What 298 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Chevrolet Impala

Loss of power steering

NHTSA ODI 11694421

The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the steering wheel started to feel loose. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving and the steering wheel tightened with the "Service Power Steering - Drive with Care," message displayed. Due to the failure, excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle. The contact called her husband to meet her for assistance. The contact's husband arrived and was able to drive the vehicle to a dealer. While at the dealer, the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective power steering gear module. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the VIN related to the failure. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle remained with the dealer unrepaired. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

NHTSA ODI 11680976

I was driving my 2015 Chevy Impala on the highway and my steering gave out into a curve. I got deeply afraid when the steering froze up on me, specially at 50 into a 40 mile rated speed. I say this because I wasn't aware that GM vehicles stop putting power steering pumps in their cars nice the late 2000's. I called onstar and inform them to the problem I was having with the car. I was able to get it to a safe spot. And the vehicle towed a dealership for servicing. I was told it was software malfunction that needed to be updated. Costing me $775, which my insurance company under CarCare wouldn't cover. I canceled them quickly. The car steered fine after getting it back. Then the same issue happened again a day later I call the dealership again close to my home, they told me the motor on the steering rack and pinion gave out. And was going to cost, 4100 dollars. I had another insurance company Endurance. They said they'll cover the rack but not the motor to the service department and denied the claim. Out of anger of payments to both insurance companies. The vehicle was traded in for a newer car. Value at 2000 dollars for trade. I'm bringing this to attention because GM is aware of this issue and don't want yo acknowledge this safety issue. Thank God I'm able to stronghold the car and bring it to safe spot. But for others with the Chevy Impala's not so lucky! These vehicles are scary and a dangerous for highway running, after the warning light appears on the dash!

NHTSA ODI 11632400

Complete loss of power assist steering resulting in difficulty in steering the vehicle at any speed. DIC messages indicate: loss of power steering, drive with caution, service traction control, and service ABS. ABS and traction control warning lights remain on and illuminated while driving. These indicators occur each time the vehicle is restarted. This problem originally started about two and a half months ago, and the power steering loss, for a while, was intermittent until recently. The vehicle has not been inspected been inspected by mechanics to date. I have researched hundreds of Impalas online with the same problem with a majority of them remaining unresolved and no manufacturer recall being issued. The vehicle mileage is currently 31, 104 miles and is not driven often because of the problem and the fact that I own two other vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11603622

About two years ago I parked in front of a business in Sun City West Arizona. When i came out to leave, my steering wheel would hardly turn. I went home and when I came back with a neighbor, the steering wheel was working as it should. About three weeks ago, I was turning onto a major street in Sun City West, Arizona. I got a notice on the info screen that the power steering was disabled. I had to force the steering just to get around the corner. I drove to a nearby parking lot. The steering took a tremendous amount of effort to turn the steering wheel. I almost hit a semi truck trying to go around a corner. It was very dangerous. After parking and leaving it for a short while, steering returned to normal. On a major highway a serious accident could have happened. I read online that in 2015 General Motors recalled roughly 1.2 million model year 2015 trucks and SUVs globally for a problem with the electric power steering system. GM previously recalled nearly 700,000 model year 2014 pickups for the same problem. My car with the electric power steering problem is a 2015 Chevrolet Impala. I am afraid to drive the car now. It could happen anytime again and cause a wreck.

NHTSA ODI 11571235

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

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

2015 Chevrolet Impala Lt Vin# [XXX] infotainment center & Steering went out 2 years ago Greg Chevrolet in savannah MO told me $800 for infotainment unit only car only had diag code B127E car only 3 years old at the time still does not work! Earlier this year driving to work 70 mph steering goes out I almost hit car next to me had to muscle the car to side of road then warning light popped up to service power steering!! Very dangerous for me and any cars on the road with this car! Had mechanic do diagnostic it had 20 error codes he reset them car worked 1 day same thing over again. We paid the car off but still can't drive it and can't afford wheel bearing a new rack etc this car has now been parked in garage for fear of driving with no steering or info center and the wheel was mounted with tire backwards from dealership when we bought the car! Safety GM INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11492210

I was driving on the highway at about 60 miles per hour and my power steering went out without warning. The car was stiff and difficult to move and put the life of myself and my child in danger as well as others on the highway at the time. I took the car to a shop and they confirmed that the steering rack had failed or was near failure. It wasn't until I was able to navigate off the highway after driving to a Jiffy lube that the light ultimately came on.

NHTSA ODI 11469167

WE ARE STILL HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS STUPID SBZA BLIND SPOT DETECTION SYSTEM, TWICE NOW, FIRST TIME WE HAD FIXED, 2.5 YRS AGO NOW, AT A $1000 COST TO US, AS MILEAGE WAS SLIGHTLY OVER THE QUALIFYING MILES WITH RECALL LETTER WE RECEIVED PRIOR TO HAVING BOTH MODULES REPLACED. THOSE BRAND NEW MODULES ONLY LASTED 16 MONTHS OR LESS AND WEVE BEEN DEALING WITH SAME SAFETY ISSUES FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW, SOME DAYS WORSE THAN OTHERS. ITS A DUMB FLAW AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED SOON BUT WE DONT HAVE ANOTHER $1000+ TO COME UP WITH!! PEOPLE LIKE US, WHO LIVE IN THE SNOW BELT AREAS AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH ROAD SALT AND CORROSION ARE GOING TO KEEP HAVING ISSUES WITH THEM, EVEN THOUGH WE KEEP OUR CAR AS CLEAN AS WE CAN!! ITS A PAIN IN OUR ASSES AND NOT OUR FAULT FOR A LOUSY STUPID DEVICE THAT WILL FAIL HERE!! THANK YOU!!

NHTSA ODI 11464787

While driving at 70MPH on I10 in MS I experienced loss of power steering in heavy traffic. I received a notification on the dashboard of a problem, but it was difficult to maintain control of the vehicle and maneuver to the right lane to exit. The car was difficult to drive but I managed to pull into a large gas station and shut it down and ask for directions to a Chevy dealer. The Power steering returned when I restarted the vehicle and a Chevy dealer was several miles away, but the dealership personnel advised me to continue the trip since I reset the system, but could not tell me if it would reoccur. I drove another 250 miles to get home and did not have another incident. But after checking online forums I notice other such issues and this is quite dangerous at high speed and heavy traffic.

NHTSA ODI 11440622

Around the first of October I was headed home with my family. As we were merging over to exit lanes to get on the ramp to exit the freeway the power steering failure light came on and simultaneously all my power steering was gone. I literally lost control control of my car. I was in the midst of turning when the car swerved and at 70 MPH it was very dangerous situation. My wife and I had just switched driving places several miles back. She panicked and said she couldn't imagine what she would have done if that had happened to her. She also swore to never drive that car again. I don't know how many times this has happened to others but I can say with all honesty this is a very serious problem. There wasn't an accident but I did cause everyone near me on the road to swerve and brake suddenly to avoid colliding with my vehicle. As of today the car hasn't been repaired and I haven't relayed this to the dealership. That being said even if they were for some miraculous divine reason to repair it for free the danger of this occurring again is still there. This feature is dangerous and I pray something is done about it.

NHTSA ODI 11436736

I HAVE REPLACED MY HUB BEARINGS ON MY BOTH FRONT TIRES TWICE . I CONTINUE TO GET A GRINDING NOISE AND JERKING WHILE I'M TRYING TO ACCELERATE. WHILE REVERSING, TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT THIS HAPPENS. ALSO DOESN'T MATTER THE SPEED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS IT ALMOST CAUSED ME TO GET INTO SEVERAL ACCIDENTS. I PUT MY MONEY AND TRUST INTO CHEVY. THIS SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY BE A RECALL.

NHTSA ODI 11407807

THE POWER STEERING ON MY VEHICLE WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING ON THE EPXRESSWAY WITH NO ADVANCE WARNING. I RECEIVED AN ALERT ON MY DASH TO SERVICE POWER STERRING AND THAT WAS ALL. PER THE DEALERSHIP THIS WAS CAUSED BY A CATASTROPHIC INTERNAL FAILURE OF THE STEERING SYSTEM WHEN A GEAR BECAME BOUND UP BY A BROKEN SUSPENSION LINE AND COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT

NHTSA ODI 11405735

THE POWER STEERING CONTINUES TO GO OUT WHILE DRIVING. IT WILL BE DRIVING FINE AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN. YESTERDAY IT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I CAME TO A STOP TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AND IT STILL WASN'T WORKING. I HAD TO GO BACK HOME AND FIND A DIFFERENT WAY TO WORK. IT HAS HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES I CAN NOT SOLELY RELY ON THAT CAR. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL AND A FIX OF THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI 11390132

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY, BRAKE ASSIST, AND POWER STEERING ASSIST WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO CANNON NISSAN OF OXFORD (479 MS-6, OXFORD, MS 38655, (662) 236-3300) WHO REPAIRED THE WIRING HARNESS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE PERSISTED. ADDITIONALLY, THE VEHICLE NO LONGER REVVED UP WHEN STARTING. THE CONTACT RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE RECEPTORS ALONG WITH OTHER UNKNOWN REPAIRS NEEDED TO BE PERFORMED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11342506

GOING DOWN THE ROAD I HAD A STEERING WITH CARE LIGHT POP UP. AND I HAD TROUBLE CONTROLLING THE VEHICLE. AFTER TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF FOR A COUPLE MINUTES THERE IS NOT PROBLEM. CURRENTLY I AM TERRIFIED OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN THE SENSE OF LOOSING CONTROL OR EVEN MY LIFE.

NHTSA ODI 11315462

WHILE DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE STEERING ASSIST DISABLED ALARM CAME ON. VEHICLE BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER !! TOOK EXTREME AMOUNT OF EFFORT TO TURN WHEEL AT ALL. WAY BEYOND WHAT A NORMAL NON ELECTRIC STEERING CAR WOULD TAKE WITH POWER STEERING OUT. VERY DANGEROUS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. MANAGED TO GET CAR OFF ROAD WITHOUT KILLING MYSELF OR ANYONE ELSE. TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. STEERING GONE. $3100 TO REPLACE. RIDICULOUS FOR A 4 YEAR OLD CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11311057

POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING. THE RACK HAS TO BE REPLACED. IT'S A $3,000 REPAIR ON A 5 YEAR OLD CAR WITH LESS THAN 60,000 MILES

NHTSA ODI 11307257

LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST AND A "SERVICE POWER STEERING" MESSAGE. LOSS STARTED UPON START-UP IN MORNING AND CONTINUED THRU 25 MILE COMMUTE TO WORK. EIGHT HOURS LATER CONDITION WAS GONE AND ALL SYSTEMS NORMAL FROM START-UP TO RETURN COMMUTE HOME. DURING LOSS OF ASSIST CAR WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STEER.

NHTSA ODI 11301230

LEAVING HOME GOING TO THE FUEL STATION TO GET GAS FOR MY CAR. I PULLED OUT OF THE GAS STATION AND STARTING DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD ABOUT 1 MIN IN TO DRIVE MY SERVICE LIGHT CAME ON STATING TO SERVICE MY POWER STEERING, I COULD NOT HANDLE THE CAR, THE STEERING WAS STIFF TO TURN, I HAD TO PULL OVER SHUT DOWN THE CAR WAITED A FEW MINUTES STARTED THE CAR BACK UP AND THE POWER STEERING RETURNED TO NORMAL. SENSE THEN, I HAVE HAD A FEW MORE OCCURRENCES WITH THE POWER STEERING.

NHTSA ODI 11291990

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD BACK IN FEBRUARY A WEEK AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR WITH 90,000 MILES ON IT ONE OWNER THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED IN POSITION AND ON THE DASH IT SAID 'SERVICE POWER STEERING DRIVE WITH CARE' I REALLY DIDNT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND AND TOLD MY SON I SHOULD GET IT CHECKED OUT BEFORE I GIVE IT TO HIM BUT HE WANTED IT NOW AND IT NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN UNTIL 11/22/19 WHEN HE CAME OUT OF WALMART AFTER CRANKING IT AND KILLING IT AND MINUTES LATER IT RESUMED TO NORMAL. NOW I GOT TO DO SOMETHING

NHTSA ODI 11281927

WHEN I STARTED MY CAR THIS MORNING, I GOT AN MESSAGE ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL THAT SAID SERVICE POWER STEERING DRIVE WITH CARE. WHEN I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE, I COULD BARELY TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. I LOOKED UP THE SERVICE MESSAGE AND SAW THAT THIS CAR DOES NOT USE POWER STEERING FLUID, BUT RATHER AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING THE STEERING. AT THAT POINT I HAD TO LEAVE IT AT HOME SO IT CAN BE TAKEN TO THE MECHANIC. THIS HAPPENED WITH 72,180 MILES ON THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11277474

EB I84 LEAVING BAKER CITY OR, 70MPH, COMING UP ON A SERIES OF "SLOW SPEED" S CURVES AND THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SHUT DOWN. MESSAGE ON DIC SAYS "SERVICE POWER STEERING DRIVE WITH CARE" WHEEL WOULD HOLD WHATEVER POSITION IT WAS PUT IN AND WOULD NOT RETURN TO CENTER WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT FORCE. NEARLY PUT THE CALL INTO THE CONCRETE BARRIER. JUST BARELY KEPT IT ON THE ROAD. STEERING WOULD NOT MAINTAIN CENTER. KEPT TRYING TO REST JUST LEFT OR RIGHT OF CENTER FORCING US TO 'WEAVE' BACK AND FORTH AS WE LIMPED THE CAR HOME.

NHTSA ODI 11271107

I WAS PULLING OUT OF THE GAS STATION ON TO A BUSY HIGHWAY WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY DIFFICULT TO MOVE AND A MESSAGE CAME UP ON MY DASH SAYING "WARNING: POWER STEERING SYSTEM FAILURE DRIVE WITH CAUTION. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO A PARKING LOT AND POWER CYCLE WITH NO EFFECT. AFTER LETTING THE CAR SIT FOR 15 MINUTES I RESTARTED IT AND THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING NORMALLY. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS FAILED.

NHTSA ODI 11220572