The Chevrolet Impala has one year to avoid and it is unmistakable: the 2016 car has 897 owner complaints, a score of 47 and a verdict of AVOID, against 288 for the 2015 car and 116 for the 2017. The Buick LaCrosse has its trouble earlier, in the 2012 car (205 complaints, score 43, AVOID) and the 2013 car (57, CAUTION). The years to buy are the 2017 to 2020 Impala, which scores 91 to 96, and the 2014 to 2019 LaCrosse, which scores 73 to 90, with the caveat that the record on both thins out sharply after 2017.
The 2016 Impala
Nothing on the sheet prepares you for it. The Impala's complaints run at 505, 258, 271 and 288 for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015, then 897 for 2016, then 116 for 2017. Per year on the road the 2016 car is at 89.7, more than double any other year of the car; the next highest is the 2011 car at 33.7. The components are spread rather than concentrated, which is itself informative: Engine 304, Electrical System 236, Unknown Or Other 185, Power Train 178, Vehicle Speed Control 146. No single category explains the year, and the recall record does not help, because the 2016 Impala has no recall campaigns at all. A car with 897 complaints and no campaign is a car whose owners reported a great deal and whose manufacturer did not find a defect it was obliged to fix. That is the least comfortable kind of record, and it is why the 2016 car is an AVOID rather than a CAUTION.
The 2015 car, on the same body, is a BUY at 74 with a different component mix: Electrical System 92, then Unknown Or Other 49, Lane Departure 41 and Steering 41. The 2017 car, also on the same body, is a 92 on 116 complaints, with nothing above Unknown Or Other at 31 and Engine at 21. Whatever happened in 2016 was contained to it.
Chevrolet Impala: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 96 | BUY | 15 | 0 |
| 2019 | 92 | BUY | 28 | 1 |
| 2018 | 91 | BUY | 59 | 1 |
| 2017 | 92 | BUY | 116 | 0 |
| 2016 | 47 | AVOID | 897 | 0 |
| 2015 | 74 | BUY | 288 | 0 |
| 2014 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 79 | BUY | 271 | 1 |
| 2012 | 78 | BUY | 258 | 3 |
| 2011 | 59 | CAUTION | 505 | 2 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Chevrolet Impala model page.
The older Impala and the ignition campaign
The 2011 to 2013 cars are the previous body, and their record is dominated by the electronic stability control category: 132 complaints on the 2011 car, 54 on the 2012 and 108 on the 2013, alongside Engine (125 on the 2011), Electrical System (95, 58, 52) and Seats (77 on the 2011). The 2011 car scores 59, CAUTION; the 2012 and 2013 cars 78 each, BUY.
The campaign that matters on them is 14V355000, issued 23/06/2014 and safety-critical, covering the ignition on 2011 to 2013 Impalas; the instruction to owners until it is done is to remove everything from the key ring except the ignition key, because the defect can affect the air bag system. The 2012 car also has 11V398000 for a power steering hose routed close to the catalytic converter. Campaign 12V377000 on 2011 to 2012 cars is for front lower control arms and applies to police vehicles only.
The 2014 Impala has no complaints and no recalls on this site and a verdict of DATA PENDING. It is not a good year or a bad one; it is a year about which the record says nothing.
The LaCrosse, 2011 to 2013
The LaCrosse's first three years on record are its worst: 169, 205 and 129 complaints, scores of 51, 43 and 57, all CAUTION or AVOID. Electrical System leads every year (32, 61, 54), Engine is second (30, 46, 30) and Suspension is third every year (27, 31, 27). That suspension pattern is corroborated by three campaigns: 20V764000, 21V633000 and 21V00F000, issued between 21/12/2020 and 22/12/2021, all for the rear suspension on 2010 to 2013 cars sold or ever registered in a list of northern and eastern states. The electrical pattern has a campaign too, 13V173000, safety-critical, for the generator control module on 2012 and 2013 cars equipped with eAssist. The 2012 car, the worst, also carries 11V404000 for electronic stability control and 14V447000 for the power seat adjusters.
Buick LaCrosse: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 90 | BUY | 6 | 2 |
| 2018 | 88 | BUY | 12 | 3 |
| 2017 | 87 | BUY | 34 | 2 |
| 2016 | 82 | BUY | 48 | 2 |
| 2015 | 82 | BUY | 44 | 3 |
| 2014 | 73 | BUY | 63 | 5 |
| 2013 | 57 | CAUTION | 129 | 5 |
| 2012 | 43 | AVOID | 206 | 5 |
| 2011 | 51 | CAUTION | 169 | 4 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Buick LaCrosse model page.
The good years, and how thin they are
From 2014 the LaCrosse is a BUY every year, and from 2017 the Impala is too. The problem for a buyer is that the evidence label drops as the scores rise. The 2014 LaCrosse has 63 complaints and medium evidence; the 2015 to 2019 cars have 44, 48, 34, 12 and 6 complaints and low evidence. The 2017 and 2018 Impalas have 116 and 59 complaints and medium evidence; the 2019 and 2020 cars have 28 and 15 and low evidence. A score of 96 on 15 complaints is not the same thing as a score of 96 on several hundred, and the site marks it accordingly.
What the recall record adds on those years is modest and mostly shared across General Motors: 16V651000 and 17V437000 (frontal air bags, 2014 to 2016 LaCrosse), 15V666000 (side air bag inflators, 2015 LaCrosse), 17V116000 (electric power steering connectors that may admit water, 2017 LaCrosse), 17V267000 (rear toe links, 2017 LaCrosse), 18V576000 (rear brake calipers, 2018 to 2019 on both cars), 20V668000 (automatic transmission, 2018 to 2019 LaCrosse) and 18V358000 (high pressure fuel pump, 2018 LaCrosse). The 2014 LaCrosse alone has five campaigns, four of them safety-critical, including 14V240000 for the front brakes and 14V317000 for a wiring splice in the driver's door that may corrode.
Impala or LaCrosse?
By the record the LaCrosse is the better car from 2014 and the Impala from 2017, and the difference between them in those years is inside the noise of low evidence. Before that the LaCrosse is worse in 2011 to 2013 (43 to 57 against the Impala's 59 to 78) and the Impala is far worse in 2016. Complaints per year on the road favour the LaCrosse throughout: its highest is 14.6, on the 2012 car, and the Impala does not get below that until 2017.
What to check before you buy
- On a 2011 to 2013 Impala, get written confirmation that 14V355000 has been performed; until then, drive it with a bare key.
- On a 2011 to 2013 LaCrosse from a northern state, put it on a lift and look at the rear suspension, then check the three rear suspension campaigns by VIN.
- On a 2012 or 2013 LaCrosse with eAssist, check 13V173000 and ask for the battery and generator history.
- On a 2016 Impala, if you must, insist on a full service history; the complaints are spread across engine, electrical, powertrain and speed control, and there is no campaign to point to.
- On a 2018 or 2019 car of either make, check 18V576000 for the rear brake calipers.
Summary
Avoid the 2016 Impala outright and treat the 2011 Impala and the 2011 to 2013 LaCrosse with caution. Buy a 2017 or later Impala or a 2014 or later LaCrosse, knowing that the scores above 90 rest on very few complaints. Between the two, the LaCrosse has the lower complaint rate in every year it shares with the Impala.