Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2012 Chevrolet Impala submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 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
Both front seat belts sometimes do not click when buckling up. Sometimes you have to reinsert the metal end into the buckle several times to get it to "click". If it doesn't click you can pull on the strap and it will come out causing a safety issue.
THE RADIO WORKS WHEN IT WANTS TO SHOWS A BLANK SCREEN AND DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. MY DOOR CHIMES, IGNITION CHIME, SEAT BELT CHIMES, TURN SIGNAL CHIMES NONE OF THAT WORKS EITHER. NOT SURE IF IT'S AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE. HOWEVER I HAD MY BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR TESTED. HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS ISSUE FOR MAYBE 2 MONTHS NOW.
SEAT BELT TENSIONER WAS FOUND TO BE INOPERABLE DURING A DEALERSHIP REPAIR VISIT. DEALER WILL REPLACE IT AT SUBSTANTIAL CHARGE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT WITNESSED THAT THE DRIVERS SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY WAS DETACHING. THE CONTACT LATER INSPECTED THE REAR SEAT BELT BUCK ASSEMBLIES AND WITNESSED THAT THEY WERE FRACTURED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLY HAD FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 94,477. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SEAT BELT FAILED TO LATCH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,000.
I HAVE TRIED PULLING ON EACH FRONT SEAT BELT VERY QUICKLY TO TRIGGER THE MOTION SENSITIVE RETRACTOR TO SEE IF THE SEAT BELT RETRACTORS WOULD LOCK UP. THEY NO LONGER DO. WHEN THE CAR WAS NEWER, I COULD PULL ON THE RETRACTORS VERY QUICKLY AND THE SEAT BELT RETRACTORS WOULD LOCK UP AS IF AN OCCUPANT MOVED FORWARD QUICKLY AFTER A COLLISION. *TR
MAY 2013 I PURCHASED A 2012 IMPALA FULLY CERTIFIED BY THE CHEVY DEALER. ON 9/25/2013 I WAS STOPPED ON I-80 DUE TO TRAFFIC. A WOMAN TRAVELING 53 MPH SLAMMED INTO ME CAUSING ME TO TAKE OUT THE NEXT 3 CARS. I FILED AN INVESTIGATION WITH GM TO REVIEW THE VEHICLE INFORMATION (WHICH IS HOW I KNOW HOW FAST SHE WAS TRAVELING). THE AIRBAG LIGHT WAS ON, BUT NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED, AND THE SEAT BELT HAD RESTRAINED ME ONLY AFTER I VIOLENTLY BOUNCED OFF OF THE STEERING WHEEL. WHEN THIS WAS REPORTED TO GM IT WAS STATED THAT THERE ARE THREE LINES OF DEFENSE IN A VEHICULAR ACCIDENT #1 THE BODY OF YOUR VEHICLE #2 YOUR SEAT BELT #3 AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. 2/3 LINES OF DEFENSE HAD FAILED ME. GM HAD NO CONCLUSION AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND I RECEIVED THE REPORTS FROM THE ENGINEERS. I WAS TRAVELING FAST ENOUGH INTO THE CAR AHEAD OF ME FOR THE AIRBAGS TO HAVE DEPLOYED, AND THE SEAT BELT SHOULD HAVE RESTRAINED ME. NEARLY A YEAR LATER, I AM GREATFUL THAT ONE LINE OF DEFENSE HAD PREVENTED FURTHER INJURIES, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I WILL FOREVER FEEL THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF. WITH RECENT NEWS INVESTIGATIONS INTO GM'S FAULTY AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT, CLEARLY THEY CAN LOOK BEYOND JUST THE OLDER MODELS OF IMPALAS. *TR
MY DRIVER SIDE AND BACK SEAT IN THE MIDDLE SEAT BELTS WILL NOT LOCK. I ATTEMPT TO ATTACH THE SEAT BELT AS IT SHOULD BUT WILL NOT LOCK AND IF IT DOES CLICK TO LOCK THE FIRST BUMP (POT HOLE) I HIT IT UNBUCKLES. VERY UNSAFE. *TR
CAR WAS SERVICED (OIL CHANGE AND TIRE ROTATION). AFTERWARDS WHEN DRIVING THE CAR 50-60 MPH THERE IS A VIBRATION FELT IN WHEEL AND IN SEAT. TOOK BACK TO DEALER, HAD ALL 4 WHEELS BALANCED. PROBLEM STILL EXISTED. ADDITIONALLY THERE IS A CLUNKING NOISE IN FRONT END, NOTICEABLE AT LOW SPEEDS (10-15MPH) WHEN GOING OVER SMALL BUMPS IN ROAD; NOTICEABLE WHEN A/C AND RADIO TURNED OFF. DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY ANY PROBLEM, SAYS ITS OPERATING AS DESIGNED, NO NOISE. FRUSTRATING CONSIDERING THESE PROBLEMS WERE NOT PRESENT AT PURCHASE OR AT 30,000 MILES. ADDITIONALLY THE AIRBAG / SEATBELT INDICATOR ILLUMINATES FOR PASSENGER SEAT AT RANDOM TIMES FOR NO REASON. SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A BOTTLE ON THE SEAT WILL MAKE IT ILLUMINATE. *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
Data on this page last refreshed .