We own the car listed above and have for over two years. We bought it at a dealership in east tennessee. The car was previously used as a rent a car for enterprise. Not even a year after we bought the vehicle we had to replace the transmission. The biggest problem is the fact I have drove this car and all issues stated for a recall we have had a problem with. The most recent is the vehicle shutting off while driving it on highways. It's is saying service engine light mad than will say service traction control,than it will shutoff I been going 70 down an interstate and it shutoff mad about kill us. We had the vehicle checked and the accelerator pedal sensor or something like that is the problem by what technician say. I am just now starting to research the issues we have and found numerous recalls on this vehicle in which we have the problems listed above and more. Mainly the airbag steering control arm and vehicle just shutting off. I guess the best way to sum it up is they sold us a lemon perhaps but after looking at the recall list our vehicle meets the requirements for sure. Too many problems for a new vehicle. Just looking to take care of the problem before the car injures us or someone else on the highways. Hope this doesn't take long to get resolved because deaths could occur. Thanks for your time hope to speak with someone soon before it's too late. I mean I thought something major was wrong but the automd website really assured what we been thinking. Thanks for your time.
2009 Chevrolet Impala engine complaints
Page 6 of 8: complaints 131 to 160 of 199, newest first, as owners wrote them.
After purchasing this "one owner driven by [xxx] car on march 27, 2014 we have fallen in love with the car .supposedly purchased from the dealer were the original owner traded it in.with only approx. 34,800 miles....so much so we purchased another one...a 2014 (not new body style). I'm driving home from work at about 6:45am on a normal sunny morning in a residential neighborhood when all of a sudden I get an alert stating "reduced engine power/service traction control alert...the call lost most power and was shifting strangely...I have done some internet research and this seems to be a common problem with gm cars between 2008- and 2011...we have only made one payment on this vehicle and are currently trying to contact the dealer and waiting on a return call.......the same problem happened again last night and he barely made it to work....sometimes when this alert is not on the engine light is on...sometimes no lights at all...but this is potentially a very dangerous situation especially if traveling at a high rate of speed on expressway or something...if gm is aware of this problem...which they appear to be based on my research, there should be a bulletin or a recall available to fix said problem....I hope we do not have to pursue any further action against gm and that the dealer will make this right...this car is like brand new!! *tr parts 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).
I too have suffered from the aching noise that comes from the blend door actuator. I was also told by the dealership the first time I took it, that this was a very common problem in the impalas. My impala was at the dealership for a week and I was told the reason that it took so long was that there are three actuators and they had to figure out which one it was or charge me to fix all three because they couldn't make out which one it was. I paid to get the one fix and a couple of months later it started again. I took it back to the dealership and was told that maybe they fixed the wrong one and I could pay to get the other two fixed. This is a $40 part that I paid $238.00 to get fixed. I declined and found numerous youtube videos and blogs reporting models as early as 2006 with the same issue. I have encountered several people who have had or have the same issue with the "knocking noise from the dash board". I am very surprised and disheartened that this a common issue with these models and yet gm has not issued a recall. Hopefully, I can get others to speak out on this issue and file complaints.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated while traveling 65 MPH, the engine light illuminated and the engine seized. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 150,000 and the current mileage was 150,220. The VIN was not provided.
It's apparently the standard impala issue of the car's dash reading engine power reduced. The car has less than 100,000 miles and my I was driving home from work in rush hour when the dash read engine power reduced. I immediately phoned my husband. He insisted that I get in the right lane and be prepared for the car to die. My husband then mistakenly told me to drive to a specific exit out of the inner city before exiting the highway. Next the check stability message came on. He was like ok that's weird but lets get you home. Then the car decided to lose power brakes and steering. My hands are literally blistered getting it off the road. I guided it of the highway as he looked up the issue. Finding hundreds of these same accounts he told me to hold on a bit and restart the car. It worked and I drove it home. Had my husband not insisted I move over and be prepared this could have been a very different issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, there was a sudden loss of engine power as the reduced engine and the service traction stability system warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was unable to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 8,337.
Was driving down the highway and then all of a sudden the traction light came on then I lost complete power while on the interstate going at a speed of 70mph. I was in the far left lane and had coming traffic behind me. The car completely shut down causing me to lose all power almost rear ended and trying to make my way over cutting in front of cars so that I would not be in the middle of the expressway with on coming traffic. Was able to make over to the median and thought it was something else. So then I waited there for 20 min until my friend arrived to help me and the car cranked up and drove like nothing was wrong. So I started driving again and within 45 it happened again. I waited a few mins and it cranked up. About a week or two later it happened again and has been happening more. I don't make much money and don't have it to take to a mechanic and its my only source of transportation. Please let me know if this is something that has a recall. I have seen and read this happening to other cars im wondering if they missed a year or something.
I was driving my 2009 chevy impala traveling at about 45-50 MPH when the "reduce engine power" message came up followed by "check traction control". The car then became sluggish and slowed down to about 15-20 MPH. It then shut off without warning and it seems as though the power steering went out. I had my daughter in the car with me and thank god traffic was light because with that happening it was an accident waiting to happen. I am concerned because it seems like this has been a common problem with this car for a few years and there has not been a recall yet. Is gm waiting for someone to die. No one seems to be able to pinpoint what the problem is and I don't think it's fair that someone has to pay money to fix what may be a problem. Something needs to be done because this is not safe at all. I see a lot of impalas in my town and it's scary to think that at any time this can happen to any one of those cars, mine included, and seriously hurt or kill someone. Gm needs to step up and do the responsible thing for the people who invested their money in the gm brand.
I was driving on the freeway at approximately 70mph, my check engine light came on. About 5 seconds later, my service traction control came on. As I kept driving, I lost power to my engine. Finally, my engine was disabled and I couldn't drive anymore. Luckily, I was able to pull over. After 5 minutes, I was able to start up my car. I replaced the throttle body, but my car still keeps doing this. This is very unsafe. Gm needs to recall its cars.
I was driving home on the freeway at about 70 MPH and the service engine light went on with it saying "reduced engine power" on display. About 10 seconds later I could not accelerate, the car began to start slowing down and I lost ability to maneuver the steering easily as the steering wheel locked up. I was able to pull off on the side of the freeway and I had to turn the car off and wait about 10 minutes for the problem to clear up.
Service traction control comes up and reduce engine power. Never had any prior issues with my vehicle until now. Just got it back from the dealership today and having to take it back tomorrow because the same thing occurred again. I need this issue resolved and am not the only on that has had this issue. I need my vehicle fixed and do not feel that I should have to pay for a manufacturing issue.
I have had numerous problems with my 2009 impala. From the very beginning with only 100+ miles on it and the problems continue today. The dash will say reduced engine power and as I was going down the road at 55 miles an hour my car just shut off. I was able to get it to the side of the road and just sat there wondering what was going on. It wouldn't do anything, it was just completely off. I was about to call for aaa and tried one more time and it started. This happened again in november of 2013 as well and I was going 45 on a country rd. Again I was able to pull to the side and sat there and waited again. When this happens the car will do nothing. I have problems with my traction control, making a strange grinding type noise and bogs the car down from moving when I am trying to accelerate from a stop or trying to turn either left or right. I have had problems with my air bag lights coming on and telling me to service my air bags. It comes on and goes off and comes on and goes off. The dash light will come on and tell me to shut engine off now for low oil pressure, this has happened for 4 years, the car is 5 years old. This car was never a good car from the very day it came off the lot.
I have a 2009 chevrolet impala I purchased in 2010 and the traction control light keeps coming on and the reduced engine power is also coming on during this time. I have read online where people have crashed from this I feel chevrolet needs to do a recall. I live in atlanta and if my car reduces speed while I'm on 285 this could potentially cause I very bad crash.
The problem started in january of 2014. As I write this I want to say that I have read all the blogs on my complaints and see that I am not alone which forces me to ask gm why is it that we all see the elephant in the room and you people are ignoring it. Suffice to say this problem is a safety issue would be the understatement of the century. When will gm step up to the plate and make these issues a priority so there customers don't have to waste time writing complaints like this one. It's really very simple my engine light is on along with the stabilitrak light as well as the car losing all power. Now if gm feels this is not a good enough reason to create a recall I fail to see what is. People just like me have been complaining about this for years and gm does nothing. Along with gm being at fault the dealerships are [xxx] there customers while they go thru a laundry list of items they think might be the problem for these codes. I for one cannot afford the dealership prices nor will I pay these so called experts good money after bad to try and fix problems that they really have no idea as to what's causing them. I originally bought this chevy b/c I wanted an american car for a change, man was I wrong. As soon as I fix this heap I will sell it before anymore lights go on and go right back to honda where at least I know they stand by there cars and it runs way into the six figures before any real problems occur. I'm one of the little guys that bailed out gm and by the way were still paying taxes for that bailout. How about it gm, don't you care about us at all? *tr parts 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).
Stopped at the top of a snow covered hill. Put the transmission in 2nd gear and proceeded down the hill. The vehicle got up to about 15 MPH then lost all power; engine quit, no brakes, and the steering wheel locked in place. Because the brakes were not working the vehicle gained significant speed going downhill. Not being able to steer the vehicle because the steering wheel was locked it went off the road and hit a tree. Upon impact the air bags did not deploy. As a result the driver and passenger were seriously injured. *tr the consumer stated after owning the vehicle for a few months, the vehicle began to loose power and several messages appeared on the dashboard. All the power shut off and the consumer had to aaa to have the vehicle towed to where she purchased it. An inspection revealed the throttle body needed to be replaced. Updated 07/10/14
What happened is the vehicle traction control triggered and reduced the cars functionality and speed. It cleared itself, but what concerns me is this problem is prevalent in gm chevrolet vehicles ranging from 2005 to 2011. It is listed many times here in your data base to your organization. Our lives and safety are involved here. Focusing on charging a fee to do an investigation is deplorable. Lives are at stake here. This should not be another american after the fact occurrence or event. What happened to proactive responsibility. These american car makers produce junk cars and the consumer constantly get stiffed with lemons. States lemon laws? Nothing but american lemons are rolling off of the production lines. You think, this may be why other countries will not buy our products. There is no reliability in what is produced or manufactured and the customer service is lip service. Non - existent with these car dealers and pure sales rhetoric. Your site reads: the information you provide will be used to identify potential safety-related defects or determine the adequacy of existing safety recalls. I can't afford the repairs, pay for an investigation as well. I am not pleased with how the ball keeps getting passed or dropped. The federal safety agency these poorly produced weapons weigh tons. Rolling down the poorly maintained highways and streets of this country endangering us all life and limb. My vehicle has the same problem with the traction control that forces my car to brake , pull to the right and slow enough to endanger my well being. I'm truly scared and concerned here and the repairs and code lights aren't reliable. Only the repair shops are winning. The problem keeps repeating after thousands are spent to keep the car running. I need this car for work. If it cant get me there then they will come and take the junk back I am trying to maintain. Thank you
Let me try again....I was driving on the expressway, at 55 MPH, when the check engine and traction control warning lights came on, along with the reduced engine power warning . I took it into the dealer, where I bought it in aug. 2009. I can't remember when this problem started & how many times prior, because the warning lights would go out, without any reduced engine power warning or reduced power. I thought it was one of what is called a computer glitches. It was at this time when I did get reduced engine power, when I knew I had to take it into the dealer. On nov.29,2010, the accelerator pedal was replaced......on jan.05, 2011, I brought it back and was charged only half of the rate for mech. Diagnosis fee, because I argued so much, that the car is still under warranty, and they have not repaired the same initial problem. I left the car with them to drive, they drove it 28 miles without any problems. On jan.06,2011, mileage was 38727, they replaced the throttle body assembly, n/c. I think it was at this time, I was told to return the car, without shutting the engine off, which is what I did. On feb.05,2011, mileage was 39831, where they replaced a a.I.r. Vent valve....I have changed living locations last spring....meaning there might be more times that it was brought in.....my memory is telling me that the both warning lights were coming on and off last year, and now more frequent, with slight reduced engine power ...81000 miles
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the illumination of the engine and traction warning lights. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.
My issue was that I was four months into driving my new 2009 chevy impala and while driving on the highway going about 60 MPH my car showed flashing signal reading "engine reduced speed" "check stabilitrack " and my check engine was on. The car then stopped accelerating and dropped to 45 MPH immediately. I was nearly rear ended with my son in the car. After researching and hearing complaints about gm and how they are not taking responsibility of this safety issue and actuality charging people to fix their defect. Their are numerous blogs and videos proving this. Examples: show over 23,000 drivers with the same issue http://www.[xxx] : http://www.[xxx] thank god it does not look like any fatalities have occurred as of yet but who knows. Please don't let someone get injured or lose their life to take notice to this. Gm thinks injury or lose of life = $222.00. I am in contact with a law firm in hopes of a class action. *tr parts 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).
I started my car and the check engine light and the service traction control lights both came on. My back tires then began to spin when driving and the car made a scary noise.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that anti-freeze fumes were entering the vehicle and the lower enlist line was replaced. Most recently, the failure recurred and the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the cross over gasket, crank timing cover seal and the lower enlist line would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 56,000. The current mileage was 86,000.
At about 60,000 miles, my 2009 chevy impala has an issue with the service traction control and then reduce engine power. I have read it is the throttle body and not covered under the extended warranty.
When I pressed down on my accelerator pedal (speed limit was increasing from 50mph to 65mph), a message of "starting disabled. Service throttle" came up on the dash. The accelerator pedal and steering wheel completely locked up and the car started to decelerate. I was able to force the steering wheel in order to turn onto a side street (narrowly avoiding a car stopped in the left lane to turn) and park the vehicle in a location out of the main lane of traffic. Had this side street not been there at that exact moment, the possibility of a crash would be very likely as steering was unresponsive and I may have been rear-ended due to the sudden loss of engine power.
This is the 1st time I am filing a complaint, but this complaint has happened multiple times! My wife is afraid to drive this car! My check engine and traction control light comes on. The dash alternates between "service traction control" and "reduced engine power." this is really frightening on the interstate when the engine begins to reduce power and you are surrounded by fast moving vehicles. The fault has been checked multiple times, but the diagnostic check reveals bogus faults unrelated to the traction control fault. I have learned that when this happens, I need to pull off the road, turn off the ignition, open the door and wait for the dome light to go off. Then I can restart and go on my way. This happens about once per month and has done it for 2 years. Can't wait until I can afford to buy a different vehicle. I have talked with other chevrolet owners and they experience this same fault, but nothing is wrong with the traction control.
Three times now this has happened. The first time I was driving down a main street at about 35 miles per hour and all of a sudden my service traction control light came on and the wording was displayed, as well as my check engine light came on and the wording "engine power reduced" was displayed. About a month later, I was leaving a parking lot when the same thing happened and then again four days later I was merging onto a highway and the same thing happened. When I try to accelerate, it sounds like something is going to fall out of the bottom of my car. After reading the other complaints, I don't understand why this isn't being taken care of by the company and left up to the car owner to deal with. It is very unsafe and I can't afford to get a different car nor pay for expensive repairs that are beyond my control or fault.
I was driving on city streets and my check engine and traction control light came on. The dash alternated between "service traction control" and "reduced engine power." yes the engine power was reduced but I was still able to drive in the city.
Today must of been a record for how many times my impala shut itself off! I lost count at about 20 times! Im over a hundred miles away from home at my parents house and on my attempt to get home the impala wouldn't let me drive more than 10 minutes. Because of this I have now had to call off work and am out of a days wage because I made the mistake of buying this car. I have no money and cant get this fixed for awhile but it seems that I may have to chose between eating this month or fixing this so I guess ill just go hungry. I've been searching this site for other year impalas and it seems that every single year is having this issue, even the 2014 models! This has made me reach the conclusion that the federal safety agency doesn't really care about our safety nor do they attempt to solve any problems based on how many times this complaint gets reported and does anything ever happen!? The answer is no! So im basically writing this to inform others who plan on getting an impala, please for the safety of yourself, those around you, and your wallet don't! This is my last gm car I will ever purchase! Not that gm really cares because they already got my $60,000 for my last 3 cars so this problem will never get recalled, nor will this website attempt to provide any type of help so save yourself the headache and buy foreign.
After 1 month of having my throttle body reset by the dealer, the car acts up again. Yes again in the rain. Well, I have an idea why it may be acting up. The freaking computer is located were the air intake is. So when the car starts, you guessed it gm it sucks in moisture aka rain, then the rain goes across the computer and all [xxx] breaks loose. Reduced engine power, traction control and it is ridiculous! Why in the [xxx] do you put a computer were it is in direct line with moisture. My 2002 trailblazer has the computer under the passengers seat. Guess what no freaking problems even after 257000. This is a safety complaint! The car is begging to be another ford pinto. Please recall the car, and move the computer. This should solve your problems, and it may give people a little less bad taste in their mouth. I know I have renamed my impala to the ford impala. Not to insult ford motor company but mine actually stands for fix or repair daily impala. I used to love my impala and I used to be a loyal to gm, but if this does not get recalled I see it being my last gm car I buy ever! Bring back the pride in owning a gm, before the gm name will stand for garbage motors. Signed, once a loyal gm owner [xxx] *js parts 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).
After just clearing the onboard computer with my obd2 scanner just a few minutes before it happened again. After sitting at another stoplight I proceeded into my left turn and as I'm coming into the lane my impala died midway through the intersection as it changed from yellow to red leaving me in the intersection as the cross traffic began to go almost creating a head on collision and a multiple vehicle collision. Can a recall please be in effect for this! Its to the point to where I'm afraid to drive my car to work! I'd rather walk the 20 miles to work then be in this unsafe gm car!
While sitting at a stop light the information panel said reduced engine power as the light turned green. I held up numerous cars as I scanned the obd2 port to clear the code, once again the code read p0601. Cleared it and it started right up.
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