2004 Chevrolet Impala

2004 CHEVY IMPALA, 35,000 MILES. WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AND NOTICED THAT TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS READING IN THE RED, PULLED INTO A MCDONALD'S TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON (NORMALLY THE IMPALA HAS AN ALARM THAT GOES OFF WHEN OVERHEATING, THIS DID NOT HAPPEN) AS I DECELERATED, I NOTICED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER DID NOT MOVE, BUT RATHER STAYED AT 60MPH, AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE ALSO DID NOT MOVE. UPON TURNING THE CAR OFF, THE SPEEDOMETER MOVED BACK TO 0, THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE STAYED IN THE RED. TURNING THE CAR BACK ON DID NOT RESET THE TEMP GAUGE, BUT AS I ACCELERATED, THE SPEEDOMETER STAYED AT 0 FOR THE REST OF THE TRIP (I HAD TO USE GPS TO GET SPEED). THE SPEEDOMETER HAS NOT WORKED CORRECTLY SINCE. DOING SOME INSPECTION LATER, I FOUND THIS IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON PROBLEM IN IMPALAS OF MOST 2000-2010 IMPALAS. OUR LOCAL POLICE FORCE DRIVES IMPALAS, AND THE SPEEDOMETERS FAIL ON ROUGHLY 60% AT BETWEEN 30K AND 60K MILES. A QUICK SEARCH ONLINE ALSO REVEALED THAT IT IS A SEVERE PROBLEM, AND SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EITHER PULLED OVER, OR HAD BEEN GOING MUCH TO FAST BEFORE NOTICING. DEALERSHIP SAYS THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT IS A COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OF INSTRUMENT CLUSTER($150 USED, $400 NEW), AND SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE GOTTEN THE REPLACEMENT SIMPLY HAVE THE PROBLEM AGAIN. AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS AN EXTREMELY SEVERE PROBLEM, AND WHILE THE EMPLOYEES AT THE DEALERSHIP SAY IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME (AT LEAST 3 IMPALAS WITH FAULTY SPEEDOMETERS PER WEEK), CHEVY AS A COMPANY DOES NOT SEEM TO NOTICE. PLEASE HELP! LINKS TO SOME REPAIR FORUMS ABOUT SIMILAR PROBLEMS: HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.COM/FORUM/AUTOS/CHEVROLET-IMPALA/TJSMIQPD8J0FT5DK8 HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/CHEVROLET/IMPALA/2004/ACCESSORIES-INTERIOR/SPEEDOMETER_GONE_HAYWIRE.SHTML HTTP://WWW.AUTOMOTIVEHELPER.COM/TOPIC640920.HTM HTTP://WWW.AUTOMOTIVEFORUMS.COM/VBULLETIN/T752665.HTML. *TR

1.) THIS CAR IS USED AND HAS A SALVAGE TITLE FOR VANDALISM, I HAVE HAD FOR FIVE MONTHS, I HAVE NOTICED THAT ALL GAUGES (SPEEDOMETER, TACH & GAS GUAGE) DO NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY AND SAFELY 2.) THE FAILURE OCCURS DAILY; STARTED OFF AND ON ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO 3.)I WENT TO WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM, THIS MODEL, MAKE, AND YEAR ALL HAVE FAULTY GAUGES. THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED BY GM!!!! THERE ARE 124 COMPLAINTS. I AM GOING TO A MECHANIC, BUT I KNOW I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO REPAIR IT IF THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE GAUGES GOING HAYWIRE ON CARS WITH LESS MILES THAN MINE. *TR

I HAVE A 2004 IMPALA AND ABOUT ONCE A WEEK IT WON'T START FOR ABOUT 10-15 MINUTES. HAVE TO SIT THERE A JIGGLE THE KEY AROUND. TOOK IT IN AND THE CHEVY GARAGE COULD NOT FIGURE IT OUT AT ALL AND I WAS CHARGE FOR THIS ANSWER "I DON'T KNOW" SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG WHEN YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING OF THE VERY SAME THING IN THEIR IMPALA. I RECEIVED ALL KINDS OF POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS LIKE A NEW COMPUTER THAT COSTS OVER A $1000.00 GIVE ME A BREAK. *TR

DASH GAUGES NOT MOVING AT ALL, OR WHEN THEY DO WORK THEY ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING CORRECT. MY SPEED WILL SHOW I'M GOING OVER 120 MPH (I KNOW I AM NOT GOING 60). TEMP SHOWS THE CAR IS RUNNING HOT WHEN IT NOT. RPM WILL STAY ON RED. SOME DAYS THE GAUGES WILL WORK FINE AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY WILL GO HAYWIRE. I AM TERRIFIED THAT MY GAS GAUGE IS GOING TO STOP WORKING OR SHOW I HAVE MORE GAS THAT I DO AND I END UP RUNNING OUT OF GAS. I AM A 24 YEAR OLD FEMALE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DO IF I RAN OUT OF GAS SOMEWHERE ALL ALONE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO PUT FOR AS THE DATE. IT JUST STARTED HAPPENING AND I CONTINUE TO HAVE THE PROBLEM. I GOOGLED 2004 IMPALA GAUGES AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. SOME ONE IS GOING TO GET HURT BY NOT KNOWING HOW FAST THEY ARE GOING, SOMEONE COULD BE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THERE MOTOR AND WILL NOT ABLE TO TELL (RUNNING HOT, LOW OIL, ETC). *TR

I HAVE A 2004 CHEVY IMPALA THAT THE ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DOES NOT WORK ON. THE GAS GAUGE, TEMP GAUGE, AND SPEEDOMETER HAVE NOT WORKED CONSISTENTLY ON THIS CAR SINCE I PURCHASED THIS CAR BACK ON 09/2007. THE SPEEDOMETER WILL SHOW THAT I AM GOING 0 MILES AN HOUR WHEN I AM ACTUALLY MOVING, AND MY GAS GAUGE WILL BE POINTING STRAIGHT DOWN, SAME AS MY TEMP GAUGE. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR BACK TO BILL SEIDLE CHEVROLET, THE DEALER THAT I PURCHASED IT FROM, AND THEY WILL NOT ADDRESS THE ISSUE. I HAVE ALSO CONTACTED CHEVORLET ABOUT THIS SITUATION AND WAS TOLD THAT IT IS NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH AND LIFE THREATENING ENOUGH TO HAVE THIS ADDRESSED. EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE BLOGS OUT THERE WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM THAT I AM EXPERIENCING. I FEEL THAT THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS NOT JUST TO MY 2004 CHEVY IMPALA BUT TO VIRTUALLY EVERY GM OWNER SINCE THRU 2005, THAT THERE IS A SERIOUS KNOWN SAFETY ISSUE RESULTING FROM THE FAILURE OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER UNABLE TO DETERMINE SPEED OF VEHICLE, WHEN OR IF A VEHICLE IS OVERHEATING, UNABLE TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH OR IF ANY GAS REMAINS IN THE VEHICLE, THESE ARE SERIOUS ISSUES WHEN DRIVING A 2004 CHEVY IMPALA. A DRIVER HAS NO WAY OF KNOWING CRITICAL INFORMATION NEEDED WHEN DRIVING A VEHICLE. THE GAS GAUGE, TEMP GAUGE, SPEEDOMETER DO NOT WORK. CHEVY IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND HAS CONSISTENTLY REFUSED TO MAKE REPAIRS OF THE FAULTY INSTRUMENT PANEL. I IMPLORE YOU TO PLEASE DEMAND THE CHEVY RECALL ON THIS ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILURES FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL OF US. I CHALLENGE YOU TO GOOGLE 2004 CHEVY IMPALA, INVARIABLY EVERY RESULT WILL PERTAIN TO ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. HOW COULD THIS NOT RISE TO THE LEVEL REQUIRING A RECALL? *TR

2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA, INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GAUGE MALFUNCTION, BEGINNING WITH TEMPERATURE GAUGE SHOWING INCORRECT TEMPERATURE (COLD START - TEMP READOUT 160 F), SUBSEQUENTLY SHOWING TRACTION SYSTEM FAILURE INDICATOR, FINALLY PROGRESSED TO SPEEDOMETER FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEED APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK LATER - SPEEDOMETER BEGAN SHOWING RANDOM SPEEDS AT APPROXIMATELY-STEADY CRUISE, READING 42 MPH AT ABOUT 70 MPH. INTERNET RESEARCH DEMONSTRATES MULTIPLE SUCH INSTANCES. CHEVROLET HAS ADDRESSED IDENTICAL PROBLEM IN SILVERADO AND AVALANCHE MODELS, BUT REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT A PROBLEM EXISTS IN THE IMPALA. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING 2 MPH IN THE RAIN, THE SPEEDOMETER STOPPED WORKING. THE FAILURE HAD OCCURRED SINCE 2008 UNTIL THE SPEEDOMETER WAS REPLACED AT A LOCAL REPAIR FACILITY. THE CONTACT SENT THE MANUFACTURER THREE LETTERS REGARDING THE FAILURE BUT THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD NOT REPAIR THE VEHICLE FREE OF CHARGE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 35,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 75,000. UPDATED 06/17/10. *LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE NEEDLE WOULD NOT RETURN TO ZERO WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED. UPDATED 07/26/10*JB

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR DOWN THE ROAD AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN MY SPEEDOMETER AND WATER GAUGE STOPPED WORKING. IT SAID I WAS GOING 120 MPH BUT I WAS ONLY GOING ABOUT 30 MPH. THE NEXT DAY I WENT OUT TO THE CAR AND STARTED IT WHILE IT WAS PARKED AND IT WAS STUCK ON 30 MPH AND THE TEMP GAUGE SHOWED THE NEEDLE IN THE RED, BUT IT WAS NOT STARTED FOR MORE THAN A MINUTE. I HAVE READ MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A FAMILIAR COMPLAINT. *TR