2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

night_owl1 · January 2003

As far as I know, there is no procedure to reset the coolant sensor. Something might be wrong with the sensor. Loose connection or something.

jhirl · January 2003

I had the same symptoms: low coolant light, plenty of coolant, light off after 10 minutes.

Dealer replaced faulty sensor. Problem solved.

atbear · January 2003

Check out this article on the Chevy SS! Man, I want one.... this is one of the coolest cars I've seen.. Look at that interior!!! Man..

http://www.gm-cars.com/NAIAS03_ss.shtml

bh0001 · January 2003

Weather permitting, I'll be at the Detroit auto show on Saturday. I'll let you know what it's like in person.
Brad

drivinisfun · January 2003

What a beautiful car. If GM ever builds something like this, I will give it a high dose of consideration. Problem is that GM for years and years have "teased" the general public with their stunning car concepts and yet they don't deliver when the actual product sees the light of day.

This SS could well be a strong hint as to how the next Impala may look like. But the question remains...will GM build it? If so when?

C'mmon Bob Lutz stop teasing! Time to make those "Gotta have products" that you keep talking about and we still have yet to see.

nosirrahg · January 2003

This new SS looks very similar (size, shape, etc.) to the 2000 Buick LaCrosse concept. Not a bad thing, but there's a definite similarity between the two (I'm sure the SS trunk doesn't open up like a truck bed, and the hood doesn't open to one side - but the C-pillar/rear fenders area look very similar).

vcjumper · January 2003

Also check out the Pontiac G6 concept.

atbear · January 2003

I think it'd make a sweet Chevelle SS!

atbear · January 2003

I've emailed the webmasters about adding a Chevy Impala forum on ClubGP.com. I've frequented there for a long long time now, and now that I see more Impala owners starting to mod their cars (it's about time guys!) I think we might be able to use a forum there. I'll let you know what happens.

Drew

ghostwolf · January 2003

I've got a weird thing happening with my Impala, which I may not have even noticed except that I was by myself in the car, and didnt have the radio or fan running yet.

I heard a faint noise when I hit the gas, thought at first it was something in the engine, then I noticed that the noise (very faint scratching type sound) was comming from the Tachometer! I'm not sure how they work nowdays but in my mind I can picture a cable back there or something. The tach is accurate and not "sloppy" or anything like that. I almost feel foolish to say anything to the dealer because it may sound like a nit picky thing, especially since you can't hear it unless you are really trying to hear it. I'm sure he would charge something outragous to get into the dash also.

What I was wondering is if you all would mind taking a moment and run your car with no fan or radio and just feather the gas pedal and watch and listen to your tach and let me know if any of you hear anything. I'm sure its just a glitch in mine, but want to be sure.

Thanks in advance!

02lssport · January 2003

Now that would be sweet! It would be much better then this board or the yahoo boards. Its got a better format and we could get better info over there. I'll send them as e-mail too to request it if you think it will help. Just post the e-mail address.

Later.

b4z · January 2003

Man, you beat me to it!
Mine started that several weeks ago.
It only does it when it is cold outside.
Also you only need to rev it to about 12-1300rpms.
Mine makes most of the sound between 1000 and 600rpms and mostly when the engine is revving down not up.
I feel that it is definitely the tachometer.

b4z · January 2003

I have been wondering why there is no Impala thread. There is L36 thread so it would be logical that Impala owners are in there.

atbear · January 2003

Yep, please email them to request an Impala Forum! That would help me cause if I could show there were people who would use it. Thanks, guys!

Ghostwolf: The dealer shouldn't charge anything to check something like that. Taking off the dash is a piece of cake. Good Luck with that!
Drew

ghostwolf · January 2003

b4z, thanks for the response, and you are right, it has been cold lately, maybe thats why I'm noticing it.

atbear, my car is out of warranty, already, but I'm more interested in what you are saying about the LS Sport Cluster. I was asking a few months ago if you could switch it out or not.. do you have any information on what the part number is for the cluster, or did you come across a wrecked car at a junk yard?

please keep us informed on your progress, its very interesting.

pat · January 2003

For everyone's benefit, let me post this instead of just using email.

When you get the 115 character word limit error (whatever it says), the solution is to go to www.makeashorterlink.com or www.tinyurl.com or some similiar site.

If you force the link to post, you have created a nightmare on the page where your message resides. Unless you are running a *very* high resolution, you will have to scroll left to right to read every single line on the page where your message is displayed. That's not fun and it creates a ton of complaints to the hosts, the site, anyone with an email address. :-)

So I hope this helps and the person who posted that extremely long link I just removed is welcome to repost using one of those two sites to make the link manageable.

Thanks -- sorry for the off-topic interruption, but a lot of folks don't understand the consequences of long links.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me.

:-)

atbear · January 2003

Sorry about that, Pat! It just text wraps on my computer with no problems. I'll post my post again, sans link.

Hey guys, I'm thinking about buying an Instrument Cluster from a 2002 Impala LS SPORT and putting it in my LS. Check out this thread and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Do Any Of You Know If A Dealer Can Reprogramm The Odometer For My New Cluster, To That Of The Old Cluster? Thanks!

Drew

larryfl · January 2003

I heard on the radio this week that JD Power has rated the 2002 Chev Impala higher in initial quality satisfaction than the 2002 Camary.

I have to admit I was surprised to hear that, although we have a 2002 LS and haven't had a single problem with it.

Has anyone else heard this? This is cool.

pluto5 · January 2003

I second that. The fit and finish on my 03 LS is outstanding. I wouldn't waste my time filling out J.D. Powers surveys so if anything the quality is understated by those surveys because plenty of other people probably ignore them, too, unless they have a complaint.

02lssport · January 2003

MY EMAIL TO CLUBGP

Admin:

I think your site would be great with an Impala 3800 forum. You have a Lumina forum which is useless now so why not get rid of that in place of an Impala forum.

We Impala owners don't have a central place to share info and chat. There are crappy forums out there but the clubgp forum is great. Many Impala owners like me visit your site and we would love to have a dedicated Impala forum there.

Trust me if you make it they will come!

Later,

Mike
2002 black Impala LS Sport
http://24.164.156.93/impalapics.htm

atbear · January 2003

Thanks! That's two requests... I haven't heard back from them yet... hopefully they're just busy and we'll have our Impala forum soon.

Drew

pat · January 2003

Folks, I need to remind you that your Membership Agreement states (in part) "You agree to not promote other auto forums that provide message boards or chats."

If you are going to continue this conversation, it would be better if you do it off-line.

Thank you for your understanding.

b4z · January 2003

Over a year ago edmund's broke up a lot of the discussions into several subthreads. ie "Impala Owner's", "Impala radio", etc.
This has really lowered the number of posts on the main thread.
I think there is plenty of info here but it is just not as active as it used to be.
There are now Impalas that are over 3 years old and they are starting to get modified.
Wish htere was something edmunds could do to prmote that here.

pat · January 2003

We do have this discussion: Chevrolet Impala Owners: Accessories & Modifications. It looks like it has been fairly active with over 500 posts.

b4z · January 2003

I noticed that. It is rare that i go in there. Sometimes 6-9 months go by. I have to make an effort, whereas with the "Sedans" board I just go to the main page see what is active. i don't subscribe to any threads because I have varied interests and like to see an overview.

I guess the "Owner's" threads were in response to the endless raido and amp discussions that got tiresome. I don't know if you remember those.

It seems that there are people posting in the "Owner's" threads that NEVER post in here.

pat · January 2003

Well, actually a while back there was a really big demand for Owners Clubs, so no, it wasn't the radio thread. :-)

What you can do ... if you want ... is go to the Impala Owners Club discussion list to start. That list includes this discussion. Then when you are done there, use the drop down Select a Board on the left side of the page to get to the Sedans discussion list.

(Tip -- you can now go to your Preferences and choose whether you want that drop down list to take you to the main discussion list like it used to, or take you to the Make and Topic List.)

If you want to, the link at the top of this page can be bookmarked successfully (unlike a lot of links around here).

I don't mean to be pushy about this - I just want to make you aware of the options. :-)

abc246 · January 2003

I am not sure that the JD Power Initial Quality Satisfaction tells the story. I rented an 2002 Impala and overall came away disappointed. The car had 18,000 miles and was at the point when my GM cars/trucks start to "loosen-up".

The car had a creak at the base of the windshield on small bumps; I hate this type of noise. The suspension was good overall but I think it made too much "working noise" going over rough patched pavement. It was possible to hear what sounded like play in the front suspension. I hear this noise in many GM cars. I was also able to make the front end make a noise when stopping quick or lifting off the accelerator and then applying the accelerator quickly.

My last car was a Honda Accord and I currently now own a Silverado and Blazer. Both these trucks were tight when new then felt old after about 15-20k miles. The Honda felt tight even after 100k miles. So much for GM keeping up with the imports.

Now the good news. The engine was a 3.4-liter V-6 that would 0 to 6o in 7.24 sec according to my Gtech meter! How could this happen? It was 10 degrees F when I tested the car. I am not sure how much this helped but the car felt very responsive and very quick. The engine and transmission were the best part of this car, in one word, GREAT! The engine was very smooth too, shifting from 4th to 3rd made no difference in engine sound or vibration, thats how quite it was. Under full throttle the car would shift from 1st to 2nd at 48 mph and from 2nd to 3rd at 92 mph! The car would down shift to 2nd at 80 mph for passing! Very impressive engine and trasmission, but still not enough for me to buy this car or even GM in the near future again.

johnclineii · January 2003

To each his own.

My 2000 Impala LS with 111,000 miles has not noise or rattle one.

And I wouldn't judge any car by the condition of a rental. Sheesh.

pluto5 · January 2003

Having abused several rental cars unintentially, I would also add that these cars receive minimal maintenace (read factory recommended) since they will be sold off in a year or two.

atbear · January 2003

You can't judge anything by a rental! My cas doesn't have any squeaks, and feels tight as ever.. you're just wrong when you say GM cars in general aren't as tight as imports.. GM cars have more features, and more power

bsapp · January 2003

I agree, I wouldn't make sole judgement by one rental car. I remember having a new 95 Olds Cierra with about 4,000 miles on it that was fine when we first rented it. After 3 weeks of going down washboard roads in Arizona, Utah & Nevada and other off road adventures, not to mention my missing a drive way and plowing over a curb dead on, needless to say, the front end was making some noise by the time we turned it in. Not to mention, dropping a fresh fried, hot greasy piece of fry bread onto the front seat while at Monument Valley. That was a mess. Not that any of this was intentional, because it wasn't, I just think the majority of people that use rental cars treat them in a manner they wouldn't their own car.

abc246 · January 2003

I guess you guys are not counting my experience with my 3 new GM cars/trucks in the last 3 years. This Impala was right on schedule with my GM cars for feeling loose.

The last time my Silverado was in for repair they took me from the rental car place (yes- they had to rent me a car- which I never had to do with the imports) in a Malibu. I thought I was in my first 100,000 mile Malibu by the way the car creak and groaned. No way, this car had just 15,000 miles!

As far as maintenance, what could they do in 18k miles! Possibly 2 oil changes? The engine was great....they really need to change the body every 7500 miles!

There were more issues than I stated that have nothing to do with how the car was used. The steering was heavy with no road feel at all, more so than my Silverado! The car did not ABS! I would not buy it for that reason alone. The radio did not have enough power or the speakers were poor quality becasue if you used "rock" or "country" the sound would distort on heavy bass songs. The seat was not as good as my truck. I think GM is forgetting about the car people.

By the way, I also have rented a Toyota Camry a few times...each one drove like like a new car and had more miles than this Impala. Factor in the poor resale value and this car looks even worse.

johnclineii · January 2003

Again, I point out to you my well cared for 2000 Impala LS that rides and sounds exactly the same way it did the day I picked it up...now with 111,000 trouble free miles (well, there WAS that headlight switch, but that is all!)

bh0001 · January 2003

Visited the show on Saturday. Nice black '03 LS Sport on the floor that had lots of "real" people checking it out as their next car. The driver's side front quarter panel looks like they already had to buff something out of it - it was full of swirls.

Chevrolet SS concept is breathtaking. Big, bold, and very red. The front is huge, especially when you view it from above. Lots of styling cues from the Corvette. The cockpit is incredible. The crowds around the GM concepts were larger than almost anywhere else in the show. The Cadillac Sixteen is beyond words - 1000 hp!!!

Ford 427 is also really nice (I never thought I would say that about a Ford!).

Overall a very fun visit. If you're into cars and are anywhere even remotely close to Detroit it's definitely worth a visit some year. Just be ready to feel like a sardine.
Brad

atbear · January 2003

MAN I want that Chevy SS!!!!!!!!!!!! That interior is just unbelievable! Such a beautiful car... and with MONSTER power to boot...

What did you think of the Bonneville GXP? 4.4L Northstar V8, not bad!

crosley4 · January 2003

Our Impala drove fine except for the engine cradle noises. Tight , quick response.

Our 2k LS was one that would not be quiet in the area of the engine cradle even after a full replacement of the cradle.

dcngo · January 2003

Any tips on how to change the air filter in Impala. I tried to do this the other day and it was not trivial at all, unlike in other cars !!! The space around the filter housing is cramped, it is not easy to remove the filter from the housing,nor easy to put one in again, and the housing cover is not easy to put back on. Shouldn't changing air filter be a simple task? Am I doing something wrong? For me, it is a two persons job.
-DN

atbear · January 2003

Changing the air filter is as easy as can be. Undo the clips on the top of the box closest to the motor. Pull the box apart from the left.. pull out filter. Put in new filter. Put box together. Clip clips back. Done. 30 second job... Let us know if you have anymore questions...

dcngo · January 2003

atbear,

Thanks for your posting. That is exactly what the Impala manual described. It sounds easy and it should be easy. I never had any problem changing air filter in other cars. But when I tried it with my Impala, I had a lot of difficult. First I unclip the two clips on the top. Then tried to pust back the cover toward the engine. This is the difficult part. There wasn't much room to push back. The cover is connected to a fairly stiff accordion hose to the engine. The opening is not quite wide enough for the air filter to come out. With much difficulty, I removed the old filter and installed a new one. But then, the cover will not fit back in easily. Wasn't sure what am I missing?
-DN

atbear · January 2003

Well, sounds like you're doing it right... are you sure you undid all the clips? Just push it open, take the filter out, put the new one in, and then close it and clip it back... Not sure if you're missing anything..

b4z · January 2003

Mine was incredibly hard to remove. I was afraid I would break it. After trying I just pulled as hard as I could and pulled the filter out.
Scratched my hands pretty good but got it done.

Probably took a good 5 minutes before I figured out I wouldn't hurt anything.

pat · January 2003

Sorry folks.

The Membership Agreement forbids using the Town Hall to sell things.

If you'd like, you can list it at Edmunds Used Power Shopper.

Good luck!

jbk5 · January 2003

I have a 2002 Monte Carlo SS (same engine setup as Impala LS) and the air filter is ridiculously hard to replace. I wish they would have made it horizontal with a screw on cover like every other car I've owned. No squeezing and no fear of breaking something. The biggest thing I'm afraid of is tearing a hole in the new filter when trying to get it in and clamp the cover. That would be good...

atbear · January 2003

I really don't know why y'all are having so much trouble... mine was rediculously easy.... are you sure you are unclipping all the clips?

night_owl1 · January 2003

According to the service manual, you remove the IAT sensor electrical connector, loosen the hose clamps, remote the duct, unclip the air cleaner cover clamps, remove the cover and replace the filter.

I know what you mean about how hard it is. If you don't know how it is supposed to come off, you keep wondering that you missed something or you'll end up breaking something.

night_owl1 · January 2003

I just realized that I kind of covered this in a How-To article. Go to the How-To page and look for the article with the following caption: "Thinking about improving performance? You might want to look at the air intake system."

I need to come up with better captions...

jbk5 · January 2003

Yeah that's how I eventually got it done. Removing the hose clamp and separating the air duct from the cover so that I could take the cover completely out. Problem is, I don't think that's what the owner's manual says. It says to simply unclip the cover and then push it toward the engine to get the old filter out and put the new one in. I don't think there's enough room to do that but I suppose it could be done. I also like to clean the box out because bugs and other crap can get in there and that would be very hard to do while trying to squeeze the cover over. Oh well, at least it doesn't have to be done all that often.

dcngo · January 2003

Seems like some people had the same difficulty like I did in removing and installing the air filter. I had even tried one of the suggestions, which was loosening the accordion hose. Still, it was not that easy because there just wasn't much room to maneuver.

But I appreciate all the postings and suggestions just the same.

DN

dcngo · January 2003

Recently, the instrument panel light in my 2000 Impala does not turn on immediately after I inserted the key and turned on the engine. I would drive the car anywhere from 1 - 5 minute in the dark, then the instrument light will suddenly come on. Has anyone experienced this problem? Do you know what was the problem? Could it be the weather? The temperature in my area in recent days is near 0 degreee F. I wonder if this is a built feature to save battery (being optimistic). My battery and charging system appear to be working fine. Or is this a sign that a sensor is going bad (being pessimistic)?

DN

johnclineii · January 2003

I had the SAME exact problem. Turned out to be the headlight switch was failing. And yes, if not fixed, IF that is your problem, at some point your headlights could fail. Got mine fixed while at a dealer more than 1500 miles from home, with about 96,000 miles on the clock at the time. It was about $260, labor included, and that included the dealer going half way across Florida to get a switch while I waited.

Courtesy Chevrolet in Orlando, part of the AutoNation group. I was very happy with them. I should probably add the car now has 111,500 miles, and this is the only unscheduled repair it has had!

2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

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