Problems with 2008 Chevrolet Impala ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. while driving 30 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle jerked severely. in addition, the brakes were unresponsive. the contact pulled over to restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred. the contact mentioned reconnecting a vacuum hose after observing that it was disconnected from the power booster. afterwards, the brakes became responsive. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle position sensor failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken to the dealer once more where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 81,000. updated 03/04/16*lj *tr

While driving my car the speed reduced itself from 40mph to 5 mph and the check engine light came on along with reduced engine power across my dashboard. the car started shaking and jerking. it then shut off while i was driving it. i had it towed the next day to the repair shop and they said a sensor was bad in the gas pedal and replaced the whole pedal. 4 days later it did the same thing. again it started shaking and jerking then shut itself off. i took it back to the repair shop but by the time they could read the codes the car had been shut off long enough that they couldn't find anything. they cleaned the throttle body and gave it back. the next day it did the same thing. i again took it back and did not shut it off til they read the codes. it read the throttle body was bad. they replaced it and gave the car back. 30 miles later, it started all over again. i have spoke to general motors and they refuse to do anything about this issue even though there are several forums on the web with impalas dating back to 2005 having this same issue. this is going to cause an accident and hurt/kill people if its not addressed soon. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that oil was leaking underneath the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the technician diagnosed that the valve cover gasket was leaking oil onto the manifold. as a result, the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 90,000. updated 04/08/16*lj

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. while driving approximately 35 mph, the engine stalled without warning. the vehicle was merged to the side of the road. upon restarting, the vehicle was able to operate normally. the failure occurred five times. on a separate occasion, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the power control module was replaced. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 27,000. updated 11/20/14*lj updated 01/13/15

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. while driving approximately 40 mph, the steering wheel seized without warning. the failure occurred twice. the vehicle was towed to a dealer and the technician stated that the rack and pinion, both front wheel bearings, and the intake manifold needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that while having maintenance performed on the vehicle, the technician made her aware that there was a leak coming from the cooling reservoir and gaskets. as a result, the seals on the motor mount and a new coolant reservoir would need to be installed. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 89,000.

The following has happened twice to me in the last 3 months. i was driving on the freeway 65-70mph when the service traction control/engine power reduced lights came on dash. my car then lost all power on the freeway and my speed was reduced to under 35mph. after stopping the vehicle and turning it off for approximately 5 minutes, the car started back up. *tr

Driving down highway when check engine light and "engine power reduced" appeared on my dash. soon after my speed and power was cut from 70 mph to under 40. i got another message saying "service throttle disabled" and my car lost all ability to accelerate and steer. i was forced to pull over and waited until it started up again. this is a dangerous flaw that is happening to many gm owners. please recall for everyone's safety. *tr

Letter from constituent who experienced problems with her 2008 impala, seeking reimbursement for the repairs she believes were all part of a recall. *smd the consumer stated on april 1, 2014, she had just exited the interstate highway, when suddenly the engine shut off. the vehicle would not re-start and a message appeared on the dash that read throttle control system. the vehicle was towed to a service station. the throttle body was replaced. on april 19, 2014. the check engine light illuminated as she was driving. she pulled into a parking lot, and turned off the engine. the vehicle did not re-start, once again, the vehicle had to be towed. the power train control module had to be replaced and the computer was re-programmed.*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that there was a popping noise coming from the air conditioner after it was turned on. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who diagnosed that the air conditioner actuator needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 85,000. the current mileage was 89,000. *tr

Check engine light comes on due to constant sensor failures. the first was a faulty oil sensor. the car shut down and was unable to start or run do to a service stabilitrak code. because of theboth issues we were unable to properly secure the car and its contents. the breakdown also cause us to be stranded in extremely cold weather. *tr

Th engine of my 2008 impala completely shut off on two occasions approximately two years ago after hitting a relatively large pot hole. in the first incident, i was traveling west bound on snell road (oakland township, mi) between orion and rochester road and hit a large pot hole traveling approximately 40 miles per hour and the vehicle engine and electrical system completely shut off. as i recall, i steered the vehicle (manually) to the side of the road, put the vehicle in park, and restarted the engine. no other cars were coming either way. a similar incident happened approximately 3 months later as i was heading eastbound on snell road between mt. vernon and rochester road. when the gm ignition recalls started, i did not correlate these incidents with the recall. however, when i read a newspaper account recently of a gm employee experiencing the same situation with her 2006 impala, i realized it must have been an ignition issue as well. i assumed the 2008 impala would be recalled like the 2006 impala but to date, i the 2008 impala has not yet been recalled. please contact me with any further questions.

Reduce power light comes on. cars speed drastically reduces. if you pull over and wait for about ten minutes and restart the car,it resets itself. *tr

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 wasn't 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 vehicle ! hopefully not to late!!!!!! was lucky this problem was discovered while car was stopped and not on highway.. checked fluid, belts, all good . . ...

While driving at highway speeds, the check engine light came on, then the service traction control devices came on and immediately afterwards, there was a reduction in engine power and the car slowed considerably. the vehicle was taken to a dealership and was diagnosed with a failed throttle body. the throttle body was replaced and there has been no problems since. the failure was at 51757 miles and was not covered under warranty resulting in a $400 bill that the manufacturer would not cover. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. while driving approximately 30 mph over a small bump in the road, the vehicle stalled. the contact was able to drive onto the emergency lane and restart the vehicle. the contact was able to drive the vehicle without the failure recurring. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technicians could not diagnose the failure. the failure occurred three times intermittently. the manufacturer was contacted and researched the failure. a district manager returned the contacts call and stated that the failure could not be duplicated or diagnosed; yet, they did not provide assistance. the approximate failure mileage was 38,048.

I own a 2008 with less than 50,000 miles on it and the check engine light came on. i had it diagnosed and was told it is the secondary air injection system (diagnostic trouble code p2444) which caused the vehicle to fail the emissions test. the dealership refuses to repair it and states the warranty is only valid for 3 years or 30,000 miles. i cannot get the vehicle inspected until the problem is fixed and the check engine light goes off. i am very disappointed that a car only 2 years old can have such a major problem in such a short amount of time. the repairs will cost $1600 to $2000 because it is an internal problem with the engine. i tried to get the code reset only to have the check engine light come back on. *tr

2008 impala has bad gas pedal while you are driving the traction light and engine light comes on you lose a lot of the engine power until the traction light goes off this is very dangerous. i called gmc and took it to a dealer they put it on the machine first i was told it was sensor in the pedal. next i was told it was the wiring harness. by the same dealer now i don't know what to do i think something dangerous should be fixed by the dealer but they say it is not covered. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. while the contact was driving approximately 25 mph , she began reducing speed as she approached a stop signal. the "check traction control" and the check engine warning light indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. the contact stated there was a significant reduction in the engine power to the point of almost stalling. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was contributed to the ads sensor. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure had continued to occur. the vehicle was taken a second time to the dealer where the technician performed a diagnostic testing which indicated that the failure was related to the wiring harness and not the ads sensor. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage was 54,000. updated 8/2/10 *cn the consumer also stated the rear door lock didn't work. updated 08/09/10*jb

Hit a deer on the right passenger fender and the car shut down, steering wheel locked, spun and unable to control car, was unable to move car, stalled on highway for 1 hour. car engine started but unable to move. almost hit a truck in the opposite direction, due to inability to stop and use steering wheel. *tr

The vehicle made a loud screeching noise. i can't remember if i touched anything,but the vehicle stalled while in motion. i put the car in park, and was able to restart with no problems. i then drove slowly and turned on the air; when i changed the flow of the air to flow from within the car, it made the screeching noise and stalled again. restarted the car, turned on the air and it stalled again. i took it to the chevrolet dealership and they said that the ac compressor had failed and was tearing up the engine belt, which would also have to be replaced. with parts and labor, i was quoted $1200. *tr

When accelerating or decelerating, the vehicle will stall. this happens 1-2 times a week. the consequences are that i am left in the middle of traffic with a suddenly inoperative vehicle. i have had a stall out while making a left turn at a traffic signal. i have had a stall out while merging onto a freeway!! most recently i had a stall out that required immediate recovery and evasive action while making a left turn which resulted in a flat tire. i have to put the car in neutral and restart immediately to avoid a possible collision. i have been very fortunate so far. the dealership service department was unable to duplicate the problem (because it is intermittent) and there was no code showing. they told me there is nothing they can do to assist me and were rude and discourteous and implied that there really wasn't a problem with the vehicle that i was just trying to get a free replacement tire. the dealership is sundance chevrolet in grand ledge mi. *tr

The contact owns a 2008 chevrolet impala. the contact states that she drives the vehicle and the vehicle starts to shake and when she gives it gas it cuts off. the contact also states that when the vehicle is parked and turne off the contact tries to turn the vehicle on and it does not come back on. the contact also states that the vehicle was towed to the dealership. the failure mileage andcurrent mileage was 29511.

I was driving through a low area in the street that had a puddle of water to drive through. i was going to turn right and the steering wheel would not turn and then all at once it did turn. i did not have any more water to run through until about a month later in a hard rain and it did it again. this was also when i wanted to make a right turn. this all happened in lakeland fl. i contacted bill heard chevrolet in plant city fl and made an appointment. they checked it out and said they could not make it do that but they ordered parts ( a new belt) and installed a few days later. another rain storm and it did the same thing only this time the instrument panel lights all come on for about a 1/2 minute. i reported this to the dealer and they said bring it back in a they would check out and replace the tensioner. i was driving back to michigan and i was at the georgia and tennessee state line in a rainstorm and it locked up again. i contacted cliff anschuetz in alpena mi and made an appointment with them. they checked it out, put water on the belt but said they could not make it happen. another service rep said he would take a look at it and put on a new belt and tensioner and they did. the belt always squeals when you first start up in the morning. it still does that and i have no doubt the power steering will lock up when it rains. first incident date was sometime in march and to date. this is a very dangerous problem. *tr

Our company owns a 2008 chevy impala that will shut off for no reason. sometimes, after the driver puts the car into 'drive' or 'reverse' from park the engine rpms surge, the radio gets louder and the car shuts off. it has surged and then died while going down the road at 50+ miles per hour. it has died while in drive but stopped a stop light/sign. the driver has to put the car back into park and the car starts. this has happened numerous times and the local dealership has not been able to fix it. it is a serious hazard. *tr

My vehicle i purchases fro the dealer was supposedly in excellent shape. not until i moved to los angeles, ca. i realized that the engine was not performing correctly. the engine is to drop down from a 8cycl to a 6cycl when it is in overdrive (60+mph). (this is called 'active fuel management system.) my engine would not due that. i took it to several dealers but they refused to fix the problem. dealer said "it wasn't their fault. we bought this car from an auction". i feel their was something wrong with the car. dealer inspection checklist was dated 3/26/2008. the car was a rental vehicle prior to me purchasing it as a used vehicle. the odometer reading was 12410 on 5/17/2008. i feel their was a problem with the engine "safety". *tr