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.
2009 Chevrolet Impala transmission complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 68, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Car hesitates on acceleration from a stop. Rpms go up but car goes very slow, like if it has lost a lot of power. Once it stops hesitating it bangs into gear and speeds forward. It can possibly cause a crash if driver is not aware its hesitating.
For the last two days, I have driven my vehicle. Every time I would drive over 40 MPH, the engine would lock up. The vehicle would jerk back and forth. The car would do this every time I would try and drive over 40 MPH, no matter the roadway or stop at an intersection. Whenever this happened, the check engine light would stay on. A month before this problem started, my father had been driving the car and had an auto accident.
For the last two days, I have driven my vehicle. Every time I would drive over 40 MPH, the engine would lock up. The vehicle would jerk and shake back and forth. The car would do this every time I went over 40 MPH, no matter if I was driving on a highway or road or coming to a stop at a red traffic light. Whenever this happened, the check engine light and the traction control light would stay on. This problem started weeks after I had an auto accident.
The car has erratic shifting. It seems as if the gears get stuck before they release especially when slowing down then taking off, like if you do a rolling stop or slow down at a traffic light but don't stop fully before accelerating again. It does not do it everytime you drive though. There is also a clicking coming from behind the dash. The actuator for air has gone bad.
Car is currently at 134k miles and just gave me a "reduced power engine", "check traction control", and a check engine light. I googled around and came across a lot of chevy impalas around the same year (07-10) are having the same problem. It seems to be something with the "accelerator pedal positioner pedal sensor. Also reading into it, it claims that this problem can cause the car to suddenly stop from 60mph all the way down to 20 or zero. This is extremely dangerous and needs to be looked into before someone is hurt or killed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. While starting the vehicle, the interlock failed and it was unable to shift gears from drive to park. The shifter failed to respond. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, suddenly the vehicle independently decelerated and the traction control light illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle also intermittently failed to accelerate when idled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 156,830.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. While driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle lost power and jerked. In addition, the service stability traction and power reduced was displayed across the message board. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.
Traction control light, and reduced engine power light came on. Lost power to the engine and had to stop. Turned the ignition off. Waited 10 minutes and started the car. Ran fine until I got home. This happened a few times before I took the car in. Found out it was an accelerator pedal position (app) sensor.
Driving on interstate vehicle suddenly lost all power and would not accelerate & quickly decelerated with any prior warning. 18 wheeler almost rear ended me. Instrument panel displayed, engine power reduced,service traction control, service stabilitrak, and check engine light. Finally exited interstate safely and shut down engine thinking it was going to blow up and after 2-3 tries to restart messages disappeared and vehicle seemed to be ok. Took vehicle to mechanic & found codes evidencing the loss of communication between the tac and or the app units causing vehicle to go into limp mode but could not get the condition to reoccur. Mechanic had to remove codes to permit to duplicate problem, could not duplicate and told me to wait until recurred. While looking for repair shop was scared it would happen again received letter from gm stating if the above condition had occurred they would fix. Called gm dealer mentioned letter they refused to repair unless the messages were present on panel, refused to look at the vehicle. Called gm customer service referencing letter, explained gm dealer refused to repair. Was told by angela issue was safety related problem but gm would not admit to safety issue. Gm agreed to pay for one hour of diagnostic time to determine if vehicle qualified for repair, dealer was unable to duplicate problem, refused to repair. Called gm and was told no repair would be made even though the problem had occurred as stated in the letter and to wait until situation occurred again then not to start engine and tow to gm dealer. Was told gm would not pay for tow or inconvenience and if they could see codes they might repair problem. This is definitely a safety issue since when this occurs the vehicle loses all power and basically shuts down and will not accelerate beyond 5 MPH if at all. [xxx] [xxx] [xxx]@gmail.com information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).'
Reduced engine power, car cuts off while driving. Chevy is aware of defect and refuses to recall
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. When driving up an incline at various speeds, the vehicle would independently lose power or fail to accelerate. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 97,000.
I bought this car used in 2012. This car had periodic electrical issues and a co2 sensor failure, but there were no issues comparable to a total transmission failure. Earlier in the winter of 2015, I noticed that the transmission would not shift up into fourth gear on the freeway until after ten minutes of driving. One day in ann arbor, mi, I was accelerating out of a turn when the RPM meter started revving to 6,000 and the engine lost power. After restarting the impala, the car went a few hundred feet to red light and died at the intersection. I eventually was able to drop this vehicle off at an automotive repair shop following a long trip full of transmission failures and start-ups. The mechanic later stated that the transmission would need to be rebuilt. The repair cost was over $1,600 and the transmission still possesses the same problems that existed prior to this event.
On 18 apr 2015, my 2009 chevrolet impala experienced complete and total failure of the transmission. Since the warranty is 5 years/100,000 miles, I was not eligible for repair due to being 8 months beyond the warranty period. This despite the fact that the vehicle only had 74,000 miles on it at the time.
While driving onto a highway when I reach 56 miles per hour my vehicle lost power and slow down the brakes locked and the electrical system went haywire. The locks started locking and unlocking while the vehicle was in motion. The lights started flickering on and off and the car started shaking rapidly and the brakes locked up. Once I started the vehicle back up and the ignition switch seemed to be stuck and the air bag light displayed on the dashboard. When I turn off the vehicle and try to remove the key the key will not come out so I have to put it into neutral and back into park a few times before it will release the key. Since this has occurred I hear a knocking sound in my glove box when the door is open and closed and sometime hours after ill hear the noise and the electric will flicker.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the transmission would go into a hard transition of gears very slowly before shifting into a normal gear. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician was not able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
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.
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. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the reduced power warning light illuminated as the vehicle decelerated to 45 MPH. The vehicle was restarted and resumed normally. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that it took several attempts to shift the gear out of park. The vehicle was inoperable. The failure occured on numerous occassions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.
Car states reduced engine power stalling to about 10mph very dangerous. Many complaints about this issue.
My engine power reduced light came on alone with the traction light.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the vehicle was not able to change gears from park to reverse. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the wires and cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 92,600.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while making a right hand turn, the vehicle stalled without warning. Also, the contact mentioned that when the vehicle was restarted, the transmission would only shift into reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the transmission sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The failure mileage was unavailable.
I was driving approx. 55 MPH when the service traction control and engine power reduced warning light came on. I felt the car power down some and made it home safely. After reading the complaints here, I am scared to drive my car. This is the car I drive my kids in everyday. There is obviously a problem here and a recall needs to be issued. I have my car serviced regularly so I am not a neglectful car owner.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 80 MPH, the vehicle shifted gears independently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.
I went to a store and when I came back out to leave it wouldn't shift out of park. So, to get it out of park I have to reach into the console from the passenger side to push the release button while it's in neutral with the emergency brake on. I have had to do this every time I use the car. It's a safety concern to be laying down in my passenger side--no matter where I'm at, to get my car into gear so I can get to work, etc. I see by other websites that this is a routine problem with this make and model of car. Apparently the wires are not made well enough to withstand a few thousand miles of use.
Upon starting and attempting to back out of my garage to go to work, the release button on the floor mounted gearshift lever would not depress, thereby preventing me from shifitng into reverse, let alone drive if I was successful in backing out of the garage. Here is the description on my receipt for repair: "inspected loss of power at shifter at r.t.s.I. Solenoid - (previously repaired ground circuit 1135 green voltage supply broke at connector) - nec to replace complete connector and harness and route correctly -- grid# 013, doc id#'s 1912937, 2417697" this is the second time I've had this issue. The dealer took care of me appropriately each time. However, I see that other owners of impalas are experiencing the same problem via the internet. I sure would appreciate it if it was looked into. I'd hate to see any body have this problem in a not too friendly area, let alone my spouse. Thank you.
Last night, I started up my car and immediately the car started to shudder pretty hard. My car started chiming and a service traction control showed up on my dash, followed by an engine power reduced. The light indicator for my tc was lit. I immediately turned the car off and tried to restart it. The same thing happened again. I turned it off and waited 2 minutes before restarting. It started fine, with no bad indications. The car also drove normally. A few hours later as I was starting home, it happened again. My car was still parked as before when the indications showed up. Shut off and restarted and it cleared out. No problem once I started driving. This morning was no different. So far, this only has happened when I was starting my car up. I have been fortunate that this hasn't happened to me while the car was in motion- yet. Other people with this problem haven't been so fortunate. There has been no bad weather at all. Dry as a bone. I bought this car in 2010 knowing it used to be a rental. I have had no problems with it until now. I took my car into my chevy dealership, who thought it might be the throttle body sensor. They are ordering the part in, but I'm still skeptical if that is really what is causing it. I have heard the sensor on the hub assembly could cause this, as well as the accelerator pedal sensor. From reading multiple forums, many owners have had scary experiences with the car decelerating on freeways or other dangerous places that could result in wrecks and personal harm. They had taken their cars in multiple times and shelled out thousands trying to fix this phantom ghost problem. Frankly I am amazed there has been no recall for this. I am moving to ca, and I'm driving there by myself in less than two weeks. I can't have my car try to do me in right now, nor do I have endless amounts of cash to fix a mech's guess. Warranty does not cover this.
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