Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Chevrolet Impala owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I got home from work at 7:15 am this morning 9-29-2019 I was laying in bed watching a movie trying to go to sleep and when I finally doze off my son asked if he could go get a charger out of the car so he went out to the car and when he opened the door he said smoke hit him in his face he immediately ran back in the house yelling 'mom your car is on fire so I ran down the stair and went outside and thats all you see is smoke my car was on fire I immediately called 911 they got the fire put out and the fireman and the police officer said my fire started from my steering wheel because after the fact the fire was put out the fireman said he noticed that the steering wheel was throwing sparks still so they said that's what caused my car to caught on fire I don't know what I'm gonna do I have 4 kids and that was our transportation that's how my kids got to school and that's how I got to work …
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. While driving 40 MPH, the steering failed and the vehicle veered off the interstate into the median. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was also towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that a bolt fell out the vehicle and needed to be replaced. In addition, the dealer stated that the air bags were affected. The vehicle was repaired; however, the air bags were not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 258,000.
The back driver side door will not open from the inside or the outside when you pull the handle from the outside it doesn't feel like there's anything catching on the inside it's just loose, it's the same way from the inside also. I went to the store when I left my house I put my daughter in her car seat on that side the door open fine it shut and latched fine when I got to the store and got out to get my daughter out of her car seat the door just would not open it's like it's locked but it's not locked you can move the mechanical lock up and down from the inside , and you can also hit the lock and unlock with the key fob and it doesn't make a difference. The door just will not open. This really concerns me considering if there was an accident and the back passenger needed to get out of the car they wouldn't be able to. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. While the vehicle was stationary, the rear passenger door would not unlock when prompted. A dealer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the door was disassembled, but the vehicle was not repaired. There was no diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 164,490.
Swerved to miss a deer, ran off the road hit a light pole on passenger side,tore off front tier and suspension, car rolled a couple of times, blew out most of the windows, tore up the whole interior, slid into a guard rail and landed up right, and none of the air bags deployed! I broke my shoulder, collar bone and hand, the car had brand new tires.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. While the vehicle was stationary, the rear driver and passenger doors would not open when prompted. The vehicle was repaired by an independent mechanic and the motors in the doors were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000. The VIN was not available.
At about 91000 miles my transmission started acting up (not shifting right, not going into any gear etc.) it finally would not shift at all unless I turned the car off multiple times and would then drive for about 2-5 minutes then all the gears would go out again. I had it towed to a transmission shop thinking it was just a censor and was told that my transmission would have to be replaced/repaired. It cost me almost $3000 to get it fixed. I have read on here and online that the 2006 Chevy Impala has had many issues with this. This is a very costly repair and wish there was a way to get at least a little refund on the cost. Also I have tried about everything to get the passenger side body side molding to stay on and people I have talked to state that they have had issues with that one staying on. It catches my door if I don't remember to push it in before opening the door. …
Last June I went to the store and tried to open my back doors and they would not open from the inside. I was able to open one of the back doors from the outside only. The door locks indicated the doors were not locked. If I was involved in an accident and needed to get people out of the back seat of my car they would not be able to get out on their own. The locking mechanisms failed on both doors. Both doors has this lock issue for about 3-4 months and then one of the locks started working again from the inside. Eventually the other door started working again once it was getting close to winter. This is a serious safety issue that needs looked into and a recall done by GM. GM consistently puts out expensive cars with inadequate parts that fail. I researched this issue online and found this was typical of all Chevy imapla's no matter the year.
Its a 2006 Impala she was driving down the freeway and smoke came out the vents of the dash !!! The traction light was on and the power seats do not work but it still runs, she left the car and had it toed ! So I was wondering if this has happened to any one else ? It looks like it happens a lot but GM has not done anything about it !!!! I read a lot of dash fires from the electrical box on different complaints and some the door locks do not work when the electrical problems begin and traps you in the car !!! Its hard to believe this goes on with no outcome its like someone has to die or get killed before anything is done.
This has occurred now four times since I bought the car the first three times were repaired under warranty. Now it has happened again. The door between the ac and the heat gets stuck on way or the other now it is stuck where you get heat on drivers side and ac on passengers and in the texas heat this is a safety hazard, its a known defect because other Chevy owners know about it and mechanics yet nothing is done once a gain by Chevy to fix the issue, I know of suburban owners, truck - silverado owners, Impala owners , malibu owners of all years who have had this problem.
Body complaints in other Impala years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2006 Chevrolet Impala?
NHTSA has 25 complaints about the body & structure of the 2006 Chevrolet Impala, 5% of the model year's 524 complaints. The component named most often is body (13 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Chevrolet Impala body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2006 Chevrolet Impala, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Chevrolet Impala body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 124,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 2 fires and 1 injury to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.