general problems of the 2008 Chevrolet Impala - part 2

I was driving about 35 mph the entire car system shut off , no warning lights came, I rolled into a dirt parking lot, and turned the key off, sat there for a little while then continue to work, had to take alternate route, didn't know when or if it would happen again. It did happen again later that afternoon, while autozone tech was checking my battery. It was frightening, thank god!! traffic was light. I live where a lot of big rigs come and go, I mostly drive freeways, but that day I had to change my route.

I have owned my 2008 chevy Impala since June 2011 after two winters and heading into a third I have noticed that this car can not be controlled in any snowy condition. I have had the same problem every winter since I have owned the car, when driving the car is all over the road and nearly impossible to keep under control. Other cars pass by me and stare at me as if something is wrong with me but it is the car, I can barely go 25 mph while other cars are doing 40mph+ with no problem. I have brought the car into the dealership multiple times and they have no solution to my problem, I have also had the notorious tire wear on the inside only problem too. Even after brand new tires and alignment the car have zero improvement when it comes to handling in the snow. When trying to go anything faster than 25 mph it seems like the traction control light wont stop blinking as if the car cant grab on to anything and is drifting around freely. This is really a problem and can be life threatening if their is no solution offered, I do not feel comfortable nor safe while driving it and that is an issue when you live in chicago. If any one knows a fix to this problem I would greatly appreciate it or I guess I will just have to borrow someone else's car when it snows and I have to be somewhere.

Recently, the car looses power steering when it rains, or I go through a puddle. I took it to the Chevrolet dealer (best Chevrolet) where I bought it new some years ago. They had no idea what caused it, said they never heard of such a thing. They changed the serpentine belt and tensioner, and it still does it. The power steering goes out for about 10 seconds, and in deep water I also get a dummy light about the electrical system. It's scary to drive; but, I don't want to just sell it cause someone else an injury.

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.

Slowing for red light, went through a small puddle on right side of the road. Steering wheel locks up. Thankfully I was stopping and not needing to turn. It only lasts for 10-20 seconds, but is frightening for the loss of control. I'm afraid to get on the freeway when it's wet, because I don't know if it's the depth of water or just getting the tires wet period. I've checked with the dealer where I bought the car, but there are no recalls for this model year. It has happened several times since, but since I know of the problem I try to avoid all puddles and freeway if it's raining. I've read other sites that this has happened often with other 2008 Impala, same conditions(most dealers unable to fix problem - seems to keep happening). Would be great if gm would come forward to fix the problem or recall the vehicle all together.

Driving my car over a water puddle the steering quit working for about 15 to 20 seconds , this the second time this has happened.

This situation happens frequently with this car when it rains and the ground is wet. My steering wheel locks when driving my car in the rainy weather. It appears that when something underneath the car gets wet the steering wheel locks. I've taken it to the dealer for this problem and they can't find anything wrong with it. The belt was replaced and the problem persist. I'm afraid to to drive the car, especially, when it rains. I'm afraid the steering wheel will start locking when driving in dry weather too!.

Had the car for about a month when it first did this going down my driveway at 5-10 mph and hit a mud puddle. I tried to turn out onto the rd and almost went in ditch because the car wouldn't steer. It has happened multiple times and a couple of times the car actually shut off. Sometimes the charging system light comes on. This is so very dangerous. Glad to see in not the only one with the issue.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving 3 mph, the steering wheel seized. The failure recurred seven other times at various speeds and always when the ground was wet. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 47,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the rear wheels were not aligned and caused the rear tires to wear prematurely. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic to have the tires replaced. The mechanic did not know why the tires were wearing prematurely however the tires were replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle would become uncontrollable when driving in inclement weather at 40 mph. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer for a diagnostic test. The failure mileage was 46,000.

I was driving on the highway leading into an overpass. As l entered onto the overpass my service traction control, engine power reduced, and service throttle body disabled flash across my dash board, killing the power to my vehicle and locking my steering wheel. While I was stopped unable to move my vehicle, cars flew me and I was almost hit. At one point another vehicle was almost ran off the road due to oncoming traffic trying to Dodge me. This was the worst experience of my life. I have never feared for my life like I did at this time. After doing my research online, I have found many others have been in my situation. I was told that my accelerator pedal sensor has gone bad. I feel that gm should be held responsible and needs to remedy the situation before someone is killed.

Key gets stuck in ignition and will not turn to lock position. The battery runs down after sitting for awhile. I "googled" complaints of this happening and there were hundreds of complaints. The problem lies in the center console of automatic transmission cars. Chevrolet designed the wiring harness to drag across the floor while moving the shifter lever from gear to gear. This eventually causes the wires to break. Depending on which of the five wires break causes problems with the ignition switch (car won't start, transmission won't shift, steering wheel won't lock, key won't come out are some of the problems). As I stated there are hundreds of complaints and feel to issue a recall by Chevrolet would be inline.

I was going down the road and out of no where my car says service traction control, followed by service stabilitrak, followed by engine power reduced with a check engine light on. Lost almost all power to the car, could barely turn the wheel and the brakes felt extremely strange. I could only go about 5mph tops down the road. Luckily I was only 2 min from home. Which actually took 6 min because of the reduced engine speed. Right before I pulled in the driveway the motor died. The next day I went out and tried starting it. The remote start wasn't working and my check engine light was still on but it did start up with a turn of the key. I looked up codes and found that it was telling me the accelerator pedal sensor was bad. I have googled this issue and found that it is a very dangerous, common problem with the chevy Impala. Although that is the code it is giving me, other people have had to replace their throttle body to resolve the problem. Gm should recall it before someone gets hurt. I will not be buying another gm vehicle in the future because they are too cheap to fix this common issue which could essentially cost someone their life.

When applying brake steering wheel clunks. Also when turning steering wheel you feel a clunk. Intermediate shaft is issue have had car looked at and problem has been verified.

My car shut off with a reduced engine power message with my two small children in the car while the car was in motion.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving 2 mph, the power steering belt fractured and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to a personal mechanic for diagnosis and repairs. Sixty days after the repairs, the vehicle would not shift out of park. The contact was forced to apply the bypass relay button to get the car out of park. The following day, the key became stuck in the ignition and the battery was draining abnormally. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was 43,000 and the current mileage was 45,000.

Premature tire wear attributed to faulty rods in the rear suspension linkage suspension defect.

Whenever it is raining or I drive through a puddle of water on the ground, the steering wheel locks up for about 10-15 seconds and the car seems to lose power. I've concluded that this must be some sort of serpentine belt issue as a lot of components are affected at once such as alternator, power steering etc. This is extremely dangerous in my opinion as onset is unpredictable especially in hazardous conditions such as raining and for this reason I dread driving my car when it rains. Please someone acknowledge this as a legitimate concern!!!.

On 10/5/11 I tried my 08 Impala for first time in rain since I purchased it used 4 months earlier, the car is a police version with the 3. 9 flex fuel engine. Was excited to try out new tires in rain . , I went thru a few puddles it seemed ok,it wasnt even raining hard, when a car stopped in front of me, I also stopped when I tried to turn left to go around the car the steering wheel just froze,I had only driven about 1 mile . After few seconds it was ok, about 1 minute later it did it again. I just drove it back home disappointed knowing I wont be able to drive it during raining periods . Found out thru internet that many customers having same problems with this car . Gm needs to recall this car before someone gets really hurt driving this dangerous vechicle ! hopefully not to late!!!!!! was lucky this problem was discovered while car was stopped and not on highway. . Checked fluid, belts, all good . . From los angeles.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and could not be unlocked. The contact experienced the failure three times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure bu the vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was 52,000 and the failure mileage was 45,000.

The first incident occurred during heavy rainfall. My son was turning right onto a highway, after stopping at a stop sign. Once he began his turn onto the highway, the steering wheel locked up for a few seconds. He then turned down a residential street and drove around a few blocks, losing steering again for a few seconds while turning a corner. He proceeded to drive back onto the highway and drove 70 miles to his destination, rain continuing, without further incident. On this same day, I drove home 70 miles from this destination, the rain continued and I had driven about 30 miles when the steering locked for a few seconds after I crossed a railroad track and turned onto a residential street. Since then, we have had at least one if not more incidents of the steering locking up each time it rains. The steering either locks while making a turn, or after the turn is completed, or as we are turning into a parking spot. Today, 9/14/2011, it was raining and my steering locked up while turning from a stop sign, then again while turning into a parking space, and again as I was pulling into my driveway. On this date, however, I noticed that the low battery indicator came on when the steering locked. When the steering first started locking up, we reported it to the dealership, but they said they found nothing wrong with our vehicle. We have notified the Chevrolet dealership where our Impala was purchased, and gm. It is our understanding that there is no recall for steering problems on the 2008 Impala. Therefore, we have not been successful in getting this potentially dangerous problem resolved.

When slowing down and making a turn. Steering locks up. When come out of turn and hit gas starts working again.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. While driving approximately 30 mph in snowy weather, the vehicle swerved from uncontrollably from side to side. The contact gained control of the vehicle by driving at a slower speed. The failure also recurred when driving during rainy weather. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics where the mechanic stated that the spindle rod was defective and caused the misalignment of the tires. The mechanic advised that the spindle rod would wear out unevenly and rapidly. The mechanic installed camber bolts to the rear passenger side wheel yet the failure persisted. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 30,0000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated the tires were wearing prematurely despite having an alignment performed on the vehicle every three months. The dealer advised having an alignment annually and rotating the tires every 6,000 miles. The manufacturer was not contacted and there were no repairs made to the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 31,900.

Every time I would drive the 08 chevy Impala the key would not turn all the way out. It did that for about a week. Then when I made it to work it did the same thing. Came out to go home it would not start at all the key wouldn't turn over. So we had to put it in manual mode to drive it to a shop. A wire in the handle to change gears broke because I was told the wire was to short. Now this was 42 or 43 thousand miles now at 82 its doing the same thing again. Why no recall?.

Steering wheel locks completly when turning happens at least every two weeks.

Early morning start /drove for approximately 4-8 minutes. Turned into parking lot and was attempting to park (3/4 turn) when the steering froze. Stopped the car and the steering seemed to return. Parked car and rotated wheel left to right and noticed that the wheel froze once again. Turned car off and no continued issue on restart. Immediately brought car to dealership and awaiting a decision on what occurred. Do not feel comfortable driving vehicle until dealer can repair issue.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact made a left turn when the steering wheel locked. The contact was unable to move the vehicle out of the street. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who test drove the vehicle 74 miles and was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure also occurred while pulling out of the driveway. The contact stated that the failure continued to occur when she applied the accelerator pedal after yielding or stopping at a traffic light. The vehicle was always traveling at a low speed and making a left turn whenever the failure occurred. The failure mileage was 45946. The current mileage was 50993.

I have a 2008 chevy Impala ltz, purchased on 7-4-08 form a gm dealership in yukon, ok. The car had 3670 miles on it when purchased. It was driven, according to dealership, by the area financial officer for gm. The problem is that whenever you drive through standing water or wet snow, you cannot turn the steering wheel. It does not have to much water, just a waterhole where run off from a sprinkler system has run off the driveway. One time, it was left in an enclosed garage over night and the driver the next morning just about hit a parked vehicle because they could turn the the sterring wheel. The car has been to two local gm dealerships and they cannot find any problem. Gm safety has been contacted and they could not give an answer for the problem either. The owners of this vehicle feel that this could cause an accident if not fixed. So far, most of the times this has happened has been in town and and at less than 35 mph.

I am getting my fourth set of tires on my 2008 Impala, with 70,000 miles I have been told everything from not rotating my tire which I do every 6,000 miles to alignment which has been done three times, , I also have no power steering randomly at low speeds, also rear door locks don't work any more, also when I step on the gas the traction control light comes on and I can't go forward and then it all of a sudden will move, that's on dry pavement.

Power steering dies when the vehicle gets wet. Dealer is never available for an appointment when it happens. My mechanic has replaced the belt and cleaned everything. It works for a short while then starts again. Is any help available?.

When I turn my wheel of my car it feels as if its knocking.

My Impala will completely shut down and lock up everytime it rains. I can be driving 5 mph through a parking lot and water film on the pavement and my Impala will shake, lock up and shut down. I was leaving my church parking lot to turn right onto road, my Impala shut down and drifted straight across the street almost landing in the ditch. Thank god there was no oncoming traffic. It has happen while driving 35 and car shut down. It is very terrifying to drive a car that shuts down and have no control over. I have small children and am fearful my and their safety.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. When driving between 35-40 mph or in inclement weather, it is difficult to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection. The technician could not identify the cause of the failure, nor provide a remedy. The current and failure mileages were unknown. The vehicle identification number was unavailable. Updated 12/30/09 the consumer stated since the repairs were done, the vehicle tracks properly on ice. The alignment was out and rear camber and toe was out of specs. Updated 12/31/09.