Chevrolet Impala: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Chevrolet Impala: 10 model years scored from 2,437 NHTSA owner complaints and 8 recall campaigns. Worst year 2016, best year 2017.
Chevrolet Impala: which years to avoid
Across 9 scored model years the Chevrolet Impala ranges from 47/100 in 2016 to 96/100 in 2020 — a 49-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy an Impala at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Engine (304 of them).
Avoid: 2016 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The Chevrolet Impala has one year to avoid, 2016, which carries 897 complaints, a score of 47 and no recall campaigns at all; the next highest count is 505 on the 2011 car. The years to buy are 2017 to 2020, which score 92, 91, 92 and 96 on 116, 59, 28 and 15 complaints, and the 2012 and 2013 cars, at 78 each. The 2016 complaints are spread across Engine (304), Electrical System (236), Unknown Or Other (185), Power Train (178) and Vehicle Speed Control (146), with no campaign to explain any of them; the 2015 car on the same body has 288 complaints led by Electrical System at 92, and the 2017 car has nothing above 31 in any category. The 2011 to 2013 cars are marked by the electronic stability control category (132, 54 and 108) and by campaign 14V355000, the ignition recall of 23/06/2014. The 2014 Impala has no record and is marked DATA PENDING.
Read the guide
Used Chevrolet Impala and Buick LaCrosse: the years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Impala changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 3 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2013
Mean score 72/100, about 24 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electronic Stability Control (Esc) more than anything else (294 complaints). 4 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2015–2016
Mean score 60/100, about 58 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (328 complaints).
2017–2020
Mean score 93/100, about 7 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Unknown Or Other more than anything else (59 complaints). The record improves by 33 points against the years before it. 2 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2017 (score 92). Worst: 2016 (score 47, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 96 | BUY | $4,328 | 15 | 0 |
| 2019 | 92 | BUY | $4,246 | 28 | 1 |
| 2018 | 91 | BUY | $4,100 | 59 | 1 |
| 2017 | 92 | BUY | $4,344 | 116 | 0 |
| 2016 | 47 | AVOID | $6,294 | 897 | 0 |
| 2015 | 74 | BUY | $5,377 | 288 | 0 |
| 2014 | — | DATA PENDING | $4,620 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 79 | BUY | $5,406 | 271 | 1 |
| 2012 | 78 | BUY | $5,500 | 258 | 3 |
| 2011 | 59 | CAUTION | $6,080 | 505 | 2 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Impala, through the years →
Impala sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Impala on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Impala
Across every Impala model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Electrical System571 complaints across all Impala years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Engine527 complaints across all Impala years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Power Train332 complaints across all Impala years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Electronic Stability Control (Esc)294 complaints across all Impala years · typical job: Yaw sensor or ESC module replacement$660–$1,560
- Unknown Or Other293 complaints across all Impala years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Vehicle Speed Control215 complaints across all Impala years · typical job: Throttle body, pedal sensor or cruise module replacement$520–$1,150
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Chevrolet Impala years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2016 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2016 is the weakest at 47/100, with its complaints concentrated in Engine.
What are the best Chevrolet Impala years to buy?
2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2020 at 96/100, on 15 complaints and 0 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Chevrolet Impala problem?
571 of the complaints filed against the Impala across all its model years sit in the Electrical System group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04