2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA — Complaint #699362
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH filed December 9, 2008
NHTSA complaint #699362 (ODI reference 10251211) concerns a 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA and was filed on December 9, 2008. The owner reports the failure occurred on December 1, 2008. The vehicle had 67,919 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Indiana based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as exterior lighting:headlights:high/low beam dimmer switch, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same CHEVROLET IMPALA cohort independently describe similar exterior lighting:headlights:high/low beam dimmer switch failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH IN THE EVENING, THE EXTERIOR HEADLIGHTS ON BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDES FAILED. THE CONTACT STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND TURNED THE DIMMER SWITCH ON AND OFF, WHICH ALLOWED THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS TO REGAIN POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE DIMMER SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DIMMER SWITCH WAS REPLACED THAT SAME DAY. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL; THEREFORE, THEY WERE NOT LIABLE FOR THE REPAIRS. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 67,924 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,919. UPDATED 12/30/08 *CN UPDATED 12/30/08. *JB
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 699362 |
| ODI Number | 10251211 |
| Date Filed | December 9, 2008 |
| Failure Date | December 1, 2008 |
| VIN | 2G1WH52K049 |
Similar EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH Complaints for 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LIGHT DIMMER SWITCH FAILED TO ACTIVATE AND WAS ABLE TO ACTIVATE ONLY ONE SETTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. T
I HAVE A 2004 CHEVY IMPALA THAT HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH WARPED ROTORS, WHICH I HAD REPLACED. THEN A WHEEL BEARING WENT BAD. TOOK VEHICLE TO CHEVY DEALER. THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS LEFT FRONT HUB BEARING B
PROBLEM SWITCHING FROM HIGH BEAM TO LOW BEAM ETC AND SUDDEN HEADLIGHT FAILURE AT NIGHT WHILE DRIVING DOWN ROAD. BELIEVE PROBLEM IS MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH WHICH HAS BEEN REPORTED BY NUMEROUS PEOPLE F
MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH ON STEERING COLUM FAILED , AS A RESULT I HAVE NO HIGHBEAMS , IF I ATTEMPT TO PUT THEM ON ALL LIGHTS GO OUT , THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE PROBLEM THAT I THINK GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD CO
2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA. HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY WHILE BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY ONTO MY ROAD. WHILE I WAS ABLE TO PULL BACK INTO MY DRIVEWAY QUICKLY, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ANOTHER
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.