2010 Chevrolet Impala — Known Issues & Recalls

Your airbag warning light is on. This means your airbag system may not be working properly in a crash. You should have a dealer or mechanic diagnose what's causing the warning light to illuminate, as airbags are a critical safety feature.

Your car's 'Service Air Bag System' warning light came on while you were driving at 30 MPH. The dealer diagnosed that your air bag seat sensor and side-impact sensor need to be replaced. Even though your vehicle's VIN wasn't included in the official recall campaign, this is a safety system that should be repaired to ensure your airbags work properly in a crash. Getting these sensors replaced will restore your airbag system to working condition.

Your airbag warning light came on when you started your car. The dealer told you your vehicle isn't part of the recall for this issue, and you weren't able to get help from the manufacturer. Your car has not been repaired yet. The fix will likely require a dealer diagnostic scan to identify which airbag system component is faulty, followed by replacement or repair of that component.

Your dashboard is showing an air bag service message with the air bag warning light illuminated. A diagnostic check indicated a problem with the passenger air bag system, though shaking the wires under the seat temporarily made the light go away. You found a recall (16V507000) that describes this exact issue, but your vehicle's VIN wasn't included in that recall list. The fix will likely involve inspecting the passenger air bag wiring connections and potentially replacing faulty sensors or wiring harnesses.

Your airbag warning light and ABS warning light stay on continuously. There's also an electrical wiring issue that's draining your battery. A mechanic will need to diagnose the wiring fault and repair it, which may involve checking the airbag system, ABS system, and electrical connections.

Your car caught fire while parked and turned off, with flames appearing near the radio and heater area in the dashboard. You noticed the fire about ten minutes after turning off the vehicle and used a water bottle to help extinguish it, with a bystander finishing the job with a fire extinguisher. There were no warning lights before this happened. The electrical wiring or components in the dashboard area may need complete inspection and replacement to prevent this from happening again.

Your car is making an abnormal grinding sound when starting and while driving, and the sound sometimes continues even after you turn off the engine. A mechanic replaced some unknown actuators behind the dashboard, but the grinding noise still persists. The issue started around 77,000 miles and hasn't been resolved yet. A technician will need to diagnose which electrical component is causing the grinding sound, likely involving the starter motor or other engine-mounted electrical actuators.

Your car's body frame has severely rusted and deteriorated to the point where it's no longer safe or practical to drive. A service center has confirmed the damage is extensive and cannot be repaired. This is a structural integrity issue that affects the entire vehicle's safety and stability.

Your car's brakes have had persistent problems since purchase, requiring multiple repairs including front calipers, rotors, brake pads, wheel bearings, and rear brake pads across five shop visits in one month. Your ABS, traction control, and stability control warning lights remain on, indicating the brake system still isn't fully fixed. This poses a safety concern, as brake system failures can affect your ability to stop the car safely. The repair will likely involve a complete brake system diagnosis to identify why these warning lights persist and ensure all brake components are functioning properly.

Your front passenger seat sensor is shorting out against the seat frame, which is causing the passenger airbags to turn off when they should be active. This matches issues described in recall #36110, but GM has not included your vehicle in that recall. You may not notice this problem until you need the airbags in an emergency, since the airbags will be disabled without a warning.

Your passenger side airbag is deploying on its own when no one is sitting there, and your seatbelt warning alarm keeps going off repeatedly. Your dashboard is now showing a 'service airbags' warning message. This appears to be the same issue covered by recall #36110 for faulty wiring in the passenger seat, which the dealership says was already completed on your vehicle in the past — but the problem has returned.

Your driver's side seatbelt buckle won't stay latched. Even when you hear it click into place, it randomly unlatches while you're driving and won't reattach. This means you're driving without a functioning seatbelt, which compromises your safety.

Your car's stability control system is displaying a warning message and cutting engine power to 0 mph while you're driving, which is a serious safety issue. Even after replacing the throttle body, accelerator pedal assembly, and engine control module, the problem continues to occur. This involves fault codes related to the accelerator pedal position sensor circuit, and the dealership has been unable to resolve it despite multiple repair attempts.

Your car's check air bag and service air bag warning lights came on when you started it. You found online that this might be related to a known recall (NHTSA Campaign 16V507000), but your vehicle's VIN wasn't included in that recall. The issue appeared around 58,000 miles and hasn't been diagnosed or repaired yet. A mechanic will need to scan your air bag system for electrical faults and possibly replace faulty sensors or control modules.

Your check engine light came on with an "engine power reduced" message. When you put the car in reverse, the traction control stopped working. A diagnostic scan indicated a problem with the accelerator sensor. This appears to be a known issue affecting other vehicle models.

Your engine is vibrating back and forth, even though you had a replacement engine installed just last month and are experiencing the same problem again today. This suggests the issue may not be with the engine itself, but rather with how it's mounted or connected to other components. A mechanic will need to inspect the engine mounts, ignition system, and fuel delivery to identify what's causing the persistent vibration.

Your car's front end may dip lower while driving at various speeds and feel unstable. The check engine light stays on, your engine is consuming too much oil, the engine fan has failed, and the transmission isn't working properly. A mechanic will need to diagnose the root cause of these issues, which could involve inspecting the suspension components, checking for engine problems causing the oil loss, replacing the engine fan, and evaluating the transmission.

Your car may have trouble shifting out of Park due to a failing shift lock release cable — a known issue on many 2006-2013 Impalas. You might also hear noise coming from your dashboard related to the heating and cooling system, caused by a blend door actuator made from inexpensive plastic parts. Fixing these issues will likely involve replacing the shift cable and the blend door actuator.

Your car stalled without warning while you were driving at 40 mph. You were able to restart it and drive home, but the problem hasn't been diagnosed or repaired yet. The dealer said there are no recalls available for this issue. Getting this checked out soon is important, as unexpected stalling while driving can be dangerous.

Your car experiences random moments of power loss while driving, where the speedometer spikes erratically and the engine feels like it's dragging — sometimes lasting a second and happening several times during a 20-minute drive. This has been occurring for the past month, especially on interstate highways with cruise control on, and nearly caused your car to stall while stopped in drive. Two mechanics have been unable to diagnose the problem even after a transmission fluid flush, and no error codes appear. The underlying issue may be related to an ongoing oil consumption problem your car has had since you bought it, which has already required $1,400 in gasket repairs.