2008 Chevrolet Impala: tire blowout or tread separation

Filed Oct 29, 2015 · Tires · 35,000 miles · KS

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala equipped with goodyear gps2 tires, size: p225/75r15. While driving 55 MPH, there was a loud noise coming from the vehicle. The contact noticed that the front driver and passenger side tires were separated from the inside and outside wall of the tire. In addition, there was tread separation and the tires exhibited bubbles. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that new tires were needed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The dot number was unknown. The approximate tire and vehicle failure mileage was 35,000.

Filed Apr 16, 2015 · Steering, Suspension · WA

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).

Filed Apr 11, 2015 · Driver assistance, Suspension · 103,084 miles · WA

Case # [xxx] 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. . There had been a service bulletin 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. 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. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Nov 10, 2014 · Tires · 70,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The vehicle is equipped with michelin tires, size p225/60r/16 (na). The contact stated that the tires were wearing prematurely. The tires were replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The tire failure mileage and dot number were unknown. The vehicle failure mileage was 70,000.

Filed Aug 22, 2014 · 92,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the vehicle would make a clicking sound and the AC fan failed to blow out air to full capacity. Also, the contact mentioned that once the clicking sound stopped, the AC fan would resume normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.

Filed Jun 22, 2014 · Suspension, Wheels · 40,000 miles · WI

Tire blowout. Due to defective rear suspension that caused tires to be misaligned. The defective spindles caused the weight of the car to ride on the very inside corners of the rear tires. 90% of the tire wear was on 10% of the tires. This caused the hidden inside one inch of the tire to wear through the tire safety belts, expose the tire threads, and then blowout. Both rear tires did this. The pictures are stunning to see how much of the tire tread looks perfect and how devastating the wear was to the inner most inch. To most people looking at the tires from the side, they looked fine.no one expects the damage they don't see hidden from daily view. The tire wear is extremely accelerated once it reaches the soft material just under the tread. It can go from thin tread to a hole in the safety belt material in 1000 miles of wear. Gm issued technical service bulletin in 2008 about this exact symptom, but only called for repair of police model impalas. They have not called for repair of similar general public owners models. So we did not know until we had a blowout. The dealer would do nothing because it was not a police car covered in the tsb. We paid for 4 new times, and alignment. But the problem still exists. The new tires are wearing out the same. There is little winter traction in the rear because of such small amount of tread on the road.

Filed Nov 27, 2013 · Wheels · 80,000 miles · AR

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the rear driver's side tire blew without warning. The contact also mentioned that the problem had occurred on three separate occasions with three different tires placed on the rear driver's side. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 80,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Jan 11, 2012 · Suspension, Tires · 17,000 miles · OH

In less than 30,000 miles, I've had to have wheel alignments each time I was force to replace 2 sets of rears tires on my 2008 impala due to excessive wear. Before having to replace the first set of tire, I had the car into the dealership twice for car vibration at speeds of 50 to 65 MPH. I was told the first time that all the wheels had to be re-balanced which did not make since to me. The second time I was told that nothing was found. Then the first tire failure and fortunately only at 35 MPH. This first failure was at approx. 15,000 miles. One tire, but both were worn enongh that the dealer should have forewarn me before I left the dealership. The second set of the original tires moved to the rear, wore-out at approx. 28,000 miles. I have never in my 47 years of driving had tires and mulitple alignments as I've had on this car.

Filed Nov 8, 2011 · 6,000 miles · MI

*the dates and mileage is estimated as listed above* I bought a brand new impala in april of 2008. I was advised at my first oil change at 3000 miles that my tires needed to be rotated because they were wearing due to mileage. I did not do this because I could not believe a brand new car at 3000 miles needed a tire rotation. I was also starting to notice that the back end was sliding and felt like it was "rolling", especially in ice and snow. I was advised at my second oil change (6000 miles) that my tires were almost "shot" and needed to be replaced. I was also informed this was because I had failed to rotate my tires. A friend who is a master mechanic felt that I needed an alignment on the car. He told me to take it back to the dealer where I bought the car and have everything replaced under warranty. In may of 2009, at approximate 6k-7k miles, I took the car to art moehn. They advised that I voided my tire warranty by not having my tires rotated. A month later I had a blowout on one of my tires. I had the tire replaced, and had an alignment done on the car. Shortly thereafter, I had a new set of tires put on. In the next two years, the same thing happened. By 2011 at about 50k miles, I was on my third set of tires and had had my car aligned two times. We then found out that gm had issues with some of these 2008 impalas - with very similar stories of what I had been thru. I contacted gm customer service to ask for help with this car - requesting they fix the problem. They insisted I have yet another alignment and assessment "at my cost" at their specified dealer. Imagine my frustration when this alignment (less than 3 mos from the previous one) yielded results that the car was already out of alignment!!! Gm offered me a $1000 gift cert toward the purchase of another new gm vehicle. Please help. This car is a safety hazard & needs to be fixed.

Filed Aug 19, 2011 · Suspension · 15,000 miles · AZ

Purchased 2008 impala ss factory demo car with 3000 miles and at 15000 miles a rear tire blew out at 65 miles an hour and almost wrecked us. Rear tires were wore out on inside. Down to the cord which at 15000 miles seemed impossible. Replaced tires and dealer said alignment was not the problem but was normal for the model car and now at 23000 miles rear tires are wore out again on inside and front tires are the original and still look new. Why can't the dealer repair the problem instead of selling tires every 10000 miles? I think they just want the extra cash flow during this time the economy is slow .

Filed Aug 2, 2011 · Suspension, Tires · 21,381 miles · LA

I have had numerous issues with unusual wear and/or blowouts on the tires of my 2008 chevy impala. I first started having issue with tires in dec 2008 and still continue til this day. When I questioned if there was a possibility it was the vehicle and not the tires, I was told by the dealership in 2010, it was faulty 'factory installed' tires. I have replaced more than once all the tires on my vehicle. Now I find out that gm has recalled police issue 2008 impalas but not those for the everyday consumer.

Filed Jul 8, 2011 · Suspension · NY

I have a 2008 impala, with 38,000 miles. I have had to replace my rear tires last year due to excessive inside wear. I just noticed few days ago that this same excessive wear has happened again and it looks worse than the first time. This issue is forcing me to spend another $200 on tires and worry about my safety. I read an article that the 2008 impalas have defective spindle rods, which connect the suspension to the rear wheels. The defect causes the wheels to misalign, which makes the tires wear out faster. The tires could also wear out unevenly, increasing the risk of a blowout. Gm has corrected this issue on the impalas driven by the police dept but has not done anything to the consumer. This issue needs to be addressed and a recall issued by gm asap, for the safety of all involved.