2011 CHEVROLET IMPALA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 500 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (64 complaints · 12.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 22
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 25
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2010 →
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 ENGINE appears in 64 of 500 owner complaints (12.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 64 complaints, 12.8% of reports ENGINE 64 · 12.8% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 61 complaints, 12.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 61 · 12.2% · 3 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 52 complaints, 10.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 52 · 10.4% · 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 43 complaints, 8.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 43 · 8.6% STEERING: 26 complaints, 5.2% of reports STEERING 26 · 5.2% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 21 complaints, 4.2% of reports VISIBILITY 21 · 4.2% · 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 20 complaints, 4.0% of reports AIR BAGS 20 · 4.0% · 6 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 14 complaints, 2.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 14 · 2.8% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 12 complaints, 2.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 12 · 2.4% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 177 complaints, 35.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 177 · 35.4% · 6 crash reports 1 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)
ENGINE 64 12.8% 2 crashes · 2 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 61 12.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 52 10.4% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 43 8.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 26 5.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 21 4.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 20 4.0% 6 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 14 2.8% 2 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 12 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 177 35.4% 6 crashes · 1 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 2010; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 2012. 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2011-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2011-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2012-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2012-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2012-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2012-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2013-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2013-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2013-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2014-Q2: 38 owner reports 38 2014-Q3: 34 owner reports 34 2014-Q4: 25 owner reports 25 2015-Q1: 32 owner reports 32 2015-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2015-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2016-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2017-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2017-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2017-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2018-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2018-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2018-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2019-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2019-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2010 Jul 2024 Recall campaign 12V377000 ◆ Recall campaign 12V377000 Recall campaign 14V355000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V355000
  • Campaign 14V355000 was reported 332 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 3
2011-Q1 Owner reports 7
2011-Q2 Owner reports 11
2011-Q3 Owner reports 16
2011-Q4 Owner reports 13
2012-Q1 Owner reports 9
2012-Q2 Owner reports 14
2012-Q3 Owner reports 8
2012-Q4 Owner reports 7
2013-Q1 Owner reports 6
2013-Q2 Owner reports 11
2013-Q3 Owner reports 16
2013-Q4 Owner reports 8
2014-Q1 Owner reports 21
2014-Q2 Owner reports 38
2014-Q3 Owner reports 34
2014-Q4 Owner reports 25
2015-Q1 Owner reports 32
2015-Q2 Owner reports 12
2015-Q3 Owner reports 8
2015-Q4 Owner reports 6
2016-Q1 Owner reports 8
2016-Q2 Owner reports 16
2016-Q3 Owner reports 10
2016-Q4 Owner reports 11
2017-Q1 Owner reports 11
2017-Q2 Owner reports 9
2017-Q3 Owner reports 6
2017-Q4 Owner reports 6
2018-Q1 Owner reports 13
2018-Q2 Owner reports 12
2018-Q3 Owner reports 7
2018-Q4 Owner reports 12
2019-Q1 Owner reports 8
2019-Q2 Owner reports 7
2019-Q3 Owner reports 5
2019-Q4 Owner reports 7
2020-Q1 Owner reports 5
2020-Q2 Owner reports 6
2020-Q3 Owner reports 3
2020-Q4 Owner reports 7
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q2 Owner reports 6
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 3
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 3
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 12V377000
Recall campaign 1 14V355000
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 12V377000

    Report date
    Component:
    SUSPENSION
    Consequence:
    A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace both front lower control arms, free of charge. The safety recall began on August 21, 2012. Owners may contact the Chevrolet owner center at 1-866-694-6546.
    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 500 complaints · page 1 of 20

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