Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY | |||
| 07/08/2012 | 1 | ||
| The vision out of the back window is very poor since there are 3 head rests in the back seat. the center one blocks much of the vision. it is easier to see a truck or an suv behind you but hard to see another car especially the smaller type. the side view mirrors are much smaller compared to the 2003 i use to own. i was totally happy with my 2003 which is why i got a used 2011. i have added on the small stick on mirrors but they do not help much. why can gm make such a change? to me this is a big safety issue. looking on the internet a lot of other 2011 impala owners have the same issues. gm saves money with no regard to safety. *tr | |||
| 09/06/2011 | 10 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the rear seat headrest sat entirely too high, obstructing the driver | |||
| 09/06/2011 | 10 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the rear seat headrest sat entirely too high, obstructing the driver | |||
| 09/06/2011 | 10 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact satted they were almost in two accidents because of the rear head rest that sits in the middle of the rear window. the contact stated the hear rest blocks your view. the failure mileage was 10 and the current mileage was 5,000.rl | |||
| 01/28/2011 | 434 | ||
| My complaint with this vehicle is visibility caused by the read headrests when using the rear view mirror. gm built the back seat with 3 large headrests which cannot be removed that blocks almost the entire rear window. when driving the car, the most i can see in the rear view mirror is the tops of the car(s) behind me, sometimes not that much. when backing up, you have to look around all three back headrests in order not to hit someone or something. these back seat headrests can be replaced by buying the 2012 impala headrest components from gm which cost at least $400.00 just for the 3 parts needed. i feel like gm should be required to replace the back seat headrests due to the hazard posed by the headrests. | |||
| 11/17/2011 | 21000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the three rear headrest were elevated too high and the contact was unable to see out of the rear window. the contact stated that the head rests should be lowered or the vehicle should have come equipped with a back-up camera. the failure mileage was 21,000 and the current mileage was 22,000. | |||
| 11/17/2011 | 21000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated the three rear head rest on the vehicle sit to high and the contact cannot see out of the rear window. the contact feels the head rest should be lowered or the vehicle should have a back up camera. the current mileage on the vehicle was 22,000.rl | |||
| 06/20/2011 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the rear middle head rest prevented the driver from having a clear line of vision when driving in reverse. the contact stated that the manufacturer was contacted but denied any assistance. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 7,000. kmj | |||
| 06/20/2011 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated the rear middle head rest prevents the driver from having a clear line of vision when going in reverse. the contact stated the manufacturer will not correct the problems. the current mileage was 7,000.rl | |||
| 03/01/2011 | 0 | ||
| The headrest in the middle of the back seat makes it impossible to have a clear view out the rear window. | |||
| 01/03/2011 | 0 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated the head rest located in the middle of the rear seat was blocking the drivers view when she used the rear view mirror. the manufacturer was notified, but denied any assistance with repairing the vehicle. the dealer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 0 and the current mileage was 10,000. rvk | |||
| 01/27/2011 | 125 | ||
| Huge rear headrests (3 of them) block nearly 70% of rear visibility and make it impossible to see vehicles directly behind or approaching from behind. even stopped at a traffic light, the middle headrest blocks the view of any vehicle behind. changing lanes is incredibly difficult and dangerous, at best, because driver can't see what's directly behind. tried seat adjustments, outside mirror adjustments, rear view mirror adjustments, and nothing works to improve the rear view. this is an incredibly dangerous situation, which has apparently been addressed in the impala for 2012; why has chevrolet not contacted drivers for a safety fix or recalled? i have contacted my dealer and am still waiting for a response. in the meantime, we are hoping no accidents occur as a result of this poor visibility issue. it seems to me that chevy would be concerned about liability, if nothing else. does anyone know if there are fixes for this, short of sawing off the middle head rest? they can't be adjusted or even folded down with the seat since they're built into the rear window shelf and not the seats. (who the heck came up with this one?) i'm hoping you can help before somebody gets injured or worse. there are many complaints out there about this issue, including those on your site. please help! thanks. | |||
| 01/02/2011 | 3500 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that he was unable to see out the rear view window when reversing or driving forward due to the middle headrest blocking the view of the window. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed there was a design flaw and to contact the manufacturer. they offered no further assistance. the manufacturer was notified who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 3,500. kmj | |||
| 01/02/2011 | 3500 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated the rear visibility you cannot see out the back window. when reversing or driving you cannot see small objects due to the middle head-rest is blocking the view. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated to contact general motors this is a design flaw. they offered no assistance. the manufacturer was notified who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 3,500. mw | |||
| 07/27/2011 | |||
| Purchased 2011 impala lt/4 door sedan 3 weeks ago. rear center headrest completely blocks the view of vehicle traveling behind, which prevents you from seeing the car in the rear view mirror. this is a dangerous situation. this also poses a hazard when backing up, due to 90% sight blockage. a recall needs to be issued by gm to remove the center rear headrest from this vehicle. the 2012 model of this vehicle does not have a center headrest. it only has headrests on the left and right, which proves this is an issue they have corrected for the newer model. something needs to be done to fix this problem in the 2011. i do not feel safe driving this vehicle because of the lack of visbility. | |||
| 04/27/2011 | 2000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the rear headrests were positioned too high and obstructed vision while reversing. the dealer and manufacturer were notified, but denied any assistance with the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 2,000 and the current mileage was 13,000. sm. | |||
| 04/27/2011 | 2000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the head restraint in the rear side of the vehicle was too high, as a result, the head restraint would block the contacts view when reversing the vehicle. the dealer and manufacturer was notified, but both facilities denied any assistance with to the failure. the failure was not remedied. the failure mileage was 2,000 and the current mileage was 13,000. nw | |||
| 05/01/2011 | 56 | ||
| Rear seat headrests (3) are extremely high making it difficult for driver to see vehicles in rear. difficulty in backing car, as well as changing lanes. headrests are sewn into rear seat; non-adjustable. had to have middle headrest removed permanently. | |||
| 02/01/2011 | 10 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated the rear middle head restraint was obstructing her vision. an authorized dealer was notified and they informed the vehicle was operating as designed. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 10 and the current mileage was 2,900. | |||
| 02/01/2011 | 10 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the head rest in the middle rear of the vehicle was obstructing her view of the road. the dealer was notified and informed the contact that the vehicle was operating as designed and offered no further assistance. the manufacturer was not informed. the current mileage was 2,900 and the failure mileage was 10. bw | |||
| 11/01/2010 | 5 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the headrest in the middle rear of the vehicle was obstructing his view. while attempting to drive in reverse, the contact stated that he would not crash into objects since he did not have a clear view. the dealer stated that the vehicle was operating as designed. the manufacturer was notified and the contact was waiting for a response. the current mileages were 1,500 and the failure mileage was approximately 5. | |||
| 11/01/2010 | 0 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the headrest in the middle rear of the vehicle was obstructing his view. while attempting to drive in reverse, the contact stated that he would crash into objects since he did not have a clear view. the dealer stated that the vehicle was operating as designed. the manufacturer was notified and the contact was awaiting a response. the current mileages were 1,500 and failure mileages were 0. bw | |||
| 03/30/2011 | 170 | ||
| I cannot see when using the rear view mirror due to the reduced visibility caused by the head rests on the rear seats. the view when using the rear view mirror is obstructed significantly with only 4 inches of visibility between the ceiling of the the car and the top of the head rests. also, the side mirrors are small increasing the poor visibility in this vehicle. the head rest problem would have been noticed if the car salesman had not sat in backseat in the middle. the car dealership suggested that the car be taken to a local seat cover company to have the headrests rebuilt. this is a new car and should not have problems such as this. | |||
| 03/31/2011 | 68 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact entered the vehicle and noticed that he could not see when using the rear view mirror due to reduced visibility cause by the head rests on the rear seats. the contact stated that the view when using the rear view mirror was obstructed by approximately seventy percent. the contact also stated that while driving at any speed, the head lights from vehicles in the rearview mirror would intermittently disappear due to the reduced visibility. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed and was not repaired. the failure mileage was 68 and the current mileage was 118. | |||
| 03/31/2011 | 68 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. upon entering the vehicle the contact noticed he could not see when using the rear view mirror due to a reduced visibility cause by the head rests on the rear seats. the contact stated the view when using the rear view mirror was obstructed by approximately 70%. the contact also stated that while driving at any speed the head lights coming from vehicles in the rear would intermittently disappear due to the reduced visibility. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed and was not repaired. the failure mileage was 68 and the current mileage was 118. sm. | |||
| 03/15/2011 | 500 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the seat headrests were too high and obstructing visibility thru the rear view mirror. in addition, he stated that the side view mirrors were abnormally small. the dealer was contacted but offered no assistance, stating that they could not alter the design of the vehicle. the dealer advised the contact that an independent mechanic could possibly lower the seat or cut down the headrest. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 500. | |||
| 03/15/2011 | 500 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the head rest on the seats are too high as a result it blocks visibility thru the rear view mirror. also the side view mirrors are too small. the dealer was contacted who did not offered any assistance since they could not alter the vehicle design. they also advised that he could hire and independent shop to lower the seat or cut down the head rest. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 500. pm | |||
| 01/23/2011 | 200 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated the three head rest located in the rear of the vehicle block 75% of there view. the contact cannot see the vehicle behind them. this makes it difficult for the contact to change lanes. the dealer said they cannot adjust the rear head rest, because it would make them liable. the contact had not spoken with the manufacturer at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage and current mileages were 200.rl | |||
| 09/23/2010 | 60 | ||
| I own a 2011 chevrolet impala which has a serious traffic hazard involving the three rear head rests affixed/sewn - which makes them non-adjustable. the problem is aggravated by the fact that the head rests are higher than most vehicles. the fixed position of these head rests block the driver's vision out of about one third of the rear window. the middle head rest is especially troublesome. i wrote general motors about this approximately 2 weeks ago and they have not responded. the sales and the service departments at the dealership are well aware of my concerns. nhtsa complaint 10358310 was also filed concerning this identical problem, i have 61 years of driving experience - all sizes/types of autos. in my considered opinion this is a design flaw. i have raised the driver's seat to the highest setting and have tried all possible adjustments to the inside and side mirrors in an attempt to solve this to no avail. | |||
| VISIBILITY - REAR WINDOW WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 04/14/2011 | 0 | ||
| Oversized, immovable third headrest in middle of back seat of 2011 chevy impala. blocks vision out of rear window - driver cannot use rear view mirror. driver cannot see vehicle following. | |||
| 09/23/2010 | 60 | ||
| I own a 2011 chevrolet impala which has a serious traffic hazard involving the three rear head rests affixed/sewn - which makes them non-adjustable. the problem is aggravated by the fact that the head rests are higher than most vehicles. the fixed position of these head rests block the driver's vision out of about one third of the rear window. the middle head rest is especially troublesome. i wrote general motors about this approximately 2 weeks ago and they have not responded. the sales and the service departments at the dealership are well aware of my concerns. nhtsa complaint 10358310 was also filed concerning this identical problem, i have 61 years of driving experience - all sizes/types of autos. in my considered opinion this is a design flaw. i have raised the driver's seat to the highest setting and have tried all possible adjustments to the inside and side mirrors in an attempt to solve this to no avail. | |||
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | |||
| 02/02/2011 | 3 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the head rest in the vehicle was too large and the side view mirrors were too small. the dealer was notified and stated that there were no recalls for the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 3. the vin was unavailable. kmj | |||
| 02/02/2011 | 3 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns 2011 chevrolet impala. the contact stated that the head rest in the vehicle are too big and the side mirrors are too small. the dealer was notified and they stated that there were no recalls for that problem. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 3. the vin was unavailable. ap | |||