2009 Chevrolet Impala: loss of power steering

Filed Sep 7, 2020 · Brakes, Engine · 180,000 miles · GA · crash · fire · 1 injury

I crashed heading down a hill .I crashed into a telephone pole after my car suddenly revved up,gained speed as I headed towards a telephone pole ,with loss of power steering ,brakes because my car quit after gaining speed due to the rpms amping up on their own and going down a hill. When I hit the pole,the telephone lines snapped and I was trapped in the car because they landed on my driver window and were shooting out sparks as if they were roman candles and a fire started on the right side of my car in some pine straw. When the firemen was able to get me out of the car he came to the passenger side and by then I had taken my seat belt off and the fireman advised me to get out of the passenger side if I was able and I told him that I was scared to let off the brake because I thought for some reason being out of my head that the car was going to roll if I let off the brake and he took his hand and slammed the car up in to park because I didn't even realize I had not put it in park. He said you can let your foot off the brake because it will not roll and I said I'm too scared .I asked..can I put the emergency brake on and he said yes and when I did it went straight to the floor. Then I continued to come out the passenger side and hop to the sidewalk with my feet together just in case anything was hot and to keep from getting electrocutied just in case something was still hot around us. When I was struck by the airbag the and the seat belt did its job I suppose but for some reason my neck was yanked so hard that it hurts so badd everyday when I didn't go to the hospital.I was unaware of any recalls when I purchased from a dealership on jan 18 2020. The day before I crashed we were traveling uphill &I had a friend with me that helped grab the wheel until it stopped after it revved up & quit.I attempted to crank it 3xs with success. I was stunned as to why it did it .

Filed Mar 15, 2018 · Engine, Transmission · 98,800 miles · CA

Engine suddenly died while I was driving. I pulled over to the side of the road and it almost caused an accident because power steering went out. I was able to start the engine back up no problem. I had a check engine light on because of the oil pressure sensor. I had just replaced it the day before. I suspect it had something to do with that, but im not sure. If I was on the highway im pretty sure I would have gotten in an accident. This isnt the first time this car has almost caused an accident because of faulty car parts, this car is dangerous.

Filed Sep 14, 2016 · Driver assistance · 69,000 miles · NY

My computer is alerting me to "service stabilitrack". Based on some quick searches, is seems that there may have been a recall on this issue. Where do I find out what to do and whether or not it is covered under a recall? It seems to lose power and sometimes it feels as if there is no power steering.

Filed Oct 25, 2015 · Airbags, Engine · 28,000 miles · PA · crash · 1 injury

My vehicle's ignition switch shut off, which caused me to lose steering. When I crashed, the airbag failed to deploy. I was driving in a large parking lot and went over a speed bump. I was knocked out but the police report indicated there were no signs of braking or steering. I took my impala to the gm dealership over 12 times.

Filed Oct 6, 2015 · Airbags, Driver assistance · 15,000 miles · PA · crash · 1 injury

Vehicle shutoff and I lost steering and braking causing vehicle to crash and airbags did not deploy. The vehicle was in motion.

Filed Jul 1, 2015 · Brakes, Electrical · 67,000 miles · VA

I was deriving down a steep grade on the gatlinburg bypass toward pigeon forge, tn in second gear for engine breaking. I first noticed the car getting warmer and I checked the dual climate control by feel to make sure my rider had not increased the temperature. Then I noticed the steering was harder on slight curves; then I noticed the tachometer going to zero and sone other gauges decreasing; then I had to slow for a charper curve where I had no power brake assist and no powering steering assist. I managed to bring the vehicle to a safe stop where I tried to restart the engine. The vehicle restarted after a short cranking but acted if it was starving for fuel. Once restarted the vehicle ran satisfactory, if I had been a weak person or had panicked this incident would probably have resulted in a crash. The ignition switch recall had recently been accomplished. The fuel level was 1/2 tank. As an electrical engineer this appeared to be an electrical problem where the engine power was cut off shutting down the fuel pump, instrument cluster, ignition, and electric steering assist.

Filed Apr 14, 2015 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 93,000 miles · NY

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.

Filed Aug 30, 2014 · Airbags, Brakes · 42,089 miles · MO · crash

Reference# [xxx]. As I approached the intersection, another vehicle was turning onto the street I was on. I moved over to make room, as I moved over I had to cross over a clump of snow and ice that had re froze making a rough and bumpy transition. I was about 20 feet from the stop sign. I placed my foot on the brake which was hard and unresponsive. The steering was hard and unresponsive as well. I was driving about 3-5 MPH at the time. When I placed my foot on the brake it was unresponsive and it took me into the intersection where I was hit by another vehicle on the drivers side front. My airbag did not deploy. The total damage for my vehicle was $ 5,615.93. We were confused and did not understand why the brakes and the steering did not function and why with this violent of a crash that the airbag did not deploy. After reading the recall notice explaining the ignition recall it made sense that why the failure occurred. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jul 19, 2014 · Driver assistance · 52,000 miles · TX

The first time was about three months ago in march 2014 but the engine never died then. It just had less power and was better the next time I started the car. Don't know what the mileage was then, maybe about 52k. It happened a couple times that same week and I was going about 40mph. I asked about it in april when the car was inspected and was told they didn't see any problems but that it might be a sensor going out. Then, on july 4th in the mountains in missouri was the next time, going about 70 MPH downhill and this is when it died with like 3-5 second warning. First the light comes on that says service traction control then it says engine power reduced and dies. Nothing works except the brakes. This happened again on 7/12, going about 70 MPH again, died again. Was in the middle lane on freeway and nearly got hit as my car barely moved and had hard time getting to the side of the road. The car did not die, but had very little power, steering was very hard and I felt like I was in extreme danger both of these times. This needs to be recalled!!! So many other reports of same problem not just in the 2009 but later years, where the manufacture should already know this is an issue, but keeps making the car the same way. This is a total outrage!!! I cannot get on the freeway feeling any security and don't have money to keep making costly repairs on this vehicle. Many other problems with this car, but not safety issues at this point.

Filed Jun 29, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 106,000 miles · MO

One day before I was to take a vacation from missouri to texas, my check engine light came on. My mechanic told me the code had something to do with a fuel canister, but it shouldn't pose a problem. As I was driving 75 MPH on the highway inside the texas state line, after 7 hours of driving, mostly in rain all day, the car started doing a jerking type action & then my traction control light came on, w/a warning msg saying, "service traction control; engine power reduced." going 75 MPH I lost all control! No lights, no A/C (which is a separate, loud, clicking issue I could address), no power steering, no power brakes! I had all I could do to just point my car to the side of the road & coast to a stop, in the middle of nowhere w/out a service station in sight! I tried 3x to restart the vehicle to no avail. As I sat there in bewilderment & fright of what just happened, I contemplated what to do. After about 5 minutes, I decided to try & start it 1 more time. This time, it started up. However, the check engine light & the service airbag light (again, another issue I've had with the vehicle since the day I purchased it) were still lit up but the traction control light & the warning messages had gone off. I continued to my destination & the following day (saturday) I took the vehicle to the local gm dealership where they proceeded to do a diagnostic test &, of course, "could not replicate the problem," therefore they could not "find anything wrong." they gladly depleted my vacation expenses of $100 & sent me on my way with a reassurance that "if it happens again while you're here, come back by & we will test it again but we won't charge you for it." how nice of them. :{ gm seems to enjoy doing that. And the federal safety agency doesn't seem to want to take the initiative to investigate this prevalent problem w/these cars. If something bad happens, I'll sue the pants off of them.

Filed Jun 7, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 80,000 miles · WI

This is a known problem with chevy impalas, however gm refuses to do a recall. Someone will die again at their hands. When driving the car, all of a sudden a "service traction control" message pops up, then "reduced engine power", then the check engine light goes on. The car immediately loses power and the speed is cut almost in half very abruptly. One time, the car completely lost all electrical and power while traveling at 65mph on the interstate. I was stuck with no power steering, no power brakes, etc and had to navigate to the side of the road without killing myself. I have finally figured out what the problem is due to the many forums that are popping up with other owners describing their fixes. Turns out it is the accelerator pedal position sensor. I have replaced it myself and the car is now running fine. I am not happy with chevrolet playing with my safety and my life by not recalling this part. As I mentioned earlier.... People will die, I almost did.

Filed Apr 12, 2014 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 92,320 miles · GA

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.