2016 Chevrolet Impala Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2016 Impala most often write about electrical and electronic faults: side detection (blind zone) modules that fail and trigger warnings, intermittent loss of instrument lighting or stalling, and a trunk that opens by itself or fills with water. Steering assist dropping out, transmission shifting and stalling behavior, and airbag warning lights tied to seat/passenger sensors recur across the sample. Many reports arrive between roughly 25,000 and 90,000 miles and describe faults that come and go, so dealers often could not duplicate them at first.

1. 1
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Transmission harsh or erratic shifting, loss of power

   • 11 complaints (10%)
   • median 65,000 mi at 4.3 yrs old (9 state mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2025

   Owners describe jerking, delayed or erratic shifts, the engine revving without the car moving, difficulty getting past low speeds, or loss of reverse. In some cases dealers found internal transmission damage; in others they could not reproduce the symptom on a short test drive. A bulletin in the list notes that a brief throttle-response delay is considered normal, which matches what some owners say they were told. Reported from roughly 30,000 to 120,000 miles, often during acceleration or highway merging.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Drive the car through several upshifts and a hard merge, and check whether reverse engages promptly; ask for any transmission service records or fluid changes.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My vehicle only having 58,000 miles without notice or any warnings began to stall and would not go past 30 MPH. Later I attempted to put vehicle in reverse and it had no reverse what so ever. All fluids and maintenance were up to date. After consulting with several mechanics it had been determined that the transmission was not good”

   NHTSA complaint #11318710, filed 2020-03, 64,240 miles

   “While driving my vehicle, the RPM goes to 4 or 5 while only attempting to do speed liming, it stalls and jerks as if someone is pulling on the vehicle as I try to accelerate. On the expressway, my vehicle struggles to hit 40mph - 60mph without it feeling forced and RPM at 5. It stalls to reverse sometimes and stalls to take off.”

   NHTSA complaint #11306251, filed 2020-01, 79,000 miles
2. 2
   Air bags

   Airbag warning light and passenger seat sensor faults

   • 15 complaints (14%)
   • median 51,950 mi at 4.0 yrs old (10 state mileage)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2016–2022

   The airbag readiness light comes on and off, and the passenger airbag indicator sometimes reads off with someone seated or on with the seat empty. Dealers diagnosed a faulty passenger presence sensor and control unit hardware in some cars, with owners describing the repair as expensive and not covered. A few complaints also describe airbags not deploying in a collision. Most often reported between about 40,000 and 65,000 miles, frequently noticed at startup.

   What to check: Turn the key and watch the airbag and passenger-seat indicators through a full self-check; ask whether the passenger presence sensor or airbag control module has been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Driving along a four-lane divided highway with a 50 MPH limit when without warning an oncoming vehicle turned left into me at an intersection. My estimated impact speed was 35 MPH. The airbags failed to deploy. The other car's airbags deployed. I wonder if the airbags in the Chevrolet were even installed. It makes no sense to me why they did not deploy.”

   NHTSA complaint #10936840, filed 2016-12, 11,740 miles

   “The airbag redyness light stays on most of the time but it dose go off once in awhile for a few minutes. I understand this is extremely common and dates back to 2009 I strongly feel a recall on this issue is in order because potentially millions off people's lives are at risk. From my research dealerships are changing $300-400 to fix this problem the problem shortly returns and that want to charge you again they just say save your receipts in case a recall is issued. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11132220, filed 2018-09, 49,900 miles
3. 3
   Engine

   Stalling, no-start and engine shutdown

   • 25 complaints (23%)
   • median 52,454 mi at 3.8 yrs old (23 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2016–2026

   Complaints describe the engine cutting off at speed, at a stoplight, or right after starting, sometimes with a shift-to-park warning on the display or a blank instrument cluster. Restarts sometimes worked immediately and sometimes only after several attempts. Dealers either could not duplicate the fault or found nothing conclusive on the first visit. Reported from very low mileage up to about 115,000 miles, often intermittently and without warning.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether the car has ever shut off on its own or shown a security/no-crank condition, and request any stored diagnostic codes from a scan before buying.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My vehicle turned off several different occasions once as I was driving freeway speed approximately 60-65mph engine completely shut off I attempted to put in natural and re start the ignition as the vehicle was still moving with no power vehicle did not start I merged to the side of the highway breaked to stop and placed the gear shift on park and tried turning the ignition on and still did not turn on a few attempts later car started. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11374780, filed 2020-11, 84,000 miles

   “I would like to place a complaint about my 2016 chevy Impala ltz that I purchased from car max in glencoe, il on november 11 2016. I am a frequent traveler to central michigan and on my return trip to chicago on january 6, 2017, I was traveling south on highway 127 just south of mt. Pleasant michigan when all of sudden, the car lost power and it slowed down rapidly, there was a car behind me who almost rear-ended me, my wife and I were terrified. I pulled over to the side of the highway and put on my flashers. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10940402, filed 2017-01, 60 miles
4. 4
   Steering

   Power steering assist cuts out while driving

   • 7 complaints (6%)
   • median 75,000 mi at 3.8 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2018–2022

   Complaints describe the wheel suddenly becoming very hard to turn, usually with a service power steering message, and steering returning after the car is shut off and restarted. Some owners were told nothing was wrong or had codes reset, while others were diagnosed with front axle or steering gear work and the problem returned. Owners describe having to force the wheel to reach a safe spot. Mostly reported between about 50,000 and 90,000 miles, typically at low speed or shortly after starting.

   What to check: Ask whether the power steering warning has appeared and whether any steering gear or axle work was done; test-drive at low speed and note whether assist feels consistent.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On the 24th of december as I was pulling into the driveway my power steering system locked up and I could no longer turn the vehicle. The check power steering indicator light came on. It was towed to a local mechanic who reset the error code and informed me he didn't know when and if this would happen again. I left that mechanic and went to the dealership where I purchased the vehicle (preston hood in fort walton beach). After running a diagnostic there, they said nothing was wrong and they had never seen this problem before. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11164638, filed 2019-01, 86,000 miles

   “Driving on 2 lane highway around 40-45 MPH when suddenly the steering wheel became extremely hard to turn. Warning message service power steering drive with caution popped on. Had extreme resistant trying to turn into a parking lot to check for lost of fluid. Nearly hit a car trying to get the Impala into the proper right lane. After about 30 minutes of looking in owner's manual and searching in engine compartment to discovered that this is an electric steering. Check for any blown fuse - found none. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11234659, filed 2019-07, 52,454 miles
5. 5
   Other or unknown

   Trunk water leaks and trunk opening on its own

   • 11 complaints (10%)
   • median 33,849 mi at 3.4 yrs old (8 state mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2017–2024

   Owners report water pooling in the trunk after rain, rusted tools and rims, and a musty smell in the cabin; dealers replaced taillight gaskets or added a seal at the spoiler, and in some cases the leak returned. Separately, owners describe the trunk unlatching and opening by itself when parked, sometimes draining the battery, with one dealer unable to duplicate it. Reported from very low mileage up to about 32,000 miles, typically after rain or washing.

   What to check: Open the trunk and check the spare tire well, jack and rim for water lines, rust or damp smell, and ask whether the taillight or spoiler gaskets have been resealed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Concerning the 2016 Chevrolet Impala trunk, there were several occasions of the trunk being found opened on it's own when not in use. Recently, the trunk will not close or will not open. I've purchased fuses to no avail as they continue to blow. Contacted Chevrolet customer care, they lied and said no complaints had been received on any models since 2000. There are at least 2 other complaints about the trunk on the nthsa site. Chevrolet (rob) informed me my complaint is now in their records. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11300883, filed 2020-01, 100,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that he noticed that there was water leaking inside the trunk. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that water was leaking through both sides of the trunk lid. The dealer installed a gasket between the spoiler and the trunk lid. The contact stated that the failure later recurred. The contact noticed that the tire rim, the jack, and unknown areas of the trunk were rusted. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11574892, filed 2024-03, 5,377 miles

Buying note. The 2016 Impala's complaints cluster around electronics and steering, so a scan for stored codes and a low-speed test drive that exercises the steering and transmission are worth doing before purchase. Checking the trunk for water and confirming airbag indicator behavior at startup are quick checks that catch two of the more common reports.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.