2012 Chevrolet Impala Power Train
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
WHEN ACCELERATING FORWARD FROM A COMPLETE STOP THE TRACTION CONTROL COMES ON BY ITSELF CAUSING THE WHEELS TO LOCK UP & CAUSES HESITATION. THE GROUND IS NOT WET AT ALL ESPECIALLY WHEN TURNING THE TRACTION CONTROL KICKS ON CAUSING THE SAME REACTION ON DRY PAVEMENT. WHEN ACCELERATING THE CAR HESITATES & JERKS/JOLTS THEN THE TRACTION LIGHT KICKS ON. THERE ARE NO CODES ON THE DASHBOARD & NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN FOR SERVICE, THE DEALER DISCOVERED THAT THE REB WAVE PLATE WAS FRACTURED INSIDE THE TRANSMISSION. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE RE-BUILT. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST AND THE SPECIALIST STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION PART WERE JOINT TOGETHER WITH THE FORD AND CHEVROLET, THE SPECIALIST ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE FORD PART WAS GOOD BUT THE CHEVROLET PART FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE, THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER SPEAKING TO THE MANUFACTURER A CASE NUMBER WAS NOT PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 153,973.
GRINDING NOISE FROM FRONT AND MOMENTARY LOSS OF ACCELERATION UPON ACCELERATION FROM STOP. MOST PREVALENT ON LEFT TURN FROM STOP BUT PROGRESSIVELY GETTING MORE FREQUENT ON STRAIGHT OR RIGHT TURNS. DASH TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT ILLUMINATES MOMENTARILY. ORIGINAL DEALER INSPECTION FOUND NO ISSUE. ON STAR DIAGNOSTICS REVEALED NOTHING. ABOVE 5MPH NO SYMPTOMS AT ALL. DEALER WILL REINSPECT NEXT WEEK.
WHEN BACKING OUT OF PARKING SPACE TURNING RIGHT AND THEN TURNING LEFT, IT SOUNDS LIKE GRINDING METAL AND THE CAR STARTS JERKING UNTIL THE WHEELS ARE TURNED STRAIGHT AND THEN IT'S OK AGAIN IT IS REALLY LOUD. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER BUT IT WOULDN'T DO IT FOR THEM.
CLUNKING SOUND FROM TRANSMISSION DIFFERENTIAL...WHEN YOU PULL OUT FROM A STOP YOU GET A CLUCKING NOISE AND THE CAR CANNOT GO...SOMETHING IS GRABBED..PULLING ONTO A CITY STREET OR GOING IN REVERSE FROM DRIVEWAY..MECHANIC HAS BEEN UNABLE TO FIND PROBLEM AFTER 5 ATTEMPTS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION REMAINED IN 4TH GEAR AND WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO 5TH OR 6TH GEAR AS NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE CONTACT ALSO INDICATED THAT ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE "TRANSMISSION HOT IDLE ENGINE" WARNING MESSAGE ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE HIGH SIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE. THE BODY CONTROL MODULE AND THE SL-N MODULE WAS REPLACED BUT THE DEFECT WAS NOT REMEDIED. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH AFTER THE REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED AND THE "TRANSMISSION HOT IDLE ENGINE" WARNING MESSAGE ILLUMINATED FOLLOWED BY THE DISABLING LINK SENSOR BEFORE THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED. THE CONTACT TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED THE ENGINE, AND THE VEHICLE OPERATED NORMALLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND NO SOLUTION WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 6,206.
FAILED TORQUE CONVERTER. THE TORQUE CONVERTER WOULD SLIP WHEN SHIFTING FROM REVERSE TO FORWARD (DRIVE). IT WOULD SLAM INTO DRIVE, GRIN THE GEARS AND CAUSE THE TIRES TO SQUEAK (SPIN). ON APRIL 28, HEDRICK'S CHEVROLET 961 W SHAW, CLOVIS, CA, REPLACED THE ORIGINAL TORQUE CONVERTER, WITH A REMANUFACTURED CONVERTOR, PART NUMBER 17804457 (1), PLUS THE FOLLOWING PARTS:17804457(1)-CORE RETURN, 24264377 (1)- SEAL KIT, 25886620(2)- GASKET,10333578(1) - GASKET, 12609163(1) - GASKET. IT IS A WARRANTY CLOVERED PART. *TR
AT TIMES, THE VEHICLE JERKS WHILE SHIFTING. I HAVE EXPERIENCED HEAVY JOLTING, ROUGH SHIFTING, ESPECIALLY DURING LOW SPEEDS. WHILE ON HIGHWAY OR DURING STRONG ACCELERATION, CAR SHIFTS GREAT. MOSTLY THE ISSUES ARE DURING DOWNSHIFTS OR LOW SPEED SHIFTS. TOOK TO CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP, WAS TOLD A FACTORY RESET MAY HELP ADJUST TO DRIVING STYLES. WE BOUGHT CAR USED WITH 35000 MILES. THIS DID NOT HELP. NOT EVEN SURE IF THIS IS AN OPTION. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR ANYTHING. DEALERSHIP CANNOT LOCATE PROBLEM. SAYS TRANSMISSION TAKES SOME GETTING USED TO. AWESOME CAR, JUST WISH THIS PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED. *TR
AT SPEEDS 15 MPH AND ABOVE AFTER DECELERATING THEN ACCELERATING TRANSMISSION WILL MAKE A NOISE RANGING FROM A CLINK, CLANK, CLUNK TO A BANGING JOLT AS IF THE CAR HAS BEEN REAR ENDED. THE MORE PRESSURE ON ACCELERATION AND THE LOWER THE GEAR THE LOUDER THE NOISE AND THE GREATER THE JOLT. DEALERSHIP STATES TRANSMISSION IS OPERATING PROPERLY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED, SHE WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT THE GEAR INTO DRIVE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,220. *TR
CAR WAS IN PARK AT A GAS STATION, IGNITION OFF, CAR NOT RUNNING. GEAR SHIFT INDICATOR SHOWED "PARK". DRIVER WAS OUT OF THE CAR AND THE CAR ROLLED AWAY, CRASHING INTO PARKED VEHICLE AND RESULTING IN INJURY TO DRIVER. THIS WAS AN AVIS RENTAL CAR WITH 7,500 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. *TR
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2012 Chevrolet Impala has 11 Power Train complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.