Problems · by component
2001 Chevrolet Impala equipment problems
27 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2001 Chevrolet Impala cite equipment, 4% of all 747 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
27
4% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the equipment
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A PROGRESSING FAILURE IN WHICH THE RADIO STAYED ON WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF. THERE WAS AN ERROR MESSAGE ON THE RADIO DISPLAY PANEL, INDICATING "CHECK CD". THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE CONTACT LATER RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V701000 (ENGINE) AND WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE WHEN THE PARTS WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE TO RECEIVE THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO DETERMINE A REASONABLE TIME FRAME OF WHEN THE PARTS WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE TO SUPPLY TO THE DEALER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE. UPDATED 03/09/16*LJ; 05/14/18*JB *TR”
“MY CAR WILL NOT START DUE TO AN ISSUE WITH THE PASSKEY/PASSLOCK SYSTEM. IT IS A ANTI THEFT FUNCTION INSTALLED ON SEVERAL OF THE GM MODELS THAT WHEN IT FAILS TO WORK IT ACTUALLY KEEPS THE OWNER FROM USING THE VEHICLE. AFTER GOING ON LINE TO RESEARCH THIS ISSUE I NOTICED THAT THIS WAS A VERY COMMON AND EXPENSIVE PROBLEM TO HAVE. IN ADDITION TO GETTING THE SYSTEM FIXED MANY OWNERS SAY THAT AFTER ABOUT 3 OR 4 MONTHS THE PROBLEM COMES BACK AND HAVE EVEN DIED ON THEM AS THEY WERE DRIVING. SOME TRY TO BYPASS THIS SYSTEM AND OTHERS ATTEMPT TO HAVE IT FIXED, BUT REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY DEAL WITH IT, I BELIEVE THAT IT IS THE MANUFACTURES RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS COMMON PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLES THEY SELL; NOT TO MENTION THAT HONDA WAS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WITH THEIR VEHICLES AND ISSUED A RECALL. *KB”
“VEHICLE WILL NOT START AT TIMES. SECURITY SYSTEM THINKS YOU'RE STEALING THE CAR. YOU HAVE TO WAIT TEN OR SO MINUTES TILL THE BYPASS SECURITY SYSTEM RESETS ITSELF LEAVING YOU STRANDED TILL YOU GET A RESTART. WORN CONTACTS ON THE IGNITION SWITCH ARE NOT RECOGNIZING YOUR KEY. HAD IGNITION SWITCH REPLACED ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO AND PROBLEM HAS RETURNED. SEEMS TO BE EXTREMELY COMMON ON GM CARS '99 TO '05. *TR”
“INTAKE GASKET FAILURE. I NOTICED THAT THE ANTIFREEZE IN MY VEHICLE WAS OFTEN LOW, SO I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO GET DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT I NEED TO GET THE INTAKE GASKET REPLACED AND THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM ON IMPALA'S. HE STATED THAT ALL OF THESE VEHICLES WILL NEED TO HAVE THE GASKET REPLACED AND THAT GM IS AWARE THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM, BUT SINCE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN FORCED TO RECALL THE VEHICLES, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO REPLACE THE GASKETS. THIS IS QUITE AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO COSTS AT THIS TIME. I CONTACTED GM FOR ASSISTANCE AND THEY STATED THAT THE MILEAGE ON MY CAR PREVENTS ME FROM BEING ABLE TO BE ASSISTED. I'M NOT SURE WHY THIS ISSUE HASN'T MADE IT AS A RECALL BECAUSE THE CARS WILL OVERHEAT AND ISN'T SOMETHING YOU NORMALLY EXPECT TO NEED TO GET FIXED ON A CAR. *TR”
“HEADLIGHTS, TAILLIGHTS, INTERIOR LIGHTS WERE ALL FLASHING. THE CAR ALSO WOULD HAVE INCIDENTS WHERE IT WOULDN'T START AND I'D HAVE TO WAIT FOR 10 MINUTES TO RESTART. I WAS TOLD BY THE MECHANIC AT THE DEALERSHIP THAT THESE PROBLEMS WERE WELL KNOWN IN GM CARS AND WERE CAUSED BY THE BCM AND PASSLOCK SYSTEM. I WAS TOLD THAT INSTALLING A NEW BCM FOR $400 WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM. IMMEDIATELY, I NOTICED THAT THE FLASHING LIGHTS HAD STOPPED. A MONTH LATER, I WAS LEAVING A GROCERY STORE WHEN I TRIED TO START MY CAR AND IT WOULDN'T START. I HAD TO WAIT 10 MINUTES BEFORE IT WOULD RESTART. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THE PASSLOCK SYSTEM IS RESETTING ITSELF AND THE ONLY REMEDY IS TO REPLACE THE BCM AGAIN. I HAD A 1 YEAR WARRANTY ON THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BCM, SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY. THE CAR WOULDN'T DO IT WHEN THEY HAD IT, SO THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE BCM WAS THE PROBLEM. I WAS NEVER ABLE TO GET IT REPLACED BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN WHILE AT THE DEALERSHIP. NOW THAT IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR, THE NON-START ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING WEEKLY. GM WILL NOT ASSIST WITH PAYING FOR ANOTHER BCM BECAUSE OF…”
“THE VEHICLE DOESN'T RECOGNIZE YOUR KEY AND WON'T START. THIS ISSUE CAN HAPPEN ONCE A WEEK ONCE A MONTH ONCE A YEAR, YOU JUST NEVER KNOW. USUALLY IF YOU WAIT 20 MINUTES FOR THE COMPUTER TO RESET IT WILL START, BUT THAT IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. THE TURN SIGNALS ON THE VEHICLE ALSO DO NOT WORK 50% OF THE TIME. *TR”
Showing 6 of 27 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.