Chevrolet Impala reliability by year
23 recall campaigns and 6,157 owner complaints across 16 model years. Best year to buy: 2019. Year to avoid: 2014.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 10 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 16 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 43, more than the 23 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Impala aggregated across 16 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Chevrolet Impala?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2019 Chevrolet Impala scores 8.2/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2020 range. 28 complaints on file, 1 active recall. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Chevrolet Impala year should I avoid?
The 2014 Chevrolet Impala scores 4.6/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 637 owner complaints with NHTSA, 12 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2014 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Chevrolet Impala should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2008 (avoid — the electrical system — 5 fire-related complaints and 2 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2007 (avoid — the electrical system — 6 fire-related complaints and 3 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2006 (avoid — the steering — 12 fire-related complaints and 3 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2005 (avoid — the steering — 7 fire-related complaints and 5 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2014 (high-risk ownership — 5 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the electrical system); 2013 (high-risk ownership — electrical system: 44 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 42,000–84,255 mi). The cleaner years on the data are 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Chevrolet Impala are tracked?
16 model years (2005 through 2020) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 23 distinct recall campaigns and 6,157 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 43 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Chevrolet Impala?
electrical is the most-reported category — 1,496 complaints across 15 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.