This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
As of yet there has been no incident however there have been numerous close calls as the transmission is not shifting into gear unless you race the motor. Nearly rearending other vehicles, property or pedestrians. I can not safely pull out at an intersection because the transmission may slip. I've read on message boards where hundreds of other people are having the same problem and GM has no good fix for it. It doesn't seem to mater if the car is warm or cold the transmission still acts up. 89K miles on the car when this began and I haven't felt safe driving the car since. Thank you
The first thing is that I had to replace the head gasket two time now it is leaking again into the water reservoir then I had two replace the main control ( BCM ) and ( PCM ) by the dealership ha to replace the starter and the water pump had to re place two window motor and two window electronic switch that control each window there a lot more but this are the more importance ones it would be okay if I got this car used but I paid for a new car so I would not have this kind of breakdowns does GM stand behind there car or what !!!!!!!!
In January 2006 my 2002 Impala loss power. I was going up a very small hill and I didn't think I was going to make it up. I took my car to my local mom and pop's garage and they put it on the computer. It showed that the catalytic converter was bad eventhough the check engine light did not come on. I had them replace not knowing that the car was still under warranty for emissions and they didn't use a GM part. A few months later, the check engine light did come on. Again it showed the catalytic converter as the problem. The service technician said he had never had any problems with putting a non-dealer part on a car before but did replace the converter once again with a non-GM part in case the first one happened to be a bad part. A couple of months later the check engine light is back on. Took it to the dealership and the catalytic converter shows as well as the transmission. Of course, they wouldn't make good on the catalytic converter by this time because it was out of warranty and it wasn't the original GM part. I was told that it would cost $775 just for them to look at the transmission. I cannot afford this and just brought the car home. I'm still driving it but it's worse and worse every day. I wouldn't trust driving this car very far. I've read many complaints on the catalytic converter & the transmission that you would think GM would have to step up and do something. At this point I would never purchase another GM vehicle and my husband is diehard GM. I've taken very good care of this car hoping that it would last until my daughter starts driving and I could hand it trustingly down to her but that's not going to be the case. My husband doesn't take care of his trucks like I would and he still has a 1995 that runs good.
2002 Impala breaking system and transmission are defective. The braking calipers on the back disc on the drivers side holds less than one inch of the disc. The other three calipers go all the way normally. This has resulted in less braking capacity on one side. The transmission rolls when on a hill. The consumer contacted the manufacturer but they refused to provide any assistance because the warranty had expired.
- Yonkers, NY, USA
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I purchased my '02 Impala through the corporate leasing company of my father's employer. He had no problems with the car other than the transmission fluid turning black by 85,000 miles. When I got the car in June of '05, it was at 121,000 miles, I drove the car around all day, parked the car for 5 minutes, and when I went to start it, nothing happened. The dash lit up, the radio came on, but the car didn't turn over, not even a clicking sound, indicative of a dead battery. I waited 10 minutes, tried again and it started right up. I went for another month without any problems, however in late July, the car failed to start. Again I waited 10-15 minutes, and it started right up. This continued sporadically until October 20, when it took 30 minutes of waiting to get it to crank. I took the car to a local GM dealer, who put it on the machine and advised me that the BCM (body control module) had failed and was sending a signal to the passlock system telling it that my keys were incorrect. The service writer informed me that a new BCM installed would run about $500, and the service tech advised that this has become a common failure in both the Impala and the Malibu, which GM has yet to recall. The technician did suggest that a more cost effective option existed with several of the after-market shops, in which a bypass-relay was installed under the dash, to block the erroneous signals from the BCM, which will allow the vehicle to operate normally. The cost for this bypass is about $55 and takes approximately an hour to install. The only problem with this solution, is it blocks the key recognition feature of the passlock system, which will make it easier to steal, if someone can start it without damaging the key ignition. I think it is necessary for GM to understand that a vehicle's failure to start due to faulty component in the anti-theft system is a very serious concern which needs to addressed.
I have a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. It has around 53,000 miles on it. My wife drives the car and it has been driven slowly. About 3 weeks ago she told me the car shifted hard and I drove it and found that problem also. That went away for 2 weeks and it happened again. We were referred to a independent transmission shop and we were told that the transmission in the Impala has been having problems and we were told it needed to be rebuilt. I then took the car to the Chevy dealer and they said they is some problems but just wouldnt get specific with me. I then went to another independent transmission shop and was told the same thing as the first shop told me and that was I needed this rebuilt. They said the transmission is a bad design and want $2400. To $2600. To fix it. This is the same price as the first place gave me. I think if this is so common of a problem G.M. should do something about it. I am going back to the Chevy dealer and am going to ask them just what they can do for me. I'm not a happy person, this car has not been driven hard and infact it's been treated nicely. I can't find a recall on it but it seems like there should be one in effect for it. I also think this problem could be a serious road hassard if the transmission goes out while being driven.
On 4/20/05 while driving, grinding noise was heard. Vehicle began to slow down unintentionally, and upon pushing the gas pedal, car would not speed up. This occurred on dry pavement on highway. Car was regularly serviced with records available. This problem occurred about every 6 months.
When the consumer accelerated from a stop he heard a clicking noise. The transmission had gone out. The battery had gone dead and had a crack in it. Also, while the vehicle was in motion, going 65 mph in cruise, the motor suddenly sped up then slowed down and a grinding noise was heard.
Just purchased a 2002 Impala with an automatic transmissiion with less than 20,000 miles. The car rolls backwards at an incline when in drive. Contacted dealer and was told this is a known problem and that all automatic do this today. Dealer refused to do anything. I consider this a hazard. Have been driving automatic transmissions for years and never experienced this before.
Loud "thumping" noise coming from lower engine area. Echanic diagnosed problem. Fly wheel disinegrated. Poorly manufactured part. One month later "low coolant" engine light came on. Mechanic diagnosed problem as bad intake valve seal. Poor quality GM part. Both parts replaced and repaired as recommended.
1. within this past month, am noticing tremendous power loss and shifting/timing issues with the transmisson when accelerating to higher gear.. potential consequence would be insufficient power to accelerate out of the way of oncoming traffic. 3. have investigated and seen numerous complaints online concerning a shift solenoid that is a very troublesome issue with a lot of GM owners. Typical parts cost and labor for this problem runs in the $400 ballpark.
Car rolls backward on an incline. I.e. at a stop light. Must use both feet (1 on the gas and 1 on the brake) to keep the car from rolling into the car behind when I am on a steep incline. I have documents from the dealer stating this is "normal". this is the first automatic transmission I have ever owned that rolled backward without stopping after a few inches. This is an unresolved problem and not just an incident. February 1 2002 is just a start date you can truthfully say that I have several incidents every day because this transmision will do this on every incline.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Galloway , OH, USA