Problems with 2003 Chevrolet Impala ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My 03 chevy impala lights flash on and off all day long whether the car is on, off, or driving down the road i have gone to the dealer and they don't know what's wrong with it but they are willing to charge me $800 to try to fix it. also the car does not start after it has rained. *tr

I own a 2003 chevy impala. about once a week for the last month, the vehicle fails to start. the security light flashes on the information panel indicating that the passlock system has locked out the fuel system. spoke to a dealership and was told that the repair would be time consuming and costly. i have only owned the vehicle for about 18 months. *tr

Vehicle has failed to start four(4) times. security light illuminates along with service engine soon light too many times to count. the failure was corrected by repair at a dealer. part was replaced. no code came up on the computer for the check engine light and was charged for it anyway. part replaced was the bcm. *tr

I own a 2003 chevy impala. in 2007 i began having problems with the car doors not locking and then the horn going off when i opened the door. a fuse was blowing out so i was instructed by one of the mechanics at the dealership to buy some fuses and change them as they go out. i also had issues with the car not wanting to start. i had the car at the dealership 6 times. the last time it was brought in via tow truck because it wouldn't start at all. no computer codes ever registered. in exasperation they replaced the body control module. this seemed to "fix" the problem. now a year and a half later and out of both my warranty and extended warranty we're having the same problems again. i've taken it again to the dealership and they drove it for three days. can't find anything wrong with it again. i drove it and today it wouldn't lock and or start. i waited about 30 minutes and was able to get it to start again. the car doesn't even have 80,000 miles on it and i'm sick of these problems! this car is not reliable transportation for me anymore and the dealership doesn't seem to be concerned. why is there no recall on this? i think i'm going to have to go trade in my car for something more reliable since no one can seem to figure out these issues nor repair them! *tr

Drive car and park and turn off. return 1 hour to 1 day later car will not start intermittently. all lights came on but car will not crank. keep trying and within a half hour car will start. have had it towed to a mechanic in which they replaced the starter and the occurrence happened 1 month later. mechanic wanted me to drop off car and leave it there until it happens again. can not afford to have my car sitting at a mechanic for who knows how long and even then they still may not know what's wrong. have been to many online discussion boards and many people have the same problem but no known fixes. as of this writing the no start problem has not been resolved. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet impala. while the vehicle was parked the contact noticed the security light illuminated on the instrument. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. the mechanic stated the key had to remain in acc mode for a few minutes before it would start. the failure occurred intermittently and became progressively worse over time. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician stated the pass lock key sensor had to be replaced. the failure continued to occur after the vehicle was repaired. the dealer stated the failure did not occur with both keys used to turn the vehicle on. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 158,000.

Sometimes when you go out to start the vehicle, it will not start. have been told that they have a problem with the anti-theft system on these vehicles, i can believe this since the security light does not flash when the problem occurs. this is very troubling since it can happen at any time, you never know if you will get the car to start. someone should make gm own up to this problem and get it fixed, as i am sure it is not just on my vehicle. *tr

We bought my son a 2003 chevy impala, the speedometer has quit functioning all of the sudden. sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. he drives over two hours back and forth to college and i feel it is quite a safety issue and chevy will do nothing about it. i have read many complaints from people with the same issue and feel this should be a recall! i don't have $500.00 for the repair which many other people have had to pay! *tr

I have a 2003 chevy impala and the security light keeps going on when i drive or a few minutes after sometimes it wont start too. has new fuel pump,filter,complete tune up, everything is up to date on my car but the security light will still come on. i have heard plenty of complains and they all lead down to the " passlock system" so far no one can figure it out. they said the ignitions wire must be soldered directly to the passlock sensor? but i don't really know. *tr

The bcm in the 2003 chevy impala has been a very very big problem in my new car. i recently bought this car, and had all types of problems with the locks, light, radio, starting the car, security lock, etc. *tr

This is an ongoing problem with chevrolet cars with "passlock" security. the security banner will appear in the dash monitor. shortly after this the car will not start for 10 to 15 minutes,after being shut off. the electrical system is in perfect working order. during this time the security banner alternates with the battery icon. with the ign switch in the on position. after the 10 to 15 minutes the car will correct itself and start as if nothing happened. my true concern here is that,this is my wife's car and now she tells me she leaves it running at the gas pump. for fear of it not starting. this is where safety comes in. is it not posted on all gas pumps. to shut off engine? many of these cars are not under warranty. and the dealers from reports i've read seem to throw parts at this problem at the car owners cost. there should be a recall on this matter. before someone is injured or killed at a gas pump, with their car left running because it may not start. thank you *tr

Security light on, lights flashing inside car, car will not start, towed to dealer while on warranty, they said no problem. has happened 3 times, last time car has failed to start and has sat for 3 months. no warning prior to this , it just doesn't start. *tr

My 2003 chevy impala has the passlock security system and out the blue my car will not start. this has occurred 3 times in the past 3 months. the 1st time it started right up at the dealer but they said the fuel pump was bad. the second time was on fathers day and i waited 10 minutes and it started up. took it back to the dealer but they just said without a code they can't do anything. third time i again waited 10 minutes and it started. i just know some day that trick is not going to work. why can't gm admit there is a problem and correct this problem. its all over the internet and people are spending tons of money on fixes that don't solve the problem. *tr

Security light would come on intermittently, door locks won't work, sometimes car wouldn't start. security system is bad. had to have a new ignition switch. car still won't start. now needs a body control module. car still at mechanics. i have been without my car for 60 days. unsure what bill is up to. car would start overheating. occurred 3-5 times before it was diagnosed and fixed. it was the lower intake manifold gasket. replaced it for around $600.00. headlights go out while driving. mechanic and dealer has never been able to figure out why. nothing has been done to fix the problem. car would start knocking and ride rough to the point that it couldn't be driven. it occurred 2 times on different bolts. rocker arm bolts were blown out of the head. fixed for $300.00 each time. *tr

Passlock system on 2003 impala keeps locking out the fuel system keeping the car from starting. the ignition switch was previously replaced for this reason, now it's happening again. *tr

My 2003 chevrolet impala the speedometer reads 140 miles at all time or shows nothing. *tr

Noticed failure of air bags, door locks, radio, a/c, security lockout/ no start battery drained. i am ase certified and located the battery drain to the bcm (body control module). after replacing it, it was necessary to take it to the dealer to have it reprogrammed. at this time all functions (but the door locks) work. of course the dealer rep says that the problem was pre existing as all the other functions work. i will now start looking into the cause of the door lock failure. here's why i'm writing. these problems are huge safety issues not to mention the expense and extreme inconvenience and "down" time. as you drive, the car has no air bags, the door locks don't work and with my 4 door car i can't even lock my car to park it outside of an unlocked garage. i want this to known as the most unsafe vehicle i have ever driven. *tr

I have a 2003 chevrolet impala that started having problems not starting. my wife has been stranded several times and when i would arrive the car would start. i started happening every two weeks or so now it happens every time we use the car. if you it set for 10 to 30 minutes it will start. i have found that if you remove the fuse to the bcm for about 30 sec the car will start . i have read several web site about the problem and they say that cost $500 to have the problem repaired by a dealer. i believe that with as many people are having the same problem there should be a investigation why gm isn't recalling cars with this problem. *tr

I have 2003 chevy impala and has been failing to start for over a year. at first wait 10 to 15 minutes and try if it didn't start wait again and continue this until it did start. then i found if you removed the bcm fuse and replaced it, the car would start. so i installed a switch to remove power from the bcm to reset it. now depending on the outside temp. it takes 1 to 20 tries to start the car. this is very inconvenient and i feel dangerous because my wife primarily drive the car. i have read several forums about this problem and no one has been able to come up this a fix for this. i believe it should be recalled by gm. *tr

My security light started to flash then everything went crazy from there lights blinking on and off doors locking and unlocking then the radio will show locked on it trunk will open while driving down the road. the vehicle would start on cool days now that it has turned hot it will not start at all. i have read all kinds of complaints on this matter this issue really needs to be looked into and issue a recall i have had numerous dealers tell me it is a bcm and it will cost approx 500.00 if so many of these impalas are having this problem someone needs to do something or tell someone how to fix this without paying 500.00. *tr

My wife was driving home during evening hours on a narrow 2 lane county road when without warning the headlights and interior lights totally turned off. she immediately stopped on the roadway as there was no shoulder to move onto. she tried to operate the headlights manually with no effect. the engine was not affected. she called me via cell phone and began to explain when the lights came back on. she proceeded toward our home and about 500 feet from our driveway the lights went off again. i searched the internet and found several other identical instances with no resolution as the problem appears intermittently. an internet tech said the fix is to replace the body control module (bcm). i have already had one replaced at my expense for a non-related problem on 08/04/2006. i have not yet called the dealer this time because of their denial of the previous bcm problem - that once replaced at my insistence fixed that problem. this is a very dangerous and scary situation with huge potential for harm. my wife will now not drive the car at night and much of her work (and mine) involves evening meetings. *tr

Passkey theft detterent system fails not allowing car to start. there is no work around except to return car to dealership. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet impala. the contact attempted to start the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. the security light on the instrument panel flashed. the failure occurs approximately during every tenth start attempt. the vehicle has not yet been taken to the dealer. the contact called the manufacturer and was advised to make an appointment with the local dealer. the current and failure mileages were 94,000.

Traction control light and abs light both can come on at intermittent times. both happen when turning into or backing out of a parking space in any sort of weather including perfectly dry cement. i have been told that this problem has lead to accidents with individuals because you don't get the full breaking power when making turns. this happens also when making slow turns around any corner. the problem is now happening almost all of the time when making turns. i have been told to replace my front hubs as well as the wiring harnesses but i have been reading up on it and have seen that none of those things have worked for anyone and the problem continues to come back after spending over $1000 dollars. *tr

Went to work early one morning, when i got off work got in car, put key in ignition and ignition would not turn. had not had any previous problems with ignition at all. i tried other spare keys and they also would not turn ignition. a mechanic say that it is the ignition cylinder is froze. *tr

Car wouldn't start at random on day, wouldn't crank, security light would flash when key was turned to on, took it to dealer and they said it was the passlock sensor and ignition switch. about a week later did the same thing, no crank and security light flashing, they reprogrammed it again and said that the bcm might be going out. didn't have a problem with it for about 3 weeks, then it did the same thing again. car sat for about a week before taking it to the dealer and they just had to jump the car and it started. after i got it back the third time the check engine light was on, the auto locks and headlights did not work. now about 3 months later, car is doing the same thing again... *tr

Car will sometimes start and often not, unsafe if going on a trip internet says most likely problem is pass key or bcm module.... *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet impala. while driving various speeds at night, the instrumental panel lights, headlights, and turn signals failed. the vehicle was repaired on august 3, 2007. the dealer replaced the body control module and the lights functioned normally for three months. the dealer informed the manufacturer that they could not diagnose the cause of the failure. the current mileage was 78,868 and failure mileage was 70,407. updated 04/03/08. *lj the consumer stated the problem happened aganon on march 15,2008.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that on two separate occasions while driving at various speeds, the headlights and instrument panel lights shut off. the first failure, the lights illuminated again and the second time, the contact could only use the high beams. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current mileage was 73,500 and failure mileage was 53,500.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet impala. in august of 2007, while driving approximately 25 mph, the turn signals failed. immediately following this incident, while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle overheated. the contact pulled to the side of the road, lifted the hood, and noticed smoke rising from the engine. she took the vehicle to a local repair shop and the mechanic informed her that the radiator was cracked and needed to be repaired. the repairs were made, but the vehicle overheated again months later. in august of 2008, body work was performed on the vehicle and afterwards the exterior lighting began to illuminate on and off automatically. she took the vehicle back to the body shop and was informed that the failure was due to a defective combination switch. the combination switch was replaced and the mechanic stated that the repair was unsuccessful; therefore, the original part was reinstalled. after the failed attempt to repair the failure, the mechanic performed a diagnostic test and stated that the failure was due to the combination switch. the manufacturer and dealer have not been notified. the current mileage was 171,920 and failure mileage was 150,000.

Theft system had to be disabled because car would not start 3 times and had to be towed. remote car access had to be removed for above reason. cost over $500 to repair. faulty theft module. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the vehicle would not start and the courtesy lights remained illuminated. in addition, the check engine light illuminated, the battery lights would scroll across the message center, and a chime would ring. the failures occur sporadically. the more the vehicle is driven, the more the failures occur. the dealer stated that the body control module needed to be replaced. the powertrain and purchase date were unknown. the current mileage is 65,746 and failure mileage was 65,600.

The car was bought new from dealership, with occasional grinding noises noted in reverse and headlights "surging" at night while driving. dealership unable to replicate with the exception of grinding. i was told a loose wire was causing noise in reverse. on 09/26/05, after noticing hard stalls while attempting to start, the fuel pump went out $281.60 for new one. 12/09/05, to dealership for starting concerns and maintenance. 04/13/06-car would not start to leave work. ward's chevrolet came to my work site. left me a rental and kept my car until 04/20/06. i paid $674.56 for a 2nd fuel pump and fuel module. 06/21/06- to local garage with same complaints. $100 paid for "short" in electrical that caused no start and towing. 08/04/06-cooper buick in monroe,la- $281.00 for another fuel pump and recall on 2003 impala headgaskets that i was unaware of. 11/22/06-no start, turn over-went outside 3 hours later-starts with hard start. 12/06/06-brakes went from quiet to grinding-slow hard starts continue. ward's kept the car for a month-never told me what was wrong with car except brakes. did not charge. at this time i had requested a gm investi.-no results-states"the dealership was unable to replicate concern". the car continues to have slow, hard starts with very noticeable gas smells. the smell of gas has been occurring since 04/20/06 repairs. now service, abs, security lights come on and off intermittently with the smell of gas and slow, hard starts. i have been calling ward's since the first week of march 2007 requesting factory rep. to meet and drive car after their having a month with no improvements in cars functioning. i called this a.m. to be informed that new service dept. manager was not aware of problem. this is the 4th time since march i have requested the factory rep. with no response from ward's. *tr

My passlock system has been malfunctioning for years now (2007-2015) and at random intervals, my car will not start and i have to wait 15 minutes before the engine will start. sometimes the "security" light will turn on while i am operating the vehicle and after i have parked it, the security light will flash and i can't start the engine until after the 15 minute cycle has concluded. not only has this issue been an inconvenience, but i have had occasions where it has put me in danger. i am not responsible for the passlock system failure, nor do i have the funds to repair or remove it. i believe that passlock was a faulty system from the beginning and the fact that it has not been recalled shocks me. i am very afraid that one day the passlock system malfunction will occur when the vehicle is in motion and that i will lose power steering, braking, and other vital operational functions. noticeably, the passlock malfunction has become more frequent, so i needed to file this complaint. i have talked to service experts at my local chevy dealership and they have told me on more than one occasion that this issue is widespread, including many gm vehicles, and that eventually my car just won't start anymore. the quoted prices to fix this issue (either repairing it or removing it entirely) have been ridiculously high and i don't understand why i should be forced into paying for a well-known gm/chevrolet problem.

I have a 2003 chevy impala that has starting problems(no start) . since 2004, there have been at least 4 bcm and pcm modules installed on this car from the gm dealers in which i have all the paperwork for. for the first year, the security light would come on then car wouldn't start for 10-15mins. then the second year car wouldn't start for 30-45mins. take to dealer and they couldn't find any problems. so the third year, after missing alot of time from work, it starting doing the same thing and i had it towed to gm. they had it a week and still found no problems. then the following week the same thing happened and towed again- this time they started throwing parts at it because they didn't have a clue( bill heard in plant city,fl). so after new parts, it ran for about 4-6 months and started doing the same thing. i again took to dealer and no problem found but they decided to put another bcm on it. then it would work for a few weeks and then the security light, traction light,abs light would come on and next time i try to start it then nothing would happen. so this is happening almost every other day now. this car has left me stranded so many times that i am sick of it and i keep putting money out for towing bills and all the gm dealer can tell me is to bring it in and they would look at it again. i have put out alot of money for bcms every year now and no warranty nor my money back for defective parts. i think gm has done a poor job at evaluating these concerns and do not care about the customer. something needs to be done about this issue and a recall needs to be on all of the vehicles with the passlock ii system. *tr

I have a 2003 chevrolet impala. i have had it for a couple of years and within a few month of getting it my door lock fuse started blowing. after a couple of months of replacing the fuse every other day my security light started coming on while i was driving. during the past year when i drive the car sometimes it does good other times my headlights flicker on and off and go completely out which has almost caused me to have several accidents, my radio turns off on its own. there are a couple of fuses that blow that causes my car not to start at all, my interior lights flash on and off. my car has a mind of its own. *tr

When driving for long periods of time (around 2-3 hours), the radio console where the time is displayed gets very hot to the touch. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the engine and all the electrical system turned off while driving 40 mph. the ignition was turned on right after, however the vehicle stalled after five minutes while driving 10 mph. an independent mechanic determined that the toggle switch of the passlock security system had become defective. updated 8/1/2006 - *nm

Ignition - key would not turn. unable to move car. warm, sunny day at a local store parking lot. car had to be towed to dealership. cause: frozen lock cylinder. dealership had car for two (2) days to order part, reprogram and replaced. safety was a issue. cost to replace was $600. *jb

Car doesn't start for ten minutes and after that turn key and then it starts. it is vary upsetting for it makes me late for work sometimes are other places. *tr

2003 impala ls - headlights go off while driving. just shut off. doesn't matter if manual headlight switch is engaged or not. intermittent failure, sometimes not for two hours, sometime every few seconds, sometimes when switching low to high beams, no specific speed or driving conditions. all interior lights and parking lights appear to remain on when the headlights fail. sometimes can get headlights back on by switching off and on again, sometimes by flashing low to high, but they don't always come back on regardless of action. sometimes just have to park the car until daylight. car had just over 44,000 miles on it when i bought it. drove for two weeks, but never at night, so not exactly sure of mileage of first incident. happened second time i drove the car at night. unable to repeat incident at dealer, but car was in "park" when they looked at it, and it was daytime. it could be happening while daytime, too, but i can't tell from inside the car. i could get a ticket in maryland for driving with no headlights while using windshield wipers. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle is equipped with automatic door locks. this feature locks the doors automatically when the vehicle is put into drive. due to a failure in the automatic door lock, the doors must be manually locked. the vehicle has been inspected however the problem cannot be corrected. also the keyless entry has been taken to the dealer 5 times for reprogramming. this only corrected the problem for a short period of time. updated 4/6/2006 - *nm

Ignition - key would not turn. unable to move car. warm , sunny day. car towed to dealership. cause: frozen lock cylinder. dealership had car for three (3) days to order part, reprogram and replace. dealership said they had three (3) other cars with same problem during that one week! safety: this could have happened anywhere such as while pumping gas or stopping on the side of the road. consequence: car had to be towed. i lost three (3) days use of my car. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the abs and traction control intermittently stop working. the abs and traction control lamps illuminated before the systems would fail. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and repairs. the dealer discovered the wiring harness had rusted and caused the systems to fail. the wiring harness was replaced and the vehicle operates normally.

Dt: the contact stated the door locks were making a clicking noise and the doors would not lock. when he tried to lock the doors, they would slowly unlock. the battery died before he took the vehicle to the dealership. the dealership found the bcm, and the battery needed to be replaced. they state it was because the vehicle was not driven enough. the vehicle has been repaired, and there have been no further problems.*ak

My battery has failed three times in less than three years and has had to be replaced. i have been stranded twice having to wait over an hour to get assistance. each time i take the car into the dealer they say they can't understand why the battery would fail so soon and then they put in a new one. *jb

2003 chevrolet impala will sometimes fail to start when the key is engaged, happens at random but often inconvenient times. after ten or fifteen minutes will usually start. *tr

A 2003 chevrolet impala with 25,500 miles, the battery corroded through at the positive terminal. acid leaked from the battery down to the bottom of the car. in talking to the manager at sears, where i had the battery replaced, 8 out of 10 ac delco batteries that they replace, fail this way. in talking to chevrolet service managers, they see this quite often. i was told that ac delco now has batteries made off shore. how long before critical systems are affected?

In january 2004 we purchased a pre-owned 2003 chevrolet impala from larry puckett chevrolet's program car fleet, [xxx]. the warranty on the vehicle was up to 36,000 miles. until the past 2 weeks we have been more than pleased with the performance of the vehicle. on june 17, 2005 my wife, her mother and our two children, (4 yrs. and 10 months old), were traveling on interstate 85 south coming to montgomery from atlanta when the vehicle shuts down and loses all power. my wife lost all power steering and power brakes, at 70 mph she had to wrestle the wheel and stand on the brakes to direct the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. at that point, the vehicle cranks up fine and she completes the trip. following the total power shutdown the vehicle was taken to larry puckett chevrolet for repair. mr. donald barber was the associate who was our service consultant. he explained to my wife following replacement of the ignition switch that he had seen this situation before. that, was of great concern with me. has this problem caused injury or death to another consumer? i am writing a letter to robert lange, executive director of vehicle safety for general motors, and i will be copying the nhtsa with the letter. thank you for any assisstance. *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start until after several attempts and the anti-theft warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. the engine computer was replaced however, the failure persisted. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unavailable. updated 05/03/16*lj the consumer stated she was stranded on several occasions and had to wait anywhere from 15 minutes to 1/2 before the vehicle would re-start. updated 05/05/16.*jb