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 airbag light will not go out, the stability control light comes on and the car loses power and the engine starts to cut off. I have sent my car to the dealership twice for the same problem I have even called the Chevrolet corporate office. Each time I get a different answer as to what the problem is the first time. I was told it was sensors that needed to be replace and that it would cost $1200. This time I was told it was the spark plugs that is causing the car to shut down and the cost would be around $400 or $500. The first service in July my receipt says they did a multi-point inspection would that not tell them my plugs were bad? my car is still at friendly Chevrolet in dallas can you please help. My daughter drives this car and she a high risk pregnancy.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. While attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and failed to respond before operating as normal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified, but no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 210,000.
Throttle disable light comes on and the engine shuts down, including steering. This has happened twice. The first time was January of 2014, speed was approximately 50 mph. We were able to steer the car into a neighborhood and after about 30-40 minutes, the engine started again. This happened again yesterday, in a much more dangerous situation. I was entering a highway with traffic travelling at and above posted speed of 70 mph. As I merged, the throttle disabled light flashed on and the engine immediately shut down. Luckily I was able to steer the car onto the shoulder. I truly feel my life was in danger. The vehicle started after about 30 minutes of me sitting on the very busy shoulder of this highway.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 mph, the engine stalled. The check engine and the power reduced warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was restarted and the failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the pedal sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 mph, the engine power reduced warning light illuminated and the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact also stated that the vehicle would not accelerate over 30 mph. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who repaired the throttle pedal sensor and the evaporate system. The remedy failed to repair the failure. The contact mentioned that the throttle pedal sensor was replaced on several occasions but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
- Chicago, IL, USA
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2008 Chevrolet Impala. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle key fob recall notice and seeks reimbursement for throttle body control unit. The consumer stated on 2 separate occasions, a sensor went off and she lost engine power and the brakes. The mechanic replaced the throttle body control unit.
Service traction control/engine power reduced lights came on dash. Car lost all power and when stomping the gas pedal speed would resume, very hesitant from a dead stop. Car was jerking, shut off traction control and car jerked then too. GM needs to fix this before there are deaths. Also I have no unlocking doors. They have to all be manually unlocked. Battery was replaced in car and on key fab. Gas pedal sensor and throttle body sensor are the triggered codes, GM needs to find the real solution as these don't seem to fix problem.
Our 2008 Impala ls, with 100,000 miles, is having the same problem I am seeing at this web site and all across the internet. Last month, may, 2014, and this month, June, 2014, there was a sudden reduced power alert on the dashboard and the check engine light came on. The speed immediately dropped to no more than 35 mph. Before I could get it to advance to have them check to see if any codes had been dropped by the computer, the check engine light went off. There was no reduced power message either, and the speed returned to normal. I was told to try fuel injector cleaner, which I did. All went well for almost a month, when the same thing happened again this month. This time I was able to get it to advance with the check engine light still on. The computer had dropped 2 codes, both related to the accelerator pedal position sensor. Advance did not have the part, nor did autozone. Fortunately, Napa did, for $90, including tax. Our local Chevy dealership wanted $50 more. Since it is a very easy part to replace even for an amateur like me, I replaced it. There are only 2 10 mm bolts to remove and an electrical connection to unplug. So it was pretty simple, and so far, this has done the trick, but it's only been 24 hours. This apparently is a job that the dealerships want to charge $300 to $400 to do. As I said, this is a widespread problem for GM, and they have not and will not, so far, do a recall. They should. I'm only out $90 so far, but other people are out much more. If I have the dreaded, follow-up problem with the throttle body, I will be out a whole lot more. I sent an E-mail to Chevrolet after the first instance, and did get a response back. I told him I didn't want to take any further action unless this happens again. I will be contacting him again now about this latest incident.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the vehicle decelerated and the reduce engine power warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 53,000 and the current mileage was 54,000.
This is the second incident we have had with our 2008 Chevrolet Impala where this problem has occurred. The most recent incident was on Wednesday May 21st, around 730 pm. My wife was driving on a road with a posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour, she said she was going about 48 when the traction control light came on, and the messaging system indicated "reduced engine power." When this happens the vehicle slows rather rapidly, and then it is impossible to accelerate beyond about 30 miles per hour or so. Due to the rapid decline in speed and the fact that this occurs without warning, I believe this should be an immediately acted upon problem. I contacted GM only to be told that I have to take it to get it looked at by one of their local dealerships, and pay for that diagnostic. In my online research I have discovered many, probably in the hundreds, who've experienced this identical issue. Some of which have take their car to GM who has concluded according to post of experiences on edmunds that they were unable to determine the source of the problem or repair it. This is a problem that require immediate attention. I can't imagine how differently this could have gone should my wife have been going 75 mph on interstate 80. We live along I-80 and travel it frequently. However as a result of this problem we are essentially unable to trust our vehicle beyond about 50 miles per hour.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while traveling at any speed, the sensor illuminated for reduced power intermittently. The contact stated that the acceleration pedal had to be engaged as the speed reduced without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who reset the code and the failure recurred. The vehicle was further diagnosed by a dealer that the throttle body sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was scheduled to be repaired. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
When driving through St. Louis around midnight on I-270 on May 3, the "engine power is reduced" message came on and the car slowed dramatically right in the middle lane of the interstate. Quite scary indeed, not to mention the lurching. After being nearly run over on both sides, I pulled off in a very dark part of town and the police came by to check on me. Initially the car wouldn't start with the message, "starting is disabled, service throttle." After about an hour, the thing allowed me to start it, but still with the "power is reduced" message. I actually drove that thing home (over 90 miles) with semis bearing down on me, alternating flashers and watching over my shoulder. Anyway, the next day, it still wouldn't run normally, but I limped over to an autozone and I replaced the throttle assembly and the throttle body (the engine code said P0651, but that was a waste of $300). No help, same message. I let the car sit. When it first started up, still had the message. But about 5 minutes later, the car started normally!!! the check engine light is on now, but those codes haven't been accurate so far. While the car was running normally, I went out and jiggled all the wiring both under the dash and above the throttle, but could not find a loose wire or get the car to shift into the "engine power reduced" message. I also tapped on and jiggled the air box (because I was told that's where the ECM is located). Still couldn't get it to go bad. Came back out the next time and the car had the "engine power is reduced" message and running horribly. I was fortunate not to be killed, these cars are moving chicanes. I am totally at a loss as to what is going on. GM service reps say "go to the dealer" but online shows this only results in a bunch of expensive replaced parts that didn't fix the problem. I only suffered a backache but this car is an accident waiting to happen.
I own a 2008 Chevy Impala which has been having computer problems for 1 yr now. It reads out reduced engine power and the car wont go faster than 40 mph. Ive had it fixed but then comes right back up, one mechanic says to clean the throttle and another says its sensors. This is becoming quite a problem and nobody can fix it permanently. It is a serious saftey issue due to the fact that I Transport grandchildren around and the car looses power out of nowhere, then just shuts down in the middle of traffic. I cant keep paying all this money for it to just happen over and over with no results. When is this going to be on the recall list" I went online to find out there are alot of other people having the same exact issue. Please help me" I cant afford to keep paying for this when its never actually been fixed. I have no problem paying to have my car fixed but I do when I have to pay over and over again and its still not fixed.
Driving down highway when check engine light and "engine power reduced" appeared on my dash. Soon after my speed and power was cut from 70 mph to under 40. I got another message saying "service throttle disabled" and my car lost all ability to accelerate and steer. I was forced to pull over and waited until it started up again. This is a dangerous flaw that is happening to many GM owners. Please recall for everyone's safety.
I have had many problems with the engine power being reduced due to code 2135, it's a throttle position problem that has happened maybe 50-100 times over the past year. I can clean the throttle plate and it'll be fine for a few days, but is getting progressively worse. It is very dangerous when the car's power is reduced so quickly, especially on freeways. I've nearly been rearended a few times now. I've complained to Chevrolet and they only say there isn't a recall and to take it to the dealer for service. I've contacted the dealer and was told they'd clean the throttle body, which is what I am doing. There needs to be a recall for safety's sake, this is a very deadly problem that they need to address. It's not the consumer's fault at all. Thank you.
While driving message reduced engine power is displayed along with throttle disabled message, engine shuts off, making vehicle difficult to steer. Left my wife stranded in middle of road. Car restarts after approx. 15 min and displays orange engine light. Took to webbs texaco in lakeland, fl and they say it has a bad ECM. Previously shut off at 70 mph on interstate.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle independently decelerated. The contact's traction control light immediately illuminated after the failure occurred. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, who stated that the accelerator pedal and gear shift were both replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000.
While accelerating the car lost the ability to continue accelerating all at once which caused a jerking motion of the car causing me(the driver) to be thrown forward hitting my head on the steering wheel. It all happened very fast and the reduced engine power and traction control message appeared on the dash board and is still on the dash board. As I said it all happened very fast but I was able to brace myself slightly which is the only reason I was not seriously injured. This issue which now after speaking to my car mechanic and me seeing many other people having the same issue after doing some research online is a death sentence to someone. Someone is going to die from the car losing the ability to accelerate all at once along with a jerking motion that makes you want to have a foot on the gas and a foot on the brake to be able to stop should the car take off on it own.
Ignition failure and associated power loss occurred while driving on a crowded expressway after hitting a bump in the left lane. A very heavy key chain was in the ignition at the time. With no signals, flashers, or power steering, using only rapidly fading inertia for power, I had to make my way over to the right lane and on to the shoulder through thick, unyielding 70 mph traffic. Terrifying; collision narrowly missed.
I have a 2008 Chevrolet Impala ltz. I have had several occasions now when my car has started flashing "service stabilitrak" "engine power reduced" "service airbags" and then all the corresponding lights come on. One of the times the vehicle flashed all of those warnings, the lights came on and the car died, while I was driving. It lost all power and it took everything I had to steer the vehicle off the road. I had my [xxx] year old with me that time and was scared I was not going to be able to get us to a safe spot to sit and wait for help. The most recent incident happened last evening on my way home from work. I was driving on the freeway going about 75mph, the warnings flashed and then my car lost power and felt as though it was not handling the road as well as it should. I live in mn and we are in the middle of winter now. I need my car to be safe and I rely on this car to get my son and I to where we need to go safely! this is the only vehicle I have and cannot afford for something to happen to it. I have been reading several forums about others that this is happening to and can't help but feel there has to be something more to the situation. I would feel horrible if something ever happened to my family or anyone else because of my faulty vehicle!! this needs to be figured out and taken care of. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dallas, TX, USA