Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
73,033 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.

2011 Chevrolet Impala engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Chevrolet Impala:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2011 Chevrolet Impala Owner Comments (Page 6 of 7)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #25

Apr 012014

Impala

  • 104,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled and all of the warning lamps illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage were 104,000.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #24

Mar 262014

Impala

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while traveling various speeds, the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle lost acceleration power. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the speed sensor failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #23

Feb 122014

Impala

  • 49,200 miles
I was driving on I70 going 70 mph and out of nowhere my engine light comes on and 3 messages start appearing on the dash. 1) service stabiltrac, 2) service traction control, 3( engine power reducing. My car a 2011 Chevy Impala slows down to about 50. I get it going back to 60 but not very easily. I keep going and merge onto 465 (indianapolis Indiana area). I come into slower traffic where I need to stop. I apply my breaks and the pedal will not engage. Almost hit a car. Also when I slowed down the car started shaking bad. I continue a little farther in slow traffic and had to stop again, same thing with the breaks. So I pulled over and shut off my car on the side of I465. My daughter had looked up the error messages on the internet and there seem to be a lot on there with the same problem. They all said the same thing, after shutting the car off and restarting it it was fine. I made it home and everything seemed fine for a couple of weeks and it happened a few more times so far. Once at a stop sign and the same day as I was backing out of parking space at work. Once again that same week I was driving in town and took off from a red light and it happened again. From a complete stop the car started shaking and the error messages and engine light come on and it would not accelerate. I would have thought nothing about it except to get it fixed, but after reading so much on the internet about the same problem there has to be an issue and needs to be recalled. GM needs to own up to this problem before people get injured or worse die from this issue.

- Wabash, IN, USA

problem #22

Mar 042014

Impala

  • 64,436 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

As I was driving down the road my car lost speed drop from 35 mph to 20 mph, the check engine light came on and the triangle with the car and skid marks then it kept flashing the service stabilitrak control, engine power reduced, and service traction control and it started to jerk and jump. I have been having major issues out of this car first it was the right hub (eating tires), then the left hub (eating more tires), then the transmission and gear shift completely gone (replaced everything) now this plus the front tires are still getting ate up. This is an ongoing problem with this Chevy Impala. I am so ready to get a Honda. As I see there are other owners that are having similar problems. Why isn't it a recall on these problems" nobody likes too loose their money for something that should have been taken care of by GM in the first place. What will GM do if all customers protest about these issues that should be recalled on whether its for the public, private, or government sector"

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #21

Jan 102013

Impala

  • 35,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, there was a reduction of engine power with the illumination of the traction control and stability control warning indicators. The failure occurred on icy and dry road surfaces. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.

- Duluth, MN, USA

problem #20

Dec 232013

Impala

  • 43,400 miles
I started my car after a cold night and immediately got a "service stabilitrak", "engine power reduced", and "service trance ion control" messages. The car had an extremely rough idle and then would not accelerate to more than 25 mph. I returned home and made an appointment at the dealership. Later, I was ready to take the car into the dealer and it started fine with no error messages or check engine light. I called the dealer and they said it must have been a computer error that fixed itself. Well, it's a week later now and I am having the issues again except restarting the engine does not fix it anymore. This is a serious issue and needs to be resolved by GM and not cost the many people experiencing this issue hundreds of dollars to fix!

- Essex, VT, USA

problem #19

Dec 212013

Impala

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving down the road service traction control reduce engine power and stability control light came on. Car engine lost power and I thought it was going to blow up it made the whole car shake. You shut it off for a few and restart it and its like nothing ever happened. Not to happy about this I have not had the car a year. Guess a person needs to die from this matter before there is a recall on this what a joke. And the worst is Chevy will not cover any of this even if the car is under a warranty.

- Greendale, WI, USA

problem #18

Aug 232013

Impala 6-cyl

  • 52,000 miles
While driving at 60 mph, messages were flashing: Service stabilitrac soon, reduced power to engine, check traction control. Car decelerated to 30 mph on the highway, hard to steer. I pulled off the road, turned it off and waited. Several minutes later it restarted and I was able to drive it home. The engine light and the traction control light still come on. It shifts hard (and it's an automatic transmission). In addition, cruise control will not work during this condition.

- Circleville, OH, USA

problem #17

Nov 242013

Impala 6-cyl

  • 43,110 miles
This is the second time this has happened. Less than a year ago, we received a service stabilitrac/service traction control/engine at reduced power message and speed dropped from 40 mph to 5 mph. We brought it to the Chevrolet dealer and a traction position control sensor was replaced. Today, on 11/24/13, we were driving 15 mph in a parking lot and received the same message resulting in the same problem. This is a safety issue due to the fact that the vehicle essentially stalls out with little to no power and nearly caused a collision at an intersection. When will NHTSA force GM to recall and fix this issue? this is extremely dangerous.

- Durham, NH, USA

problem #16

Sep 122013

Impala 6-cyl

  • miles
On my way to work: On highway all lights came on service traction control, service stabilitrak and engine power is reduced, and my check engine light came on as well.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #15

Aug 252013

Impala

  • 68,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Code P211222 and code C0242 car would not go over 5 mph. Engine light was on. Called onstar. This is the third time this has happened in 15 months. Fixed twice. Spoke with General Motors safety division and [xxx] at General Motors several times. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Flushing, MI, USA

problem #14

Aug 222013

Impala

  • 50,000 miles
While leaving from work I made a left turn onto a busy highway and my service traction control light, reduce engine power, and check engine light came on. Pulled over and car was wanting to turn off. Turned off car and service traction control light goes off but check engine stays on. Came home googled what could be the cause and see that many Impala owners are having the same trouble...I see a lawsuit happening if GM does not recall this!

- Taft, TX, USA

problem #13

Jun 012013

Impala 6-cyl

  • 65,011 miles
For several weeks, the indicator on my vehicle will alert me "service traction control; reducing engine power". at first I thought this was just a glitch, until it kept happening over and over and over again. There are days when the indicator will go off and remain off for a week or two, but then it will all of a sudden come back on and remain on for a week or so. I get my vehicle serviced regularly. I have contacted GM dealership after dealership, and they have all told me there is nothing they can do. Finally, I asked for the corporate office number [xxx]. I called GM's corporate office (reference#: [xxx]) and was told that my powertrain warranty is still good but my bumpertobumper warranty has expired due to the mileage. I advised the representative ([xxx]) that I had googled this information to find out what was going on and this appears to be a known issue with Chevy implala's, and I asked why hasn't GM put out a recall on this issue. She then tells me that I need to pay and get a diagnostic check to determine the actual issue. My question to her is "why should I or any customer have to pay for something that is a reported known issue?" there representative continued to apologize and tell me there was nothing that GM could do because this was not a known issue. I referenced there representative to research for herself [xxx] and she continued to tell me there was nothing they could do. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). 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).

- Capitol Heights , MD, USA

problem #12

Jul 282013

Impala 6-cyl

  • 71,000 miles
I was driving on the highway at 60 mph when my car began to slow down until it came to a stop. I could do nothing but sit there I did not have enough time to make it to the emergency lane. I could have been killed! the car gave no warning. I received several messages on the dash that stated disabled starter, service throttle, and the check oil light was on. Over the two years that I have had this vehicle I have had to have the transmission replaced and one year later another potential costly repair. Something really needs to be done with the 2011 Chevy Impala's, there is a serious safety issue going on that has not been look at by Chevy.

- Washington, PA, USA

problem #11

Jun 082013

Impala 6-cyl

  • 43,700 miles
When driving, noticed on the freeway, it wasn't smooth at times. The transmission's shifting was pretty rough. No indication of any issues popped up on dashboard. When arriving at a freeway ramp, it felt like I was hydroplaning, but on gravel. Then, noticed when pressing the accelerator, was not going anywhere, but felt like I was in neutral. Was able to pull over and take a look... transmission fluid was fine... nothing popped up on the dashboard. Nothing! the indicators for tires, oil, etc were showing info, but nothing to indicate it had died or if there were any engine issues. Had brought it to the dealership where I had bought the car 11 months ago. The mechanics were saying that they have never seen such an huge transmission failure before. They would have to replace the whole thing.

- Seatac, WA, USA

problem #10

Jun 102012

Impala

  • 45,758 miles
This has happened multiple times to my 2011 Impala. I will be driving normally, anywhere from 45 to up to 65 mph, and I will get a warning saying "service stabiltrack, service traction control, engine power reduced". usually I can shut the car off and wait 5 minutes, and the messages will clear, but the check engine light will remain illuminated for the next couple of days, eventually clearing. There needs to be a recall for whatever is causing this, because there are a lot of folks with Impala having this same exact problem. We as the consumer, should not have to pay money out of our pocket, for a problem that Chevrolet caused during the manufacture of this car.

- Baldwyn, MS, USA

problem #9

Feb 152013

Impala

  • 62,000 miles
Had the service light and service stabitrak and reduced power come on. Seems to happen a lot during the winter. I have had the gas pedal replaced seemed to help for a week until snowed again but was due to nice weather I have also had to take off throttle body and cleaned with throttle body cleaner. Seemed to do the trick until it snowed again. It is very dangerous when this happens and almost caused a crash. The problem seems to be with the senor but works fine when not wet out or snowing. After looking online seems to be a very common problem with Chevy with them not doing a thing other then wanting to charge me 600 bucks to replace throttle body. Seems like Chevy never wanted to fix this issue due to the fact of alot of other models of Chevy have the same problem going back atleast 4-5 years.

- Buffalo, MN, USA

problem #8

Mar 202013

Impala 6-cyl

  • 48,000 miles
The service stabilitrak light comes on and engine power is reduced. It happened this morning while taking my kids to school...very scary thing when kids are in the car because it just starts losing power & you really cannot drive it like this..

- Sullivan, IN, USA

problem #7

Mar 302013

Impala

  • 43,000 miles
Driving 30 mph in a small town. A "binging" noise sounds 3 times and the traction control warning light as well as the check engine light came on. Vehicle messaging system stated that to "service stabilitrak, " "service traction control, " and "engine power reduced. The acceleration was noticeably reduced as well as a significant difference in maintaining speed. Merging onto a highway the cruise control would not kick in when setting speed which made it difficult to manage a 65 mph speed limit.

- Rochester, MN, USA

problem #6

May 212012

Impala 6-cyl

  • 39,567 miles
My wife was driving on the highway and out of the blue the stability control and reduce engine power light came on the message display. There were no weather conditions at the time. This has happened 6 times total. One time it happened as she was warming up the car. All of a sudden it started shaking and she felt as if it was about to take off into space. She turned it off three times - even tried to drive it and move to another parking place and turned if off again before it finally stopped shaking.

- Mosinee, WI, USA

Read the next 5 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?