Owner-reported complaints naming the fuel system system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2009 Chevrolet Impala submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 19 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
GAS PEDAL HAS LAG TO IT. ALMOST EVERY TIME YOU GO TO TAKE OFF SOMETIME IT DOESN'T RESPOND TILL YOUR QUARTER WAY INTO PUSHING PETAL MUST PUSH PETAL FARTHER IN BEFORE IT WILL ACCELERATE CAUSING IT TO JERK HARD. MY FRIEND HAS SAME CAR AND PROBLEM ALSO SERVOS IN DASH FOR HEATER KEEP CLICKING AND MALFUNCTIONING AFTER MULTIPLE REPLACEMENTS, MY OTHER FRIENDS 2010 IMPALA DOES THIS AS WELL.
SEATBELTS AREN'T LOCKING UP, WHEN TURNING IT'S GIVING ME DELAYS THEN NORMAL ACCELERATION KICKS BACK IN. *TR
AFTER I GETTING THE TRANSMISSION FULLY REPAIRED AFTER IT WENT OUT OF NOWERE ANYWAY I WAS DRIVING AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP ON ME AND THE SINS ARE STARTED GOING CRAZY IN THE CAR AND I AM ONE PAYMENT AWAY FROM OWNING THE VEHICLE AND THE LAST FEW MONTHS STARTING THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR I'VE NOTICED ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER THE SEAT BELT IN THE PASSENGER'S FRONT SIDE DOES NOT WANT TO LOCK ALSO IT'S SAYING THAT IT NEEDS SERVICE AND AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED I BOUGHT THIS CAR BARELY TWO YEARS AGO IN 2017 I'M FINANCING IT ON A LEASE ONCE I FINISH THIS LAST PAYMENT IT'LL BE A LITTLE OVER 7,000 THAT I PAID FOR IT I FEEL LIKE THE DEALER GOT OVER ON ME BECAUSE IT'S MY FIRST VEHICLE AND I DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I WAS DOING THIS WASN'T THE CAR THAT I WANTED IF ANYTHING THEY AVOIDED SELLING ME THE CAR THAT I WANTED AND GAVE ME THIS ONE EVERYTHING SEEMED FINE FOR AWHILE BUT SLOWLY STARTED TO ALL BREAK DOWN THE TIRES ARE STARTING TO SAY TRACTION CONTROL AND ABS IS ON AND NEVER GOES OFF THE CAR SHAKES WHEN I DRIVE ALSO THE WINDOWS ARE STARTING TO GET STUCK WHERE THEY MIGHT WANT TO ROLL UP IN MIGHT NOT I HAVE ALREADY HAD TO REDO THE TRANSMISSION AND I HAVE ALREADY HACKED YOU PUT A NEW HEAD GASKET AND NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO REPAIR THE AXLE AND A MOTOR MOUNT AND I DON'T KNOW BUT THIS CAR IS NOT SAFE THE CAR DEALERSHIP SOLD ME A VEHICLE BASICALLY AND SCAMMED ME BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT LEASING A USED CAR WAS ABOUT THE CAR DID LOCK UP ON ME WHEN I WAS DRIVING I DID NOT CRASH UNFORTUNATELY BUT IT PULLED ME TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND I HAD TO PULL TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD TO AVOID ANOTHER CAR TURNING INTO ME AND CRASHING THEN I PUSHED AS HARD AS I COULD AND GOT HOME CUZ IT WASN'T THAT FAR AND I HAVE MY FIANCE CHECK OUT THE CAR. I DON'T WANT TO GIVE MY CAR AWAY NOR DO I WANT THE MONEY BACK I JUST WANT A CAR THAT IS NOT GOING TO CAUSE DEATH TO ME OR MY CHILDREN.
THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN AND I CANNOT START IT BECAUSE OF THE IGNITION SWITCH CAUSING THE ENTIRE VEHICLE TO BECOME INOPERABLE. I WAS PULLING UP IN MY DRIVEWAYWHEN THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN.
CAR DRIVES FOR 15 MINUTES THEN DISPLAY AN "ENGINE POWER REDUCED" AND "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" LIGHT. CAR HESITATES TO ACCELERATE THE EVENTUALLY CUTS OFF AFTER A "SERVICE THROTTLE BODY LIGHT" COMES ON. CAR CUT OFF ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70MPH. WHENEVER THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR THESE LIGHTS COME ON. IT DOESN'T SPECIFY WHAT THE ACTUAL PROBLEM IS.
BAD SOLENOID IN TRANSMISSION CAUSES CAR TO JERK UPON ACCELERATION. TRANSMISSION SLIPS. USUALLY HAPPENS TAKING OFF FROM A STOP WITH A SLOW ACCELERATION. FEELS LIKE BEING REAR ENDED AND CAN CAUSE SLUGGISH ACCELERATION. PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED WITH A RECALL AS MANY OTHER IMPALA DRIVERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME ISSUE. ISSUE HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 9 TIMES WITHIN A 6 WEEK PERIOD.
WARNING LIGHTS - ENGINE REDUCE POWER LIGHT CAME ON THE DASH. THE ENGINE SHUT OFF WHILE TRAVELING IN THE HIGH SPEED LANE OF A MAJOR OUT OF STATE INTERSTATE. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO COAST ACROSS ALL LANES OF TRAVEL TO GET TO THE SHOULDER. WHEN I TURNED THE IGNITION, THE CAR DID RESTART SO I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT TO A REPAIR LOCATION. IT WAS DETERMINED BASED ON CODES THAT THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THIS IS THE 3RD VEHICLE THAT I OWN THAT HAS NEEDED THE THROTTLE BODY REPLACED. UNFORTUNATELY GM HAS DETERMINED THAT SINCE IT IS NOT A RECALL AND THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED BY STATE LAW TO REIMBURSE FOR REPAIRS AFTER 10/31/2016, EVEN THOUGH THEY EXTENDED DEALER COVERAGE UNTIL SOMETIME IN 2018 OR 120K MILES. I MET BOTH OF THESE CONDITIONS. SINCE THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON THROTTLE PROBLEM ACROSS MANUFACTURERS AND THE VEHICLE CAN AND DID SHUTOFF AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS, I WOULD REQUEST THAT YOU CONSIDER MAKING THIS A RECALL.
120,757 MILES AND THE CAR IS NEEDING A 3RD GAS PEDAL. THE GAS PEDAL WAS ALREADY REPLACED A FEW YEARS BACK AND GM WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE, BUT I AM HAVING TO REPLACE IT AGAIN, $339.00. DID I RECIEVE A FAULTY REPLACEMENT? WARNING LIGHTS FOR TRACTION CONTROL, CHECK ENGINE AND MESSAGE OF REDUCED ENGINE POWER. I'VE NEVER HAD TO REPLACE A SENSOR/ACCELERATOR PEDAL ONCE, LET ALONE TWICE ON A CAR!!
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXHIBITED A HARD START. IN ADDITION, WHENEVER DRIVING IN REVERSE, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AND RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE TROUBLE CODE DETECTED WATER IN THE FUEL TANK. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 190,000.
MY CAR SHUT DOWN ON ME ON MAY 15 2015.SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL AND REDUCED ENGINE POWER MESSAGE APPEARED. I MANAGED TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME AT SLOW SPEED.THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. I HAVE READ REPORTS THAT SIMILAR PROBLEMS HAVE APPEARED ON OTHER 2009 IMPALAS. SOME REPORTS SAID THE CAR SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY IN FAST MOVING TRAFFIC.I HAD MY OWN MECHANIC LOOK AT THE CAR AND THE PART THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED WAS THEA.I.R. SYSTEM CHECK VALVE.I LATER RECEIVED A NOTICE FROM CHEVROLET ABOUT ANOTHER PROBLEM THAT COULD CAUSE THE CAR TO SHUT DOWN UNEXPECTEDLY. (APP) SENSOR ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION SENSOR.I BELIEVE A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED FOR THESE PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR ACCIDENTS ON THE HIGHWAY.ALSO, CHEVROLET DID NOT COVER THE COST OF THE REPAIRS TO THE A.I.R. PUMP. THANK YOU *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE DISPLAYED HALF A TANK AND THE VEHICLE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART. THE CONTACT HAD TO CALL FOR FUEL TO BE BROUGHT TO THE SITE. ONCE THE FUEL WAS POURED INTO THE FUEL TANK, THE VEHICLE STARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED TWO OTHER TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,445.
I HAVE NOTICED A SORT OF JERKING OR CHUGGING FEELING WHILE TRAVELING AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS AND DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS HIGHWAY AND CITY. THE PROBLEM DOES SEEM TO BE WORSENING. THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN AT THE DEALERSHIP REFERRED TO THIS AS A "FISHBITE". I DID NOT SEEM TO REALLY NOTICE THE PROBLEM UNTIL REPAIR WAS MADE TO THE MANIFOLD AND CRANK CASE GASKETS, DUE TO A SEVERE OIL LEAK. THE DEALERSHIP DID LOOK INTO MY CONCERN FOR THE "FISHBITE", BUT A CODE WAS NOT FOUND AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IS THIS A PRECURSOR TO THE OTHER COMPLAINTS INVOLVING LOSS OF POWER WHILE DRIVING? *TR
CLIMBING UP ALPOWA GRADE ON HIGHWAY 12 IN WASHINGTON STATE, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED" CAME ON IN THE ODOMETER WINDOW. APPROXIMATELY 35 MILES LATER, BEYOND DODGE JUNCTION AND BEFORE STARBUCK TURNOFF, THERE WAS ANOTHER MESSAGE FLASHED IN THE ODOMETER WINDOW, "IGNITION SWITCH DISABLED. SERVICE ENGINE" THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN, AND THE POWER STEERING BECAME SUPER SLUGGISH. THE CAR SLOWED DOWN, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET STOPPED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AT THIS POINT WHEN WE GOT THE CAR RUNNING AGAIN, THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT WORK. WHEN WE REACHED WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON, WE STOPPED AT O'REILYS AUTO PARTS, HAD ONE OF THE PARTS SPECIALISTS COME OUT AND CHECK WHAT THE CODE WAS ON THE COMPUTER, AND FOUND OUT IT WAS THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE SENSOR THAT IS DEFECTIVE. THIS IS A PILOT CAR ESCORT VEHICLE, MAKING THE HAZARD EVEN MORE DANGEROUS, BECAUSE HAD I BEEN TRAVELING WITH AN OVERSIZED LOAD, I COULD HAVE BEEN HIT BY THE SEMI PULLING THE LOAD, OR I COULD HAVE IMPACTED THE REAR OF THE LOAD, DEPENDING IF I WERE FOLLOWING OR LEADING. ALSO, HAD THAT HAPPENED WHILE ON A JOB, THE LOAD WOULD HAVE HAD TO STOP UNTIL ANOTHER PILOT CAR ESCORT VEHICLE COULD ARRIVE TO CONTINUE WITH THE LOAD. THIS IS A DANGEROUS THING TO HAVE SHUT OFF WHEN DRIVING IN AREAS THAT ARE NOT STRAIGHT. UNABLE TO CONTROL STEERING, BRAKES LESS THAN RESPONSIVE, AND POSSIBLE HAZARDS OF VEHICLES ONCOMING OR FOLLOWING US COULD BECOME IMPACT HAZARDS. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED THEN THE ENGINE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED 20 MINUTES LATER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN DETECTED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, ACCELERATOR POSITION SENSOR CONNECTOR, AND FUEL VENT SOLENOID WAS FAULTY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.
WHEN I PRESSED DOWN ON MY ACCELERATOR PEDAL (SPEED LIMIT WAS INCREASING FROM 50MPH TO 65MPH), A MESSAGE OF "STARTING DISABLED. SERVICE THROTTLE" CAME UP ON THE DASH. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND STEERING WHEEL COMPLETELY LOCKED UP AND THE CAR STARTED TO DECELERATE. I WAS ABLE TO FORCE THE STEERING WHEEL IN ORDER TO TURN ONTO A SIDE STREET (NARROWLY AVOIDING A CAR STOPPED IN THE LEFT LANE TO TURN) AND PARK THE VEHICLE IN A LOCATION OUT OF THE MAIN LANE OF TRAFFIC. HAD THIS SIDE STREET NOT BEEN THERE AT THAT EXACT MOMENT, THE POSSIBILITY OF A CRASH WOULD BE VERY LIKELY AS STEERING WAS UNRESPONSIVE AND I MAY HAVE BEEN REAR-ENDED DUE TO THE SUDDEN LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH IN CRUISE CONTROL, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO STALL. THE VEHICLE ALSO FAILED TO INCREASE SPEED WHEN THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE ALSO FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE INCIDENT AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT LISTED UNDER ANY RECALLS. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.
WAS DRIVING AROUND 65 WHEN OUT OF NO WHERE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON AND THE REDUCE TO POWER MESSAGE STARTED FLASHING ON THE DASH IT DROPPED MY SPEED DOWN FROM 65 TO LIKE 20 WHILE ON THE FREEWAY. *TR
THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DECELERATED AND DISPLAYED MESSAGES: "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" AND "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL". THIS WAS THE SECOND INCIDENT. THE FIRST INCIDENT RESULTED IN THE ENGINE SHUTTING OFF COMPLETELY AFTER THE SAME INITIAL SYMPTOMS DESCRIBED; LOCKING UP THE STEERING DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC (ESTIMATED 65 MPH, NO INJURES, APPROX. 4 MONTH AGO). OUR MECHANIC CLEANED OUT THE THROTTLE BODY SENSOR AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT, AND PHONED THE DEALERSHIP WITH THE TROUBLE CODES. THE DEALERSHIP REFUSED WARRANTY SERVICE AS THE TROUBLE CODES HAD GONE BY THE TIME THE CAR HAD ARRIVED AT THEIR SHOP, AND WOULD NOT TAKE OUR MECHANIC'S PHONE CONVERSATION AS EVIDENCE. WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE THREE SERVICES COMMONLY PERFORMED TO FIX THE PROBLEM WERE TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY, THROTTLE BODY SENSOR, AND ACCELERATOR PEDAL; THE LATTER NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *TR
VEHICLE GIVES A SERVICE THROTTLE STARTING DISABLED MESSAGE AND PROMPTLY SHUTS OFF THE ENGINE. IF YOU WAIT 5 MINUTES THE CAR WILL RESTART AND PERFORM AS USUAL.....UNTIL THE NEXT TIME. SHUTTING OFF THE ENGINE AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS AND IS GOING TO RESULT IN SOMEONE BEING KILLED. BASED UPON INTERNET SEARCHES THIS APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE, BUT GM WILL NOT PROACTIVELY FIX THE PROBLEM. *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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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