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2008 Chevrolet Impala

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

665 reports with mileage · 145 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 221 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 134 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Suspension. Review the 117 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

51 crash reports10 fire reports36 injury reports

What owners actually said

810 reports
103,000 miles · Jul 25, 2015
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY CAR, ABOUT TO ACCELERATE, ALL OF A SUDDEN, A "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" MESSAGE CAME ON AND SECONDS AFTER THAT, THERE WAS A "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED" MESSAGE. AT THIS POINT THERE WAS SOME HESITATION IN THE VEHICLE. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT THE CAR OFF. WHEN I TURNED THE CAR ON, AFTER 2 MINUTES, I RECEIVED T…

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WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY CAR, ABOUT TO ACCELERATE, ALL OF A SUDDEN, A "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" MESSAGE CAME ON AND SECONDS AFTER THAT, THERE WAS A "ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED" MESSAGE. AT THIS POINT THERE WAS SOME HESITATION IN THE VEHICLE. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT THE CAR OFF. WHEN I TURNED THE CAR ON, AFTER 2 MINUTES, I RECEIVED THE SAME MESSAGE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY MECHANIC, AND HE COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. I CALLED MY LOCALE GM DEALER AND FOR A "NOMINAL" CHARGE, THEY WOULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT. SINCE THEN, I HAVE RESEARCHED IT ON LINE, AND HAVE FOUND THAT THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE. IT IS A SHAME THAT GM HAS DONE NOTHING TO FIX THIS. I'M GLAD I WAS NOT ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THIS HAPPENED, AS THE LOSS OF SPEED AND LACK OF ACCELERATION COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ODI #10743470

81,352 miles · Jul 21, 2015
Electronic Stability Control (esc)EnginePower Train

TRACTION CONTROL NEEDS SERVICE MESSAGE DISPLAYED, THEN THROTTLE DISABLED MESSAGE DISPLAYED SHUTTING THE ENGINE OFF GOING DOWN THE ROAD. SO THEREFOR NO POWER STEERING, BRAKES ETC . ONCE PULLED ONTO SHOULDER CAR WOULD NOT CRANK. HAD TO WAIT FIVE MINUTES UNTIL THE GAUGES FLICKERED AND THEN CAR WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THIS IS HIG…

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TRACTION CONTROL NEEDS SERVICE MESSAGE DISPLAYED, THEN THROTTLE DISABLED MESSAGE DISPLAYED SHUTTING THE ENGINE OFF GOING DOWN THE ROAD. SO THEREFOR NO POWER STEERING, BRAKES ETC . ONCE PULLED ONTO SHOULDER CAR WOULD NOT CRANK. HAD TO WAIT FIVE MINUTES UNTIL THE GAUGES FLICKERED AND THEN CAR WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THIS IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS IF NOT WHERE TO PULL OFF OR BEING FOLLOWED CLOSELY. NOT TO MENTION NOT POWER STEERING ASSIST OR BRAKE ASSIST. THIS COULD VERY EASILY CAUSE A CRASH AND THERE FOR SHOULD BE A RECALL ISSUED BEFORE PEOPLE ARE INJURED OR KILLED BY THIS!

NHTSA ODI #10735593

Mileage unknown · Jul 20, 2015
Electrical System

DOOR LOCKS WON'T UNLOCK. THEY WILL LOCK MOST OF THE TIME WHEN PUT IN GEAR. THEY WON'T UNLOCK EXCEPT MANUALLY. WE HAVE GRAND CHILDREN IN BACK SEAT AT TIMES. IF WE GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT YOU CAN'T OPEN REAR DOORS AND YOU CAN'T REACH LOCK LEVER TO RELEASE. CAR HAS ABOUT 65000 MILES ON IT AND LOCKS STARTED ACTING UP AROUND 40000 MILES…

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DOOR LOCKS WON'T UNLOCK. THEY WILL LOCK MOST OF THE TIME WHEN PUT IN GEAR. THEY WON'T UNLOCK EXCEPT MANUALLY. WE HAVE GRAND CHILDREN IN BACK SEAT AT TIMES. IF WE GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT YOU CAN'T OPEN REAR DOORS AND YOU CAN'T REACH LOCK LEVER TO RELEASE. CAR HAS ABOUT 65000 MILES ON IT AND LOCKS STARTED ACTING UP AROUND 40000 MILES. NOW THEY ARE ALL DEFECTIVE. ONE WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY AROUND 30000 MILES. CAR HAS BEEN KEPT IN GARAGE SINCE NEW, I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL.

NHTSA ODI #10735058

166,000 miles · Jul 17, 2015
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE STARTING THROTTLE DISABLED WARNING MESSAGE ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AND RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MI…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE STARTING THROTTLE DISABLED WARNING MESSAGE ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AND RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 166,000.

NHTSA ODI #10734681

10,000 miles · Jul 16, 2015
Unknown Or Other

IVE OWNED 2 IMPALAS AND MY SISTER IN LAW OWNS ONE ALSO. ALL 3 HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS NEEDING REPLACING. DOORS NEED TO BE OPENED MANUALLY FROM INSIDE OR OUT. IT COST APPROX. $500.00 TO REPLACE IF NOT UNDER WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI #10734476

40,000 miles · Jul 15, 2015
Steering

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE MAKING A RIGHT OR LEFT TURN AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH IN RAINY WEATHER, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000.

NHTSA ODI #10734355

Mileage unknown · Jul 14, 2015
Electrical System

THIS IS THE THIRD TIME SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR (NEW) THAT THE WIRING ON THE SHIFT LOCK HAS FAILED. THE PROBLEM IS WELL REPORTED ON THE WEB FOR 2007 AND 2008 IMPALAS. THE CAR HAS BEEN TOWED EACH TIME AND WIRES FIXED . THE COST HAS BEEN RUNNING #300.00 TO $150.00 AND THE FIX LAST ABOUT TWO YEARS,I HAVE GOOGLED THE PROBLEM AND FO…

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THIS IS THE THIRD TIME SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR (NEW) THAT THE WIRING ON THE SHIFT LOCK HAS FAILED. THE PROBLEM IS WELL REPORTED ON THE WEB FOR 2007 AND 2008 IMPALAS. THE CAR HAS BEEN TOWED EACH TIME AND WIRES FIXED . THE COST HAS BEEN RUNNING #300.00 TO $150.00 AND THE FIX LAST ABOUT TWO YEARS,I HAVE GOOGLED THE PROBLEM AND FOUND MANY OTHERS SUFFERING THE SAME PROBLEM,YET YOUR RECALL LOG SHOWS NOTHING.

NHTSA ODI #10733832

123,000 miles · Jul 13, 2015
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Vehicle Speed Control

I WAS DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 81 IN CNY WHEN MY DASH LIT UP AND SAID "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL, REDUCE ENGINE POWER" AT THAT POINT MY CAR WOULD NOT DOWN SHIFT TO ACCELERATE. ABOUT 15 MILES DOWN THE ROAD MY CAR SAID "SERVICE THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR", AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF!!! I WAS JUST COMING OUT OF A HUGE WORK ZONE AND I LOST P…

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I WAS DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 81 IN CNY WHEN MY DASH LIT UP AND SAID "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL, REDUCE ENGINE POWER" AT THAT POINT MY CAR WOULD NOT DOWN SHIFT TO ACCELERATE. ABOUT 15 MILES DOWN THE ROAD MY CAR SAID "SERVICE THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR", AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF!!! I WAS JUST COMING OUT OF A HUGE WORK ZONE AND I LOST POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES IN THE LEFT LANE OF A 3 LANE HIGHWAY. I MADE MY WAY TO THE SHOULDER AS SAFELY AS I COULD AND WAS UNABLE TO RESTART MY CAR FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES!!!!!! 3 DAYS LATER IT DID IT ALL OVER AGAIN ON A COUNTRY ROAD THANKFULLY!!. I REMEMBER THE REDUCE ENGINE POWER SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL HAD ACTED UP ONCE BEFORE IN 2012 RIGHT AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR. THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE SOMEONES ENGINE SHUTS OFF WHEN THEY ARE GOING FASTER THAN 45!!!!!!

NHTSA ODI #10733595

140,000 miles · Jul 9, 2015
Electrical System

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ECM COMPUTER FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V35500 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE ECM WAS NOT COVERED UNDER TH…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ECM COMPUTER FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V35500 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE ECM WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT WAS NOT OFFERED A REMEDY FOR THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.

NHTSA ODI #10733053

Mileage unknown · Jul 1, 2015
Unknown Or OtherCrashInjury

WAS HIT FROM BEHIND BY A BUS/VAN MY AIRBAGS DID NOT OPEN AND MY CAR ENGINE STOPPED . KNEES HIT UNDER DASH BOARD.

NHTSA ODI #10731564

Official recalls

2

14V355000 · Electrical System:ignition

Jun 23, 2014

This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the weight on the key ring and road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), and 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.

12V377000 · Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm

Aug 3, 2012

General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Chevrolet Impala police vehicles because the front lower control arms may fracture. This safety recall does not include non-police Chevrolet Impala vehicles.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front lower control arms, free of charge. The safety recall began on August 21, 2012. Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

DP14001 · Passenger Air Bag Ocs Algorithm

Opened Jul 22, 2014 · Closed Mar 7, 2017

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags; Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

The Agency received a petition on November 14, 2013 requesting an investigation into the operation of the passenger air bag Occupant Classification System (OCS) software logic and algorithm.The petitioner states that due to this alleged defect, the passenger air bag may be suppressed at point of impact and not provided the occupant protection as needed in a crash.On July 22, 2014, NHTSA opened DP14-001 to further review the crash event and perform a more comprehensive search and analysis of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).The Agency also collected manufacturers reports on the alleged OCS issue on the subject Impala vehicles and other GM and non-GM peer vehicles.After examination of the petition and available data relating to the subject vehicle's OCS and the specific crash incident where the OCS allegedly failed to operate properly, NHTSA did not identify an issue with the MY2008 Impala involved in the subject crash, nor has it identified a safety-related defect trend existing in the OCS used in the MY 2006-2008 Impala vehicles, in GM peer vehicles or in other non-GM peer vehicles.NHTSA has concluded that further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources is not warranted. The agency accordingly has denied the petition.However, the agency will take further action if warranted by changing future circumstances. The official petition denial, as published in the Federal Register, is available in the document file for this defect petition.The single complaint and crash noted in the Failure Report above is the petitioner's VOQ (10568388) and can be reviewed online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=10568388.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

The Agency received a petition on November 14, 2013 requesting an investigation into the operation of the passenger air bag Occupant Classification System (OCS) software logic and algorithm.The petitioner states that due to this alleged defect, the passenger air bag may be suppressed at point of impact and not provided the occupant protection as needed in a crash.On July 22, 2014, NHTSA opened DP14-001 to further review the crash event and perform a more comprehensive search and analysis of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).The Agency also collected manufacturers reports on the alleged OCS issue on the subject Impala vehicles and other GM and non-GM peer vehicles.After examination of the petition and available data relating to the subject vehicle's OCS and the specific crash incident where the OCS allegedly failed to operate properly, NHTSA did not identify an issue with the MY2008 Impala involved in the subject crash, nor has it identified a safety-related defect trend existing in the OCS used in the MY 2006-2008 Impala vehicles, in GM peer vehicles or in other non-GM peer vehicles.NHTSA has concluded that further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources is not warranted. The agency accordingly has denied the petition.However, the agency will take further action if warranted by changing future circumstances. The official petition denial, as published in the Federal Register, is available in the document file for this defect petition.The single complaint and crash noted in the Failure Report above is the petitioner's VOQ (10568388) and can be reviewed online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=10568388.

Air Bags

The Agency received a petition on November 14, 2013 requesting an investigation into the operation of the passenger air bag Occupant Classification System (OCS) software logic and algorithm.The petitioner states that due to this alleged defect, the passenger air bag may be suppressed at point of impact and not provided the occupant protection as needed in a crash.On July 22, 2014, NHTSA opened DP14-001 to further review the crash event and perform a more comprehensive search and analysis of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).The Agency also collected manufacturers reports on the alleged OCS issue on the subject Impala vehicles and other GM and non-GM peer vehicles.After examination of the petition and available data relating to the subject vehicle's OCS and the specific crash incident where the OCS allegedly failed to operate properly, NHTSA did not identify an issue with the MY2008 Impala involved in the subject crash, nor has it identified a safety-related defect trend existing in the OCS used in the MY 2006-2008 Impala vehicles, in GM peer vehicles or in other non-GM peer vehicles.NHTSA has concluded that further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources is not warranted. The agency accordingly has denied the petition.However, the agency will take further action if warranted by changing future circumstances. The official petition denial, as published in the Federal Register, is available in the document file for this defect petition.The single complaint and crash noted in the Failure Report above is the petitioner's VOQ (10568388) and can be reviewed online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=10568388.