What 59 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Chevrolet Impala

THIS WAS A HERTZ RENTAL CAR I PICKED UP AT THE ORLANDO, FL AIRPORT. JUNE 2, 2019. THERE WAS NO OPERATORS MANUAL IN THE CAR. IT WAS 10 PM AND I HAD TO DRIVE 90 MILES TO MY DESTINATION. ABOUT 30 MINUTES ON THE HIGHWAY TO CHECK OIL LIGHT CAME ON. I TRIED TO CLEAR THE NOTICE BY PRESSING SEVERAL BUTTONS ON THE DASH BOARD. THEN I THOUGHT I FOUND THE CORRECT BUTTON AND PRESSED IT. IT WAS THE CAR START AND OFF BUTTON. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF INCLUDING ALL THE LIGHTS. O WAS GOING 65 MPH AND SUDDENLY THE ROAD WAS PITCH BLACK. THE ENGINE HAD TURNED OFF SO I COULD NOT HOLD MY SPEED. I SLOWLY PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE. (TURN SIGNALS WERE NOT WORKING AT THIS TIME). WHEN I COMPOSED MYSELF, I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND RESTARTED IT. THANKFULLY THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS AROUND SINCE THE CAR WAS TOTALLY DARK AND WITHOUT POWER AT 65 MPH. I WAS VERY FORTUNATE. I AN BAFFLED THAT CHEVROLET WOULD NOT HAVE CAUGHT THIS FLAW BEFORE PUTTING THESE CARS ON THE ROAD.

NHTSA ODI 11222108

2018 CHEVROLET IMPALA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO PROBLEMS WITH IMAGE CONCERNING THE REARVIEW CAMERA DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER. *AS *JS *JS

NHTSA ODI 11206711

FROM DECEMBER 22 THRU 27, 2018 I RENTED THIS 2018 CHEVROLET IMPALA (CALIFORNIA PLATE 8DVE598) FROM HERTZ AT THE HOTEL DEL CORONADO, CORONADO, CA. FOR THE FIRST 4 OR 5 BACKUPS THE REVERSE CAMERA DISPLAY WORKED PROPERLY. THAT IS IT CAME ON WHEN I SHIFTED INTO REVERSE AND WENT OFF WHEN I SHIFTED FORWARD. THEN SUDDENLY IT STAYED ON FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. WE COULD NEITHER GET IT TO GO TO THE NORMAL ICON DISPLAY NOR TURN IT OFF. IT WOULD NOT REBOOT WHEN THE IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF. SAFETY CONSEQUENCE--AT NIGHT THE DISPLAY IS SO BRIGHT THAT IT COMPLETELY BLOCKS RIGHT FRONT QUARTER VISION. I HAD TO DRIVE THIS TO 4,000 FEET AT NIGHT ON A CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINSIDE. WE MITIGATED THE PROBLEM BY FOLDING ONE OF THE VERY LARGE AAA CITY SERIES MAPS WITH ALL ITS WEIGHT WEDGED AGAINST THE BASE OF THE WINDSHIELD AND ONE THICKNESS OVER THE DISPLAY. THIS WOULD NOT HAVE WORKED IF I HAD HAD TO RUN THE DEFROSTER. NHTSA NEEDS TO MANDATE EITHER A PULL DOWN COVER FOR THESE DLSPLAYS OR A PANIC BUTTON TO SHUT THEM OFF. THANK YOU.

NHTSA ODI 11176113

STABILITRACK AND ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME WITH A MESSAGE THAT SAID, 'ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED'. THIS OCCURRED AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE GRADUALLY SLOWED, BUT I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN A SPEED OF 55 MPH. I WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY.

NHTSA ODI 11152371

ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL (ACC) ISSUES SCENARIO 1 FIRST DAY I WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH. AS I WOULD IN ANY OF MY OTHER 100 + CARS I'VE OWNED, I HELD THE CRUISE CONTROL 'SET' BUTTON EXPECTING THE SPEED TO GRADUALLY DECREASE. THE IMPALA MUCH TO MY SURPRISE, WITH TRAFFIC BEHIND ME, WENT FROM 70 MPH TO APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH WITHIN 7 SECS. THE TRAFFIC BEHIND ME WAS SWERVING TO AVOID CRASHING INTO ME. IT CLEARLY STATES ON PAGE 182 OF THE OWNER'S MANUAL 'REDUCING SPEED WHILE ACC IS AT A SET SPEED. 'PRESS AND HOLD SETUNTIL THE DESIRED LOWER SPEED IS REACHED, THEN RELEASE IT. WHEN YOU HOLD THE SET BUTTON THE SPEED DROPS SO RAPIDLY THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY YOU COULD REDUCE THE SPEED TO ONLY (FOR EXAMPLE) TO 58 MPH. SCENARIO 2 I WAS FOLLOWING A VEHICLE WITH THE ACC SET. VEHICLE AHEAD OF ME SIGNALED TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN AND WAS MERGING RIGHT TO MAKE THE TURN. AS I PROCEEDED TO CHANGE LANES AND GO AROUND THE VEHICLE, MY IMPALA SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES CAUSING THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME TO HAVE TO SWERVE TO AVOID A CRASH. SCENARIO 3 REFERRING TO THE SCENERIO 2. WHEN THE VEHICLE TURNING RIGHT CLEARED THE CAMERA ON MY IMPALA THE IMPALA ACCELERATED AGGRESSIVELY AS THOUGH I WAS ATTEMPTING TO PASS SOMEONE. IT WAS VERY UNEXPECTED AND TO THE POINT WHERE I FELT I COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. SCENARIO 4 WHEN ROUNDING A CURVE IF THE ACC CAMERA SENSES A VEHICLE MOVING IN A PARKING LOT NEAR THE ROAD IT AGAIN BRAKES HARSHLY FOR NO GOOD REASON. AGAIN CAUSING THE VEHICLES BEHIND ME TO HAVE TO REACT. THE IMPALA WILL AGAIN ACCELERATE AGGRESSIVELY ONCE PAST THE MOVING CAR IN THE PARKING LOT. SCENARIO 5 IN TWO LANE TRAFFIC WITH THE ACC SET, WHEN YOU'RE ROUNDING A CORNER IF THE CAMERA OF THE ACC GETS THE CAR IN THE OTHER LANE IN ITS VISION THE IMPALA WILL AGAIN SLAM ON THE BRAKES. WHEN THE CAR IN THE OTHER LANE IS OUT OF THE CAMERA RANGE THE IMPALA ACCELERATES RAPIDLY.

NHTSA ODI 11152232

THE FORWARD COLLISION ALERT SYSTEM WHICH IS STATED TO WORK OVER 40 MPH DOES NOT GIVE ADEQUATE WARNING AT ANY SETTING. THE SYSTEM SHOWS A GREEN ICON WHEN FOLLOWING ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE ICON CHANGES TO AMBER WHEN FOLLOWING ANOTHER VEHICLE EXTREMELY CLOSE (WAY TOO CLOSE) AS A TAILGATING ALERT. IT IS MEANT TO GIVE A HEADS UPS FLASHING RED DISPLAY ON THE WINDSHIELD WHEN OVERTAKING ANOTHER VEHICLE AT A SPEED THAT MAY CAUSE A COLLISION. THIS SYSTEM HAS A NEAR. A MEDIUM AND A FAR SETTING WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO FUNCTION WITHIN 194 FT. AT NO SETTING APPROACHING A VEHICLE FROM THE REAR TO A DANGEROUSLY CLOSE POINT COULD I GET THE SYSTEM TO GIVE A RED ALERT, THIS WAS ON THE FAR SETTING. THE DEALER SERVICE CHECKED THE SYSTEM IN THE GARAGE AND SAID IT WAS WORKING. THEY WOULD NOT DO A ROAD CHECK BECAUSE IT IS TOO DANGEROUS. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID HE HAD DONE THEM IN THE PAST AND THE RED ALERT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE EXTREMELY CLOSE TO THE CAR AHEAD. IN A CONTROLLED CHECK I GOT TO WITHIN A CARS LENGTH OVERTAKING THE CAR AHEAD WITH NO ALERT AND THIS WAS ON THE FAR SETTING. THIS SYSTEM IS USELESS WITHOUT GIVING AN ALERT IN TIME TO REACT. I HAVE SEEN THIS SYSTEM WORK WELL IN OTHER BRAND CARS.

NHTSA ODI 11139433

I OWNED A NEW 2014 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE 2014 IMPALA HAD A BACKUP CAMERA SYSTEM WHICH WAS OUTSTANDING. I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH WHAT I SAW ON THE REAR VIEW MONITOR SCREEN WHICH WAS ON THE DASH OF THE IMPALA. I TRADED IN THE 2014 CHEVROLET IMPALA FOR A 2018 AND NOW THERE ARE TWO MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH THE 2018 IMPALA BACK UP CAMERA SYSTEM. FIRST, IF THERE IS A LIGHT RAIN TO A HEAVY RAIN YOU LOSE 80% TO 90% OF THE CLEAR VISION ON THE MONITOR SCREEN. NOT ONCE DID I EVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY 2014 IMPALA. SECOND, I HAVE LOST 20% OF MY REAR VIEW VISION BECAUSE 20% OF THE MONITOR SCREEN SHOWS THE REAR VIEW BUMPER WHICH REFLECTS THE SKY. THESE ARE TWO MAJOR SAFETY DEFECTS WITH MY 2018 IMPALA. NOT ONCE DID I EVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY 2014 CHEVROLET IMPALA. I HAVE ATTACHED TO IPHONE PHOTOS TO ILLUSTRATE THE SAFETY DEFECTS. I WILL PUT TODAY'S DATE TO GO TO NEXT PART OF FORM. PROBLEM STARTED WHEN I FIRST GOT THE CAR. I WAS TOLD THAT THE CAMERA ON THE BACK OF THE CAR WAS RELOCATED AS COMPARED TO THE 2014 CHEVROLET IMPALA CAMERA LOCATION.

NHTSA ODI 11131040

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONT END COLLISION WITH A DEER. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED AND TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT BODY SHOP. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED INJURIES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 2,000.

NHTSA ODI 11123238

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY, WENT TO TOUCH THE HAZARD BUTTON BUT PUSHED THE ENGINE START/ STOP BUTTON INSTEAD. ENGINE SHUT OFF. HAD TO PULL OFF THE ROAD, ENGAGE BRAKE, PUT TRANSMISSION INTO PARK TO BE ABLE TO START CAR. THE HAZARD LIGHTS BUTTON IS WAAAYYY TO CLOSE TO THE START STOP BUTTON. ESPECIALLY WHILE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE ROAD. THIS IS A NEW RENTAL CAR BELONGING TO EAN HOLDINGS LLC.

NHTSA ODI 11048462