The 2014 Impala marked GM's full redesign on the Epsilon II platform. While a significant improvement over predecessors, these cars suffer from specific transmission cooling failures and electric power steering problems that can leave you stranded, plus surprising engine bearing failures on higher-mileage V6 models.
Transmission Oil Cooler Line Failure & Fluid Cross-Contamination
Common · high severity
Typical onset: 60,000-110,000 mi
Symptoms: Pink milky transmission fluid or coolant in expansion tank, Transmission slipping or harsh shifting after coolant mixing, Coolant loss with no external leaks, Check engine light with transmission temp codes
Fix: Replace transmission oil cooler and lines, flush both cooling system and transmission completely. If contamination went unnoticed, internal transmission damage requires rebuild or replacement. 4-6 hours for cooler/lines only, 12-18 hours if transmission needs rebuild.
Electric Power Steering (EPS) Column Module Failure
Occasional · high severity
Typical onset: 70,000-130,000 mi
Symptoms: Complete loss of power steering assist while driving, Service power steering message on DIC, Steering wheel very heavy at low speeds, normal at highway speeds, No warning before failure in many cases
Fix: Replace entire steering column assembly or EPS control module depending on failure mode. GM issued TSB for reprogramming in some cases but hardware replacement usually required. 2.5-4 hours labor.
Estimated cost: $900-1,800
3.6L V6 Timing Chain Wear & Bearing Failure
Occasional · high severity
Typical onset: 100,000-150,000 mi
Symptoms: Cold start rattle for 2-3 seconds (timing chain stretch), Metallic knocking at idle (rod bearing wear), Low oil pressure warning, Check engine light with camshaft position correlation codes, Catastrophic engine failure if ignored
Fix: Early chain stretch requires timing chain replacement on both banks plus phasers. Bearing failure (surprisingly common on V6) means engine rebuild or replacement. Chain job is 10-14 hours, rebuild 20-30 hours.
Symptoms: Clunk when shifting from Park to Drive or Reverse, Vibration at idle in gear, Excessive engine movement visible under acceleration, Transmission thud on hard stops
Fix: Replace transmission mount (sometimes both trans and engine mounts needed). Simple job but requires supporting powertrain. 1.5-2.5 hours.
Estimated cost: $250-450
Parking Brake Auto-Release Failure
Occasional · medium severity
Symptoms: Service park brake message on DIC, Parking brake won't release electronically, Manual release procedure needed to drive, Parking brake engaging randomly while driving (rare but dangerous)
Fix: Usually parking brake module or actuator motor replacement. Sometimes just corrosion on cables in rust belt states. Multiple recalls issued but problems persist. 1.5-3 hours depending on component.
Estimated cost: $350-800
Water Pump Failure (3.6L V6)
Common · medium severity
Typical onset: 70,000-110,000 mi
Symptoms: Coolant weeping from front of engine, Squealing or grinding from water pump pulley, Overheating in traffic, Coolant loss requiring frequent top-off
Fix: Replace water pump while addressing timing chains if needed simultaneously. Common PM item but failure can lead to overheating and head gasket damage. 3-4 hours standalone.
Estimated cost: $500-850
Owner tips
Check transmission fluid color religiously every oil change—pink or milky means immediate cooler line inspection needed
Use full synthetic oil and keep 5,000-mile intervals on the 3.6L to extend bearing and chain life
Test drive should include full lock turns at parking lot speed to verify power steering doesn't cut out
Budget $1,500-2,000 annually for repairs after 100k miles on V6 models—these aren't Honda reliable
Pass on high-mileage V6 models unless you can verify timing chains and trans cooler have been addressed; 2.5L four-cylinder is more durable but uninspiring—overall a decent highway cruiser if under 80k miles with service records.
AI-assisted summary drawn from NHTSA recall data, our labor-times database, and platform knowledge. Not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on a specific vehicle.
Be the first to unlock repairs for the 2014 Chevrolet Impala
Procedures haven't been generated for this vehicle yet. Become the founding sponsor and we'll generate expert-grade, step-by-step repair walkthroughs for every common job on it — free for every mechanic and DIYer who looks it up after, forever.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured April 15, 2013, to June 19, 2015, equipped with front vented-heated passenger seats. Accordingly, the Automatic Occupant Sensing (AOS) system may fail to suppress the front passenger air bag if a child seat is in the front passenger seat. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence: If the front passenger air bag deploys with a child seat in the front passenger seat, it increases the risk of injury to the child.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will correct the calibration-learning error by preconditioning the empty seat, and also resetting the ECU to a seat zero-value, free of charge. The recall began on August 25, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15400.
PARKING BRAKE · 15V202000
2015-04-06
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured March 22, 2013, to May 22, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the electronic parking brake piston actuation arm may not fully retract causing the brake pads to stay partially engaged. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Systems (FMVSS) No. 135 "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Consequence: Brake pads that remain partially engaged with the rotors may cause excessive brake heat that may result in a fire.
Remedy: GM has notified owners, and dealers will reprogram the electronic parking brake control module with new software, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 15259. Note: The vehicles covered by this campaign were previously remedied incorrectly under campaigns 14V541 or 15V085.
PARKING BRAKE · 15V085000
2015-02-11
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured November 15, 2012, to May 30, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the electronic parking brake piston actuation arm may not fully retract causing the brake pads to stay partially engaged. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Systems (FMVSS) No. 135 "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Consequence: Brake pads that remain partially engaged with the rotors may cause excessive brake heat that may result in a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the electronic parking brake control module with new software, free of charge. The recall began March 5, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 15100. Note: This recall covers a limited population of vehicles that were remedied incorrectly under recall 14V-541.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · 14V614000
2014-10-01
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
Consequence: If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GMs number for this recall is 14515.
PARKING BRAKE · 14V541000
2014-09-09 · PE14010
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Cadillac XTS vehicles manufactured February 14, 2012, to August 22, 2014, and 2014-2015 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured November 5, 2012, to September 2, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the electronic parking brake piston actuation arm may not fully retract causing the brake pads to stay partially engaged.
Consequence: Brake pads that remain partially engaged with the rotors may cause excessive brake heat that may result in a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic parking brake software, free of charge. The recall began on October 28, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14471.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE-INACTIVE · 14V518000
2014-08-28
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac XTS vehicles manufactured April 11, 2013, to June 27, 2013, and 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured May 13, 2013, to November 5, 2013. The affected vehicles may have left the factory with the sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) set to "manufacturing mode."
Consequence: In manufacturing mode, the vehicle's air bags will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers are to reprogram the SDM to the correct mode, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in September 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14532.
STRUCTURE · 14V489000
2014-08-08
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured May 7, 2014, to July 28, 2014. In the event of an accident, the center storage console may not stay latched. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 201, "Occupant Protection In Interior Impact."
Consequence: The storage compartment door may not remain closed in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Remedy: Parts to remedy this condition are not currently available. GM will send owners an interim notification in early October 2014, and will send a second letter when parts are available. At that time dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the console storage compartment door inertia latch, free of charge. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14476.
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM · 14V450000
2014-07-23
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured November 5, 2012, to December 20, 2013. Due to a poor electrical ground connection to the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM), the affected vehicles may have a loss of power steering assist during start up or while driving.
Consequence: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will clean paint from behind the ground stud nut and update the PSCM software, free of charge. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. The recall began on August 21, 2014. GM's number for this recall is 14330.
STEERING · 14V409000
2014-07-02
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Regal, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro and Chevrolet Impala vehicles. Improperly torqued fasteners may cause the steering intermediate shaft and the steering gear and/or the lower control arm and the lower ball joint to separate.
Consequence: If any of the components separate, the vehicle may have a loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM began to notify owners on June 27, 2014, and dealers will inspect the fasteners for correct torque, correcting them as necessary, free of charge. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac) or 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14378.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION · 14V355000
2014-06-23
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 cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
Consequence: 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.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), and 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION · 14V092000
2014-02-21
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Regal, LaCrosse, Verano, and Enclave, and Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, Cruze, and Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjuster may disengage from the transmission shift lever. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect." They also fail to conform to FMVSS number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Consequence: If a vehicle's shift cable disengages from the transmission shift lever, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the driver may be able to shift the lever to the "PARK" position, but the vehicle transmission may not be in the "PARK" gear position. If the vehicle is not in the "PARK" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
Remedy: General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected transmission shift cable adjusters, free of charge. The recall began on April 10, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020, Buick owners at 1-800-521-7300, and GMC owners at 1-800-462-8782. General Motors' number associated with this recall is 14048.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · 13V220000
2013-05-24
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala; and 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles. Originally, in May 2013, GM recalled 1,627 model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; and model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles. In October 2013, GM informed the agency that it was adding model year 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles to this campaign , representing an additional 8,050 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 9,677. On the affected vehicles, the brake lamps may intermittently flash without the brakes being applied and the cruise control may disengage. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Consequence: If the brake lamps flash when the vehicle is not slowing, a following driver may not adjust vehicle speed when the vehicle is in fact braking, and the brake lamps are illuminating as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module. The recall began on June 13, 2013. Owner's may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. GM's recall number is 13158.
Building an app?
Free API access to all this data — 50 requests/day, no card required.