2013 Chevrolet Impala

Typical pattern

1.3% of complaints about the 2013 Chevrolet Impala came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2013 vehicle — around the middle of the 210 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 4.1 yr in service. The most-reported system is electronic stability control (esc) (108 complaints), typically at 4.1 yr or about 58,000 miles.

Complaints: 468
Median age at failure: 4.1 yr
Median mileage: 55,000 n=377
Crash / fire / tow: 6.8% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Electronic stability control (esc)

108 reports · 58,000 mi

4.1 yr

1.9%

Electrical system

52 reports · 60,000 mi

4.2 yr

7.7%

Service brakes

51 reports · 60,000 mi

4.1 yr

5.9%

Steering

34 reports · 55,000 mi

3.8 yr

2.9%

Power train

33 reports · 48,000 mi

3.6 yr

9.1%

Engine

30 reports · 48,000 mi

5.2 yr

6.7%

Wheels

23 reports · 53,000 mi

3.9 yr

4.3%

Other

22 reports · 60,000 mi

5.0 yr

Speed control

20 reports · 66,000 mi

4.6 yr

Air bags

19 reports · 60,000 mi

6.0 yr

52.6%

Traction control system

17 reports · 48,000 mi

3.5 yr

Suspension

17 reports · 55,000 mi

4.1 yr

5.9%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

14V355000 2014-06-23

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 certain model year 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the weight on the key ring and road conditions or some other jarring event may caus

If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

In owners’ own words

Power train mileage not reported 1 mo in service

2013 CHEVROLET IMPALA RENTAL CAR. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SHIFT INDICATOR ISSUES *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED GM THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO REMOVE THE LETTERS FROM THE SHIFT INDICATOR CONSOLE BETWEEN THE TWO FRONT SEATS. INSTEAD, GM PUT THE SHIFT INDICATOR AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE SPEEDOMETER, DIRECTLY OVER THE STEERING WHEEL. WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED LEFT OR RIGHT, THE SHIFT INDICATOR ON THE CONSOLE DASH WAS BLOCKED BY THE STEERING WHEEL. FURTHERMORE, THE HANDS OF THE DRIVER, WOULD ALSO BLOCK THE INDICATOR ON THE SPEEDOMETER.

Power train 32,000 mi 1.6 yr in service

TRACTION CONTROL ENGAGES AND LIGHT COMES ON AND GOES OFF AND ENGINE REDUCES POWER AND ABS PUMP COMES ON ALL AT THE SAME TIME. OCCURS INTERMITTENT AND ONLY WHEN IT SITS FOR A DAY AND WHEN YOU BACK OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AND THEN PUT IT IN FORWARD GEAR TO GO FORWARD. HAVEN'T HAD IT TO A DEALER YET BUT WAS TOLD THAT IF IT WASN'T SHOWING A CODE THAT THEY WOULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. CAR IS A 2013 CHEVY IMPALA LTZ WITH 32000 MILES. *TR

Power train 48,194 mi 1.7 yr in service

FROM A STOP MAKING A LEFT TURN THE TRACTION CONTROL GOES ON AND PREVENTS ACCELERATION . ALMOST GOT HOT 3 TIMES ON CORNERS. *TR

Engine 4,200 mi 9 mo in service

"SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" AND "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" WARNING DURING NORMAL DRIVING ON MY WAY TO WORK THIS MORNING. THE CAR SUDDENLY DECELERATED AND STARTED RUNNING TERRIBLY, CAUSING A POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE. I'VE ONLY HAD THE CAR FOR 2 MONTHS! APPARENTLY THIS HAS BEEN A COMMON PROBLEM WITH IMPALAS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW THAT GM IS SEEMINGLY UNABLE TO FIX. HAD I KNOWN ABOUT THIS ISSUE I WOULD NOT HAVE PURCHASED AN IMPALA. GM SOLD ME A LEMON. VERY DISAPPOINTED. *TR

Other Impala model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.