Problems with 2004 Chevrolet Impala ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The cluster in the dash had went out which makes the speedometer quit working causing a safety issue. *tr

1. i was driving my vehicle when i noticed the speedometer began to reflect readings in excess of the actual speed i was driving, e.g., registering beyond 120 mph (the needle would pass that mark and continue moving) when the car's actual speed was probably less than 50 mph. upon stopping the vehicle, the speedometer would register mph in excess of zero (e.g., 80 mph). the needle would not return to zero even with the engine off. 2. the failure of the speedometer caused me to not know the actual speed i was driving, which placed me in jeopardy of driving significantly faster than the posted speed for a given stretch of road. i had to take the vehicle to a local dealer for repair. 3. according to the dealer invoice, the dealers service department "removed, replaced and setup (the) ip cluster assembly. the replaced part was not made available to me. 4. general motors is experiencing this same type of speedometer cluster failure on various other gm models beginning with model years 2003 and later. gm has special policy coverage for certain of its models with this problem, but not for all models. my vehicle is a 2004 chevrolet impala which had 57,355 miles on it when the problem occurred. i was advised by gm that, "...the special coverage...do es not include your vehicle..." and that i would have to bear any expense i incurred for the service performed by the dealer. *tr

Speedometer is burning the needle at the 3rd gear mark while driving. while stopped at a red light yesterday (12/08/07), the speedometer was reading 112 mph, sitting still!! i cannot get the speedometer needle to set at 0 anymore. i am in the process of teaching my 15 1/2 year old son to drive and this is a huge issue. i am constantly making him pull over and switching seats with me as he cannot get a speeding ticket on his permit. it is impossible to guess at your speed, even with the other traffic flow and we should not have to do this. i have had the car checked and the result is the instrument cluster is bad, with an estimate to fix it that is unreasonably high. additionally, gm knows this is an issue, so they should recall and fix these since they ordered an assembly change on them. *tr

Gas gauge erratic false readings gm mechanic told me fuel level sensor was bad two hundred dollars later it still is wrong. than i pay dealer one hundred dollars so they can tell me i need a 500 dollar gauge cluster which they said was a common problem. that was after i was told fuel sensor was common problem too. i have seen and read of many complaints like this in different automotive complaint sites. *tr

I have a 2004 chevy impala that has a crazy dash cluster!! i know that i am not the only one!! gm has recalled other types of vehicles with the same type of cluster problem, but won't recall the impalas that are having the same dangerous issue!! i have young two children that are always with me and when i'm driving ; not knowing how fast i am going, not knowing my temperature, or how many rpms my car is pushing! very serious when i'm not the only vehicle on the road. i hope gm addresses this problem for the safety of there customers! hopefully the government can push them to do something!!! we people with this issue will appreciate it greatly!!! thank you *tr

The speedometer is giving false readings, such as 120mph when travelling 60mph, and 0mph when travelling 30 mph. it will temporarily reset, then fail again when driven for 15 minutes or more. *cn

Speedometer went crazy & then went to "0"! the car only had 20,000 miles on it. does not work at all. *tr

Speedometer gone crazy. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet impala. while driving 50 mph, the speedometer displayed inaccurate and high readings. the dealer replaced the entire instrument panel. the failure mileage was 51,000 and current mileage was 54,000. updated 03/05/08. *lj updated 03/05/08 *tr

The speedometer in my 2004 impala with only 42,000 miles on it has suddenly gotten a mind of it's own. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. i called the service department of the dealership and they said it would be over $500 to get it fixed. i have looked for recalls but can't find any but have found plenty of complaints. i never know for sure how fast i am going. *tr

Speedometer failing just like everyone else's so i have to drive without knowing what the speed limit is. this car has always been maintained and babied, and now there is a safety issue that apparently no one cares about. *tr

Driving on a trip and all of a sudden my speedometer mph indicator jumper to 90 mph as i was sitting at a stop light. when i proceeded forward the indicator needle reset you 90 mph and this reset continued until it was pointing straight down. it did not reset after turning the ignition off and on. i had no idea how fast my vehicle was going after that. i went to a web site for auto troubles and found 72 reports of the same problem with gm speedometers. i strongly feel that this should have been a recall since a nonfunctional speedometer is a safety hazard. ps - other gm models also have reports of this malfunctioning speedometers. gm want $500 to replace the entire speedometer, when a simple capacitor fix is all that is required. a temp fix works for a few weeks, they it happens again and gm said if you replace the speedometer and it happens again, then it costs another $500 to replace the replacement? gm wants to fleece us! *tr

Instrument cluster failure causing speedometer to show inaccurate readings and/or become completely inoperative. other gauges also register inaccurate reading.*cn

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the speedometer displays inaccurate readings. on occasion, the speedometer displays 50 mph when the contact is actually driving 30 mph. the speed sensor was checked and the contact was informed that the defect was in the actual speedometer cluster. she was traveling at what the speedometer read as 30 mph around a curb, but she was actually traveling much faster and almost struck the curb. the dealer would not repair the vehicle for free because it is not under a recall. the failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 90,000.

Chevy 2004 impala: speed and temp gauge were reading erratically and at times stayed at a particular speed and temp which were not accurate. gauge cluster was changed out according to a dealership. who knows what they really did. had vehicle in to same dealership again for intermediate steering column shaft for a knocking sound. dealership lubricated shaft. to me, if something is making noise, this means there is contact with at least two components causing wear. i believe the shaft should have been changed out. all problems have not returned, yet. no accidents or injuries or speeding tickets either, thank god. i can guarantee you the dealership or the manufacturer of this vehicle would not pick up the cost of a speeding ticket or associated costs due to an injury or death. what i would like to know is when is someone going to step up and put some real heat on the auto industry. does it take a death of a fellow citizen to take action? i think it's too late if that's what it takes. i don't recall the dates of either incident so the date i enter is not accurate. i could give you the phone number of the dealership to find out the actual dates, but your not looking to make waves with the industry. please tell me i'm not wasting my time with this complaint. please tell me there is a genuine concern at nhtsa. please do not insult my intelligence. yes i'm angry and dissatisfied with the auto industry whose aim is to live off of components breaking down so you have to bring your vehicle back in. it sure would be nice to purchase a vehicle, drive off the dealership lot and never having to return. *tr

About 6 months ago my temperature gauge started acting strange. never going back down to normal. then about 1 week ago, my speedometer started getting stuck and never going back down to zero when i stopped. it is very dangerous when you have your children in the car and don't know how fast you are going. would look real bad when there are so many complaints all over internet about this exact problem from people who are experiencing this same default of the gauges not working properly and chevy does nothing about it until someone gets injured and sues. *tr

The temperature gauge on my 2004 chevy impala does not work and now my speedometer is not working properly. know i have no idea how fast i am going (a safety hazard in school zones) nor do i know if my engine is overheating which could cause some other serious problems. *tr

We were driving and the speedometer just went down to zero. it was erratic and sometimes when we were going very slow, the speedometer would say 70. other times when we were going about 65 mph, it would say 10. sometimes when we turned the car off, the speedometer stuck at 10 mph. *tr

I have a 2004 impala that has an erratic speedometer movement. i haven't had an accident as a result of this problem, but it has caused me to become confused and anxious about my exact speed. i am concerned about the possibility of having an accident as a result of this problem. i have contacted gm's customers service about this problem and requested they correct it under warranty. they refused to comply with my request. i know this is a problem with other gm vehicles that is being corrected under a recall. i believe it to be the same part failure, only different type vehicle. if i should have an accident as a result of this situation i believe gm will be liable. sometimes the speedometer appears to be working correctly and this only adds to the confusion when it isn't correct. my wife has driven at excessive speeds not knowing the speedometer wasn't correct. we first reported this problem to a chevorlet dealership oct. 2007 although we had first noticed a problem months earlier. the problem progressively worsened. now it's become a real problem, not knowing how fast i'm going and especially in heavy traffic at unknown speeds. *tr

2004 chevrolet impala's transmission starts slipping. it moves very slowly in the mornings. it moves very slowly from 1st to 2nd gear. it will not pull hills at a slow speed but on the interstate at 50-55mph it will only slow down just a little. it basically will not go over 65 miles per hour. i have to stay in the slow lane. plus, the digital instrument panel does not work so i can only assume i am going 50-55 miles per hour by judging the speed pattern of the other motorists. this means no temperature gauge, no speedometer, and no fuel gauge. i check fluid levels every week. i fill up my tank every saturday and wednesday. i am stuck and sick of this because i can not afford to get two things fixed that should only stop working on old cars. this car is 4 years old. *tr

The speedometer instrument cluster is not working properly. my speedometer does not work most of the time in cold weather, and always moves erratically, providing inaccurate measurements of speed. my tachometer does not work at all after several months of erratic movements and inaccurate readings. *tr

The speedometer has failed. at first the failure was intermittent, but now the speedometer is pegged at 120 mphplus, even when stopped. it is impossible to determine how fast i am traveling in ever changing road conditions. i consider this failure to be a safety issue. i called the local gm dealer and they quoted a repair cost of $375.00 plus. i then found out, that in september, that delphi had settled a gm lawsuit.delphi had compensated gm with $47.5 million and 1.1 million free instrument cluster modules to replace the defective products that delphi had supplied to gm. this is a safety issue that should result in a recall of gm vehicles. *tr

2004 chevy impala would not start. security light came on. called the dealership and was told that the vehicles security anti-theft system can sometimes lockup making it appear as if the car is being stolen. very expensive to replace. was told to reset the security system as follows...turn key to on position and wait 10 minutes until security light stops flashing. turn the key off for 5 seconds and restart the car. this has worked each time we have had this problem, however, my 17 year old daughter was stranded..by herself..at 10:30pm in a university parking lot and had no idea what to do. luckily she had a cell phone so she could call me. i stepped her through the process to get the car started again. this could be a serious problem for young women to be stranded. i searched the internet and found several people having the same problem..even in much older models. when is gm going to fix this problem? *tr

Instrument panel we noticed that the temp gauge was reading that the car was overheating when it shouldn't. it was intermittent at first, so we checked fluid levels and everything checked out. then we realized that meter wasn't resetting when we turned off the car. it was operating as though wherever the needle left off was 0, so the car read as overheating. a few months later it spread to the speedometer. sometimes the needle would stick at 10mph and sometimes it would remain at 0. sometimes it would work fine. then one day it also stopped all together and remained at 0. *tr

My speedometer and my temp gauge in my 2004 impala (with 55,000 miles)do not work. i attempted to leave work last night and my car had a problem starting-my security light stayed on until i got home and my clock reset. i went to move my vehicle today and it will not start-it will click,but will not start. i have replaced the battery and yet it still is having problems starting. *tr

We have a chevy impala and the speedometer doesn't work properly. sometimes it stays at 0 and other times it says some ridiculous speed. we have researched and several people also have this problem. owners of these cars should not have to pay for the fix because they did nothing wrong and its a crucial part of the car. gm screwed up and should recall because it is dangerous when people drive without the speedometer because they don't have the money or don't want to waste it. *tr

Temperature gauge quit working, and now as of today my speedometer is not working either, it was working fine and then just shot to 120 and then when i shut off my car it buried the needle and now it will not move. this is a 2004 chevy impala. *jb

The transmission shift sensor has had to be replaced 2times in the past 8 year due to it being faulty. i am not sure what kind of a safety issue this could be but it really starts just randomly jerking into gear for no reason, i had it replaced 8 years ago and now again it is getting done, on top of that the ignition pass lock sensor has been causing the car not to start and from everything i have research this is a problem on gm cars from 2000-2004, i filed several complaints on car complaints.com and you can clearly see there is a problem. it's going to cost me over 1100.00 to get theses two things fixed. i am very upset that chevy chooses to ignore these problems. over the past 4 months i have been stranded over 10 times because my car just wouldn't start. it took the shop a few days to even diagnosis it because they had to get them both to act up due to the computer not storing codes.it seems to me there is some electrical issues with this year but gm chooses to ignore these complaints

I have a 2004 chevy impala that the electronic instrument cluster does not work on. the gas gauge, temp gauge, and speedometer have not worked consistently on this car since i purchased this car back on 09/2007. the speedometer will show that i am going 0 miles an hour when i am actually moving, and my gas gauge will be pointing straight down, same as my temp gauge. i have taken the car back to bill seidle chevrolet, the dealer that i purchased it from, and they will not address the issue. i have also contacted chevorlet about this situation and was told that it is not important enough and life threatening enough to have this addressed. even though there are blogs out there with hundreds of people with the exact same problem that i am experiencing. i feel that this is extremely dangerous not just to my 2004 chevy impala but to virtually every gm owner since thru 2005, that there is a serious known safety issue resulting from the failure of the instrument cluster unable to determine speed of vehicle, when or if a vehicle is overheating, unable to determine how much or if any gas remains in the vehicle, these are serious issues when driving a 2004 chevy impala. a driver has no way of knowing critical information needed when driving a vehicle. the gas gauge, temp gauge, speedometer do not work. chevy is aware of the issue and has consistently refused to make repairs of the faulty instrument panel. i implore you to please demand the chevy recall on this electronic instrument cluster failures for the safety of all of us. i challenge you to google 2004 chevy impala, invariably every result will pertain to electronic instrument cluster. how could this not rise to the level requiring a recall? *tr

I seriously thought i was the only one having these problems. i bought a 2004 chevrolet impala in aug 07. the problems started only a month after i bought the car. first the temp gauge would register all the way up to 260. after checking to make sure the car was not running hot, i started calling dealers to try to figure out what the problem was. i was informed by a several dealerships they have seen several problems with the instrument panel and they continued telling how much it would cost to replace it. well only a couple weeks later the speedometer started the same thing. it would stick and not register right. the problem is still continuing cause i can't afford to fix it. i continued my regular maintenance on the car and during and oil change i was informed the transmission fluid needed to changed, so i made the appointment to have it changed on saturday. only a couple of hours after having it changed we went to back up and the transmission slipped. this had never happened before so we thought it just might be low on fluid. after checking the fluid level was fine but the problems continued. now it slips when i put it in drive to take off and you can hear the transmission whining while being driven. as of now it still slips, sometimes, ands whines, and of course the instrument panel is still messed up because i cannot afford to have it fixed. i have spoken to several people that own impalas and i have come to find out they are having the same problems i am having. you would think by now that gm would realize there is a problem and they are not just isolated incidents. *tr

My 2004 chevrolet impala is currently having issues with the speedometer. the speedometer is showing every speed other than the actual speed being driven. it sometimes shows speeds slower but more often showing speeds in excess of 120 mph. this is an obvious issue of safety. it is a well known fact that speed kills, and if you don't know how fast you are going, you a taking a chance that could prove fatal. the vehicle is currently at the local chevrolet dealership. they advise it is the speedometer cluster. this was an issue that gm corrected with their 2004 chevrolet trucks, yet refuse to acknowledge exists in the 2004 impala's. a quick search of "chevrolet speedometer malfunctions" brings up independent websites with 2004 impalas topping the list of others with this same safety issue. this appears to be a problem found in this vehicle with mileage ranging from 20,000 miles to 100,000 miles. i will request that the dealership give me the malfunctioning part. *tr

I have read on several web sites that thousands of people were having trouble with the passlock system on their gm vehicles and i am one of those thousands of people. i am having trouble with using my own key to start my own car, but it will not start for 10-15 minutes. *tr

Gas leaking out throttle body. car is idling low. cuts off while driving. instrument panel cluster went out and then all of the before mentioned problems started happening. skips after being tuned up. *jb

The security lights in my vehicle comes on and engine will not crank for 10 - 20 minutes. *tr

The speedometer started reading incorrectly. it goes up, but does not go back down when you slow down. now the temperature gauge is doing the same thing. i also owned a 2004 chevrolet silverado 4x4 that had the same problem. the chevrolet dealer repaired the problem at no cost to me. however, when i contacted chevrolet about the 2004 impala, i was told that they knew about the problem, but were not correcting it at that time under any recall. if i wanted the problem fixed, i would have to pay for it myself. i feel that this is a safety issue that chevrolet should correct as they did with the 2004 silverado. *tr

Approx. 2007 - speedometer began fluctuating intermittently every few weeks. it corrected for a few weeks, then the problem would return. the frequency of the problem became worse in 2008. in 2009 it would fluctuate wildly, then "peg" to the maximum for extended periods(several weeks). finally, it "pegged" to the maximum and has not returned. inquiries result in estimates exceeding $500.00 to repair. *tr

My speedometer goes haywire whenever it wants. my speedometer will say i'm going 60 mph but i'm not really going that fast. sometimes it goes the other way. it will say i'm doing 30 mph and i'm actually doing about 60 mph. right now parked in the parking lot it says the car is going over 120 mph. i have checked for recalls and the a none for this defect. i call it a defect because i have found numerous people with the same issue, and their cars have about the same mileage as mine. this is a huge safety issue not to mention an issue with the law, because i have no idea when it's going to happen. i would get it fixed but i just had a baby (so not safe to have her along with me) and i don't have an extra $500 laying around. normally when something goes wrong with my vehicle it is not an issue, i get it fixed because its normal wear and tear. i do not feel that a speedometer is something that should have these kinds of issues at 69,000 miles. it should hold up to what the company says the expected life of the car is. this "defect has 2 tsb#'s but i don't know how to go about getting them used to fix the car. tsb#'s 01726 & 050604058 are the numbers but nothing tells me what i should do with those numbers or who i should talk to about using the numbers to get the car fixed. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet impala. while driving at approximately 30 mph, the vehicle security light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. the failure recurred twice. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 100,000.

My 2004 impala ss has had several failures of the instrument panel cluster. the first was incorrect speedometer readings that lead to total failure of the speedometer (sticking and/or erratic behavior of the speedometer needle). the second was improper fuel level indication (high level shown with low fuel light coming on - almost no fuel left). the latest is incorrect oil pressure indication. all of these are known issues with the model of stepper motor used to drive these gauges in many gm vehicles. my total cost for repair has been in excess of $300, not including the current oil pressure gauge repair (stepper motors for speedo and fuel level gauge). i plan on having all stepper motors replaced with the latest generation replacement (switec x25.168). this is something that gm needs to take responsibility for and correct as it is a very widespread issue. *tr

My 2004 impala's temperature gauge began to read false temperatures around 58,000 miles. to this day, it is stuck and will not move. soon after this problem, my speedometer froze on 50 mph. i was able to get it to go back to zero the following day be turning the key a number of times to the acc. position. now, every time i start the car, the speedometer either freezes or it will think another number is the zero position. for example, if i am going 60 mph, it will read 100 if it happened to stop at 40 mph, making it the zero position. this problem is very dangerous because i don't know how fast i am going! nothing has been done to fix the problem yet. i will be contacting the dealer tomorrow, but if i am no longer under warranty, there is now way i am going to pay $500 for this. *tr

The gauge that tells the speed does not work. everytime i am using the car it gets stuck and the only way to correct the issue is by turning the car on and off. i am sorry, but this is an extreme safety issue. i have no clue how fast i am going or how slow i am going which could lead to a major car accident. *tr

The instrument cluster(speedometer, tach) of my 2004 impala is malfunctioning. there have been many complaints about it on the internet from other consumers and they all have been told that there is no recall and you have to get it fixed yourself for 500-800.00 and its not just happening to a few people but a lot. sometimes it will read that i'm doing 50 mph on the highway and i am easily passing everyone up so it is a safety problem. *tr

My speedometer and fuel gauge has quite working as well as my climate control motor. i bought this car used without a warranty. when things started going wrong a couple months after i bought it i started looking for info only to find lots of complaints about the issues i am having. i think this problem needs to be addressed and a recall issued before someone gets hurt or killed due to not knowing how fast you are going or running out of gas in a cold out of the way place unable to get help. i have managed not to have an accident or run out of gas but others may not be so fortunate. *tr

At about 70,000 miles my impala's temperature gauge started acting funny. once it stayed on cold while i drive completely across town. the next day it went all the way to hot. i got off, checked the water and oil levels. everything was fine. within a few days i noticed that my speedometer showed that i was going 50-60 mph while i was driving in a parking lot. i stopped and the gauge stuck at 40 mph. both gauges have continued to go haywire. my temperature gauge is now stuck way past the hot level and has almost made it all the way around again. my speedometer is stuck on 50 mph for the last 4 days and at times also almost goes all the way around. i attempted to chevrolet and they are basically doing nothing about this even though reading on multiple websites about other peoples issues, this is the main problem with the 2004 chevrolet impala. *tr

Speedometer consistently reads incorrectly and/or freezes in place. occurs daily, rarely gives correct reading. dealer wants $69.95 to evaluate and repair will be $400-$500 if it is what they think it is. car has not been in any accidents. coolant temperature gauge has periodically malfunctioned as well: shows high temps when engine is not overheating. coolant levels are normal. *tr

There were no warnings of the failure. speedometer erratic reads 120 + mph when stopped. falls to 0mph at 75mph. this is now continuous performance. unable to determine speed of vehicle. safety issue. no repairs attempted at this time. web sites indicate this is a known problem at gm and a significant problem with the vehicle 2004 impala. *tr

I own a 2004 chevy impala. every few days the speedometer quits working and works it's way up to 120+ mph, even when sitting still. it takes a couple days to reset itself, and then the problem starts all over again. huge problem because i don't know how fast i'm going. of course it's out of warranty and costs over $500 to repair, but doing some research it sounds like it is a malfunctioning part on almost all 2004 impalas, which i believe should lead to a recall, not money out of every owners pocket. seems like a huge safety issue to me. *tr

We bought an impala chevrolet 2004 new in 2004. there were a few problems with it. instrument panel cluster -and speedometer gauge did not work and noises came from the instrument panel. steering gear popped/clanking noise heard and sensed from front end. also, seemed like something was wrong with the transmission because it did not change gears correctly, and it kind of bumped when accelerating, appeared as if engine did not want to accelerate. there was a delayed start, may be necessary to hold key in start several seconds until starting or turning back and trying again. sometimes key locked in and won't turn. took to dealer, but it did not do it for them. *ak on the steering gear the steering intermediate shaft was replaced on 11/19/05. again the noise was back and on 07/17/07 the steering intermediate shaft was lubricated. on other issues repairs are to costly. do not feel secure on vehicle these problems have been going on for the past two years.

My speedometer, temperature gauge and gas hand stopped working summer 07 permanently. *tr

Previously this year the spedometer would be stuck at a higher speed than the vehicle was moving, at a standstill it would show 50mph. that has resolved spontaneously, now however the fuel gauge is showing 3/4 of a tank when it was earlier at 1/4 and i have not added any fuel, it is not dropping below 3/4 of a tank despite driving the vehicle.