CHEVROLET IMPALA · model year

2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA

1365 NHTSA complaints, 89 crash reports, and 5 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2009CHEVROLETIMPALA carries 1365 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 89 crashes, 15 fires, 83 injuries, and 1 fatality. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2009 IMPALA is air bags with 228 filings, followed by electrical system (215) and engine (179). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 5 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 57 investigation files overlapping the 2009 IMPALA, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

1365
Complaints
89
Crashes
15
Fires
83
Injuries
1
Deaths

Total Complaints

1365 filings

Crashes Reported

89 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
AIR BAGS228
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM215
ENGINE179
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL123
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)108
POWER TRAIN65
STEERING55
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM46
UNKNOWN OR OTHER44
SERVICE BRAKES39
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC32
SUSPENSION22
SEAT BELTS21
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING19
WHEELS18

Recalls (5)

14V35500023/06/2014

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION

This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certai

10V48000013/10/2010

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE

GM IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009-2010 CHEVROLET IMPALAS FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 210, "SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY ANCHORAGES." THE FRONT SAFETY BELT WEBBING MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PROPERLY SECURED TO THE LAP BELT ANCHOR PRETENSIONER MOUNTED

08V51700006/10/2008

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

GM IS RECALLING 79 MY 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA VEHICLES. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE A PASSENGER-SIDE FRONT AIR BAG INFLATOR THAT COULD FRACTURE AT AN INFLATOR TUBE DURING A DEPLOYMENT.

16V50700005/07/2016

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured April 25, 2008 through February 16, 2010. The front passenger seat frame may contact and damage the wires of the passenger presence sensor module.

12V37700003/08/2012

SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM

General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Chevrolet Impala police vehicles because the front lower control arms may fracture. This safety recall does not include non-police Chevrolet Impala vehicles.

Recent Complaints

20250930ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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 common for the Chevy impala. However no recall existed. I feel it is a fire risk due to the fact that the wires over heated enough to melt and char the plastic surrounding the electrical pin within the harness. Pictures was taken of the damage.

20250309ENGINE

Transmission

20250227AIR BAGS

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.

Mileage: 101,000

20250203ENGINE

It rumbles when I start my car

20241231ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I have a 2009 with 77000 miles 0n it I have fix the knocking noise under dash 3 times now it is a actuator there are 2 of them. I have also found by spraying Carburetor cleaner in the throttle body just remove the the big air hose and spray all around in side this stops the the speed reduction control lite from coming on saying you have no power. The problem I'm having now is while I'm driving the dash lights go out and radio light goes dim. after a while the lights come back on bright and working great they go on and off when they want to The lights showing me the mileage works great all the time its just the dash lights going on and off and my car just pass smog in California in June. I now live in Texas ,I have to have my car inspection here and it failed do to a EVAP and a 02 sensor not responding. They tell cause I replace the battery this cause the computer to reset and these 2 sensors have not reset yet and I have to drive the car 100 miles to make sure they reset to the com

20241020CrashPOWER TRAIN

A piece broke off and had fallen off of transmission when stopped at a redlight when put in gear car didn't want to move had to manually shift to get off the road and towed it home. The piece that broke fell into pan when changing transmission fluid. Believe it's off flywheel possibly forward band.

20240816AIR BAGS

None

20240816SUSPENSION

None

20240816ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

None

20240717STRUCTURE:BODY

the frame of the car is rusted . in places almost all the way through the frame. this was confirmed by chevy dealer. this car has always kept in a garage. I kept the car clean going through a car was with under wash.

20240521ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that upon attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start as intended. The contact then observed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the wiring harness and observed that the wiring was exposed. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V355000 (Electrical System), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 222,000.

Mileage: 222,000

20240206STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The traction control, ABS, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic however, a diagnostic test could not be performed due the excessive rust underneath the vehicle. The mechanic was unable to hoist the vehicle on the lift because safety and liability issues. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.

Mileage: 81,000

20240206SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:ABS WARNING LIGHT

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The traction control, ABS, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic however, a diagnostic test could not be performed due the excessive rust underneath the vehicle. The mechanic was unable to hoist the vehicle on the lift because safety and liability issues. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.

Mileage: 81,000

20240206ENGINE

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The traction control, ABS, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic however, a diagnostic test could not be performed due the excessive rust underneath the vehicle. The mechanic was unable to hoist the vehicle on the lift because safety and liability issues. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.

Mileage: 81,000

20240120VISIBILITY/WIPER

Front defroster not working AND windshield wiper not working consistently.

20240109AIR BAGS

Unknown SRS light comes on and stays on I'm afraid the system will not work properly in an accident.

20240105VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting to reverse, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact continued to reverse the vehicle and felt a pulling sensation. The "Traction Control" failure light illuminated. The contact decided to move forward and park the vehicle. After several hours, the contact restarted the vehicle and the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was then able to be driven. The failure occurred several times after the tires were changed. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA ID Number: 10090054 (Vehicle Speed Control, Engine). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the accelerator pedal failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired. The vehicle was not returned to the dealer when the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and it was confirmed that the vehicle was past the 10-year coverage for NHTSA

Mileage: 65,510

20240105ENGINE

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and shifting to reverse, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact continued to reverse the vehicle and felt a pulling sensation. The "Traction Control" failure light illuminated. The contact decided to move forward and park the vehicle. After several hours, the contact restarted the vehicle and the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was then able to be driven. The failure occurred several times after the tires were changed. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA ID Number: 10090054 (Vehicle Speed Control, Engine). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the accelerator pedal failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired. The vehicle was not returned to the dealer when the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and it was confirmed that the vehicle was past the 10-year coverage for NHTSA

Mileage: 65,510

20230902ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Driving home one night, August 8th, 2023 (thank goodness it was night) took a turn and got a service traction control light with a ding ding ding noise (I assume to alert me that something is wrong) and then it said engine power reduced which I assume happens because if your traction control is bad, it doesn’t want you slipping. Immediately called my father and he said to just drive it home and we’ll check it out. Not 2 miles later, my engine just stopped and it went into ignition. I couldn’t steer, I couldn’t stop because the engine was no longer running. I’ve driven a time or 2 (more like backed up) when I didn’t turn my key all the way and it was in ignition and that’s how it felt because it wasn’t on. This was very scary because I thought the car had just gave out. The engine just stopped and I got warning saying "STARTING DISABLED, SERVICE ENGINE THROTTLE " this is my first car, and after reading the complaints on it, I thought it was a recall. We ended up changing

20230827FireSEATS

The driver seat power motor caught fire underneath the seat while driving my vehicle. It started smoking really bad. Out of no where.

Compare 2009CHEVROLETIMPALA to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 2 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA have?
The 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA has 1365 NHTSA complaints, 89 crashes, 15 fires, 83 injuries, and 1 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA?
Yes, the 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA has 5 recall(s). The most common affected component is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA?
The most-complained component for the 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA is AIR BAGS with 228 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and ENGINE.
Is the 2009 CHEVROLET IMPALA safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.