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What 505 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Impala Limited

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (505)Crash / fire / injury (30)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (132)Engine (125)Electrical system (95)Seats (77)Speed control (69)Transmission & drivetrain (64)Brakes (38)Airbags (37)Steering (35)Visibility & wipers (28)

132 of 505 complaints match · Electronic Stability Control (esc) · clear filters · page 6 of 6

Apr 1, 2013Electronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

THE SERVICE STABILITRAK LIGHT COMES ON AND ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED. IT HAPPENED THIS MORNING WHILE TAKING MY KIDS TO SCHOOL...VERY SCARY THING WHEN KIDS ARE IN THE CAR BECAUSE IT JUST STARTS LOSING POWER & YOU REALLY CANNOT DRIVE IT LIKE THIS.. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10505186

Mar 30, 2013Speed controlElectronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

DRIVING 30 MPH IN A SMALL TOWN. A "BINGING" NOISE SOUNDS 3 TIMES AND THE TRACTION CONTROL WARNING LIGHT AS WELL AS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. VEHICLE MESSAGING SYSTEM STATED THAT TO "SERVICE STABILITRAK," "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL," AND "ENGINE POWER REDUCED. THE ACCELERATION WAS NOTICEABLY REDUCED AS WELL AS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN MAINTAINING SPEED. MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD NOT KICK IN WHEN SETTING SPEED WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO MANAGE A 65 MPH SPEED LIMIT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10505019

Mar 30, 2013Electronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel system

THE CHECK STABILILINK / REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT CAME ON AT START. AFTER SHUTTING THE VEHICLE DOWN AND RESTARTING THE LIGHT WENT OFF. I WAS TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OVER, RESTARTED THE CAR AND IT WAS FINE. AFTER STOPPING AND RESTARTING SEVERAL MORE TIMES, THE ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON AND THE CHECK. THE STABILIZING WARNING CONTINUES. THE CAR IS COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE AT THIS TIME. SINCE THIS OCCURRED OVER EASTER, THERE ARE NO MECHANICS AVAILABLE,LEAVING ME WITH NO CAR AND CANCELLED APPOINTMENTS AND LOST WAGES TO START THE WEEK. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10505100

Mar 9, 2013Electronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND OUT OF THE BLUE THE STABILITY CONTROL AND REDUCE ENGINE POWER LIGHT CAME ON THE MESSAGE DISPLAY. THERE WERE NO WEATHER CONDITIONS AT THE TIME. THIS HAS HAPPENED 6 TIMES TOTAL. ONE TIME IT HAPPENED AS SHE WAS WARMING UP THE CAR. ALL OF A SUDDEN IT STARTED SHAKING AND SHE FELT AS IF IT WAS ABOUT TO TAKE OFF INTO SPACE. SHE TURNED IT OFF THREE TIMES - EVEN TRIED TO DRIVE IT AND MOVE TO ANOTHER PARKING PLACE AND TURNED IF OFF AGAIN BEFORE IT FINALLY STOPPED SHAKING. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10502201

Jan 21, 2013Transmission & drivetrainElectronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

MY 2011 IMPALA IS READING "SERVICE THROTTLE. REDUCE ENGINE POWER" AND THEN PROCEEDS TO SHUT DOWN. EVEN AFTER REPLACING ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION SENSOR, VEHICLE IS STILL READING SAME ERRORS. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE THERE IS NO LIMITATIONS TO WHEN THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE AND CHEVROLET HASN'T ATTEMPTED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. PLEASE HELP! *TR

NHTSA ODI 10493682

Jan 3, 2013Electronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel system

WHILE DRIVING ON CITY BELTWAY, I WAS CHANGING LANES AT 50 -55MPH WHEN MY CAR EXPERIENCE SHUDDER AND THE MESSAGES THAT CAME ON SCREEN WAS ENGINE REDUCING POWER, CHECK STABILITY CONTROL, CHECK TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS FLASH AND WHAT APPEARED TO BE ROUGH IDLING. THE NEXT INCIDENT HAPPEN OFF AND ON FOR SEVERAL DAYS. THE LAST KNOWN WAS 1/3/2013 630AM AND 115PM I WOULD HAVE TO SSHUT DOWN AND RESTART UNTIL THE MESSAGE DISAPPEARS. THE THING THAT REALLY SHOOK ME UP WAS WHEN I WAS MERGING ONTO THE HIGHWAY IN THE MORNING AROUND 6:45AM THERE WAS A SEMI AND OTHER VEHICLES BEHIND ME SO I ATTEMPTED TO MERGE AT ABOUT 30-50 WHEN THE MESSAGES APPEARED AND THE SEMI WAS PRACTICALLY ON MY TAIL. MY HEART JUMPED OUT MY CHEST BUT I REMAINED CALMED AND LUCKILY THERE WAS A MEDIAN STRIP AHEAD. I ASK MYSELF SITUATION COULD HAVE GONE WRONG AND CAUSED A MAJOR ACCIDENT OR GOTTEN KILLED FROM BEING RAMMED FROM BEHIND ALL BECAUSE I COULD'NT ACCELERATE.I HAVE A SMALL VIDEO TO BACK THIS UP. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL NOTICE AND THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO GET THE CODE AND CHARGE ME 129.00 FOR DIAGNOSTIC. THIS IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE AND WHO KNOWS HOW MANY WAS KILLED BEHIND THIS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10490916

May 14, 2012Electronic Stability Control (esc)

ON 5/11/12, THE "SERVICE STABILITRAK" LIGHT CAME ON; THEN A NOTICE THAT THE ENGINE POWER WAS REDUCED CAME ON. I CALLED THE DEALER FOR SERVICE AND HE SAID I COULD BRING IT IN ON 5/14. I ASKED IF IT WAS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE IN THE MEANTIME AND HE SAID NO. I WAS DRIVING ON 5/12 AND WAS STOPPED IN TRAFFIC WAITING TO TURN LEFT. I WENT TO TURN LEFT AND EXPERIENCED A GREATLY REDUCED RESPONSE FROM THE GAS PEDAL WHICH WAS FRIGHTENING. THE DEALER JUST CALLED ME ON 5/14 AND SAID THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND HE IS REPLACING IT. I FOUND A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE OF THIS SAME ISSUE GOING BACK TO THE 2007 MODEL. I THINK THIS SHOULD PROMPT A SAFETY RECALL, SINCE A NON-RESPONSIVE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS A SAFETY ISSUE. *JS

NHTSA ODI 10458449

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Working with the data? Download all 505 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Chevrolet Impala Limited verdict →