What 298 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Chevrolet Impala

In April 2019, the side detection module was replaced under warranty, at 21,500 miles. The same ‘issues’ are reappearing, where a warning is illuminated on the side mirror when no cars are present. If the dealer/ mfr replaced the original modules and wiring harness with the same items, this would only delay a reoccurrence. I called Chevy Cust. Sec for assistance, and they said their ‘recall’ program expired in 2019. The car currently has just 47,000 miles and the the modules should not have failed a second time. There is obviously a design flaw, allowing water penetration, and Chevy did nothing to prevent it.

NHTSA ODI 11567164

1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The sunroof sunshade is the specific component that has malfunctioned. It is readily visible and accessible for inspection upon request. A mechanic or technician can visually inspect the sunshade to assess the extent of the damage. 2. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Excessive sunlight in the car causes discomfort or visibility issues to the driver and passengers. Glare from the sun impairs vision causing distraction, and compromising safety, especially during bright and sunny days making it challenging to see the road, traffic signals, and other vehicles clearly. Excessive heat makes the interior uncomfortable and hot. Sunburn. Reduced visibility and distraction can increase the likelihood of accidents affecting the safety of not only the occupants of the car with the torn sunshade but also other drivers and pedestrians on the road. 3. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? .Yes 4. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? Routine inspections are not conducted by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives for issues like a torn sunshade. However, an insurance representative might assess the damage if I file a claim related to the sunshade issue. 5. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Warning lamps or messages related to the sunroof sunshade are not present in most vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11551514

Air bag

NHTSA ODI 11547400

Passenger Presence Module is deactivating Passenger airbags intermittently.

NHTSA ODI 11543225

The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the air bag warning light fluctuated on and off. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic, but the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The mechanic suggested that the failure might be with the passenger occupant detection system. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 131,002.

NHTSA ODI 11540166

The stabilitrak notification appeared on my dashboard while driving on the highway, which immediately caused the car to slow down. It was a hazard as I had to maneuver over 4 lanes on a highway at high speed to move to safety. This issue has occurred three times and is currently on the fourth as the vehicle is at the Chevrolet dealer. It is going on three weeks on my fourth return in 6 months with no current feedback. I have taken the vehicle to the dealer each time for this exact issue which has occurred every 6 months after the initial repair, my vehicle was there for approximately three months as they stated I needed to replace the transmission. Six months from that date the issue occurred again and it was replaced as it was under warrant. The third time I had to pay for the repair as the dealer stated some sensors needed to be replaced. Now six months later again, it is at the dealer and I am waiting for the response. Each time this issue occurred, I was traveling at high speeds which almost resulted in accidents that I somehow managed to avoid. There were no other warning signs that this issue was going to occur. It just happens spontaneously. I have seen several complaints about this issue with Chevrolet made by mother customers going back as far as 2012 to no resolution but thousands of dollars spent with no real solution/answers.

NHTSA ODI 11539937

Service airbag light repeatedly activates and goes off with passenger in vehicle. There was a previous recall Chevy #15400. NHTSA campaign #15V465000. Upon contacting the dealership about the issue. Claim was made that they didn't have a recall matching that number. My vehicle is within the production dates and has the heated and vented seats.

NHTSA ODI 11535653

The stabiltrac light comes on,sometimes I lose power. Sometimes the back up camera doesn’t work. Sometimes the parking brake light comes on the dash. Then ieverything will suddenly go away and everything is fine,only to have the same problems. This has been happening for months. I took it to the dealer multiple times and they are unable to fix it.

NHTSA ODI 11525111

The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while the transmission was in drive(D) with the vehicle idling on an incline, the vehicle inadvertently rolled backwards. The contact indicated that the brake pedal had to be depressed to stop the vehicle from rolling backwards down the hill. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 136,000.

NHTSA ODI 11519296

This system failed causing the cars computer to go haywire. I lost my speedometer and total dash display while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11518537

Water leak into rear compartment / trunk. Health problem with fungus & smell. Inspected by car dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11517453

Upon opening the sunroof while driving, the sunshade track bunched up and got stuck while opening. I was able to unbunch the track the get the sunshade to close, however, the fabric ripped away from the track on both sides. When the sunroof is opened, the fabric falls down into the car and completely blocks the view out of the back window. I tired putting the fabric up in the space it should roll into, but it will not stay and falls down while driving. I stopped using the sunroof for this reason. Now the fabric hangs down into the car. This happened almost a year ago. The fabric has continued to hang down further and further into the car. It is beginning to fall into the line of vision of the rear window. I used safety pins to hold it up, but it continues to hang down further. I have decided to get it fixed for this reason. It will cost almost $800 to have it repaired. This is clearly a safety hazard. I have read several forums on other owners with the same safety issue. A service repair bulletin has been issued for this problem, but it should be a safety recall.

NHTSA ODI 11516251

Side Blind Zone Alert Module, Service Side Detection System

NHTSA ODI 11516403

Have had issues 2 times since owning this vehicle, both times sensor was replaced by dealership. Was told by service at dealership that this is a known issue for GM. Dealership found side detection modules swelled and connections corroded. Again for the 3rd time since owning this car from new. They, the dealership, cost the replacement of the module at $980.00 including labor. To fix an issue they have known about for years

NHTSA ODI 11515911

My son (a brand new driver) was driving to school with me in the passenger seat on surface streets at approximately 45 mph at 0600 and an error message came on the console about “Service Power Steering - Drive With Care” or something akin to that and my son was unable to steer the car. He was able to slightly steer it into a turn lane (right hand turn into a neighborhood) and almost struck an oncoming car. He was able to stop and switch seats with me. Thankfully traffic was light enough and no one was behind us for me to back up about 10 feet to enable me to muscle the car into the neighborhood side street to pull over. I immediately turned the car off, waited ~30 seconds and restarted the engine…still couldn’t drive and error message came up again. Waited another 5-10 minutes and turned the ignition and was able to turn the wheel with ease, so I drove the car the ~5 miles home with no issue, but immediately called a service repair shop; they told me that this was a known issue. (WHAT THE WHAT?!?! Losing the ability to steer while careening down the road is a FLIPPING KNOWN ISSUE AND THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SAFETY RECALL?!? WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED AND KILLED OTHERS!). I immediately took it to the repair shop as I refused to drive it as it was unnecessarily unsafe! The repair was quoted as $5,200 (brand new GM part replacement) or $3,800 (reconditioned part - which ironically had a better warranty on it than the genuine GM part!)…I needed my car so I authorized the repair. Not happy! (A side note and a huge slap in the face is that my father did and my husband actually still works for GM…I’ve seen all the near-misses reported here and NO ONE KNEW THIS WAS AN ISSUE UNTIL DRIVING AND THE ABILITY TO STEER WAS LOST! Thank goodness we were on a surface street and not interstate! My novice driver could have EASILY been killed if he was in a different driving situation. GM NEEDS TO ORDER A RECALL!!

NHTSA ODI 11515480

The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that he became aware that water was entering through the taillights into the trunk. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the seals and both taillight gaskets to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the contact became aware that the truck was corroded. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 61,617.

NHTSA ODI 11515135

Both taillights are leaking through a gasket in the taillights causing pooling of water in the majority of the trunk and through two layers of carpet. This is causing mold to grow in trunk.

NHTSA ODI 11513947

I have had the blind spot modules replaced two times already and they are out for the third time. I have had to replace them like just over every 2 years. This time I had loan my car to my daughter, due to any accident she had with a deer, and had her four kids in the car when multiple modules started shutting down and nearly leaving her stranded. When I was able to inspect the car i found the the blind spot modules where extremally corroded and showed signs of melting to almost catching fire. I believe that these are a safety issue, and need to be recalled and problem fixed with a reliably solution. I am a ASE Certified Master Technician and have been for well over 38 years. and have seen many of these GM modules go bad multicable times.

NHTSA ODI 11513557

My dealer is charging me $1606 for 2 sidevew detection modules caused by water damage and corrosion and that’s not covered under my extended warranty for my 2015 Chevy impala ltz 108k miles my cars has trouble starting and I have no working dash indicators no speed no gas no temp no rpm’s air bag light on and trac control on light . No turn indicators and no heat or ac and key fob don’t work unless I insert key fob arm rest slot all because of the sideveiw modules wow that is mind blowing $453 to diagnose and $1606 to fix

NHTSA ODI 11512091

System failed suddenly stabilitrac , abs power steering, side detection all flashed on dash . Had to replace computer to restore power steering and stabilitrac and abs . Side detection a safety item still inoperative.

NHTSA ODI 11510691

Service side detection notice came on, after replacing twice. While driving on the highway my speedometer dropped to zero. My odometer stopped advancing. My blinkers stopped working, as did my radio. Speedometer went to 12 (while driving at highway speeds) stayed at 12.

NHTSA ODI 11510173

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that on various occasions while driving at night, the headlights failed to illuminate properly, and the roadway was not adequately illuminated. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated, and no repairs were completed. The vehicle was then taken to Columbia Chevrolet (9750 Montgomery Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45242) where it was diagnosed that the headlight assemblies needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000. The consumer stated he replaced both headlights assemblies.

NHTSA ODI 11509842

My side detection system has failed and not working on my 2015 ltz. Blind spot light stays on even when car is off. It’s causing other lights going crazy on and off. No check engine light on just the side blind spot indicator lights stay on. My car only has 70k miles it’s been happening for 1 wk I’m afraid to drive it after reading online that a clients impala nearly caught on fire. I’m reading that there is a recall with 2015 impala # n172097060 side blind zone alert module water intrusion. Please advise if there is anything Chevy/GM can do for me. I’m afraid to drive car and feel it’s a hazard driving around with faulty blind spots light.

NHTSA ODI 11509141

Side detection system is failed. Used for blind spots and I know this can cause more issues with car.

NHTSA ODI 11508038

In September 2021, my vehicle had approximately 130,000 miles and began to experience intermittent power steering failures. During these times, which were always unexpected, the Stabilitrak light would illuminate on the dashboard, and a "Power Steering" advisory would appear on the dashboard display screen. Power steering would then be unavailable until the vehicle was restarted. I am experienced in vehicle repair, and I isolated the left rear wheel speed sensor as the cause of this fault. I changed the left rear wheel bearing with an OEM replacement, and the problem went away. In January 2023, at approximately 160,000 miles I began noticing that my right rear wheel bearing was worn, and I changed it with an OEM replacement. Roughly 2 weeks later, my power steering has randomly begun to disengage while driving. The only message I receive is a "Power Steering" advisory, but this time, Stabilitrak remains operational. I am very concerned about this vehicle's design, which apparently kicks power steering offline as a result of anomalies with the wheel bearing speed sensors. The speed sensors consist of a circular magnet attached to the back of the bearing, and a device mounted within the bearing bracket which tracks the frequency of that magnet's rotation. The circular magnet is subject to corrosion and fracturing, as I discovered in September 2021, and again in January 2023, while replacing each bearing. This vehicle is quite heavy. A significant amount of damage, injury, and death is likely to occur if a driver with less capabilities than me is met with this awful fault while driving. Steering the vehicle in this condition, while below 50 MPH, is nearly impossible without enormous effort, especially around common 4-way intersections and at slow speeds. I believe speed sensor anomalies should not trigger a complete loss of power steering.

NHTSA ODI 11507538