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.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. While idling, the speedometer malfunctioned and indicated 30 mph. The dealer stated that the speedometer needed to be replaced. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 55,100 and current mileage was 55,560. Updated 02-19-08 updated 02/19/08
The speedometer is giving false readings, such as 120mph when travelling 60mph, and 0mph when travelling 30 mph. It will temporarily reset, then fail again when driven for 15 minutes or more.
Like many Impala owners before me, the instrument panel on my 2004 Impala has failed after 3 1/2 years and 60,000 miles. It started out with the speedometer and then the temperature gauge went. This is a serious problem as you have absolutely no way to tell how fast you are going or if your car is going to overheat. Vehicle was repaired at a GM dealer and GMC was contacted and refused to cover the cost.
I purchased a new 2004 Chevy Impala in April of 2004. In November 2007, one morning I noticed that I was driving through a parking lot at approximately 70 miles per hour, thinking "it sure doesn't feel that fast." After applying the brake I observed the speedometer drop only to about 50 mph. Later that day I found that the only way to get the speedometer back to zero was to turn off the car and restart it several times as the needle would drop about 10 mph each time. Once at zero the speedometer appeared to read correctly. Over the next few days the problem continued though it was remarkably worse the colder the car was. By now, January 08 the speedometer has stopped reading accurately altogether and has parked itself at the 360 degree mark. This problem has been addressed in Chevy and Cadillac trucks but GM has been slow to issue any special policies or recalls regarding the cars. The parts (specifically faulty stepper motors manufactured by delphi) by all accounts I have been able to research however are the same regardless of model. This is a safety issue primarily as well as a legal liability. Besides this, the issue is certainly a customer relations nightmare. I alone have viewed several hundred complaints regarding the same issue. Chevrolet must address this problem immediately with a full replacement of parts and complete warranty.
- East Stroudsburg, PA, USA
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Speedometer is stuck at 55mph while car is off. When driving the speedometer will read 90mph when driving 30 mph. Temperature gauge works sporadically. Called GM and was told that my car is not part of the extended warranty (recall in other words). I was told to contact my dealership for repairs (at a cost of over $500). Many other vehicles from the same year are covered. We need to keep the pressure on this company.
My speedometer and my temp gauge in my 2004 Impala (with 55,000 miles)do not work. I attempted to leave work last night and my car had a problem starting-my security light stayed on until I got home and my clock reset. I went to move my vehicle today and it will not start-it will click, but will not start. I have replaced the battery and yet it still is having problems starting.
Speedometer stopped functioning properly. Erratic readings ranging from -50 to 140mph. Doesn't matter if the car is idling or cruising down the highway - the speedometer is always dancing to it's own tune! suspecting the oil pressure gauge will be next, as it varies greatly while driving the vehicle. I suspect this is not normal or accurate. I encourage all others with this problem to report it here. These are the folks who can help us get a manufacturer's recall, and have the defect fixed from GM's pocket - not your own.
The speedometer on my car is giving false speed information, by as much as 100 mph. This is a very unsafe condition. I am aware of many other GM vehicles with this same defect.
On December 24, 2007 I was driving my 2004 Impala along a highway when I noticed the speedometer climbing higher than the speed I was actually going, this continued until the speedometer was reading in excess of 200 kmh. When I reached my destination about 15 minutes later I turned off the car hoping the speedometer would reset to zero which it didn't. I was unable to reset it until the next morning when I turned the ignition to on and off about 15 times before the needle returned to zero. This has happened several time now and it look like I will have to eventually take it to a dealer to have repaired. There is approximately 123,000 kilometers on the car.
My 2004 Impala's temperature gauge began to read false temperatures around 58,000 miles. To this day, it is stuck and will not move. Soon after this problem, my speedometer froze on 50 mph. I was able to get it to go back to zero the following day be turning the key a number of times to the acc. Position. Now, every time I start the car, the speedometer either freezes or it will think another number is the zero position. For example, if I am going 60 mph, it will read 100 if it happened to stop at 40 mph, making it the zero position. This problem is very dangerous because I don't know how fast I am going! nothing has been done to fix the problem yet. I will be contacting the dealer tomorrow, but if I am no longer under warranty, there is now way I am going to pay $500 for this.
Speedometer will give erradic readings. I first noticed it on December 22 while driving down the highway; speedometer suddenly began to read 110 mph. At a standstill, speedometer was reading 50 mph. It has done this on two more occasions, with the last date being January 4, 2008. I have been able to get the speedometer back to zero while being parked, but I would have to turn the vehicle off and then turn the ignition to "acc". each time I did this, the speedometer would go down approx. 5 mph so I continued to do this until the speedometer read zero again. I have been told it is probably a sensor issue and when I did research, I found 40 addtional complaints over the same thing and was reading about a potential class-action lawsuit in seattle due to speedometer failures.
Instrument cluster failure causing speedometer to show inaccurate readings and/or become completely inoperative. Other gauges also register inaccurate reading.
My wife and I own a 2004 Chevy Impala which we bought new from GM. The car has 43756 miles on it, and the speedometer has completely quit working. It currently reads 107 mph even when the car is turned off. The other gauges started acting strange, but when the key is cycled, they go back. However, the speedometer does not budge. This started the day before christmas, and has continued ever since.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Legrange , OH, USA