Problems with 2001 Chevrolet Impala ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Ignition tumbler failed at 40000 miles. *ak

Consumer stated that while driving down the road lost power, all of the dashboard lights were gone. electrical systems failed on the dashboard, but no where else. he was still able to roll the electrical windows up and down, and radio still came on. also, airbag light came on, indicating there was a problem. sometimes when this happened air conditioner did not work. this happened 3 times in the last 2 months. consumer had taken vehicle to dealer/mechanic, and was told to disconnect the battery.this happened to reset the computer. but when this happened a second time , he took vehicle back to dealer/mechanic. they put vehicle on the computer, and could not find anything wrong with it, but yet they changed the ignition switch, which they said could be bad.*ak

While driving, the headlights started to flicker. *ak. the vehicle had been to the repair shop on three occasions. also the dash lights flickered. there was a noise coming from the front suspension area, however the dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. *jb

Rear of car caught fire. occurred in my employer's parking lot at 2121 hudson avenue, kalamazoo, michigan. the third brake light area. vehicle parked & unoccupied. *nlm

Morning of may, enter car and tried to turn key to on position to start, with no luck. wiggle key in lock several times to finally release key so it would move into starting mode. this has been a major pain, it has gotten bad enough that key will just pull out of lock assembly even in running mode. gm has know about this problem for some time,and should apply a recall on this item even as far back as my 2001 impala, would hate to have car shut off during driving mode of just left stranded for a stupid ignition key assembly problem. please try to help in this area. thanks *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph, the key in the ignition switch released while the vehicle was still running. the contact mentioned that the failure also occurred when driving over speed bumps. the failure recurred intermittently. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the vin was included in the nhtsa campaign number: 14v400000 (electrical system) but was not serviced. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

Electrical problems causing accelerator to stick and using cruise control does the same. causing wreck with injuries and no airbag deployment upon impact of crash with speed over 55 mph to head on into to tree. could not stop car even when brakes were applied and had to turn key off to stop car from blowing up.

Customer states dash lights and headlights are dim, especially when driving at night. dealer test drove and found that the lights flicker, however dealer stated this was normal due to the drop in the voltage regulator, and should not cause lights or electrical system to fail. *tt *nlm

Any time the vehicle is turned on message center light indicates that the coolant level is low. consumer checked the coolant levels several times to find them up to par. vehicle had been taken to several mechanics who could not determine why the message center light would not go off. manufacturer and the dealer have been notified.*ak

The security system shuts down for about ten and sometimes 20 minutes making me late for work, meetings and emergencies without warning.. the vehicle is stationary when it happens and it use to happen far and between, but the security light comes on very frequently. i work at night and have been stranded in an empty parking lot a number of times. very dangerous.

Doors are inoperative due to a computer module failure. dealer contacted. feel free to provide any further information.*ak

battery has been replaced. after a year battery was leaking. also vehicle had trouble starting up. contacted dealer ,and the dealer replaced battery.*ak

The vehicle head lights flicker intermittently which caused poor visibility. *nlm *mr

Vehicles stalled in traffic, took vehicle to dealer, and they were not able to look at it at that time. consumer took vehicle to another dealer, and they said that wires under the dash had been cut.*ak also the rear defrogger was inoperative, the overhead console was inaccurate, and the doors that move the airflow from the windshiled to the floor did not move the air to the specified area, the dealer ordered an actuator for the doors and for the airflow, an aftermarket device that was installed in the vehicle caused the vehicle to suddenly stall while driving. *jb

A police officer parked tvehicle and shut the engine off after running the vehicle for an unknown time. smoke started coming from underneath the hood and front end of vehicle. local fire department extinguished the fire. no determination has been made as to the cause of fire. please provide any additional information/attachments.*ak

While driving at night a power surge occurs which causes headlight assembly to malfunction. low beam flashes to high beam. dealer cannot correct problem. manufacturer is aware of problem, but does not have a remedy. *ak consumer states that the dash lights are also affected by the power surges. *jb

Consumer has had problem starting vehicle. it statrted after 45 minutes. then, vehicle just stopped in traffiic without prior warning. dealership is aware of problem. dealership replaced computer. *ak waited 8 days for part. *yh

The computer that is in my car is new for this model, and this year. no other car has it in there. what is happening is that while driving down the road, the computer gets overloaded with information, and pukes with a b0100 error. the dealership tried the other 2001. it had the same problem. they tried three other 2001's that the southern dealership owned. they had the same problem. there are other dealerships also having this same problem with the 2001 chevrolet impala airbags. *ak