So I was driving my 2011 Impala LT a little while ago and noticed it was getting a little stuffy so I reached down and punched the A/C button and nothing happened. All of the climate controls were dead. The ***** and levers weren't lit up and they did not respond. Also, the outside temperature display on the instrument panel just showed three dashes. I rolled down my windows, got to where I was going, shut off the car, and then as an experiment turned the ignition switch back on. Lo and behold, the climate controls were all lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree. Whatever the problem was, it had reset itself. Still, it makes me a little concerned that it could happen again or something major is about to go out. Should I be worried?

If under 3yrs(from first day of sale)/36 K miles, get it to a dealership...even if ok now.....have it written up...then if it occurs out of warranty, it will still be covered, even though they may not have found anything wrong when you brought it in........

Could be a bad connection, or a problem with with the control head, etc....

Thanks for the suggestion. Although the car doesn't quite have 22,000 miles on it yet, it is out of warranty as my parents bought it new in December of 2011 (I bought it from them this past October). I finally got around to putting my OBD II scanner on it a little while ago but it didn't show any codes. Wish I'd thought to do it Saturday, right after it happened. The good news is the malfunction hasn't reoccurred since then. Hopefully it was just a random 'blip'.

Cars can do some strange things if the battery is weak as well.
Check electrolyte level in battery if it has removable caps, add distilled water as necessary.
I would recommend having it load tested, and ensure the charging system is up to speed.
The connections at battery should be clean & tight, check the ground connections as well.

The car has its original Delco battery. I don't think the caps are removable but the terminals are definitely clean and tight.

Interestingly, I got a letter in the mail today from Chevrolet about a potential bad solder connection within the accelerator pedal position (APP) sensor. It would be more than a stretch to think this climate control malfunction would be related to that but it'* nice to know they're going to stand behind the car for 10 years on that particular issue.

While at the dealer addressing the APP sensor, you could have them load test that battery as it is 4-5 years old now.
After 4 years you are on borrowed time. My Delco was swapped out early, installed a AGM Odyssey and converted cars side posts to top post connections.
What group number is in there, eg: 78-7YR? How many CCA is it rated at?
Try to find a 800CCA+ for a new replacement, if it fails load test.

The battery is a 34H6YR, 600 CCA and it is almost five years old, given that the car was built in December 2010. It was actually a year old when my parents bought it new. Even so, the battery seems to be plenty strong; the car starts instantly every time. But I know what you mean about borrowed time. Experience has shown me that Delco batteries do have a tendency to fail somewhat suddenly. Surprisingly, the battery has top posts, which I hadn't seen factory installed on a GM car since sometime in the 1970s.

I'll definitely get it load tested.