2005 Chevrolet Impala

I HAVE HAD THIS CAR TOWED 4 TIMES SINCE MARCH 2012. WHEN THE CAR DECIDES TO START AND IS DRIVEN FOR SHORT DESTINATIONS, IT WILL NOT START. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. GIVES NO WARNING OF IMPENDING DOOM! CRANKS BUT WILL NOT START. ON APRIL 13, 2012 VEHICLE STARTED AFTER HAVING SET IN DRIVEWAY FOR A WEEK OR MORE. I DROVE IT TO NEAREST DEALER, MEROLLIS CHEVROLET. AFTER 7 DAYS, DEALER REQUESTED I PICK-UP VEHICLE BECAUSE IT STARTED EACH DAY AND THEY COULD NOT DIAGNOSE. FEARFUL OF A REPEAT PERFORMANCE, I DROVE CAR HOME AND PARKED IT. SEVERAL DAYS LATER, CAR FAILED TO START. FOLLOWING DAY 5/7/12, CAR WOULD NOT START. TOWED CAR TO JAMES MARTIN CHEVROLET. THEY CANNOT DIAGNOSE BECAUSE IT HAS STARTED DAILY FOR DEALER. OUR WORLD IS TOO DANGEROUS FOR ANYONE TO DRIVE A CAR THAT WILL LEAVE THEM STRANDED FOR UNKNOWN REASON. THIS IS A LIFE AND DEATH ISSUE. HELP! *TR

I'M NOT SURE WHAT THIS WOULD BE CLASSIFIED UNDER BUT HERE'S THE DESCRIPTION. THE GAUGES GO HAYWIRE, I.E. THE SPEEDOMETER JUST KEEPS GOING UP EVEN IF YOU SLOW DOWN - UNTIL IT GOES ALMOST ALL THE WAY AROUND AGAIN. IT NORMALLY STOPS AT THE BOTTOM LIKE AT THE 200 DEGREE POSITION IF ON A 360 DEGREE VIEW. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING ON MY CAR SINCE AROUND THE 30K MILEAGE. STARTING JUST LAST WEEK [MARCH 2012], NOW THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE IS STARTING TO DO THE SAME THING. IT STARTED RUNNING "HOT", [BUT NOT REALLY] SO I IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN MY CAR, CALLED MY MECHANIC, ETC. THE TEMP GAUGE ALSO WENT ALL THE WAY AROUND AND SOMETIMES STAYS THERE, SOMETIMES IT COMES BACK AROUND TO NORMAL. UPON RESTARTING THE CAR, THE TEMP GAUGE WOULD START COMING BACK DOWN IN SEGMENTS - TURNING THE IGNITION SWITCH ON/OFF WOULD MAKE THE GAUGES COME BACK DOWN TO NORMAL IN NOTCHES OR SPACED INCREMENTS. NOW I'M RUNNING MY CAR WITHOUT KNOWING THE PROPER SPEED AND ALSO NOT SURE IF MY CAR IS REALLY OVERHEATING OR NOT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA . THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER AND THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 85,456.

THIS REPORT IS ABOUT SUDDEN AND REPEATED HEADLIGHT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE IN A 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA SEDAN, AND A REQUEST FOR A NATIONWIDE SAFETY RECALL AND REPAIR AT GM EXPENSE FOR THIS ISSUE. AFTER GETTING IN MY 2005 IMPALA SEDAN AT APPROXIMATELY 4:55 PM ON 16 FEBRUARY 2012, I STARTED UP AND DROVE OUT ON THE ROAD THEN I SMELLED BURNING PLASTIC AND NOTICED THE HEADLIGHTS (LOW BEAM) WERE OUT. I TRIED THE HIGH BEAMS AND THEY WORKED AS DID THE LEFT AND RIGHT TURN SIGNALS, THE WINDSHIELD WIPER CONTROLS AND THE CRUISE CONTROL FUNCTIONED. AS DARKNESS INCREASED I HAD TO HOLD THE SWITCH IN THE HIGH BEAM POSITION SO I COULD SEE TO DRIVE SO I COULD GET HOME. FROM WHAT I COULD DETERMINE THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE IN THE WIRING TO/FROM THE MULTIFUNCTION LIGHT CONTROL SWITCH OR MAYBE IT IS THE SWITCH ITSELF ON THE STEERING COLUMN. THE FUSES AND RELAYS AND THE ALL SEEMED TO BE IN WORKING ORDER BUT THE LOW BEAM LIGHTS STILL DID NOT WORK. THIS FAILURE IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME NOW. WITH DEALER PARTS COST FOR A REPLACEMENT MULTIFUNCTION LIGHT SWITCH AT $350.00 ALONE, NOT TO MENTION LABOR COSTS AND THE CRITICALITY OF LIGHTS WHILE DRIVING MEANS THIS SHOULD BE A REQUIRED SAFETY RECALL ITEM. I HAVE SEARCHED MECHANICAL FORUMS ON THIS SUBJECT AND THERE ARE MANY SUCH OCCURRENCES DOCUMENTED, BUT GM DOES NOT SEEM TO THINK THERE IS A COMMON PROBLEM OR A REASON TO INVESTIGATE AND FIX THE MALFUNCTION. THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE AT GM DEALERSHIPS NATIONWIDE. SMELLING BURNING PLASTIC IS AN INDICATION OF A SERIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WHICH COULD LEAD TO AN ONBOARD FIRE IN THE CAR IN ADDITION TO CAUSING INJURY AND OR DEATH FROM A SUDDEN LIGHT OUTAGE AT NIGHT. AGAIN, I REQUEST A NATIONWIDE SAFETY RECALL AND REPAIR BE INITIATED AS IT APPEARS TO BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND AN EXTREME SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

SEVERAL TYPES OF GM VEHICLES (APPROX 2000-2008) HAVE SEVERE LEAKING AND DECAY PROBLEMS LIKE MY CHEVY IMPALA SHOWS CURRENTLY. I NOTICED EARLY FEBRUARY 2012 WHEN MY FACTORY SPEAKERS STOPPED WORKING ALL TOGETHER. THE RADIO SOUND DIDN'T GET THROUGH, DOOR CHIMES DIDN'T WORK, SAFETY AND WARNING CHIMES DIDN'T MAKE NOISE, ETC. A WARNING CHIME DIDN'T SIGNAL FOR ME TO TURN OFF MY LIGHTS ON A RAINY DAY AT A GROCERY STORE SO THAT WHEN I CAME BACK, I WAS STRANDED! THIS HOWEVER ISN'T THE BIG PROBLEM. THIS LEAK UNDER THE COWL SEEMS TO BE PROMINENT IN MANY OTHER VEHICLES AND ALLOWED GALLONS TO ENTER IN UNDER MY RUGS, FLOOR MATS ETC., AND TRAVEL ALL OVER THE PASSENGER CABIN SO THAT WIRES WERE SUBMERGED, CORRODED, MOLD GREW, AND AIRBAG SENSOR HUBS BECAME ISLANDS. YES MY AIRBAG SENSORS AND WIRING ARE SUBMERGED WITH WATER! PLEASE HAVE GM RECALL THIS COMMON PROBLEM TO FIX THIS! MY CAR SMELLS TERRIBLE INSIDE FROM THIS (ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER) AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I AM WORRIED THAT MY AIRBAGS WILL MALFUNCTION. THANK YOU. *TR

THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE, FUEL GAUGE, AND SPEEDOMETER HAVE GONE COMPLETELY HAYWIRE! THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE GOES TO HOT AND BUZZES BUT MY CAR IS NO WHERE NEAR HOT. I DON'T KNOW IF MY TANK IS FULL OR EMPTY BECAUSE THE GAUGE IS ALWAYS ON THE BOTTOM. I DON'T KNOW HOW FAST I'M GOING BECAUSE MY SPEEDOMETER IS STUCK ON 120. THE DEALERSHIP KNOWS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM BUT THEY INSIST ON CHARGING $500 OR MORE TO FIX IT...JUST OWN UP AND DO THE RECALL!! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE SPEEDOMETER READING WOULD NOT DECREASE WHEN DECELERATING. THE SPEEDOMETER READING FLUCTUATED ERRATICALLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 128,000.

2005 CHEVY IMPALA. FIRST HAD AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM WITH THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM. TRACTION CONTROL FEATURE WOULD ENGAGE WHENEVER THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED. THIS OCCURRED AT 30,000 MILES. DEALER WARRANTED THIS. AT ABOUT 80,000 MILES THE DISPLAY PANEL INDICATED ERRONEOUS PROBLEMS, IE. TRUCK OPEN WHEN NOT. THE LIGHTS WOULD FLASH OFF AND ON INDICATING ALL KINDS OF ISSUES WHEN NONE EXISTED. ALSO THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN TO WORK ERRATICALLY. THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD INDICATE SPEEDS OF 30-60 MPH HIGHER THAN ACTUAL DRIVING SPEED. TURNING THE CAR OFF/ON WOULD GRADUALLY LOWER AND RESET THE SPEEDOMETER. THIS OCCURS RANDOMLY WITH NO REAL PATTERN. SEEMS TO BE ELECTRICAL IN NATURE. ALSO COULD PRESENT A SAFETY ISSUE. *KB