2008 Chevrolet Impala: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Sep 18, 2019 · Electrical · 160,000 miles · ID · fire

Rear door locks, defrost, trunk lid stopped working. Noticed smoke on my passenger side while driving in town. I took it in and was shown that it melted the wires together and melted the rear body harness connector. ( I kept the part if needed) this is a danger to drivers. The fire can start at any time while driving! I believe this should be a recall. After researching I see this is happening to many of these cars.

Filed Jun 6, 2019 · 133,715 miles · SC

During the summer months when the outside temperatures are high my backdoor locks will not unlock. The inside levers that pull up to unlock from inside are located at the farthest place away so I can't reach them from the front doors to unlock them that way. A small child in a car seat, someone unconscious or a pet could easily become trapped inside this vehicle. This happens if the car is running or not.

Filed Feb 13, 2018 · PA · 1 injury

Back door locks will not open from outside of vehicle with key fob or with inside power locks, (no outside key entry locks in back doors) they remain locked at all times and my grandchild must climb over front seat to get in the back of vehicle and vice a versa to get out. If accident occurs, fire starts baby or child could not get out!! I have complained to chevy they will not do anything about it. I have read other complaints that all four door locks may go at some point. This is a defect and should be a recall. Chevy wants hundreds of dollars (each door lock)to have them fixed. I have never had a vehicle that this has happened to in 41 years of driving. I have hurt my own back trying to reach to the back seat from the front only. It started with one lock a few years ago and then the second one started. Please help!

Filed Sep 4, 2017 · Electrical, Locks · 39,000 miles · TX

All door locks have stopped working. The doors will not lock or unlock with the remote or with the inside lock buttons on the interior door. Each door has to be manually locked and unlocked. When I purchased the car, when the transmission was placed in gear, the doors would automatically lock. The doors each have to be manually locked and unlocked. The only keyhole on the car is on the drivers door to unlock the car. There are numerous reports of this issue on the internet for the year models 2008 and 2009. The parts alone are $450 to $1,000. This is a major safety issue and should be a recall because: 1. The doors no longer automatically lock when the car is placed in gear. Automatic locks were most likely listed on the window sticker. 2. If a child is locked in the car, the door will not unlock with remote and can only be accessed from the drivers side door. 3. Not being able to access the driver and passenger door with the key is a safety issue to me. My car only has 45,100 miles on it and the locks have not worked in over two years. The consumer stated the manufacturer declined to offer assistance due to the vehicle being out of warranty.

Filed Jul 26, 2017 · Electrical · 112,000 miles · NC

The door locks malfunction when the temperature is above 80 degrees. When this happens you must use the key to unlock or lock the driver door and manually open the other doors from the inside. The remote key system is not effective when locking or unlocking the vehicle. I asked reed lallier dealership if there was a recall on the locks but it only applies to the "ss" model and not the lt, even though the issues are the same. The issue started last summer and has gotten worse this year, when the temperature is around 75 and below the locks function fine. The malfunction only happens when it is hot outside.

Filed Jun 15, 2017 · Locks · 60,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that when the temperature exceeded 85 degrees, the doors would not lock or unlock automatically. The vehicle was taken to a dealer (chuck fairbanks chevrolet, desoto, texas) who stated that the failure was a known issue, but there was no recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Filed Jan 24, 2017 · Body · 30,000 miles · NY

Rear door locks dont work when trying to get children out of car. Doors don't unlock. Rear doors do not lock or unlock often.

Filed May 24, 2016 · Body, Electrical · 54,000 miles · NY

Rear passenger door locks do not function electrically when the vehicle is warm. Automatic lock function when the vehicle is placed in 'drive' does not function under these circumstances. Due to the position of the manual lock releases, it is very difficult to manually unlock the rear doors manually. In an emergency situation, if the rear door locks do not function, it can delay escape from the vehicle.

Filed Jan 22, 2016 · 55,000 miles · IN

Both rear passenger door locks stop working prior to 60,000 miles. They would work randomly and eventually stopped working all together. After researching the issue there are several hundred complaints on websites and it appears to be that they used a lubricant that becomes too solidified. If I were in an accident I wouldn't be able to unlock the rear doors using the key fob or the power unlock. It has to be done manually and they are very difficult to reach from the front seats.

Filed Jan 8, 2016 · Body, Locks · 46,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the rear passenger side door could not be unlocked from outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the door lock actuator was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Approximately four months later, the driver side door failed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000. Updated 04/08/16

Filed Dec 27, 2015 · Electrical · 125,000 miles · MI

Door locks will not lock or unlock. Door locks have quit working one by one. Front driver door only door with key lockable unlockable feature. Therefore, doors can only be unlocked by unlocking driver door and crawling into car and manually unlocking all other doors. I have owned no other car that had this feature where out in less than seven years. This is a safety hazard not being able to unlock/lock doors. The locks don't work whether car stationary or in motion.

Filed Nov 30, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 5 miles · PA

Reduced engine power message, faulty back door locks, heating actuator repairs. This is a revised complaint to one I also made for just the reduced engine power message. After reading numerous complaints on here I have found that my car has several of the issues not just reduced engine power. I am most concerned with the car cutting out while driving due to the reduced engine power however we also have locks that don't open/lock with remote which has been going on for the last 3 years and since last winter heater only blows cold air until you accelerate the car. This month we had car repaired for a knocking noise coming from under glove box while car was running or shut off. Mechanic diagnosed as a new actuator and did repair. This however did not repair the blowing of cold air and also this is when the reduced engine power warning started. I am a former gmac employee and have had gm vehicles for the last 15 years. I am so disappointed that there are so many problems with this make/model and that gm has not issued a recall on these.