2008 Pierce Impel Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2008 Pierce Impel, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Driver assistance1100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Driver assistance
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.
From owner reports, verbatim
IN REGARDS TO RECALL 09V-023. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THERE IS A LARGER PROBLEM. THAT IS THAT THE ESC SYSTEM DOES NOT INDICATE THAT THERE IS A DEFECT OR FAULT EVEN AFTER THESE SENSORS FAIL. ALSO THAT THE SOFTWARE TO DIAGNOSE THESE SYSTEMS CAN NOT READ WHAT THE SENSORS ARE ACTUALLY DOING OR RECORD ANY PROBLEMS. TWO OF OUR VEHICLE WERE INVOLVED WITH THE COMPANY RECALLING THE SENSORS AFTER THEY BOTH HAD UNEXPECTED BRAKE APPLICATIONS WHEN MAKING A TURN, FORCING THEM INTO THE ONCOMING LANE. AFTER THESE EVENTS WE DROVE THE FIRST TRUCK FOR SEVERAL HOURS WHILE THE SENSOR WAS BROKEN AND COULD NOT TELL THERE WAS A PROBLEM EVEN WITH THE COMPANIES SOFTWARE HOOKED TO THE VEHICLE WHILE TRYING TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. IN THE EVENT THAT THESE COMPONENTS FAILED AGAIN THE VEHICLE WOULD OPERATE WITH NO INDICATION OF A PROBLEM, THIS COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT SHOULD THE ESC SYSTEM BE NEEDED IN A ACTUAL ESC EVENT. HOWEVER ONCE AN ACCIDENT OCCURS THE SOFTWARE HAS NO ABILITY TO DETERMINE IF AN ESC EVENT ACTIVATED OR IF IT WAS EVEN WORKING AT THE TIME. THIS APPEARS TO BE A HUGE FLAW IN THE PROPER OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM. HOW COULD A SYSTEM DESIGNED TO HELP YOU CONTROL A VEHICLE INDICATE THAT IT WAS WORKING NORMAL WHEN IN REALITY IT COULD NOT RECORD THE POSITION OF THE STEERING WHEEL OR THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS NOT BEING MOVED EVEN THOUGH TIRE SPEEDS WERE SHOWING THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN A TURN. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .