8 complaints reported

1996 Chevrolet Impala Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
8
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Apr 2000

ODOMETER INSTRUMENT CLUSTER RESISTERS OPERATE AT SUCH HIGH TEMPERTURES BECAUSE OF A LACK OF VENTILATION THAT THE SOLDER JOINTS MELT CAUSING THE ODOMETER TO FAIL .I FEEL IF THESE RESISTERS COULD FALL OUT INTO THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IT COULD CAUSE AN ELECTRICIAL FIRE..

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jan 1999
Jun 1999

STARTING IN THE 1990 MODEL YEAR, GM HAS BEEN IMPROPERLY INSTALLING DIFFRENTIAL COVER GASKETS THAT DO NOT HAVE THE LUBRICATING HOLES!!! IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE THIS GASKET TO ONE THAT HAS THE PROPER HOLES, YOUR OUTER AXLE BEARINGS, AS WELL AS THE AXLES THEMSELVES, WILL BE DESTROYED TY AROUND 70K MILES. THE DAMAGED (UNDER LUBRICATED) BEARINGS WILL WEAR GROOVES IN THE AXLE SHAFTS, REQUIRING THAT THEY ALSO BE REPLACED. IF THIS IS LEFT UNCHECKED, THE METAL BITS FROM THE DAMAGED OUTER BEARINGS AND AXLES WILL ALSO DAMAGE THE INNER BEARINGS, PINION BEARINGS, AS WELL AS CAUSE THE SPIDER GEARS TO WEAR INTO THE DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER. GM HAS BEEN MADE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, BUT CURRENTLY HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT, AND EVEN THE NEW VEHICLES STILL COME WITH THE IMPROPER GASKETS. FACTORY REPLACEMENT GASKETS ALSO LACK THE LUBRICATING HOLES. GM DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE REAR AXLE GASKET HAS A PROBLEM. AS A SIDE NOTE, GM FULL-SIZE LIGHT-DUTY PICKUPS ALSO SUFFER FROM THIS PROBLEM. I FEEL THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE CORRECTED AT NO EXPENSE TO THE OWNERS. I WOULD ASSUME THAT SHOULD YOU BE TRAVELING AT A HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND THE REAR END/AXLE GOES, SOMEONE OR SOMETHING IS GOING TO GET HURT NOT TO MENTION THE HIGH EXPENSE OF CORRECTING THE PROBLEM IF YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE REAR END REPLACED.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Jun 1999
Jan 1999

STARTING IN THE 1990 MODEL YEAR, GM HAS BEEN IMPROPERLY INSTALLING DIFFERENTIAL COVER GASKETS THAT DO NOT HAVE THE LUBRICATING HOLES!! IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE THIS GASKET TO ONE THAT HAS THE PROPER HOLES, YOUR OUTER AXLE BEARINGS, AS WELL AS THE AXLES THEMSELVES, WILL BE DESTROYED BY AROUND 70K MILES. THE DAMAGED (UNDER LUBRICATED) BEARINGS WILL WEAR GROOVES IN THE AXLE SHAFTS, REQUIRING THAT THEY ALSO BE REPLACED. IF THIS IS LEFT UNCHECKED, THE METAL BITS FROM THE DAMAGED OUTER BEARINGS AND AXLES WILL ALSO DAMAGE THE INNER BEARINGS, PINION BEARINGS, AS WELL AS CAUSE THE SPIDER GEARS TO WEAR INTO THE DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER. GM HAS BEEN MADE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, BUT CURRENTLY HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT. EVEN THE NEW VEHICLES STILL COME WITH THE IMPROPER GASKETS. FACTORY REPLACEMENT GASKETS ALSO LACK THE LUBRICATING HOLES. GM DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE REAR AXLE GASKET HAS A PROBLEM. AS A SIDE NOTE, GM FULL-SIZE LIGHT-DUTY PICKUPS ALSO SUFFER FROM THIS PROGLEM. I FEEL THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE CORRECTED AT NO EXPENSE TO THE OWNERS. I WOULD ASSUME THAT SHOULD YOU BE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND THE REAR END/AXLE GOES, SOMEONE/THING IS GOING TO GET HURT, NOT TO MENTION THE HIGH EXPENSE OF THE REPAIRS TO THE VEHICLE. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Jan 1998

GENERAL MOTORS IMPROPERLY INSTALLED DIFFERENTIAL COVER GASKETS THAT DO NOT HAVE LUBRICATING HOLES, WHICH COULD CAUSE THE OUTER AXLE BEARINGS/AXLE SHAFT TO BE DAMAGED AROUND 70000 MILES. THE DAMAGED BEARINGS COULD POTENTIALLY WEAR GROOVES IN THE AXLE SHAFTS. IF NOT FIXED, THE METAL BITS FROM DAMAGED OUTER BEARINGS COULD ALSO DAMAGE THE INNER BEARINGS/PINION BEARINGS, AS WELL AS CAUSING THE SPIDER GEARS TI WEAR INTO THE DIFFERENTIAL, CAUSING REAR END FAILURE WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Dec 1997

GENERAL MOTORS HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY INSTALLING DIFFERENTIAL COVER GASKETS THAT DO NOT HAVE LUBRICATING HOLES. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Oct 1997

TRANSMISSION DIFFERENTIAL NOISE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Dec 1996
Jul 1996

GRINDING GEAR SOUND IN REAR END-CAUSING AUTO TO PULL AND JERK. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
May 1996

OIL COOLER LINES ROUTED SO THEY RUB AGAINST METAL, CAUSING HOLES/LEAK.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1996 CHEVROLET IMPALA, Manufacturer: General Motors, LLC
Incident: Feb 1996

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 1996 Chevrolet Impala has 8 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.