2016 Chevrolet Impala — Known Issues & Recalls

Your power steering suddenly stopped working completely while driving on a windy road, making it impossible to steer your vehicle. The problem resolved itself after turning the car off and back on, but has now happened twice. This appears to be an electrical issue rather than a fluid problem, and it's dangerous because you lose all steering control until the car restarts.

While driving at night and making a right turn, your power steering suddenly stopped working and a warning light appeared on your dashboard, creating a dangerous situation with traffic behind you. You were able to temporarily resolve the issue by turning off the ignition, waiting about 30 minutes, and restarting the car, which is the same solution the previous owner had discovered. Because this problem is intermittent, a service technician may have difficulty diagnosing it during a normal inspection. A repair may involve diagnosing the power steering pump, electrical connections, or the steering control module.

Your steering wheel is very difficult to turn. This could make driving tiring and potentially unsafe, especially at low speeds or when parking. A mechanic should inspect your power steering system, pump, and fluid levels to identify the cause.

Your transmission has failed for the second time in this car, and it happened at 101,000 miles. This is a serious problem that will prevent the car from shifting gears properly and make it undrivable. The transmission will likely need to be rebuilt or replaced entirely.

Your transmission loses power between 25-35 mph in stop-and-go traffic, causing the engine to rev without moving forward. You have to pull over and let the transmission cool down below halfway on the temperature gauge before it engages again. This happens repeatedly after city driving, and your transmission fluid has a slight gray color, though there's no burning smell. The transmission fluid may need flushing and replacement, or internal transmission components may need inspection.

Your air conditioning system has been leaking and not cooling for years. You believe your car should be covered under a special warranty recall for evaporator core icing issues, but your VIN was apparently excluded from the recall notice despite being eligible. A mechanic has diagnosed a faulty evaporator coil as the cause. The fix will likely involve replacing the evaporator core and potentially reprogramming related systems.

Your check engine light came on when you started your car, and you noticed dark blue smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. Your husband used OnStar diagnostics and found an emission system failure. You also reported fluid leaking from underneath the car and steering noise when turning the wheel. The dealer scheduled a diagnostic appointment, but the vehicle hasn't been diagnosed or repaired yet.

Your car's lane departure warning system has a detection fault that prevents it from working properly. Chevrolet has acknowledged this is a known issue, but they've refused to repair your vehicle.

Your car's dashboard instruments suddenly stopped working, then came back on after restarting the vehicle a couple of times. Your lane departure warning system has stopped functioning since this happened. The problem doesn't occur consistently, and no warning lights appear—the systems just stop working and then restart.

Your trunk floods when exposed to water from rain or car washes and doesn't drain properly, causing water damage to electrical components like your amplifier. You've reported sparks coming from the trunk area, which creates a potential fire hazard. The repair likely involves inspecting and sealing trunk drain holes or weatherstripping, plus checking for electrical damage in the trunk wiring and components.

Your airbag warning light stays on, which indicates there's a problem with your airbag system. This needs to be diagnosed and repaired to ensure your airbags will deploy properly in a crash. A technician will need to scan your vehicle's computer to identify the specific airbag fault.

Your 2016 Impala was involved in a crash at 70 mph where the front end was severely damaged, but the airbags did not deploy — leaving you with injuries to your wrist, shoulder, and neck. Before the crash, you noticed your brakes were taking longer to stop than normal and making grinding noises from the rear when you pressed the pedal. The airbag failure and brake issues both need investigation to determine what went wrong.

Your car suddenly accelerated on its own while you were slowing down to enter a driveway, forcing you to brake hard and engage the anti-lock brake system to avoid hitting a parked vehicle. You weren't using cruise control, and the car drove normally afterward, but you're concerned about the unexplained surge. The dealership will need to diagnose why the engine suddenly increased power without your input.

During a routine tire rotation and balance, you were told that 3 of your 4 tires have tread separation, where the rubber is peeling away from the tire structure. This is a safety concern because it can lead to sudden tire failure while driving. Your tire shop recommended replacing all affected tires.

Your car's blind spot detection system isn't working properly because of a problem with the Side Detection System Modules. Additionally, your car is having trouble starting and may require multiple attempts (sometimes 5, 10, 15 or more) before the engine turns over. These issues likely involve replacing or reprogramming the side detection modules and diagnosing the starting system.

Your trunk is leaking water inside, which has caused rust to develop on your tire rim, jack, and other trunk areas. The dealer has replaced the trunk lid gasket, taillight assembly seals, and sunroof grommets, but the water leaking problem kept coming back even after repairs. The fix may involve inspecting and replacing weatherstripping seals around the trunk lid, taillight assemblies, and sunroof to prevent water intrusion.

Your car's radio and sound system turn on and off intermittently, sometimes going silent for days or weeks at a time. Since your vehicle uses this same system for audible safety warnings (like seat belt reminders, door ajar alerts, and low fuel warnings), you may not hear these important notifications when the sound is out. The problem started during normal highway driving about 2 months ago with no known cause. A technician will likely need to diagnose the radio/sound module and wiring to identify whether it's a faulty component, loose connection, or software issue.

Your headlights don't provide enough brightness when driving at night, making it hard to see the road. You've noticed this problem occurs on multiple Chevy Impalas, including newer models. The headlights may need to be replaced, upgraded, or aimed properly to restore adequate visibility.

Your air conditioning system may fail due to a leak in the evaporator core, causing the AC to blow hot air even on warm days. This happens because of a known design problem in 2016 Chevy Impalas with the 3.6L V6 engine. Chevrolet has issued a technical service bulletin (TSB N182186881) to cover the repair at no cost, but some owners report difficulty getting authorization for the work. The repair will involve replacing or repairing the evaporative core and recharging the refrigerant system.

Your dashboard displayed a message telling you to press the ignition button again to turn off the vehicle, happening randomly while driving or parked. The dealership replaced the ignition and other parts over five visits without fixing the issue, costing over $1,200. The actual problem turned out to be a damaged wire on the body control module that was grounding out on the car's frame. The fix will likely involve inspecting and repairing or replacing the damaged wire and its insulation on the body control module.