2012 Chevrolet Impala — Known Issues & Recalls

Your car needs several repairs including a tire that keeps losing air, and your radiator and coolant reservoir have already been replaced. You're having difficulty affording the remaining repairs needed to meet safety standards and are looking for financial assistance or a replacement vehicle.

Your stability control and ABS warning lights stay on, and you're experiencing a grinding noise with reduced power when pulling onto the road. The problem appears to be related to a faulty wheel speed sensor in the right hub—this issue persists even after installing new hubs. Fixing this will likely require replacing the wheel speed sensor in the right front hub and possibly addressing the stability control chain or its associated components.

Your traction control, StabiliTrak, and reduced engine power warning lights keep coming on, even after a mechanic replaced the battery and cleaned the throttle. You're now noticing rough idling, hard shifts, and a grinding noise when turning left. The issue may stem from an electrical problem, throttle sensor, or related engine control system component that needs proper diagnosis and repair.

Your stability and traction control system has required multiple repairs, including a ball bearing replacement and a wire harness repair, and it's having problems again. Additionally, your door blending parts (likely door seals or weatherstripping) keep failing and have needed to be replaced three times already. The stability control system may need diagnostic work to identify the underlying issue, while the door components may need replacement or adjustment.

Your steering wheel suddenly became very hard to turn and nearly impossible to operate while you were driving. There was no warning light on your dashboard to alert you to the problem. The steering wheel appeared to have seized up completely.

You noticed condensation pooling under your parked car and the oil pressure warning light came on. A mechanic found that your brake hose had failed and needed replacement. This failure may be related to a known steering system issue affecting your model year. Fixing this will involve replacing the brake hose with a new one.

Your traction control system turns off randomly during normal driving conditions—even slow parking lot exits and gentle turns—causing your car to nearly stall and creating dangerous situations with oncoming traffic. You've also experienced repeated failures of your climate control actuators, which make clicking noises and blow cold air in winter or hot air in summer despite multiple replacements. Additionally, your car's clear coat paint is peeling off throughout the vehicle, exposing bare metal and rust in some spots. The fix will likely involve diagnosing and repairing the traction control system's electronic sensors or control module, replacing the HVAC actuators again, and refinishing or repainting the affected areas.

Your steering wheel has seized up while driving in the rain on multiple occasions, making it difficult or impossible to steer. Additionally, your ignition key sometimes gets stuck and won't release from the ignition switch. Your TPMS warning light is also on. The dealer replaced your starter, but the steering and key problems continued to happen. The issue started happening around 80,000 miles. Fixing this will likely require diagnosis and repair of the steering system and ignition switch components.

When you make left turns, your car makes a loud grinding noise, momentarily stops, and displays a traction control warning on the dashboard. Sometimes the steering wheel locks up completely and won't turn—you have to turn off the engine and wait 10+ minutes before it unlocks. After this happens, your car may shake and make loud noises when you restart it, then shut off completely with warning messages for Stabilitrak and traction control.

Your front seat belts sometimes fail to click properly when you buckle up, requiring you to reinsert the metal end into the buckle multiple times. If the belt doesn't click, you can pull the strap and it will come loose, which is a safety concern. The buckle mechanism likely needs to be inspected or replaced to ensure the seat belts lock securely.

Your 2012 Impala has experienced multiple serious issues within six months of ownership, including transmission failure requiring two tows, complete brake system failure, a slow leak in the rear left brake caliper, and a broken rear left sway bar. You've also seen warning lights for Stabilitrak, Brake Assist, Traction Control, and Brake System appear after transmission service. The dealership told you the brakes and transmission were new with no mechanical issues, but the car continues to develop problems that put your family's safety at risk.

Your car is experiencing stalling while driving and the engine isn't receiving proper signals from the transmission control module (TCM), which a mechanic has identified as faulty. This problem started after a throttle body replacement in August, improved temporarily, then returned in September. The diagnostic code U0101 was recorded, indicating a communication issue between the engine and transmission control systems. Fixing this will likely involve diagnosing and replacing the faulty transmission control module.

Your car is showing trouble codes and experiencing engine misfires even after recent service. A diagnostic scan found a problem with the B camshaft position timing being over-advanced (code P0024), which your mechanic suspects is related to engine sensors. The check engine light comes on when this happens, and you're concerned the misfiring could cause a safety issue if not fixed.

After having the fuel pump replaced at a GM dealership, your car's engine doesn't shut off immediately when you turn the key off. Additionally, you're experiencing issues where the car hesitates to accept fuel at the pump, and then won't start after refueling. These problems started right after the fuel pump replacement service.

Your stability control light comes on and puts the engine into a restricted power mode. At the same time, your ABS and brake lights turn on, and your front driver-side brake appears to continuously engage even when you're trying to accelerate. This could be caused by a faulty brake sensor or caliper issue that's triggering the stability control system.

Your car stalled when you put it in reverse and wouldn't start again—you heard no cranking sounds from the starter. Before this happened, your transmission was shifting slowly or shifting too abruptly, causing you to feel unsafe. The issue likely involves the electrical system, transmission, or engine starting components and may require diagnostic testing to pinpoint the exact cause.

Your check engine light comes on repeatedly, indicating issues with the fuel pump control module and a large leak in the evaporated emissions system. You may also notice gas spraying back out of the fuel tank opening if you don't wait a moment after unscrewing the cap. Despite multiple repair attempts by different mechanics, the problem keeps returning.

Your front wheel hub assembly keeps failing even after multiple replacements with aftermarket parts. When turning right during acceleration, you experience grinding and hesitation that feels unsafe, especially in emergency situations or with oncoming traffic. The traction control warning light blinks when this happens, and the problem has triggered multiple service warnings including ABS and StabiliTrak alerts. Fixing this likely requires replacing the wheel hub assembly, possibly with an OEM (original manufacturer) part, and diagnosing why repeated replacements haven't resolved the underlying issue.

Your passenger-side headlight keeps dimming and going out, creating a safety hazard. The electrical connector to the headlight gets hot and becomes damaged. GM has known about this issue since at least 2014 when they issued a service bulletin, but no official recall has been issued. Fixing this will likely involve replacing the headlight connector and possibly the headlight assembly itself.

Your suspension stabilizer bar is making loud noises. You've had this problem fixed before at a cost of $700, and it's happening again. The repair will likely involve inspecting and replacing worn stabilizer bar components like bushings or links.