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.
Complaint: Rear wheels linkage was designed so that the "camber" cannot be adjusted. The rear tires wear agressfully on the inboard edges to a point that they are bald while the outside, which is visible, appears to be good. The rear tires become unsafe, with a wear rate that only last about 15,000 miles. I am on my 5th set of tires with the car mileage at 66,000. GM was aware of this condition in 2008, but they issued a tsb (08032A) to correct only "police cars" and did not repair or let other private customers know about this. My car serial number is listed under the ones on the tsb. This condition also creates a problem when operating the car in wet and slippery roads, since the rear tracking is not the same as the front tires. The car tends to whip from side to side, an operators can loose control. The parts used by GM are the same as on police vehicles as personal cars. They claimed a problem, but for some reason deny any issues on a personal car! GM dealers refuse to even split the cost, and GM will not correct my issue.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Impala. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle veered off the road independently. The vehicle was diagnosed by both the dealer and an independent mechanic and they both confirmed that the rear axle would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000. The VIN was unavailable.
I have 2007 Chevy Impala....I have trouble with my electrical...examples: Radio lighting dim or normal, alarm for ignitionkey left in place dings muffled or normal..headlights work or one side or another goes out periodically, visibility...huge windshield post; excessive tire wear at low mileage...suspension problems with "weird tire wear on insides of rear tires; manufact. Defect number tsb#08032. And other customer complaints there are ignition problems, fuel tank adhesive problem and a steering knuckle problem; this means ignition can turn off while driving, excessive rear tire wear resulting in tire blow outs(hard to see because it is inside of rear tires and uneven wear, also let us not forget that the fuel can escape from gas tank and cause a fire and windshield posts terrible for visibility etc....GM is well aware of these problems and has recalled police Impala and not civilian owned Impala, ,,,could someone please tell me why GM is allowed to make such a vehicle...millions of people have them and are in danger, this was to be my last car..I am a senior, disabled and wanted to be a loyal made in the usa customer...I cannot afford all these repairs and it seems GM is not doing the majority ie out of my pocket. I cannot afford another car and do I pass this on to another person to be unsafe. Also I have 63,000 miles on my car and all four doors on the inside need repair due to rust. Kept in garage. Also noticed another Impala has rust spot same place I do on trunk near Impala need cambur kit and wheel alignment...purchased new set of tires.
- International Falls, MN, USA
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Bought 2007 Impala new. Have replaced rear tires 6 times due to camber issue. Impala is designed with no adjustment for camber on the rear suspension. Tires wear on the inside at a fast rate. Nothing in the trunk to cause weight issues, standard highway driving on a daily basis. Tire sound is horrible and increases with speed. First set of tires replaced at 9,000 miles. GM recalled police models of the Impala to fix the issue, but not Impala that weren't police models. So GM knows there is an issue with the rear suspension causing excessive tire wear but won't perform a recall. My wife wouldn't even drive the car because she was afraid tires would blow out on the highway. 6 sets of tires on a vehicle with 90,000 miles is absurd. I finally had to have another shop install aftermarket camber adjusting bolts and get an alignment to fix the issue. Shop I dealt with says they've been performing this repair on Impala's since mid 2007. $20 for the bolt kit and $80 for the alignment. $100 to fix an issue (not including tire replacement costs) and GM won't own up to it. This is a basic design flaw that GM has been aware of, with no action being taken on there part.
In November of 2013 I noticed weird tire wear on my 07 Impala lt (rear).. thought it was due to low grade tires so I purchased a two better tire for the rear.. March 16 2014 I received a flat while parked... attempted to change and inside tire wear four months brand new tires destroyed. So I researched why this would happen and found out that GM had class action lawsuit against them for know about this and only recalling law enforcement issued Impala's.I purchased the car 2010 and November 2013 is when I first seen problem.
Excessive wear on inside edges of rear tires I'm just fortunate I caught the wear early. So I brought it to my local Chevy dealer for a 4 wheel alignment. I was told that both rear spindle rods needed replacing to the tune of $700. The service dept. Told me they could not get enough adjustment in the current spindle rods to bring the alignment into spec. And there is an updated part to replace them. GM has known about this problem since 2009 and it effects both 2007 and 2008 Chevy Impala. They did a recall on 07 and 08 police versions of the Impala but not on the civilian version. The nhtsb needs to take a hard look at this design problem before someone is hurt or killed due to a blow out.
Driving approximately 50 mph due to icy/snowy conditions on highway, car had poor traction and rear end was swaying, fish tailing.. when on dry pavement if road conditions are rough, bumpy or has man holes the rear sways when these areas are driven over at multiple speeds.
Excessive tire wear, driver side rear tire inside wears abnormally. Suspect rear wheel spindle rod, which was recalled for police model but not civilian model for rear wheel misalignment. Danger of wear not being noticed since it is excessive on the inside of tire which could result in a tire blow out and crash.
Chevrolet Impala displays excessive wear on the inside of the rear tires. I am assuming it is the rear tires as online searches describe the same condition affect the rear tires. The tires were rotated every time the oil was changed, so the front tires show some wear but not nearly the same amount of damage. It is my guess this wearing started before the most recent tire rotation. The tires are worn to the point the cords are showing along the inside of the rear tires. The tire is very rounded on the inside edge of each tire while the outside edge of each tire looks like they did when new. The tires are Michelin hydroedge tires with approximately 50,000 miles, they are rated for 90,000 miles. Online information says this is a problem with the spindle rods. There is a pending class action lawsuit against "new GM" to honor design problems of "old GM." GM order a recall on all police Impala from 2007-2008 within a VIN range to replace the spindle rods. Bulletin no. 08032A. Also search document pic5406A for more information. This is a severe safety problem which could lead to tire failure while operating the vehicle.!!!
Excessive tire wear, driver side rear tire inside wears abnormally. Suspect rear wheel spindle rod, which was recalled for police model but not civilian model for rear wheel misalignment. Danger of wear not being noticed since it is excessive on the inside of tire which could result in a tire blow out and crash.
I bought my car used with 40,000 mile on it. The tires were perfect when I bought it. 9,000 miles later, my front tires kept going flat. I looked at them and the entire inside of the tires were worn through. I took it to the local tire shop and they told me the tires wore like that due to a bad alignment. My steering seemed fine. The manager of the shop came out to tell me that many of his customers with Impala have similar issues. A extra long factory installed camber bolt causes the vehicles to become un aligned, and causes excessive wear on the tires.
I purchased a 2007 Chevy Impala 3.5 lt in 2011. Soon discovered the back end shifts when going over rough, uneven roads and highways. It also shifts when going over manhole covers. When driving in mn snow and ice, it is very unsettling to have the back-end fishtail. I've complained to the local dealership, attorney general, and GM motors hq. I soon learned of the problems and exact same complaints that other 2007 Chevy Impala owners are having with this car. The other day my son used my car to run an errand and even he noticed that the back-end is faulty. I've had this car aligned two times within six months. I am frustrated that the local dealer will not take the car back and also that GM motors hq will not fix this dangerous problem. I'm stuck with a car that's not safe, thus limiting any freeway driving, especially in winter.
I have not had an incidence but very concerned about the malfunction that is going on with my vehicle at this time..I noticed a scrubbing/grumbling noise when I would turn the wheel either way left or right. After vehicle being put on machine for testing it was discovered that the upper strut mounts and bearing were worn and noisy on front struts......also my ABS and traction control light both came on at the same time and would not go off, the information system in vehicle recommended brakes be service.....the results from car being tested showed both front hubs have slack and both front wheel speed sensor harness are coming apart inside wire installation. The codes for ABS/traction control is...C0040 00.C0040.
Nov 5, 2007. Vehicle needed a wheel alignment at 14,566 miles. Tires had abnormal wear because of alignment. Feb 2008. 4 new tires and wheel alignment at 29,000 miles. Dec 2010. 4 new tires and wheel alignment at 48,900 miles. Aug 2011. 4 new tires and wheel alignment at 56,600 miles. Aug 2012. Wheel alignment at 65,400 miles.
I will not drive this car down any steep grade. Going down cuesta grade and applying brakes, the steering wheel shakes uncontrollably. We had the car checked out at a dealer and they said it was probably the rotors. We then had them turned front and back and got a front end alignment. That did not change anything. We then had a four wheel alignment done and replaced the brakes. No difference. That is when we were told we needed to replace our tires. The rear were wearing out at very fast. They lasted under 20K miles. We are now on our third set. It's too bad GM will not recall 2007/2008 Impala. Only the police version.this is not right. Our rear spindles and front upper/lower control arms should be replaced at no cost to us. If not who would bother buying this car when we sell it?
Traveling down fm 247 South in huntsville, tx. @ posted speed of 60 mph around the time of about 1:10 pm, when my rear tires involuntarily swerved causing my vehicle to steer cross lanes and crash off road onto grassy and wooded shoulder. Crashed into debris including trees limbs, stumps. Crash caused personal injury and damage to vehicle. The consumer stated GM was well aware that the Chevrolet Impala's were within the recalled VIN breakpoint. They were equipped with an identical frame, chassis, suspension, spindle rods as the police package listed for the recall. Updated 08/09/12 updated 08/14/12 the consumer is requesting NHTSA policy when an auto manufacturer is to file a recall with the public. Updated 05/08/14
2007 Impala ss that I have owned since April 2011 and bought with 24,000 miles.the problem is with rear tires on the car wearing witihin one month after replacing, the instalation of tires is followed by a professional alignment and the tires still wear down to the wires. I have been through several sets of tires and alignments since I purchased the car and have not yet found a fix other than tires and alignment. Documents have indicated that there are bad rear spindle rods on the rear of the car that GM has aknowledged are present and GM failed to repair them on all 2007-2008 Impala with the exception of police vehicles (approximately 23,000 police duty cars out of 450,000+ affected). GM will not replace these under warranty and I cannot find a repair for the issue. The car will slip out of alignment within a few days or weeks and cause very dangerous driving conditions if driven on rain, snow or any slippery surface, causing the car to sway in the rear, hydroplane and even lose control. This is an enourmous safety hazard for Impala owners and also other drivers that may have an accident due to this issue.
Letter from congressman carter on behalf of constituent re issue of GM's liability for defective parts on cars they manufactured as a result of a design flaw and defective parts, the tri-coiled rear springs, trailing arms and spindle rods are causing premature wear of rear tires. GM recalled vehicles used in police work; but not the general public. GM says they are not liable, because its 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent reorganization shields them from liability over the alleged design flaws. Updated 04/010/12
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cullman, AL, USA