Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Chevrolet Impala owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Impala. While driving 70 MPH, the traction control light illuminated as the vehicle stalled. As a result, the vehicle crashed and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The driver and passenger sustained minor injuries to their hands and legs, but did receive medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician stated that the impact was not hard enough for the air bags to deploy. The failure mileage was 56,000. Updated 6/8/15 updated 11/6/15
Dec 2013 vehicle hit pot hole while braking at approaching intersection, after that warning lights started flashing ABS brakes/tract control/stab control, I was unable to brake, then shut down. Since then temp gauge went bad n was replaced. The 3 above dash warning lights continued intermittently, worse when it rained. At take offs n turns car would jar n ABS brake system would pulsate(grabs). Hub/speed sensor was replaced, this did not help. Accessory outlets, when contained w a charger, doesn't maintain contact w power source (such as disconnection/loose connection), causing power surge resulting in 2 iphones to have bad aux ports. …
While at a complete stop, when the vehicle is in drive, as I attempt to push the accelerator to drive through an intersection, the car will stall for a second, make noise that sounds like a whine, and then jump forward like it's having a difficult time finding first gear. The vehicle does this every so often, but not all the time. I've taken it into car x, my local Chevrolet dealership, and another local Goodyear tires dealer, but nobody has any idea what I'm talking about. The vehicle has been hooked up to a computer and technicians have looked at it, but just scratch their heads. There is even a forum online regarding this happening with other Chevy Impala owners [redacted] and owners seem to put lots of money into the issue but with no resolve. ** the issue seems to remedy itself when I turn off the traction control. …
Got a message on my dash a few months ago about "service traction control" while driving. Traction control light lit up also. Parked car and turned car off then on...message gone. Took it into service...showed no error codes. Today (5/2/16), it did it again with the traction control light and the check engine light simultaneously lighting up. "service stabilitrak", service traction control", and "engine power is recuded" are the messages I got today along with the check engine light and the traction control light being on. I had just gotten off the highway so I wasn't going fast when this happened. I was close to work so I parked it at work. Turned the car off then on again and the messages were gone and traction control light was off but check engine light stayed on. …
My service stabilitrack, reduce engine power light came on while I was exiting the freeway. When this happened I had almost no brake pedal. I couldn't stop at the light at the end of the exit, luckily no other cars were around. If I had been on a main street at 45mpr and had to stop for a red light I would have never stopped on time. I'm very lucky no cars were at the light waiting or coming in a different direction with the green light. I see this problem all over edmunds and on you tube and as far as I can tell it's 100% Chevrolet. How can this not be a recall. There are dozens and dozens of the same complaint on edmunds and you tube. It seems like every you tube video has a different fix for the problem....from pulling out the fuse to the stabilitrack to over a thousand dollars in repairs. Does there have to be a death to get the attention of Chevrolet. …
On two different occasions, once about a year ago and again today, my 2011 chev Impala ltz displayed a series of rotating alert messages -- 1. Service traction control 2. Service stabilitrak 3. Engine power is reduced. I was driving about 45 miles per hour on an open road when all of a sudden the engine started running very roughly and slowed down and the above 3 messages repeatedly displayed one after the other. Also 2 yellow lights were flashing and then remained on -- the check engine light and the traction control light (I think). When I reported this problem to the chev dealership a year ago, I was told that because the warning lights and messages could not be reproduced in the service department, there was nothing that they could do. …
Why is there not a recall on stability traction control? I see thousands of complaints on the internet for GM vehicles. It seems to me that GM just doesn't care enough after the sale. I just bought 2011 Impala and now the stabalitrack service light keeps coming on while going down the road. It will do this for no apparent reason but happens mostly when accelerating. Using the cruise control on level road and dash warning light comes on and throws car out of cruise, decelerating while gages flip around all over the place. Power loss and lack of acceleration are definitely safety issues. Pulling out of my driveway onto michigan highway and I get halfway across highway and car stops. This highway is 55 mpg and while I would have had plenty of time to cross the lane, car looses all power. Looking on the internet gives no help for a fix. …
My car just reached 79,000 miles and I was driving when my car cut off in the middle of traffic! This happened twice in the same drive. It immediately started back up but then the check engine light came on along with a stabilitrak error message. Then a message saying engine power is reduced. Now the car's engine is making a terrible noise and is having problems accelerating without making a loud sound like air trying to blow through a pinhole. The Chevy service department I took it to wants almost $700 just to take it apart to see what it wrong with it, which doesn't include the possible amount for repair. And they did not look at any of the technical service bulletins like requested! Now they are saying my car is not able to be driven at all. …
Car gets service stabitrack, traction control and ABS warning on dash. Replacing wheel hubs with sensors does not fix this issue. Sometimes the car will want to apply brakes while driving or reduce engine speed. I have been through many forums with people reporting the same issue on the same car and through multiple years of manufacturing. From the research I have done in the last few days it looks like hundreds of owners have reported this issue but Chevrolet is not doing anything to correct it. Not sure at this point if it is the wiring harness causing the problem or if this could be something with the computer that controls the stabitrack, ABS and traction control. If cars are loosing power and or the brakes are being applied with out driver control this can lead to dangerous driving conditions for the car owner passengers and everyone else driving on the same road. …
Driving at approx 35 MPH, my car showed service stabilitrack / service traction control / vehicle in reduced power. I did have reduced power, could not go any faster than 15 or 20 MPH. I continued down the road another block and without warning, the car shuts down while going down a slight grade,, which cause steering to become very hard to use along with little to no braking, I ended up going thru a stop sign at the bottom of the grade because of lack of braking power, luckily no vehicles were coming, I got the vehicle stopped, and looked at the display, it said ignition disabled, service throttle. By the vehicle shutting down that is a safety issue, the vehicle should never shut down making steering and braking almost impossible, if it finds an issue with the throttle, it should just disable the throttle so I can steer and brake without problem. …
Traction Control complaints in other Impala years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2011 Chevrolet Impala?
NHTSA has 142 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2011 Chevrolet Impala, 28% of the model year's 505 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Chevrolet Impala traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2011 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 2011 Chevrolet Impala traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 71,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 2 fires and 4 injuries to stability & traction control 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.