2009 Chevrolet Impala problems and complaints

Owners have filed 824 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The most-reported areas: Air Bags (232), Electrical System (224), Engine (179).

Key takeaways

  • 824 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 43 involve a crash, 9 a fire, 43 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Air Bags23228%
Electrical System22427%
Engine17922%
Vehicle Speed Control13016%
Electronic Stability Control (esc)10813%
Service Brakes759%
Power Train688%
Steering577%
Traction Control System466%
Unknown Or Other445%
Hydraulic354%
Suspension253%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2009 Chevrolet Impala 4-DR w/SABNot ratedNot ratedNot ratedNot rated

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Air Bags - filed 2026-06-08

For the last 2 years, the car willl come up saying airbag system issues. There airbag sensor under the passenger side seat will randomly throw a code for the erorr and then turn off. It does not have to be a bump, move the seat, Just goes off. We have had it professionally scanned and it is always the same sensor with ...

Electrical System,air Bags - filed 2026-03-27

I believe the passenger seat occupant sensing and airbag issues from recall 16V507 have not been fixed. I am still having issues related to it, even though I had it fixed.

Electrical System - filed 2025-09-30

Smelled an odor of burning wires when using rear defroster. Defroster then stopped working. After further troubleshooting I observed the wire pigtail under the front passenger door was charred and burned. The pin inside the harness that was burned was the rear defroster. After further research I found this is very comm...

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More for the 2009 Chevrolet Impala

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.