Axle Shaft Problems of Chevrolet Impala

Leased 2006 Impala lt 3/06. 2/07-first thing that happened was power steering line blew while driving on highway at 70 mph. Had towed vehicle to dealership and it was fixed. They left all the fluid all over engine and brakes. Shortly after, experienced clanking noise from front of vehicle. Took to dealer first time, they said they couldn't find the cause of the problem, could be left over power steering fluid from the blowout, causing noise on moving parts. Also noticed tires were wearing. Got oil change and 3rd tire rotation for vehicle. Tires still wearing in front and noise becoming more prominent in front. Took back to dealer, said it was a trans axle problem, and was also causing an alignment problem. They corrected the trans axle problem under warranty, but said the alignment and excessive wear on tires was my problem. This didn't seem right, a problem on the vehicle caused another problem, but it was my responsibility. They said they alignment was ok now. I asked if they checked and they said no, it would be okay since the trans axle problem was corrected. They said I could complain, they just follow the rules from up above.

See all problems of the 2006 Chevrolet Impala 🔎.

Car started making a whining noise while in motion. Dealer service department diagnoses was the trans axle needs overhaul. Vehicle only has 33000 miles, much too soon for a trans axle failure, contacted gm, was told to let dealer rebuild trans axle, and if defective parts are found, gm may pay some of the cost.

See all problems of the 2000 Chevrolet Impala 🔎.

Starting in the 1990 model year, gm has been improperly installing diffrential cover gaskets that do not have the lubricating holes!!! if you do not change this gasket to one that has the proper holes, your outer axle bearings, as well as the axles themselves, will be destroyed ty around 70k miles. The damaged (under lubricated) bearings will wear grooves in the axle shafts, requiring that they also be replaced. If this is left unchecked, the metal bits from the damaged outer bearings and axles will also damage the inner bearings, pinion bearings, as well as cause the spider gears to wear into the differential carrier. Gm has been made aware of this problem, but currently has done nothing about it, and even the new vehicles still come with the improper gaskets. Factory replacement gaskets also lack the lubricating holes. Gm does not acknowledge that the rear axle gasket has a problem. As a side note, gm full-size light-duty pickups also suffer from this problem. I feel this problem should be corrected at no expense to the owners. I would assume that should you be traveling at a highway speeds and the rear end/axle goes, someone or something is going to get hurt not to mention the high expense of correcting the problem if you have to have the rear end replaced.

See all problems of the 1996 Chevrolet Impala 🔎.

General motors improperly installed differential cover gaskets that do not have lubricating holes, which could cause the outer axle bearings/axle shaft to be damaged around 70000 miles. The damaged bearings could potentially wear grooves in the axle shafts. If not fixed, the metal bits from damaged outer bearings could also damage the inner bearings/pinion bearings, as well as causing the spider gears ti wear into the differential, causing rear end failure which could result in an accident.