While driving approximately 65 MPH, the traction control and engine power reduced warning indicators illuminated. After driving a few miles with these indicators on the disabling throttle warning came on and the vehicle stalled. I managed to coast over to the emergency lane and was able to restart the car after approximately 10 minutes. This had occurred on numerous occasions and have not been able to have it successfully repaired.
2009 Chevrolet Impala engine complaints
Page 4 of 8: complaints 71 to 100 of 199, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the check engine and the traction control warning lights illuminated. In addition, a chime sounded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where unknown repairs were performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. While driving at approximately 40 MPH, the fuel gauge went down to zero. Also, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle did not accelerate. The service engine soon warning indicator illuminated. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or diagnosed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v355000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.
We received a letter saying this year and model have a poor solder connection that causes reduction in engine power and traction control failure. Our car has this problem. However, chevrolet will only pay for the fix if it is under warranty and has less than 120,000 miles. We believe that most six year old cars have more than 120,000 miles and chevrolet is just covering themselves from lawsuits with this letter. If they soldered something improperly they should fix it regardless of the milege on a vehicle.
While driving on the highway at 55 MPH the car lost power and displayed "reduced engine power." I lost complete power and luckily was able to coast to the shoulder. It was very scary and very dangerous.
While on my way home from work on a major highway, message lit up saying engine power is reduced, service traction control, then said starting disabled and the engine shut off mid highway with no time to react. I was almost hit by several cars, tractor trailer, and buses. I had no power steering, nothing. I have 5 children who are often in the car with me and this created a mess of traffic and could have killed people. After being scared out of my mind and stuck half in a highway lane for 5 min with traffic swerving, the car started back up with no issues and I continued home. No sign of anything today, however I am reading thousands of complaints online from other chevy impala owners who state they are experiencing the same issues and it comes and goes and have tried everything to fix it and it still happens every so often sometimes more than others. Someone is going to lose a life.
The car states service traction control-engine power is reduced. While driving the highway the car completely shut off and had to wait about 10 minutes before being able to start it again. I drive highway daily and have a (xxx) year old son that rides with me this is a safety hazard for the both of us. *trparts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the check engine light, the service traction control and the check throttle assembly warning lights illuminated as the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the throttle body, the traction control modules were replaced and reprogrammed but the failure persisted. The failure mileage was 142,000.
I was just getting off of work and on my way to grab something to eat. As I began to make a left at a traffic light the service traction and reduced engine speed light came on. I could not go more that 30 MPH and it began jerking so much that I thought the car was going to shut off. I haven't driven it since because I still have to fit it. This is my only transportation and if I was on the freeway it could have been a huge accident because the car just dropped in speed with no warning. I've seen that a lot of people have this issue. Is gm looking into this. This is something they should fix with no charge esp if its happening to a lot of people.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicles speed reduced after the engine power warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v355000 (electrical system) however, the part needed to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000. Updated 4/6/15
I own a 2009 chevrolet impala. I was driving on the highway at 65 MPH when the check engine light, traction control light and engine power reduced light came on. A few minutes later, in heavy traffic it said engine shutting down and there was a short countdown displayed before the engine died completely. This is very dangerous and I am lucky to have been able to get over to the shoulder without getting hit.
While driving about 35 MPH, my car instantly reduced speed and the traction control and powered reduced to engine light displayed. My car reduced speed to about 10 MPH and I couldn't accelerate anymore. I began coasting. I drove directly to the dealership and was charged $400 to "fix" the problem.
I have been having the service engine light come intermittently along with the service traction control light. I have had a technician look at this for me and advised that the throttle control sensor (accelerator pedal) is going in and out. The accelerator pedal is connected to a sensor that drives the throttle on the engine. When this happens intermittently the vehicle looses engine power and traction control.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the service traction and reduced engine power warning lights illuminated. When the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle would not accelerate over 10 MPH. The contact coasted over to the emergency lane and shut off the vehicle. The contact restarted the vehicle, but the failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 215,000.
This is the 3rd time: while driving, speed reduces dramatically, service engine indicator comes on followed by warnings: "engine power reduced" and "service traction control". My research on the issue to find out how to fix, shows many people having the exact same problem that isn't getting resolved by gm. Engine power reduction to such a dramatic speed can be extremely dangerous for not only the operator of the affected vehicle, but also anyone else on the road near the driver.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled and shut off without warning. The vehicle restarted after numerous attempts. The engine power reduced warning indicator illuminated continuously. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was not available.
On my display I have seen daily (service traction action) and (engine power reduced) along with (service airbag) for more than a year, did not service due to cost and it is not my fault! My car usually slows down once the engine power reduced displays causing the car to jerk due to me trying to give it more gas so as not to be hit from the back. As my grandchildren and I were headed home on the freeway my car decided to just shut off. On the display it read first.. Service traction action and then starting disabled service throttle. My car immediately lost power and I began to pray hoping I would not get hit from the back with my grandchildren sitting in the back. Once I pulled over my car would not start I sat for about a minute and tried to start again and it started. Just today 01/12/2015, with my grandchildren in the back of my car again my car decided to loose power again but this time it did something very different, it would not allow me to first reverse and then it allowed me to but soon after I could not go forward. The gas peddle acted as though the car was completely turned off but the car was running. When I attempted to press the gas peddle I pressed it all the way down to the floor, nothing happened. I ended up calling a towing service and after telling them what happened I was told my issues stemmed from a electrical system issue that chevy had recalled. This does not make any sense for so many of us to go through the same issues but nothing be done about these issues. Something needs to be done quickly!!
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH and encountering the railroad tracks, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was restarted and resumed to normal. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Driving to work and the service traction control light went on then engine power reduced and throttle error and the car would not accelerate and powered down. I was at red light so I turned the car off and turned it back on the car would not accelerate so I turned it off again and waiting put my flashers on, waited a few more minutes and the car finally started to move. I took to the dealership because it's a powertrain issue and I have 100k powertrain warranty and the dealership said it's not powertrain and wanted $778 to repair, I called chevy after seeing the forums only this is a known issue thousands of people with the same complaint and chevy said they are going to work with the dealership. I have to be back at work monday and drive through a very rough neighborhood I do not want to breakdown in that neighborhood.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. While driving 50-60 MPH, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle could be restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000. Updated 3/3/15*cn the consumer stated it was obvious the vehicle had a faulty ignition. The engine would stall on a major highway. Updated 03/26/15
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled as the traction control warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was shut off and failed to restart. As a result, the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the speed reduced warning light illuminated as the interior lights illuminated and a chime sounded. In addition, the vehicle reduced in speed to 30 MPH and the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the throttle control sensors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.
I was involved in a violent, jarring collision on june 26, 2014 with an SUV in las vegas, nv. I was rear-ended by a toyota rav 4. I sustained significant injuries, & my car suffered substantial damage, which resulted in my vehicle being deemed a total loss. The engine automatically shut off & the vehicle airbags did not deploy because the ignition switch moved out of the run position, turning off the engine. The gm provided remedy was not made available until september 2014.
The traction control sudden went off - traction control light on and service engine light both on - first time of really cold weather/rain snow. Did it one more time and then traction control light is off and service engine is on - I see that this is a huge problem with the impala and extremely expensive to "possibly" repair.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v355000 (electrical system). While driving approximately 35 MPH, the traction control and engine power reduced warning lights illuminated. The vehicle stalled and was able to restart; however, the failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
Driving along at 40 MPH, traction light, engine light, power reducing message and all of a sudden car quits in middle of busy highway during rush hour. Able to coast to middle between two lanes of traffic going both ways. Sat for awhile and car started. This is the second such mishap.
At 55 MPH, a warning message stating service traction control-engine power reduced appeared. While driving downhill or on level ground, I had sufficient power to continue driving. When headed uphill it was extremely difficult to get the car to shift into a lower gear. When it finally did shift, it shifted hard and really jerked the car. A few miles down the road, I rounded a corner and began to pick up some momentum. Without warning, the engine stopped and another warning light stating starting disabled-service throttle appeared. I had enough momentum to move off to the side of the road. I tried to start the car several times. The engine did not crank and the message continued to flash. I completely turned the key off and sat for a few minutes. I was about to call for a tow truck when I tried again. The engine started and I was able to continue home with no issues. A few days later, the first message I mentioned appeared (service traction control-engine power reduced). I was still at work, so I found a parking space and turned the engine off immediately. A few minutes later, I restarted the engine and drove away. I guess I'm just lucky this didn't happen on the turnpike or interstate. Gm has to know about this. I guess they don't pay attention to near-misses.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the steering seized and the vehicle exhibited a loss of engine power. The contact crashed into the guard rail and the front driver's air bag failed to deploy. The contact suffered unknown injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v355000 (electrical system) and believed that it's directly related to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.
Car states reduced engine power stalling to about 10mph very dangerous. Many complaints about this issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that when approaching a stop, the "low oil pressure shut off engine immediately" warning light illuminated. The contact checked the oil consumption and was there was no shortage of oil. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred twice. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2009 Chevrolet Impala?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history