Model-year matrix

Chevrolet Impala
which year?

Compare every Chevrolet Impala model year the EPA recorded, 1984 to 2020. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Chevrolet Impala year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Chevrolet Impala?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Chevrolet Impala years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2004

1,072 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2004 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2009

824 indexed complaint reports; air bags is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2009 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2000

818 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2000 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Chevrolet Impala model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2019 Chevrolet Impala

NHTSA complaint allegations: 28
Combined EPA economy: 22–25 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 3
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,450–2,800
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelselectrical system 9air bags 5power train 5

Open the 2019 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2020 Chevrolet Impala

NHTSA complaint allegations: 15
Combined EPA economy: 22 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 2
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,800
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsunknown or other 7electrical system 3steering 3

Open the 2020 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2020 has 13 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2019.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Chevrolet Impala by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Chevrolet Impala model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2020	15	unknown or other 7electrical system 3steering 3	22	2	$2,800	Dossier →
2019	28	electrical system 9air bags 5power train 5	22–25	3	$2,450–2,800	Dossier →
2018	59	unknown or other 16electrical system 11power train 11	22–25	3	$2,450–2,800	Dossier →
2017	116	unknown or other 31engine 21air bags 17	22–25	3	$2,450–2,800	Dossier →
2016	111	electrical system 30unknown or other 22engine 21	20–25	5	$2,450–3,100	Dossier →
2015	300	electrical system 96unknown or other 51lane departure 46	20–25	5	$2,450–3,100	Dossier →
2014	632	electrical system 221steering 140electronic stability control (esc) 104	21–28	5	$2,200–2,950	Dossier →
2013	271	electronic stability control (esc) 108electrical system 52service brakes 51	22	2	$2,800	Dossier →
2012	258	electrical system 58electronic stability control (esc) 54steering 50	22	2	$2,800	Dossier →
2011	505	electronic stability control (esc) 132engine 125electrical system 97	21–23	2	$2,650–2,950	Dossier →
2010	441	electrical system 133air bags 102engine 88	21–22	3	$2,800–2,950	Dossier →
2009	824	air bags 233electrical system 225engine 179	19–23	4	$2,650–3,250	Dossier →
2008	810	electrical system 225engine 134suspension 118	19–22	4	$2,800–4,000	Dossier →
2007	627	electrical system 128steering 104suspension 88	19–22	4	$2,800–4,000	Dossier →
2006	524	steering 138electrical system 124power train 109	19–22	4	$2,800–4,000	Dossier →
2005	609	electrical system 337steering 60power train 52	20–22	4	$2,800–3,800	Dossier →
2004	1,072	electrical system 693exterior lighting 110engine 71	20–22	4	$2,800–3,800	Dossier →
2003	694	electrical system 271exterior lighting 109engine 88	20–22	3	$2,800–3,100	Dossier →
2002	795	electrical system 320exterior lighting 131engine and engine cooling 109	20–22	3	$2,800–3,100	Dossier →
2001	742	electrical system 232engine and engine cooling 124exterior lighting 84	20–22	3	$2,800–3,100	Dossier →
2000	818	electrical system 194engine and engine cooling 164steering 129	21	3	$2,950	Dossier →
1985	1	tires 1	14–21	9	$3,250–4,400	Dossier →
1984	0	—	14–21	9	$3,600–4,400	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.