CarComplaints.com Notes: Top complaints for the 2006 Chevy Impala include how the transmission slips, clunks and fails. Or how the power steering knocks and squeals. In other words, this car is a noisy bucket of eventual failure points.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
43,083 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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.
Transmission slipping, hard shifts, broken motor mounts. Transmission acts like it's not in gear, doesn't engage until about 2,000 RPM then slams into gear. Also slips when shifting from 1st to 2nd and again when in 4th gear. Transmission failure, the transmission fails to fully engage in to any gear when it is supposed to, it will slip and catch from a stop, the torque converter fails to lock up and all gears slip under moderate to heavy acceleration.
I have a 2006 Chevy Impala and there seems to be a problem with the transmission. I have taken the car to the dealer several time and have even had the transmission flushed but am still having the car jerk off at a stop light. The dealer can never find a problem and it seems to be getting worse. I am part of an Chevrolet family and we have a total of 8 Impala and we all seem to be experiencing the same problem. Also the power steering belts and pulley always make a hissing sound when the steering wheel is turned and have had this looked at and have had the hose replace several times only to have the problem to reappear. Is there a recall on these issues. Having to pay out of pocket for these things now as my car is out of warranty now.
Transmission slipping and finally no forward or reverse gears. Broke down Monday morning after being into GM dealer Friday for a check up with no problems or issues found.
- Fairview, NC, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated the vehicle seemed to hesitate randomly when accelerating from a stop light. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told the problem generated from the transmission and referred to it as a phantom shift. The dealer stated they would have to pull the transmission apart to make the repair. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage 95,000. Updated 10/03/2011
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the gear shifter was stuck in park and would not allow the driver to move the vehicle at all. In addition, the driver side seat belt latch was fractured. The dealer and manufacturer were contacted but the failure was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 100,000.
2006 Impala 3.5, noise and vibrations from transaxle and or cv joints, this happens at all speeds and the noise gets louder when turning left, I have'nt done anything to correct the problem.
Impala "ss" with only approximately 71,000 miles, major transmission malfunction / failure without any prior warning. Vehicle had only been serviced at GM dealership since purchased, all regular maintenance followed. Transmission slippage combined with harsh shifting, torque converter shudder, grinding noises from gears. Vehicle would alternate between not going forward or, once moving, very difficult to stop vehicle because transmission did not disengage (nearly rear ended other vehicles, had to stand on brake pedal). No warning lights nor dash indicators, but remote diagnostic via onstar confirmed transmission failure and directed for immediate repair. Valve body, pressure regular, all solenoids (rebuild) replaced under gmpp extended warranty coverage. Not even two weeks later, problems returned but worse. NHTSA campaign # 10021844 and tsb # 070730012C seem to address this issue. Vehicle now at GM dealership being assessed. Onstar diagnostics found no issue. Still no warning indicators, but vehicle have high RPM without any forward motion when accelerator depressed. Rpms would also bounce up and down erratically on highway at steady speed, vibrations and whining noises from transmission. Apparently this is known defect with multiple vehicles equipped with the 4T65-E transmission, but there has never been any recall. Cost of repairs for this between $4,000 and $6,000 if not under warranty. This likely effects hundreds of thousands of GM vehicles covering many model years.
I have a 2006 Impala ss. The car was purchased used with approximately 12K miles, in early 2009 at 62K the transmission failed, stranding my family on the pa turnpike. In January 2011 at 101K we had to replace the transmission again. Luckily we purchased a GM power-train transmission and it came with a 3yr warranty. The failure symptoms were identical for each occurrence. 1st the transmission would occasionally shudder while shifting. Eventually it would shudder and predictably slip when maintaining a speed at or near 1800 RPM. This was especially noticeable driving up hills. Finally the car would not move while the engine RPM spiked when pressing the accelerator pedal. The entire failure period was around 1000 miles from the 1st sign that the transmission was having difficulty to shifting to the final failure. The transmission appears to reach very high temperatures and has a long cool off period. When replacing the power steering gear I noticed that the exhaust and engine were cool to the touch, but the transmission remained warm through out the repair. Thank for your attention in this matter.
I am writing to complain about the 4T65E-hd transmission in general motor's lineup of V8 powered w-body platform cars. I have experienced many issues of this transmission slipping and hesitating on acceleration from a stop. I have been experiencing the issue for about 30K miles now. The car is not beaten, or driven hard at all. All my routine maintenance has been done. I first took it to the dealer to complain about the slipping transmission, and even though the tech felt the transmission issue, I was told that unless the transmission is throwing a code, there is nothing that they could do for me. I have put about $500 into work on this transmission so far with minimum success. I have flushed the transmission totally, which seemed to have fixed the transmission for about a week. Another thing that I attempted per the recommendation of a GM master tech was to change the valve body. Which I did and it corrected the issue for 3 days. Now the transmission is slipping when driving on the highway at a constant speed/RPM.. almost like it feels the motor is misfiring. I have checked the fluid level, and the fluid. The level is fine and the fluid is not burnt. I feel that GM needs to step up and rectify the problem of these garbage transmissions. I have owned 2 other cars with the same transmission (95 Monte Carlo Z34 and a 01 Pontiac gtp). Both vehicles experienced these same issues and the transmissions blew up. Why would GM continue to use such a weak major component. I know of 100+ other V8 w-body owners experiencing these same issues.
2006-2009 Chevrolet Impala ss, 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo ss, 2005-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix gxp and 2007-2008 Buick lacross super with the LS4 5.3L V8 engine and the 4T65E-hd transmission MN7. The LS4 V8 engine is rated by GM at 323 lb-ft of torque. Allegedly, the documents from GM for the transaxle mated to this motor is only rated for 280 lb-ft of engine torque; 43 lb-ft of torque lower than the output of the engine. This could possibly leave a vehicle equipped with this motor and transaxle combination with a high failure rate and a possible safety hazard while in traffic. The referenced specifications can be found at: archives.media.GM.com/us/powertrain/en/product_services/2006/spec%20sheets/communications%20nao%20only%20spec%20sheets/transmissions/2006%20automatics/2006%204T65-E%20(M15, MD7, MN7, M76).pdf and archives.media.GM.com/us/powertrain/en/product_services/2006/spec%20sheets/gen%20iv/2006%20gen%20iv%20ls4%20car.pdf via archives.media.GM.com/us/powertrain/en/product_services/2006/car%20eng%20trans.html.
Transmission has been rebuilt once, then subsequently replaced with a remanufactured unit from General Motors. This remanufactured transmission is now displaying anomalous behavior. Prior to each failure, the transmission exhibited a variety of incorrect behavior, including rapid torque converter clutch locking and unlocking, slipping and revving from a stop, without the car moving, then suddenly slamming into gear with the car moving away from rest. The most recent issue has been an oscillation on 4-3 downshifts at approximately 60 mph, as well as excessive transmission heat build-up with the torque converter unlocked. The first time the transmission displayed odd behavior, which was torque converter lock and unlock at cruising speeds, dealer drove the car acknowledged the problem, and upon disassembly, found torque converter clutch material in the pan. They rebuilt the transmission with new soft parts and replaced the converter. Vehicle had 59,000 and this was all performed under warranty. About 23,000 miles later, when pulling away from a stop, the engine would rev up momentarily, but the car would not move. It would then slam into gear and move off. Dealer confirmed issue, disassembled, and determined that the torque converter clutch had again failed. Dealer replaced transmission with a remanufactured unit. This was all done under warranty. Vehicle had approximately 86000 miles at this time. Immediately upon receiving car back after replacement of transmission, noted oscillation on 4-3 downshifts, as well as much higher transmission temperatures with converter unlocked (about 40 degrees higher), as well as excessive looseness of the torque converter. Returned to dealer, who claimed all was normal. Since that time, warranty has expired. The oscillation and heat issues have worsened, and the car is now being serviced at an independent shop and having a partial rebuild.
I have a 2006 Chevy Impala lt 3.9 with 55,000 miles just had to put water pump 2by pass hose and bottom hose bill came to around $470. This car has been babied ever since new and with top notch service performed regularly. Besides this problem the tire air sensors are also a joke replaced two of them at around $70 each. Still don't work properly. While I'm on roll I should mention the remote start, unlock, system is also a joke, took it to a dealer told them it would not work anything, they came back to me two hours later and said the module in drivers door was bad, two remotes, module, calibration and $917 and they would have me on my way. Ha ha. Told them to put it back together and I was paying my $80 for the time spent and leaving. As I was going to my car the service rep. Said when they put it back together it began working, everything but tire pressure info. I have read other people have remote problems just wondered how common this problem is. Also I cannot believe my water pump went bad @55,000 miles.
2006 Chevy Impala seems to have hot heat near the passenger front by were your feet rest, and I have already fixed the transmission twice and for some reason it is again making this real loud noise when I take it off of park it is really hard to move it in to park mode and when it does it jerks really hard.
Transmission lunges from a dead stop upon acceleration. Does not move with increased rpms until torque converter bangs. Problem has existed since purchase in 2006 with 11,000 miles. Taken to dealer multiple times with no problem found. Multiple complaints with this per internet search. Chevrolet evidently will not own up to this problem.
My 2006 Chevy Impala ss was recalled for a power steering oil line leak. When it was on the lift, it was discovered that the oil line on the transmission also leaked. The line leaked where the rubber line was crimped onto a metal line. The dealer stated that they had replaced several of these. It was not covered by warranty. Since there was no oil dripping onto my concrete driveway, I assume that it leaks under pressure. This is a defective part.
GM 2006 Impala transmission failure. Upon initial operation transaxle shudders, stutters, and stalls upon acceleration demand. Failure creates an unanticipated and warning-less slow-down of my vehicle directly in front of other accelerating vehicles. A safety hazard results from possible rear-ending by following motorists that have to be unaware the car in front of them has stuttered and slowed down. It also is a problem for drivers as they cannot accelerate or pass other cars, and cannot safely or confidently evade road objects/debris/potholes. A review of this transaxle problem indicates many GM motorists share the same problems and voice the same concerns.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the transmission jumped forward. While attempting to accelerate from a stop, the engine revved and the vehicle lunged forward. The vehicle has been to the dealer several times for the same issue, but they cannot determine the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,000 and current mileage was 27,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Saint Cloud, MN, USA