2006 CHEVROLET IMPALA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 512 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (107 complaints · 20.9%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 57
  • Fires 22
  • Injuries 46
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2005 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 107 of 512 owner complaints (20.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 107 complaints, 20.9% of reports STEERING 107 · 20.9% · 10 crash reports 3 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 77 complaints, 15.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 77 · 15.0% · 6 crash reports 2 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 74 complaints, 14.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 74 · 14.5% · 9 fire reports ENGINE: 44 complaints, 8.6% of reports ENGINE 44 · 8.6% · 1 crash reports 5 fire reports AIR BAGS: 34 complaints, 6.6% of reports AIR BAGS 34 · 6.6% · 25 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 26 complaints, 5.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 26 · 5.1% · 2 crash reports VISIBILITY: 22 complaints, 4.3% of reports VISIBILITY 22 · 4.3% · 2 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 19 complaints, 3.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 19 · 3.7% · 4 crash reports STRUCTURE: 15 complaints, 2.9% of reports STRUCTURE 15 · 2.9% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 151 complaints, 29.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 151 · 29.5% · 14 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 107 20.9% 10 crashes · 3 fires
POWER TRAIN 77 15.0% 6 crashes · 2 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 74 14.5% 0 crashes · 9 fires
ENGINE 44 8.6% 1 crashes · 5 fires
AIR BAGS 34 6.6% 25 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 26 5.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 22 4.3% 0 crashes · 2 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 19 3.7% 4 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 15 2.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 151 29.5% 14 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2006; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 2009. 2006-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2006-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2007-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2007-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2008-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2008-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2008-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2008-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2009-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2009-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2009-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2009-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2010-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2010-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2010-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2010-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2011-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2011-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2011-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2011-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2012-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2012-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2012-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2013-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2013-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2014-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q2: 25 owner reports 25 2014-Q3: 44 owner reports 44 2014-Q4: 29 owner reports 29 2015-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2015-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2015-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2015-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2016-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2016-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2017-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2006 Jan 2026 Recall campaign 09E005000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E005000 Recall campaign 14V355000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V355000 Investigation PE09025 ● Investigation PE09025
  • Campaign 14V355000 was reported 2,758 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2006-Q3 Owner reports 8
2006-Q4 Owner reports 6
2007-Q1 Owner reports 5
2007-Q2 Owner reports 5
2007-Q3 Owner reports 6
2007-Q4 Owner reports 7
2008-Q1 Owner reports 12
2008-Q2 Owner reports 9
2008-Q3 Owner reports 6
2008-Q4 Owner reports 9
2009-Q1 Owner reports 20
2009-Q2 Owner reports 9
2009-Q3 Owner reports 8
2009-Q4 Owner reports 8
2010-Q1 Owner reports 16
2010-Q2 Owner reports 7
2010-Q3 Owner reports 9
2010-Q4 Owner reports 13
2011-Q1 Owner reports 11
2011-Q2 Owner reports 12
2011-Q3 Owner reports 9
2011-Q4 Owner reports 12
2012-Q1 Owner reports 18
2012-Q2 Owner reports 5
2012-Q3 Owner reports 10
2012-Q4 Owner reports 4
2013-Q1 Owner reports 10
2013-Q2 Owner reports 6
2013-Q3 Owner reports 5
2013-Q4 Owner reports 10
2014-Q1 Owner reports 8
2014-Q2 Owner reports 25
2014-Q3 Owner reports 44
2014-Q4 Owner reports 29
2015-Q1 Owner reports 19
2015-Q2 Owner reports 11
2015-Q3 Owner reports 8
2015-Q4 Owner reports 9
2016-Q1 Owner reports 8
2016-Q2 Owner reports 9
2016-Q3 Owner reports 3
2016-Q4 Owner reports 8
2017-Q1 Owner reports 6
2017-Q2 Owner reports 5
2017-Q3 Owner reports 4
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 4
2018-Q2 Owner reports 4
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 3
2019-Q1 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 3
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 2
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 09E005000
Recall campaign 1 14V355000
Defect investigation 1 PE09025
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E005000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A BROKEN STEERING KNUCKLE COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND A POSSIBLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    DORMAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE STEERING KNUCKLES FREE OF CHARGE AND REIMBURSE THE REPAIR FACILITY OR OWNER FOR LABOR. THE RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 23, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DORMAN'S TOLL-FREE HOTLINE AT 1-800-523-2492 AND PRESS 5.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V355000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), and 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 512 complaints · page 1 of 21

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources