2004 Chevrolet Impala: rotors or pads wearing out early

Filed Jan 21, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 200,000 miles · WA

Engine hesitates,stalls, and shifts hard. Had to replace ignition switch and lock cylinder, heat sensor, fuel cap, reprogram antitheft, water pump, always getting bubbles in tires, gauges dnt work, puddle on pass side, heater core, 2 sets of warped rotors, traction control(ABS) keeps going off, found wires under hood chaffed( by rubbing on belt I believe)which caused no start. New problems are lights on dash and head lights will turn off at night while driving, I have a coolant leak which I think its due to blown gasket, and tonight I am driving in fog and my front window fogs up in 2 seconds. I wiped w hand and realized I was heading towards a person walkn. Way to dangerous!!!!! I have had car for only 2 yrs. I am divorced w 3 kids and 1 special needs child w lots of appts. I need a reliable car, cant afford new car or a shop to fix car. I have had to become a mechanic cause of this car and I have no time for that, thank god for internet, I wnt take kids in car after dark, it unreliable and thats sad. Please look into issues.

Filed Aug 4, 2011 · Brakes · 49,884 miles · MI

Brake pad and rotor. At 14,584 & 49,883 miles pads on all 4 wheels & rear rotors were replaced. Pads because of severe wear. Rear rotors on both ocassions were severely rusted and warped causing the front brakes to provide all the braking force resulting in severe wear & damage to the front pads. At 14584miles took car to chevy. Dealer because of noise at rear when stopping. Rear rotors & pads replaced under warranty, front pads at our cost. At about 35000 had front brakes checked because of loud squealing, found front pads to be glazed. Rears not checked at this time. At49884 miles brakes gave out when exiting x-way. When the wheels were pulled rear rotors were again found to be completely rusted & warped . One of the front pads had broken & fallen out, the other pads were severely worn. Once again the front brakes were doing all the stopping because of the defective rear rotors. This time we had to pay for the whole repair. Chevy. Dealer said gm felt this was normal wear. Two sets of warped & rusted rotors in less than 50000 miles does not seem like normal wear, it appears more likely to be a defect in the quality or design of the rotors & the premature failure of the pads is a result of this defect. A web search of this problem shows that we are not the only people having this defect with rusty & warped rear rotors on gm products of the same model year. Service tech's I've talk to about it tell me it's not uncommon to see.

Filed Jul 17, 2009 · Brakes · 73,000 miles · IL

2004 impala, brake rotors warping. Car has approx 73,000 miles. In that time both front and rear brake rotors have been replaced or resurfaced approx 4-5 times due to pulsing when brakes are applied.

Filed Apr 7, 2008 · Brakes, Lights · 50,000 miles · OR

I have a 2004 chevy impala that has had problems with warped rotors, which I had replaced. Then a wheel bearing went bad. Took vehicle to chevy dealer. They diagnosed it as left front hub bearing being bad. I had left front hub bearing replaced and problem wasn't fixed. Turned out it was right front hub bearing that was bad, so both ended up replaced. A few weeks later "service traction system" light started coming on every day and shuts off the ABS and traction control systems. Outside temperature and weather conditions don't make any difference. Also having problems with headlights going from high beams to dim. Sometimes it takes two or three attempts before it will go from high beams to dim. I've never had these kinds of problems with chevrolet's before. I've had chevrolet's with 150,000 miles on them and have never had to replace rotors, wheel bearings, or had ABS problems before, just normal maintenance.

Filed Mar 29, 2008 · Brakes, Engine · 34,000 miles · WI

Car was taken in for brakes. Rotors warped @ 21,500 miles. 12,000 miles later, warped again. Was told this was common and there was nothing they could do for me. Repair cost out of pocket. Car was taken in for an overheating problem. Was told it was totally natural for my car to get that hot. Unbelievable!! Now I have an intake or a head gasket that is bad. Again, nothing they can do. Again, cost out of my pocket. This will be the last chevy I service. My car only has 34,000 miles it. The service center told us, "cars are made different these days. Stuff happens." if they can't stand behind their cars I won't buy another. 34,000 miles and my car is junk. I think a recall should be issued regarding these problems. Bad brakes and bad gaskets.

Filed Aug 11, 2005 · Brakes · IN

Dt: the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet impala. The vehicle has less than 10,000 miles on it. The vehicle would not stop even with the brakes on. It is pulsated/squealed while trying to stop. This resulted in extended stopping distance. The vehicle was unsafe to drive. Rear brakes pulsated due to warped rear brake rotors. The first time dealer inspected vehicle they found front brake rotors warped and out of round. The dealership the brakes overheated, causing them to warp.