2011 Chevrolet Impala ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
I STARTED MY CAR, AND AS I WAS PULLING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES STARTED COMING UP REDUCED ENGINE POWER, SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL , SERVICE STABILITY TRACK. I PULLED BACK IN , I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND TURNED IT BACK ON, THE CAR SEEMED NORMAL AGAIN, I THEN ,STARTED GOING TO WORK, ABOUT A MILE FROM WORK THE SAME MESSAGES STARTED COMING UP AND I DID THE SAME STEPS TURNED THE CAR OFF AND THE TURNED IT ON AGAIN. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND HE STATED IT COULD BE THE THROTTLE BODY, AND THEY HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL CAR. HOWEVER I WAS STATED THAT IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR THIS DEFECT. ARE THEY REAL, THE HAVE MANUFACTURERS DEFECTIVE PART AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS, THAT IS UNFAIR. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REDUCE ENGINE POWER AND CHECK STABLE LINK WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 46,915.
THIS HAS HAPPENED TOO MANY TIMES, AND I HAVE TAKING IT TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES. STABILITRAK REDUCE ENGINE POWER COMES ON. ONE TIME THROTTLE DISARMED CAME ON AND MY CAR CUT OFF ON THE FREEWAY AND ALL I COULD DO WAS COAST OFF THE RAMP. THIS IS HAPPENING SO OFTEN AND I AM TIRED OF IT. PLEASE HELP ME. *TR
I PURCHASED A 2011 CHEVROLET IMPALA A YEAR AND HALF AGO FROM VICTORY CHEVROLET IN MOUNT HOLLY< N.C. AFTER THE FIRST WEEK OF OWNING THE CAR WHICH HAD ONLY 27000 MILES ON IT THE STABILTRAK LIGHT CAME ON, SINCE THEN IT HAS HAPPENED FOUR TIMES INCLUDING TODAY, TWO OF THESE TIMES I CAME CLOSE TO HAVING A WRECK. I FOUND ON THE WEB THAT THIS IS HAPPENING TO THE IMPALAS. I WROTE GM TO ASK IF SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO BE KILLED TO RECALL THESE AND BE FIXED. IF YOU LOOK AT THIS YOU WILL SEE THEY DID RECALL THE POLICE CARS BUT NOT THE PERSONAL VEHICLES. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN HELP BUT I WILL CONTACT ALL THE NEWS MEDIA TILL SOMEONE WILL LISTEN. AGAIN I HAVE TO TAKE MY CAR IN FOR REPAIRS FOR THE SAME REASON. THANK YOU! IF CANADA IS SUING GM FOR THIS REASON THEN WHY IS SOMETHING DON'T DONE HERE? *TR
I WAS MERGING ON TO THE HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 35-40 MPH WHEN THE BELLS AND ALARMS WENT OFF AND THE ENGINE REDUCED POWER. ERROR ON HUD SAID SERVICE STABILITRAK REDUCED ENGINE POWER SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL. *TR
MY WIFE AND I WERE RETURNING HOME ON I-81 TRAVELING NORTHBOUND. A WARNING BELL SOUNDED AND SHE NOTICED THE TCS(TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM) WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND A WARNING NOTICE TO HAVE THE STABILTRAC SERVICED, ENGINE POWER REDUCED WARNING AS WELL. WE DROVE THE REST OF THE WAY HOME AT A REDUCED SPEED AND PARKED IT. MY WIFE WENT OUT TODAY AND STARTED THE CAR AND THE ONLY INDICATION WE HAD WAS THE TCS LIGHT WAS ON. NO OTHER WARNINGS APPEARED. THIS IS SOMETHING GM REALLY NEEDS TO ADDRESS SINCE I HAVE READ ABOUT MANY SUCH COMPLAINTS. A RECALL IS NEEDED GM. THIS IS A MANUFACTURING PROBLEM AND YOU SHOULD COVER THE COSTS NOT US CONSUMERS!! *JS
ON 5/11/12, THE "SERVICE STABILITRAK" LIGHT CAME ON; THEN A NOTICE THAT THE ENGINE POWER WAS REDUCED CAME ON. I CALLED THE DEALER FOR SERVICE AND HE SAID I COULD BRING IT IN ON 5/14. I ASKED IF IT WAS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE IN THE MEANTIME AND HE SAID NO. I WAS DRIVING ON 5/12 AND WAS STOPPED IN TRAFFIC WAITING TO TURN LEFT. I WENT TO TURN LEFT AND EXPERIENCED A GREATLY REDUCED RESPONSE FROM THE GAS PEDAL WHICH WAS FRIGHTENING. THE DEALER JUST CALLED ME ON 5/14 AND SAID THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND HE IS REPLACING IT. I FOUND A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE OF THIS SAME ISSUE GOING BACK TO THE 2007 MODEL. I THINK THIS SHOULD PROMPT A SAFETY RECALL, SINCE A NON-RESPONSIVE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS A SAFETY ISSUE. *JS
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2011 Chevrolet Impala has 32 ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.