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What 258 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Impala

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 (258)Crash / fire / injury (27)Electrical system (58)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (54)Steering (49)Engine (40)Brakes (33)Transmission & drivetrain (27)Suspension (22)Airbags (20)Wheels (19)Fuel system (18)

27 of 258 complaints match · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Aug 27, 2012Body & structure1 injury

UPON ARRIVING AT A RESTAURANT LOCATION WHERE WE PLANNED TO DINE, MY SPOUSE OPENED THE RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER DOOR USING THE INSIDE DOOR HANDLE. WHILE PUSHING THE DOOR OPEN SHE RELAXED HER HANDHOLD ON THE HANDLE ALLOWING HER RIGHT HAND PINKIE FINGER TO BECOME CAPTURED BETWEEN THE RETRACTING HANDLE AND THE FLAT AREA WHERE THE HANDLE IS ATTACHED. IT PINCHED HER FINGER AND IT IMMEDIATELY FORMED A BLOOD BLISTER AND WAS VERY PAINFUL. AFTER SHE EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED, I INSPECTED ALL OF THE OTHER DOORS AND DISCOVERED THAT IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO REPLICATE HER TYPE OF INJURY AT ANY OF THE INSIDE DOOR HANDLES. I THEN TOOK A PICTURE OF HER INJURY AND THE PROBLEM INSIDE DOOR HANDLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10472704

Dec 13, 2011Transmission & drivetrainCrash1 injury

CAR WAS IN PARK AT A GAS STATION, IGNITION OFF, CAR NOT RUNNING. GEAR SHIFT INDICATOR SHOWED "PARK". DRIVER WAS OUT OF THE CAR AND THE CAR ROLLED AWAY, CRASHING INTO PARKED VEHICLE AND RESULTING IN INJURY TO DRIVER. THIS WAS AN AVIS RENTAL CAR WITH 7,500 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10439689

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Working with the data? Download all 258 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 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 2012 Chevrolet Impala verdict →