Whenever the vehicle encounters wet conditions such as rain or going thru a puddle, the power steering will lock up and. This can happen at any speed or wheel position. This has caused many dangerous situations but no injuries have occurred yet.
2008 Chevrolet Impala steering complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 94, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When driving over water or a very wet road my power steering quits, I often get "alternator failure" warning until such time as I pass over the pooled water spot in the road. I had the engine belt changed and it still does this when driving over a pooled or low spot in a roadway or parking lot. This happens when driving at low or higher speeds on a highway, street or parking lot and/or gravel area with pooled water but not in a "flood" situation. This has been ongoing for over three months.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. While driving various speeds in inclement weather, the steering wheel became inoperable without warning. The local dealer (edd rogers chevrolet buick, 674-w. Bockman way, sparta, tn 38583) was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
The front wheels of my vehicle started drifting left and right. Started hearing a clanging noise when l would turn. Lower control arms broke, my power steering is going because of it. This is terrible. I saw there is a recall on some just not my VIN#. Vehicle was in motion just started to pull to one side. Merging onto the highway .
When it rains my steering locks for 10 to 20 secondswhile driving. I could be going straight or turning it doesn't matter seems like when I go over a puddle of water.
I was driving in traffic around 5:30pm cst on us 59 n and rankin rd tuesday 11/15/16 when my vehicle lost engine power. I was unable to accelerate or steer and the only light that came on in the car was the service tire monitor system. I managed, somehow, to steer the vehicle to the left shoulder of the freeway and put it in park. I turned off the vehicle and when I went start it again, after releasing the key, it made a stuttering to start sound over and over again even though I was no longer touching the key. When I tried to start it again it turn on and then back off and continued to do this at least 3 more times. I eventually had it towed to my home and after reading online today at forums.edmonds.com many people have been having this issue with impala's and suburban's from gm for at least 4 years now, first post is back in 2012. Gm needs to put a recall on these vehicles and fix the issue before it more fatalities, as proven in their earlier 2014-2015 recall. They just did a recall about a year ago for impala's having an issue where the ignition switch would then switch into the off position while driving if you hit a bump too hard and had too much weight on your keys. I got my vehicle serviced for that recall issue but it seems like their fix for that was incorrect and not the issue seeing as my vehicle, and several others, still shuts down while driving and the ignition is still in the on (not off) position, you lose acceleration and steering. This is extremely dangerous and will cause more deaths, injuries, and accidents. Please get this to gm and have them correct this issue in all their models with sensor throttle body's instead of wired ones. They also need to fix the issue of door and A/C accuators in their models, as its been described to me as a common issue in gm models. This is a very unsafe issue for all drivers gm or not. More accidents will follow.
My vehicle was in motion. I was trying to park, and the wheel did not want to move. There was also a loud screeching noise when I turned the wheel. I was told I probably did not have power steering fluid. I put some in, that lasted for a day, and my car started doing the same thing all over again. Also when I turn, it makes the same noise. Two other people that live in my building have 2007, 2008 impalas, and they had to replace their power steering box. Seems to me there needs to be a recall on this. This makes me very scared. I was not going at a high rate of speed then. What about the next time. ##
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving at 15 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact had to apply force to the steering wheel in order to steer the vehicle. In addition, the contact noticed fluid leaking from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 104,372.
I purchased a 2008 chevy impala ltz from a reputable certified used car dealership (merrolis chevrolet 9 mile and gratiot). I also had a warranty. In less than two months I had a service invoice for over 1300.00 the car needed a airbag coil replacement (477.00) steering difficulties. Also. The converter needed replacement (877.00). This makes the car sound like it needs a new muffler. I complained to the manager in service and I'm awaiting a response 11-13-15. He was supposed to call me back on friday 11-13-15 but did not.
This happen a few months ago 2 times and again today while driving the steering wheel locks up this is very scary and somebody is going to get hurt. Do something before it happens.
This has happen 2 times since I bought it in feb. When I was steering to the left it wouldn't turn like the steering column was locked for about 15 second and then it's fine. Thank god both times I was turning and not at a high speed.
Vehicle has 65,937 miles and failed nc inspection due to excessive play in both front hub and bearing assemblies. No steering problems noted prior to this inspection. Dealer stated they have replaced some assemblies but had not been made aware by chevrolet this was a problem nor has any recall been initiated. With so few miles and a defect so potentially dangerous some form of notification to vehicle owners of models using this type of assembly should be notified.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. While driving 10 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact had to apply force to the steering wheel in order to turn the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,900.
I was driving on a small side street on the way to pick my son up from school. The street is pretty deeply pot holed, and it had been raining so it was also very muddy. For this reason I was luckily going slow. As I made my way through one particular large puddle on a right hand curve I could see that I was going to almost immediately get into the left lane to go around some parked cars. As soon as I went to veer left the car wouldn't budge. It felt as if the power steering had shut off. No light came on no new sounds were made, nothing to indicate that anything was wrong. Luckily with a few quick pulls left and right on the steering wheel everything seemed to back I'm working order. Very very scary.
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.
Subject: 2008 chevrolet impala rear tire wear. Case # [xxx]VIN # is [xxx] we are having a problem with our 2008 chevrolet impala. Our rear tires are wearing out twice as fast as the front tires. I went to costco yesterday to have my tires rotated, after looking at the rear tires we had to buy new ones because the back tires were worn down to the metal backing, the front tires were still good. Only one half of the warranty had been used. The tires were michelin x-radial dt mich passenger s/t p225/60r16 bw mspn 17457 tires with an 80,000 mile warranty. We ended up buying four new michelin tires for around $600.00. The costco guy thought that something must be wrong with the car. After I got home I checked on the internet as to what could cause this problem and found out that there was a problem with the 2007 and 2008 chevrolet impala's. There had been a service bulletin #08032a sent out in 2011 to replace the spindle rods on all the 2007 and 2008 impala's that were sold as police cars to fix this problem that they were having with rear tire wear. I would like to see that service bulletin extended all the other 2007 and 2008 chevrolet impala's. The part number for the spindle rod is the same on all 2008 impalas, police or non police. This is a major safety problem and people are going to be killed if this problem is not fixed, you just don't expect the tires to wear out so fast. We had just finished a trip were we drove freeway speeds up to 75 miles an hour. After seeing our tires I don't know how we keep from having a blow out on the back tires. I think that lots of accidents have happened with these 2007 and 2008 chevy impalas with tires blowing out because rear tire wear because the spindle bolts are engineered wrong and every one thinks its the tires fault.. Gm needs to fix this problem and replace the four spindle bolts. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that when making a left or right turn, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the rack and pinion steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 42,000.
Own snow the rear end slides all over the place you have no control,I have brand new tires extraction tires on rear.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. While driving at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle veered to the right and became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 97,785.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while making a left hand turn, the steering wheel seized causing another vehicle to crash into the passenger front side. The air bags failed to deploy. The passenger from the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries which required medical attention. It was unknown if a police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.
Vehicle was leaking oil for the past several months and upon inspection by local repair shop on january 15, 2015, two different visible leaks were found as a result of normal wear and tear after only approx. 73,000 miles. The repair shop indicated that inferior gaskets/seals in the 1) engines intake manifold gasket and 2) the rack and pinion system caused premature leaks to occur in the models. Repair costs are estimated at approx. $2,000.
On this day I was driving normal speed, climate and roadway was dry and free of debris. The traction control light came on and the car began to shift hard when accelerating after a stop. Today, january 5, 2015 while operating under normal speed and dry climate the check engine light came on along with traction control, which has remained on since the initial incident. The car began jerking and the engine shut off while traveling at a rate of 40mph. I was almost hit by the vehicle behind me, however thankfully managed to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. My children were in the car with me. I shut the car off in hopes that the lights would reset, but they did not. I have contacted gm and in my opinion they couldn't care less about this issue. I have researched several online forums and see that this appears to be an issue with many impala owners. A few even stated they had wrecked their vehicles due to the engine shutting down while experiencing the exact same issues. Why has this issue not been addressed? I see reports dating back to 2010. The same danger that warranted an ignition switch recall is happening in these cases as well, these cars are shutting off while being driven.
I have had the ignition switch repaired under the recall thinking this might help the problem. I will be driving down the road when the steering will lock up and the car slows and cuts off. I have had several near miss accidents with other cars and am literally afraid to drive the car anymore. I have taken the car to several other dealers and they claim they are unable to determine what is wrong or how to fix it. It is only a mater of time before I have an accident and injure myself or others .
My impala will completely shut down and lock up everytime it rains. I can be driving 5 MPH through a parking lot and water film on the pavement and my impala will shake, lock up and shut down. I was leaving my church parking lot to turn right onto road, my impala shut down and drifted straight across the street almost landing in the ditch. Thank god there was no oncoming traffic. It has happen while driving 35 and car shut down. It is very terrifying to drive a car that shuts down and have no control over. I have small children and am fearful my and their safety. *tr updated 2/16/16
After going through a small puddle, serp belt slips, lose power steering, cant hardly control car. If it happened with my wife driving in traffic could be very bad. Went to beard chevrolet a month ago (this has been happening several mos) and was told it's normal, and in new cars they went to electric ps because of it. That doesn't console me with an otherwise perfectly running car. I had replaced the tensioner and serp belt already before going to the dealer.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the steering wheel became difficult to turn without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the puller and power steering pump needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.
I was turning in my driveway off of the main road and the car seemed to cut off. The first thing that I noticed was that I had to struggle to turn the wheel as I was trying to avoid a cement post on the side of my driveway. I got it in the driveway while basically coasting, and I noticed some lights on in the dash. I put the vehicle in park and proceeded to start it.
Had the car for about a month when it first did this going down my driveway at 5-10 MPH and hit a mud puddle. I tried to turn out onto the rd and almost went in ditch because the car wouldn't steer. It has happened multiple times and a couple of times the car actually shut off. Sometimes the charging system light comes on. This is so very dangerous. Glad to see in not the only one with the issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. Upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel became difficult to turn and all the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received a recall notification for the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v355000 (electrical system). The part needed to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
I received a letter for the recall-14299. I contacted my dealer who said he does not have parts yet. We then got a letter that said the contractor had the parts. We contacted the dealer and they had 4 legal pages with names and ours started the 5th. The dealer said they do not have the parts. Why are we waiting so long for the parts?
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