2009 Chevrolet Impala

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The traction control, ABS, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic however, a diagnostic test could not be performed due the excessive rust underneath the vehicle. The mechanic was unable to hoist the vehicle on the lift because safety and liability issues. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.

I WAS DRIVING ON I95 MERGING ONTO 175 IN COLUMBIA, MD, MY SPEED WAS 65MPH. MY "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" LIGHT AND "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR SHUT COMPLETELY OFF. I HAD NO CONTROL OVER THE CAR, COULD NOT APPLY BRAKES. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED THE IGNITION SWITCH TO OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES. LUCKILY THERE WASN'T ANY TRAFFIC BEHIND ME CAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE HIT ME AND KILLED ME. I WAITED ABOUT 5-10 MIN TURNED THE CAR ON PROCEEDED TO MY DESTINATION. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON. I CALLED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT BOB BELL CHEVROLET ON KANE STREET IN BALTIMORE. I WAS SEVERAL MILES FROM THERE THEY COULDN'T COME GET THE CAR SO I DROVE IT TO THEM. THEY HAD MY CAR APPROXIMATELY 2-3 DAYS AND COULD NOT REPLICATE THE INCIDENT. SINCE THIS TIME IT HAS HAPPENED 8-10 TIMES OR MORE SINCE MAY 11, 2014 I'VE CALLED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND WAS TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT, THEY CAN LOOK AT IT, NO CODES REGISTERED IN DECEMBER WHEN THEY LOOKED AT IT SO THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG. THEY WANT ME TO BRING MY CAR IN BUT DON'T WANT TO GIVE ME A RENTAL. THIS IS TOO DANGEROUS. I AM SCARED EVERYTIME I GET BEHIND THE WHEEL OF MY CAR. *TR

IN FEBRUARY 2014,THE TRACTION CONTROL AND ABS WARNING LIGHT BEGAN COMING ON, IN MY 2009 IMPALA, WHEN MAKING A LEFT TURN. THE LIGHTS BEGAN TO COME ON MORE FREQUENTLY AND WOULD STAY ON FOR LONGER TIMES. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE LEFT HUB. THIS SOLVED THE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND THEN THE TRACTION CONTROL AND THE ABS WARNING LIGHTS BEGAN APPEARING AGAIN. EACH TIME THE LIGHTS WOULD STAY ON FOR A LONGER TIME. THE CAR IS NOW IN THE SHOP FOR THE SECOND TIME FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKES, ROTORS AND CALIPERS FAILED AND WERE REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED 15,100 MILES LATER AND THE ROTORS AND CALIPERS WOULD REQUIRE REPLACING A SECOND TIME. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 31,000. UPDATED 04/30/13*LJ

THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST 2 YEARS, REALLY SPORADIC SOMETIMES TWO OR THREE TIMES A DAY SOMETIMES NOT AT ALL. WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY A MESSAGE POPS UP ON MY DISPLAY STATING SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL AND ENGINE POWER REDUCED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS IT COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN THE VEHICLE; BRAKES, STEERING AND ALL. FORTUNATELY I HAVE NOT HAD ANY ACCIDENTS ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CLOSE CALLS. I HAVE FOUND SEVERAL FORUMS WITH NUMEROUS PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE. A RECALL IS PROMINENT! *TR

THERE APPEARS TO BE MANY ISSUES RELATED TO BRAKES AND SUSPENSION FOR THE CHEVY IMPALA. AFTER ONLY 10K MILES, THE BRAKES BEGAN TO PULSATE. THE DEALERSHIP RESURFACED THEM. THEY WERE FINE FOR A BIT LONGER BUT THEN THE ISSUE REOCCURED. I AM NOT SURE IF ITS A OVERHEATING ISSUE OR WHAT BUT IT HAS HAD OTHER BRAKE AND SUSPENSION ISSUES AS WELL. THERE IS UNDER 30K MILES ON THE CAR AND IT HAS ALREADY HAD: LEFT FRONT TENSIONER REPLACED, REAR LEFT SWAY BAR REMOVED/REINSTALLED, ROTORS REFINISH, AND A WHOLE NEW SET OF TIRES NOW. WE HAVE HAD MANY OTHER GM VEHICLES OVER THE YEARS FROM BOTH CHEVY AND BUICK. NO OTHER VEHICLE HAS GIVEN US AS MANY ISSUES IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF OWNERSHIP THAT THIS CAR HAS. IT ALL APPEARS TO BE RELATED TO THE BRAKES AND SUSPENSION. BASED ON ONLINE SEARCHES, WE ARE NOT ALONE AS MANY IMPALA OWNERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR BRAKE RELATED ISSUES/COMPLAINTS. *TR

COST OVER $483. TO HAVE DEALER REPLACE BRAKES ON THIS VEHICLE. THEY ALSO SAID THEY WERE REPLACING REAR ROTORS IN THE DEAL. WHEN CAR WAS RETURNED WE NOTICED THAT WHILE GOING DOWNHILL, APPLYING THE BRAKES THAT THE FRONT SHOOK VIOLENTLY. CALLED SERVICE MGR AT GM DEALER WHO PERFORMED THIS WORK, AND HE TOLD ME NOT TO USE BRAKES GOING DOWNHILL TO MAINTAIN SPEED, BUT TO GEAR THE CAR DOWN WITH THE USE OF TRANSMISSION. I LIVE IN SOUTHWESTERN PA WHERE THERE ARE HILLS EVERYWHERE. DO I DAMAGE THE TRANSMISSION USING THIS PROCESS SUGGESTED BY THE GM SERVICE MGR, OR USE BRAKES? THOUGHT THAT WAS WHY CARS HAD BRAKES ON THEM ANYHOW?? *TR

THIS VEHICLE IS VERY DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN CONTROL WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES DUE TO THE WARPING OF THE ROTORS. AFTER RESEARCHING INFORMATION ON THE ROTORS TO A 2009 CHEVY IMPALA LT, I SEE THAT THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT CONSTANTLY REPLACING THEM ON THIS VEHICLE. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS MY BRAKES, BUT AFTER PAYING THAT "OVER-THE-HEAD PRICE AT THE DEALERSHIP" TO INSPECT FURTHER, MY SUSPICION LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT IT COULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH MY ROTORS; THE FINDINGS WERE THAT IT WAS INDEED MY ROTORS AND NOT JUST 1, BUT ALL FOUR. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO CONSTANTLY REPLACE ROTORS, DUE TO SOME POOR ENGINEERING ON CERTAIN COMPONENTS. I ALMOST GOT INTO 3+ ACCIDENTS TRYING TO APPLY MY BRAKES WHEN DRIVERS DECIDED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO ENGAGE IN POOR, LIFE-THREATENING JUDGMENTS. APPLYING THE BRAKES TO THESE EASILY WARPED ROTORS, EVEN WHEN COMING DOWN FROM A SPEED OF 50, CAUSES THE PEDAL, STEERING, AND ENTIRE CAR TO SHAKE AS IF THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE OR YOU ARE BASICALLY LIKE FRED FLINSTONE AND USING YOUR FEET ON THE ROADWAY AS OPPOSE TO YOUR ENGINE. *TR

THE VEHICLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM (TCS) - "SERVICE SYSTEM" WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED ( LIT UP ) ON DASH DISPLAY AS THE VEHICLE OPERATOR ATTEMPTED TO PULL OUT INTO TRAFFIC, MAKING A LEFT TURN ONTO THE ROADWAY.THE WARNING MESSAGE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A GRINDING NOISE IN AREA OF THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL AND A SUDDEN DECREASE IN ENGINE POWER AND SELF SLOWING/BRAKING OF THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY, CAUSING OTHER VEHICLE OPERATORS ON THE ROADWAY TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION TO PREVENT A COLLISION. THE OWNER CONTACTED SEVERAL DEALERS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AS THE "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" WARNING ACTIVATED THREE TIMES PREVIOUSLY BUT WITHOUT POWER LOSS ON THOSE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE OWNER WAS ADVISED BY ALL THE DEALERS THAT THEY "CAN ONLY DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM WHEN THE WARNING LIGHT IS LIT AS IT IS A RANDOM PROBLEM." THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING DEFECT THAT IS WIDELY KNOWN BY IMPALA OWNERS AND CHEVROLET DEALERS FOR THE PAST SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO EFFECT A SAFETY RECALL. GOOGLE { IMPALA TRACTION CONTROL PROBLEM AND YOU WILL SEE MANY,MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS DEFECT. *TR