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If you're worried about driving in snow, find a 3.8 Impala and give it a try; we don't get much snow here, but with the traction control that comes with the 3.8, I've passed Merecedes going uphill in the snow who were struggling to make it, and I effortlessly cruised around them.
Biggest noise problem with these Impalas seems to be tire related, so if one you drive sounds particularly loud check the tires to see if they're a very agressive (or very worn) tire. Admittedly my dad bought a new GMC Sierra crew cab which I drove last weekend, and it seemed much quieter than either my Chevy or my Honda. Whether that's a factor of it being brand new, or whether all GM vehicles in general have improved since the 2000 model I don't know...I know given a choice for road trips, my family far prefers my Impala over our '03 Accord - it's quieter and far more comfortable. The only reason I ever drive the Accord is every weekend or so to go top it off with gas for my wife, fortunately the nearest gas station is only a mile away!!
I have found a few Grand Prix's with the 3.8L engine and may have to test out one of those (I did notice that the GP has more options than the Impala, but im one who tends to say the more options the more problems, lol).
My other option was actually going to be a Honda, lol. Do you find that your Honda is more, the same, or less reliable than your Chevy?? I like the GM's because they seem more spacious than the Honda's but... its worth asking about.
I personally can't get comfortable in the Honda. Leg room is fine, but it's hip & shoulder room where the Impala really trumps the Accord. I've got the bench seat/column shifter in my Impala, which really opens up the car in terms of leg room and such; I feel very confined in the Honda.
Other quibbles about the Honda...the steering wheel mounted radio/cruise buttons don't light up as they do in the Impala, which makes it VERY difficult to use these at night (especially if you're accustomed to driving the Impala, and you THINK you're adjusting the volume when you're ACTUALLY increasing the speed on the cruise control of the Honda!!). As much as I thought the Impala sunroof looked odd the way it pops out of the car, I think this may actually be a better design because when the sunroof is closed, it sort of works like a cork to keep water out. The Honda sunroof drops inside the roof, and we think it may have leaked in a recent deluge (didn't see any water, but the car smelt very funky for a few days afterwards). Seats are much more comfortable in my Impala too; part of that may be due to the power seat adjusters on my Impala that allow me to raise/lower the front and back of the seat separately, whereas the Honda adjuster just moves the whole seat up and down. My Impala interior (gray cloth) has held up better IMHO than the Honda (tan cloth). The Honda seems to show dirt/stains more, and I think it will probably look pretty ratty by the time it reaches the mileage I'm at in the Impala.
Finally, we haven't been impressed with the gas mileage of the Accord 4-cylinder. Overall it only averages about 2-3 mpg better than my 3.8 Impala in basically the same types of driving conditions, which for the added power/size/comfort/safety of the Impala seems worth it.
I've had my Impala for 6 years now, and even though I'm officially at the point that I could justify trading it for something else, I can't bring myself to get rid of it. My plan now is to drive it at least two more years, partially in hopes of there being some better drivetrain alternatives from GM (hybrids).
Could anyone advise me as to the best and coolest running thermostat to use in my 2004 impala 3.4???
THANKS! Wheelgunner!
-dn
if I dont put my foot on the gas and I was geting about 30mpg
and it has drop to about 20mpg. someone told me it was the idel sensor .anybody know whats wrong with my car
(no check light on dash)
thank :confuse:
Thanks :confuse:
For a car that been through a lot of idling and high pursuit runs in its life, I would suggest you change the spark plugs, check and change the air filter. That might help a little.
1. Brake Rotors sometimes Warp (on every car, but often with Impala)Make sure when a wheel is removed from car, it is put back on with nuts torqued at correct lbs. force.
2. ISS Click when turning Steering Wheel. Not a killer, but annoying.
3. LS Model has a 3800 Series II engine in model year 2003, so Manifold Gasket leaks happen, Antifreeze leaks can happen within engine if your gasket gets old and cracks.
4. turn signal Flasher relay is actually enclosed within the Hazard Switch on your dash. When it dies, replacing the Hazard button assembly is quick work.
Anyone else add anything?
trainiac1 - Congrats on your purchase, and good luck; and if you have problems let somebody here know and you can generally get an answer pretty quickly!
We recently had to replace the catalytic converter. I see there has been a recall for this issue on the 2001 Malibus. Is there any recourse for us Impala owners?
Smackowv
Trying to find out if anyone has heard of any problems with front end vibration? Most severe 60-65. Dealer has replaced front bearings and adjusted the rack and engine mounts. New tires and wheels on front. Front end alignment and rebalanced all tires. Still the vibration persists. Any ideas or same experiences would be appreciated!
Smackowv
Even if the dealer fixed this for you, it's no more than 30-45 minutes of billable work, and mark up the parts price to maybe $25. total, at most, $125.
Good luck, and let us know if it works for you...
Where do they get $400 from?
(by the way, I did this for my 2000 Impala as well as Wife's '00 Malibu. Similar part, and it is the flasher relay.
I think the $400 assumed replacement of the whole turn signal switch.
Thanks soooo much for your reply. You may have saved us $375-480!!
Thanks
I had my ISS serviced pretty early on; I don't know how complicated the process was though. My understanding is they simply drill a hole in the steering shaft and tap in a grease fitting, but I've never taken the time to dig around and see where that fitting is (could be under the dash or the hood I suppose).
As for the heat/ac lights, I've had one of mine go out (passenger side), as well as one or two on the radio. I asked the same questions about the temp controls, and as I recall someone here posted that the controller is one complete unit, so not something you can easily take out and replace the bulb. When my driver's side window switch went out 2-3 years ago I kept the old switch just in case I was able to use the bulb from that to fix the one in the temp slider, but I've never tried to tackle it.
:confuse:
As the for rev limited, the only time I've encountered it in my 2000 Impala was in testing the upper limits of speed (on a closed course with a professional driver, of course! ). There is a fuel cutoff on the civilian Impala at @ 108 MPH; I think the police package was supposed to be limited to something like 120 MPH. I've never tried revving it up to see if it cuts off or not (no tach on my base 3.8l), but if that's the case then I suppose you could simply drive the car off in 1st gear and see if the fuel cuts off at the same RPM (I don't guess that'd do any more damage than what you might do revving it in park).
While there they told me about leaking Intake Manifold. After reading a lot of these messages, seems to be common. I need help getting GM to pay for this or partially paying for it. It's an $830 job. Does anyone have any ideas?
I just had my turn signal module repalced today ($140) and I was told I had a Leaking Manifold Gasket on my 2000 Impala, 3.8L, with 70K miles. It's an $830 job!
Does anyone know how I can get GM to reimburse me for this design defect?
Thanks in advance....
Bob
I just finished speaking with GM about reimbursing the cost to reait the leaking intake manifold on my Imapla 3.8L v6 with 70k miles.
After waiting for them to call the dealer, they promplty said "Your car is 6 years old and out of warranty, we can not do anything for you".
I guess customer loyatly counts for nothing.
Does anyone have an idea how to pursue this in/out of court?
Regards, Bob
It does seem like there were only certain VIN numbers involved, so it's possible if yours is an early 2000 model it might not have applied. You might do some searching around in the Impala forums and find where someone posted the text/details of the letter; it was probably sometime in 2003-2004 if I had to guess.
The text of the letter is there; only problem is it says you had to reply by a certain date (which is long past), so it's possible the window of opportunity is closed (if your car was included initially).
They emailed the contacts for the US, I'm still trying to locate their web pages. I'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks again for your help, it's greatly appreciated...
Regards, Bob
Here is one of the US Legal Firms looking into the Intake Manifold Gasket issue.
http://www.lieffcabraser.com/gaskets.htm
I don't know the status, but it can't hurt to let them know of your case. The more, the merrier...
Regards, Bob
Other than these issues the car is running great and I hope to get another 100K out of it.
No idea on the other sound though (but I haven't reached 200k KM yet!).