2020 Chevrolet Impala — Should You Buy One?
Typical asking price: $16,000–$22,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.
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Kestrel Take
The last Impala — production ended in early 2020 — and with fifteen complaints on file this is the thinnest record of any Impala we cover. Fifteen is not a reliability rating in either direction; it means a short production run sold largely to fleets, and we have not seen enough owner reports to call a pattern. What is there echoes the generation: three owners with the electric power steering going hard, one an AC drain tube left disconnected inside the car that soaked the carpets to the point of mold, and two EVAP purge-valve reports, one of them a crash. There are no recalls on record for this year. Buy it as a late, well-equipped example of the 2014–2020 car and inspect it against that generation's known faults — steering assist, blind-spot modules, a dry floor — rather than against this short list.
What we checked
Checked against public records, 2026-09-25
NHTSA holds 15 owner complaints for the 2020 Chevrolet Impala, and no recall campaigns.
That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under electrics and electronics (3), steering (3), the fuel system (2). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.
Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.
Known Issues for the 2020 Chevrolet Impala
Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.
Three of fifteen complaints, which is why it is rated medium rather than high: a Premier owner who complained of heavy steering repeatedly under warranty with no code stored, then got a diagnosis at 5,322 miles the month the warranty ended; another paid $200 for a diagnostic and was told it was the floor mat; a third saw the Drive With Care message on parking and needed real force to reverse out. This is the same electric rack and control module that generated 140 complaints on the 2014 Impala, and when it fails outright it is a four-figure part. Park, turn the wheel lock to lock and listen; then feel for the assist changing weight during a slow drive. A steering-module code on a scan settles it.
Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,500 for a rack or steering control module
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (3).
One of the three electrical complaints is worth every buyer's five minutes: the air-conditioning condensate tube had come off inside the car and drained into the carpet, growing mold under the mats and seats and taking the wiring under the floor with it. The other two are a driver's blind-spot warning that stopped working and seat-belt and turn-signal chimes that went silent, plus a steering complaint filed twice. Pull the front floor mats, press the carpet at the front footwells, and smell the cabin with the doors shut; damp or musty means the floor comes up before the money changes hands.
Repair cost (estimate): $200–$1,500 depending on how far the water went
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (3).
Two fuel-system reports. One is a detailed account of the vapor canister purge valve failing stuck open, which floods the intake with fuel vapour: a rough or stalling idle, a hard start right after refuelling, and an EVAP or lean code on the dash — that owner's incident is filed as a crash. The other is a loud bang on the highway that a shop attributed to the catalytic converter, with EVAP and fan faults alongside. The purge valve itself is a cheap, quick part; the converter is not. Start the car twice from warm and watch the idle, and ask whether the check-engine light has ever been on.
Repair cost (estimate): $100–$300 for the purge valve
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (2).
Walk-Away Red Flags
- ✗Steering that weights up or goes heavy at parking speed
- ✗Musty smell with the doors shut, or damp carpet in the front footwells
- ✗Rough idle or a stumble in the first seconds after a hot restart
- ✗Blind-spot mirror icons that never light with traffic beside you
- ✗Warning chimes that are silent when the seat belt is off
Good Signs
- ✓Steering rack or control module replaced under warranty, with the dealer record
- ✓Dry, firm carpet under the front mats and a neutral-smelling cabin
- ✓A steady idle on a hot restart with a clean scan
- ✓Blind-spot icons lighting in both mirrors at start-up
- ✓Fleet or dealer service history covering the first 30,000 miles
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Known issues on this page are based on documented owner reports, NHTSA complaints, class-action records, and manufacturer technical service bulletins. Individual vehicles vary. A pre-purchase inspection by a trusted mechanic is always worth doing.
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