2006 Chevrolet Impala: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Mar 4, 2026 · Engine · NY

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal burning odor in the interior of the vehicle. In addition, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic, where a valve replacement was performed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The dealer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure; however, the VIN was not associated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Sep 29, 2019 · Body, Seat belts · 120,000 miles · MO · fire

I got home from work at 7:15am this morning 9-29-2019 I was laying in bed watching a movie trying to go to sleep and when I finally doze off my son asked if he could go get a charger out of the car so he went out to the car and when he opened the door he said smoke hit him in his face he immediately ran back in the house yelling 'mom your car is on fire so I ran down the stair and went outside and thats all you see is smoke my car was on fire I immediately called 911 they got the fire put out and the fireman and the police officer said my fire started from my steering wheel because after the fact the fire was put out the fireman said he noticed that the steering wheel was throwing sparks still so they said that's what caused my car to caught on fire I don't know what I'm gonna do I have 4 kids and that was our transportation that's how my kids got to school and that's how I got to work I'm lost I don't know what to do I need transportation I'm a single parent with 4 kids it will not let me mark everything but every in the car is burnt my cd player 13' subwoofer speakers that was in the trunk my amp

Filed Jun 29, 2018 · Electrical · 156,000 miles · VA · fire

The check battery system light was on for about 3 weeks ,was driving down the road and the vehicle caught on fire and burnt to the ground, the fire department and state.police said that it was an electrical fire. Iwas on the highway and barely got out of the car before the whole car was up in flames.

Filed May 15, 2017 · Engine · 140,000 miles · WA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet impala. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled and lost power without warning. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and the contact noticed smoke coming from the two mufflers at the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine blew up. The contact stated that the technician did not repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000. The VIN was not provided.

Filed Nov 25, 2016 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 174,000 miles · IA · fire

I was driving the car earlier today in the power steering pump was making noise. So I check it it was empty I filled it up with power steering fouled.come to find out its a leak again. For the third time in that the lights been flickering since I bought the car for two days the check battery system light was on. Then one day it cut off on me in traffic. While driving .then after a while I got a jump but the car didn't stay running on its on after the fifth try it stayed running.I was able to drive home now every other week so. I have to messing with cable cord on the battery to get the car to start. Just so happened today my alternator. Was on fire. The fire department had to cut all the wiring off that was connected to the battery just to stop the fire from burning .

Filed Dec 10, 2015 · Electrical · 88,838 miles · WA · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2006 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked at a parking lot, the vehicle caught on fire. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The vehicle was destroyed. A fire report was not filed and there were no injuries sustained. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,838. Updated 04/08/16*lj; updated 05/09/18*jb

Filed May 12, 2014 · Body, Electrical · MN · fire

Its a 2006 impala she was driving down the freeway and smoke came out the vents of the dash !!! The traction light was on and the power seats do not work but it still runs, she left the car and had it toed ! So I was wondering if this has happened to any one else ? It looks like it happens a lot but gm has not done anything about it !!!! I read a lot of dash fires from the electrical box on different complaints and some the door locks do not work when the electrical problems begin and traps you in the car !!! Its hard to believe this goes on with no outcome its like someone has to die or get killed before anything is done.

Filed Sep 12, 2012 · Electrical · KY · fire

My fiance was driving my car on his way to pick my children up from their grandmothers and smelled something burning. As he was trying to find a place to pull over smoke came into the vehicle near his feet and all of a sudden the car was on fire. He pulled over into a restaurant parking lot but by then the electric was out in the car so the doors were locked and he wasn't able to open the door. Good thing he had the windows down prior to the fire because that was his only escape. One of the employees brought out a fire extinguisher and tried to put it out with no luck. The fire department arrived and finally was able to put the fire out. It was determined that the fire was in the area of the fuse panel and wiring harness. My car is a total loss after just paying it off just two weeks ago! Heartbreaking. I've been doing my research and was surprised to find that I'm not the only person that this had happened to. This is a safety concern and it needs to be addressed! I'm just thankful that my children were not in the car when this happened because the worst could have happened all because no one wants to do a recall! Thank god there were no fatalities but who's to say the next person this happens to will be so lucky? *tr

Filed Apr 1, 2012 · Electrical · 105,000 miles · NJ · fire

My wife was driving home from the grocery store on jan 1st, with my daughter in the passenger seat. They began to smell something burning, so my wife pulled over, when my daughter got out of the car she saw flames shooting out from under the glove compartmented good samaritan came running over with a fire extinguisher to attempt to put fire out, my daughter called 911, and the cranford fire dept. Showed up within minutes to put out the fire. In the fire dept. Report they said the fire was caused by an electrical problem from the fuse box. The car was ruled a total loss, the passenger side air bag deployed and the windshield cracked, luckily nobody was seriously hurt, but gm is claiming they have no responsibility for this fire. Both my wife and I disagree, the car was well taken care of only at a gm dealer, and had no after market accessories installed.we have several photos taken by insurance company and the fire dept. Report. If you need any further information please feel free to contact us. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jul 5, 2010 · Electrical · 29,495 miles · MI · fire

The car was parked in front of our home. I saw flames on driver's side, which quickly consumed the entire interior. 911 was called and our local fire department put it out. The fireman believes it was caused by the electrical system.

Filed Mar 28, 2010 · Engine · 44,000 miles · IA · fire

2006 chevy impala caught on fire, and was completely destroyed. I called gm to notifiy them, but they made it impossible for it to be investigated. Our insurance company gave us a check for the car, but we still had to pay over $2000 to pay off the car. The fire started after the car lost power on the highway outside wisconsin dells. The fire started in the engine , and only took 13 minutes to completely destroy the car. At the time we were the only ones to have this happen, but the more checking around the more reports I see. Me, my husband, and our two children were in the car when the fire started. How many engine fires does there have to be before gm is held responsible?

Filed Nov 16, 2009 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · NN · fire

I owned a 2006 impala with 100,000 miles on it. On 11-11-2009 I was driving to work and all of a sudden the traction control came on. I had to slow down to 45 miles an hour and cross 3 lanes in heavy traffic to get to the right hand lane. At that point the engine completely shut down and started smoking. I got out of the car and there were flames coming from the front driver side of the engine. Within 3 minutes the whole engine was completely engulfed in flames. Car is completely totaled and I owe more on it than it is worth. Luckily I have gap insurance but finding a new car without a sizeable deposit is nearly impossible. This was an error that gm should have known about and I should have been notified of this. Car fires just don't happen out of nowhere especially when it's an electrical fire.