Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Chevrolet Impala owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. While attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and jerked forward. The contact took the vehicle to gregg young Chevrolet (17750 burt st, omaha, ne 68118, [phone]) twice, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. On one occasion, the contact's vehicle lurched forward and crashed into another vehicle that turned in front of the contact. The crash was a t-bone collision. A police report was filed. The contact and other driver were injured and transported to the hospital for medical attention. The vehicle was towed to huber Cadillac (11102 w Dodge rd, omaha, ne 68154, [phone]), but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the fuel pump, spark plugs, coil, and fuel injector (twice); however, the failure recurred. The failure mileage was 85,000.
Was driving down the road and out of no where my car flashed a message that said service traction control and then engine power reduced and my car came to an almost complete stop. It would not accelerate at all. This has happened many times now and have caused very dangerous situations while going down the road. The problem will go away after the car has been turned off for a few hours but it will do it again out of no where I have tried to have this fixed multiple times ad there is no fix! It is very dangerous and there should be a recall before someone is killed!
While I was driving, the car gave a notice of reduced engine power, then a few miles later, another notice came on service throttle disabling service. And the car shut off! With no warning, and no way to get to safety. If I wasn't in an area that had a shoulder I could get to quickly or if there was any traffic near me, I would be dead! This is incredibly unsafe and is going to get someone killed, if it hasnt already! That has to be some sort of flaw in the programing. If I would have been on the highway, which is where I normally am at that time of day, I would have had no time to react and get to a safe area before the car shut down on me. It also locked up the steering wheel and braking system so I had next to no power. It was incredibly scary. I am just glad that I was driving the car, instead of my elderly mother. She very well May have had a heart attack from the fear. …
One day I was driving my car home making a right turn and my engine started making noise and was acting as if it was going to cut off. So I parked my car called my mechanic he came over and looked at the car I said it could be a possible rocker arm that has gone in the car or I could have something to do with the check engine light coming on giving me a code for a cam positioning sensor / solenoid. Also when I purchase the car not too long after me driving I noticed there was some noise coming from my back tires. I couldn't figure it out for a while until one day I looked at my tires and noticed that on the inside there was a considerable amount of scraping going on wearing away my tread. It would always seem to happen when I got new tires on the car so I thought maybe the tires were too big for the car but I ordered what the manufactor suggested the tire size should be for the car. …
Driving on highway @ 60 MPH when engine dies with no warning. Dash shows following messages: "engine power reduced" "serivce traction control" "service stabilitrax" power steering and power brakes stop working. When car key is turned off and check engine codes are cleared, the car starts up fine and continues to run smoothly. Luckily I was able to safely stop the car (albeit on the middle of a major highway), turn it off, clear the codes, and start it back up to get out of the way. Same problem happened in January 2018. After this I took it to a Chevy dealer. They said car was covered under "warranty" for this problem and they replaced the throttle body. One month later same problem keeps occurring. Car runs fine but these messages appear about once a month. Typically the engine stays on and is only limited in power. …
Hello, only had my car 2 years and nothing but problems..my biggest concern is this light that's keeps coming on and says "engine power reduced" and kicks my cars down between 20 and 40 miles per hour..huge safety issue to me. I was driving with my 3 children on the highways when out of nowhere my car reduced to 20 miles on the highway!!! I was scared as well as my children and had to exit the highway as safely as possible. Now I have done some investigation about this and see many people are having the same issues how horrible. Why is there not a recall for this? My life and my children's lives are a factor and it's terrifying that nothing is getting done about this but is known by the makers of this vehicle..please I would like some answers and something done about this. …
While driving my car the speed reduced itself from 40mph to 5 MPH and the check engine light came on along with reduced engine power across my dashboard. The car started shaking and jerking. It then shut off while I was driving it. I had it towed the next day to the repair shop and they said a sensor was bad in the gas pedal and replaced the whole pedal. 4 days later it did the same thing. Again it started shaking and jerking then shut itself off. I took it back to the repair shop but by the time they could read the codes the car had been shut off long enough that they couldn't find anything. They cleaned the throttle body and gave it back. The next day it did the same thing. I again took it back and did not shut it off til they read the codes. It read the throttle body was bad. They replaced it and gave the car back. 30 miles later, it started all over again. …
Reduced engine power message, faulty back door locks, heating actuator repairs. This is a revised complaint to one I also made for just the reduced engine power message. After reading numerous complaints on here I have found that my car has several of the issues not just reduced engine power. I am most concerned with the car cutting out while driving due to the reduced engine power however we also have locks that don't open/lock with remote which has been going on for the last 3 years and since last winter heater only blows cold air until you accelerate the car. This month we had car repaired for a knocking noise coming from under glove box while car was running or shut off. Mechanic diagnosed as a new actuator and did repair. This however did not repair the blowing of cold air and also this is when the reduced engine power warning started. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. The contact stated that the reduce power indicator illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted and was able to drive normally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the throttle body, throttle body sensor, and fuel pedal sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic who diagnosed that the mass air flow sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic five times for the same failure. The mechanic also stated that the spark plugs failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure continued. The manufacturer and dealer were not made aware of the failures. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Impala. While driving 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle jerked severely. In addition, the brakes were unresponsive. The contact pulled over to restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred. The contact mentioned reconnecting a vacuum hose after observing that it was disconnected from the power booster. Afterwards, the brakes became responsive. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle position sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer once more where it was diagnosed that the catalytic converter failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000. Updated 03/04/16
Engine complaints in other Impala years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2008 Chevrolet Impala?
NHTSA has 160 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2008 Chevrolet Impala, 20% of the model year's 810 complaints. The component named most often is exhaust system (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Chevrolet Impala engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2008 Chevrolet Impala, though it has 2 recalls 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 2008 Chevrolet Impala engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 92,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 4 injuries to engine & cooling 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.