AutoUtility currently tracks 111 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Chevrolet Impala. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 30 complaints (27% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 8 filings cite a crash, 4 cite a fire, 7 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 111 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (30 reports • 27% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (20), Air Bags & Restraints (17)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 7 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
111
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
4
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
7
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2016 Chevrolet Impala

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 27% of complaints

Electrical System

30 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 2 fire reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#2 Problem Area 18% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

20 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 1 fire report
#3 Problem Area 15.3% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

17 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🩹 5 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 14.4% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

16 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#5 Problem Area 14.4% of complaints

Steering System

16 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Chevrolet Impala

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11756028
Fire Cited Filed: 08/10/2026

"The contact owned a 2016 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH and turning into a parking lot, the vehicle lost power and there was black smoke coming from the right side of the engine compartment. The contact then parked the vehicle and opened the hood, and..."

Incident Date: 07/30/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11741316
Filed: 06/01/2026

"The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, however the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact noticed an abnormal sound and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that the..."

Incident Date: 01/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11696147
Filed: 10/28/2025

"Between 25mph and 35mph transmission will " lose " gearing and start revving when I'm stuck in traffic, causing a safety concern/risk. Have to stop the car completely and let her cool down below half operating temp for the transmission to rekick into gear. Happens Everytime after driving through..."

Incident Date: 10/25/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11639809
Filed: 01/31/2025

"My vin should have been included in this: N182186881-01 - Special Coverage Evaporator Core Icing, Leak Revised Warranty section I have had the issue for many years due to not receiving the notice. The car leaks, hisses, smokes and does not cool at all. I was told I must only take it to them for 250..."

Incident Date: 05/11/2021 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Steering System NHTSA ODI ID: #11627748
Filed: 11/27/2024

"I was driving and entering [XXX] at [XXX] when my power steering went completely out! I was unable to steer my vehicle at all and was on a windy road with my children in the vehicle! I pulled to the side of the road! Shut my car off waited a couple minutes and turned it back on and the problem went..."

Incident Date: 11/20/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: STEERING
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Chevrolet Impala

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2020)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Chevrolet Impala 300 10 3 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Chevrolet Impala Current Page 111 8 0 Current
2017 Chevrolet Impala 116 4 0 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Chevrolet Impala 59 6 1 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Chevrolet Impala 28 4 1 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Chevrolet Impala 15 3 0 View 2020 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Chevrolet Impala

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 54 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 11 0 1 1 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 10 1 0 2 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 9 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 6 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 5 0 1 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 2 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 2 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 2 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 1 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 2 0
SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (111). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.