARD WAS SOLD OUT IN USED SWITCHES BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A COMMON DEFECT AND I COULDN'T AFFORD A NE,W ONE. WHILE DRIVING ON DIM I HIT TWO DEER WHICH CAUSED $100S OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGES. I COMPLAINED CHEVY SAID THEY KNEW IT WAS A PROBLEM AND THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE PART MYSELF. I PAID OVER $300 TO REPLACE WITH MY LABOR. THEN MY LIGHTS WENT OUT ON DIM. CHEVY DID THE MATH, ITS CHEAPER TO TAKE THE CHANCE O SOMEONE DYING AND SUING THEN TO TAKE AWAY THIS MONEY SOURCE FOR DEALERS *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT TWO WEEKS LATER THE HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS ILLUMINATED INDEPENDENTLY AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS POWERED OFF. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BATTERY HAD TO BE DISENGAGED IN ORDER TO SHUT OFF THE HIGH BEAMS HEADLIGHTS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A SMOKE EMITTED FROM THE HIGH BEAMS SWITCH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH LIGHTS FOR THE PAST 6 MONTHS. FIRST STARTED OUT WHERE IF I HAD MY BRIGHT LIGHTS ON EVERY NOW AND AGAIN ALL MY LIGHTS WOULD GO OFF WHILE DRIVING. THE BRIGHT LIGHTS WOULDN'T STAY ON SO HAD TO HOLD TO KEEP THEM ON. THEN IT CAME A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE ALL MY LIGHTS WOULD NOT WORK. ON FRIDAY, JUNE 27TH 2014, I WAS AT WORK AND HAPPENED TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND NOTICED MY LIGHTS WERE ON. WENT OUTSIDE TO SEE IF CAR WAS DEAD. WHEN I GOT IN THE CAR I COULD SEE THAT MY STEERING COLUMN WAS SMOKING (ON FIRE) COMING FROM THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH. THE BRIGHT LIGHTS HAD STUCK TO ON SOMEHOW AND THIS IS WHY I COULD SEE THAT MY LLIGHTS WERE ON. I UNHOOKED THE BATTERY AND THE SMOKING STOPPED. WHEN I WENT TO HOOK BATTERY BACK UP THERE WASN'T ANY MORE SMOKING BUT MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE GOING AS FAST AS THEY COULD AND I COULDN'T SWITCH OR DO ANYTHING TO MAKE THEM STOP. THE HAZARDS OR ALL MY LIGHTS WERE BLINKING ON/OFF REPEATEDLY. NOTHING I COULD DO TO STOP. AS OF NOW I'M DRIVING WITHOUT ANY FUSE TO THE WIPERS AND THE LIGHTS WORK DURING THE DAYTIME BUT WILL NOT WORK AT ALL AFTER DARK. I'VE BEEN TOLD THE PART THAT IS NEEDED TO REPLACE THIS IS A MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SWITCH. HOWEVER, THIS IS GOING TO COST $800 TO REPLACE. MANY COMPLAINTS OUT THERE ABOUT THE SAME THING HAPPENING TO SAME YEAR/MAKE/MODEL CAR AND NO RECALL?? *JS
2004 CHEVY IMPALA LOSES LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS DUE TO AN ISSUE WITH THE MULTIPURPOSE SWITCH LOCATED ON THE STEERING COLUMN. AFTER DOING A GOOGLE SEARCH FOUND HUNDREDS OF OTHERS WITH THE SAME ISSUE. AFTER LOSING LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS AFTER A FEW MONTHS HIGH BEAM LAMPS ARE ALSO NOT WORKING. *TR
INTERMITTENTLY WHEN DRIVING VEHICLE AT NIGHT AND SWITCHING ON HIGH BEAMS, THEN WHEN SWITCHING BACK TO LOW BEAMS, THE HEADLIGHTS GO OFF COMPLETELY. I HAVE TO REMEMBER TO PUT THE FOG LIGHTS ON, SO IF THE LIGHTS GO OUT I WILL STILL BE ABLE TO SEE. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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