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Is this a gauge cluster problem or thermostat problem or some kind sensor problem? The fan is running when I turn AC on. Once turn off AC it will stop. Don't like thermostat malfunction.
Somebody told me this is the cable which connects to speed sensor is malfunctioned. Is it possible a malfunctioned gauge cluster since my tamp gauge is also abnormal? or speed sensor?
Thanks a lot.
I have been struggling with a problem with my 2003 Impala Sport over the last 6 weeks, and there seems to be no solution.
It started when my impala lost the ability to spray washer fluid, it just stopped, and the whole arm unit with the wiper controls that sticks out of the steering column was the culprit, so that whole unit was replaced. $800.00 later, I could spray washer fluid. I went to pick my car up from the dealer, and the battery was completely dead. After a boost I was on my way home. This was Friday, and on Monday my battery was dead again.
I took the car back to the dealer, and they put a new battery in, and worked fine for almost a week, and then it died. They replaced it with another one, and another week later, died again. I made an 'x' on the batteries, so knew that they were replacing them for sure.
I decided to take the car to another dealer, and they had it for days, saying in the end that no problems were found with anything like alternator, starter, trickle power draw, and the battery itself. Eventually, when the battery had died again, they declared the faulty battery was the cause. cry. So they put another battery in, and I went home (40 minutes north) and 2 days later (yesterday) it was dead again.
Initially, the dealer assumed it was my satellite receiver, but that is never plugged in overnight, only when I am in the car. That was ruled out after leaving it at the dealer for the weekend after they put their new battery in (all batteries have been delco), and was dead in their lot over the weekend.
SO, here is my conclusion, which I mentioned to the dealer:
The replacement of the Wiper control arm is the cause of the subsequent power problems. Somehow. Not sure how, but could it be faulty? Or put in wrong? A short maybe? Could it be something else completely?
Although the dealer agreed this could be an issue, they just keep replacing batteries, and I am getting very frustrated.
If anyone here has any thoughts, would appreciate it. I am planning on just going to another dealer, and asking them to go right to where I believe the problem is, and paying them to check the part and reinstall it. I really don't know what to do, but I commute 40 mins to work, and having a constantly dead car is causing me and my wife a lot of headaches.
Thanks,
Russell
thanks jay
jay7602@yahoo.com
If your car fails to start, no power, just turn the igintion key to accessory and leave it this way for ten minutes. You will notice that the security light will blink. This will stop in ten minutes. Once it stops blinking, turn the key to off, and try to start the car. It should start. Good luck...
I wondered if it was a bad strut, tie rod ends, steering box or assist, or an out-of-round tire, but none of these seems like it covers all the things I'm noticing. On occasion it almost feels like wheel hop when I first start driving. I have not had it looked at b/c I don't want to have all the things looked at / replaced that you did. I'm hoping I find a decent answer to take to the dealer and save myself alot of money and trouble. Keep looking! Somebody has to know what causes this.
Visit this website for more info: www.dexcoolsettlement.com
My 2002 Impala was the biggest Lemon that I ever purchased!
These are some of the typcial Impala Problems to look out for:
1) Defective Manifold Gaskets ($1200)
2) BCM (Body Control Module) problems (400-500 dollar repair)
3) Passlock Problems. ($425)
4) Steering Shaft noise
5) Catylitic Converters defective (Recalled)
6) Defective combination switch (High/low beam and turnsignals) $650
Does anyone really want to buy a Chevy anymore? NOT ME!!
:lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
Thank you,
Paul
Finally though the low not gave out alltogether. Since it is still under warranty I took it into the dealer to have them replace the low note. It worked fine for a couple of weeks, but now the horn is starting to act up again, only this time the sound is a strained sound - kind of like a childs toy that is running out of battery juice. Except the horn sounds this way whether the car is running or not.
Normally I wouldn't really worry about it, since it really isn't a major issue and it has been the only issue with the car. But the sound is really pitifull and it doesn't produce the volume that I would want should the horn ever be needed. Also did I mention the sound it pitifull - like a vehicle pleading and gasping on its last breath :sick:
So my question is, I know it is under warranty and I can get it fixed no problem, but could there be something withing the wiring of the horn that could be causing it to go bad? My fear is that I'll take it in, they'll fix it and it'll last just long enough past the warranty period and then it'll get all cow sick on me again and I'll have to foot the bill.
This has been the only issue aside from a large unsightly gap between the top of the dash and the front of the dash that I should have caught before we even bought the car. The vehicle has been great. It gets great mileage, is comfortable, has decent power even with the 3.4 motor.
And so I was going down the road when I heard a chime and noticed the trunk ajar warning light. The the car went over a slight bump and the light instantly went away. A little ways further the same thing happened and then as the car would hit a bump or the trunk would settle slightly triggering the sensor, the light would go away. I drove the rest of the way home and sure enough, the trunk lid was popped. This was on an 04 Impala
If it is still under warranty, take it to the dealership to have it fixed. They shoudn't give you any hassel. If it's not under warranty, I don't know what the cost would be, but it shouldn't be outrageous.
You can get a good battery from Wal-mart (as long as it is Johnson Controls and not an Exxide), or any other place like Autozone or Checker. Some places will even install for you at no cost, like Walmart. You can get a battery from Wal-mart for about $40 with no installation charge.
Or you can do it yourself. It really is only a 10 minute job given that there is no major corrosion to clean or terminals that need to be replaced.
To remove the battery, undo the bolts holding the crossmember support over the battery which I believe are 13 MM. Move that up out of the way. Than remove the terminals negative side (black) first with the 8 MM wrench or socket. Like I mentioned before there is a specialized battery tool that is inexpensive that works well for this. You can probably find it next to the battery display where there is also new terminals and cables and such.
There is a 13 MM bolt holding the battery to the battery tray down on the back side of the battery that also must be loosened. A long extension works for this. After those are loose, the batter lifts out. Depending on how corroded or how much acid or how safe you feel you want to be, a pair of gloves might be recomended for this part so that you don't get battery acid on your hands.
Install is the reverse of removal-mounting bolt, terminals and then the crossmember support. Before connecting the terminals clean them with a little bit of baking soda mixed with water and an old toothbrush. Install the positive (red) first and then the negative and you should be good to go although you will have to reset your radio presets and the clock. You may also have to reprogram your door locks (if you have such a feature) and how they operate?? Not sure as I don't remember when I removed the battery in my car a while back.
If you decide to go this route, I would recomend a 3/8 drive ratchet with extension and a metric socket set. Most bolts on your car will be metric. I would also recomend a metric/standard combo wrench set as well. These will probably run close to the $36?? If you get the Stanley brand. They make less expensive sets, but the Stanley is higher quality. You might even find a combo set that has both sockets and wrenches in both standard and metric for a good price. I don't know; it's been a while since I have looked.
So all told, you might end up spending as much getting the tools to do the job as you would paying someone (or you can have Wal-mart do it at no charge), but then you wouldn't get to experience the hands on experience. Also by spending the money on the tools, you have something to show for it and also now you have them so the next time a small problem comes around, you just might be able to take care of it yourself... and save even more money because now those tools will pay for themselves.
FWIW - I just finished a brake job today that by the time I was done cost me about $140. I ended up having to buy not only new pads, but new rotors as well. What should have been a 17 dollar job (the cost of the pads), ended up being $140 because of the rotors. It would have been even more if I had taken it in to a shop. The only "tools" I had to buy was grease for the wheel bearings and brake fluid. All the tools I needed I already had. This marks the upteenth brake job I have done on my vehicles and I have always used the same tools which may have cost me all told a total of $20.
Anyway, I don't know why I shared that story, but I guess I did because it goes to show that you can save a lot by doing a lot of things yourself - like changing a battery or a brake job, even if you have to buy the tools first....
Or maybe it's just late and I have no idea what I am talking about and I should just go to bed.
Here is what I would do. Since it seems that the Interstate is not lasting as long as you think it should, I would head to Autozone and get the 3 year battery. From the research that I have done, it is a Johnson Controls battery which is one of the best batteries you can get. While at Autozone, I would have them check your charging system. They should be able to do this. They might even install the battery for you. That way you can determine if there is a problem in the charging system that could be leading to premature battery failure. They might can also check to see if there is a leak in the system that drains the battery while the vehicle is off. This may or may not be noticeable if the car is driven frequently. But if you have ever noticed a slight drag on the starter after the car has sat several hours, it could be possible that there is a slight draw on the battery once the car is shut off and that can also lead to premature battery failure.
But I think it is battery related and not vehicle related, given the time frames you mentioned. Usually a vehicle related problem that kills batteries rears it's ugly head after only a couple of months and not a couple of years.
I get those notices all the time for oil changes, mileage maintenance, and most recently for warranty extension coverage since my vehicle "might" be coming up on an expired factory warranty.
Since I do all my own maintenance and keep pretty good track of what needs to be done, I just disregard these notices. Most likely, your "GM Certified" Impala recieved whatever services required by GM to be considered "Certified". The dealer may or may not recognize the notice as belonging to a car they just sold off thier certified lot and just mass mailed what ever notices came through the pipeline that month.
Have you tired calling this LSG company and asking what they recomend? It might require taking it to a mechaninc that has the ability to plug into the car's computer and "manually" adjust the timing?
Maybe I'll try changing out the coolant or locating those bleed valves.
The sludge issue in the radiator however, I can attest that the GM's "brilliant" Dex-cool is not all that it is cracked up to be. My 01 S-10 had Dex-cool in it and by 75K and 4 years it was a brown as a mud and just about a cruddy. I had it changed out the same time the radiator tanks were replaced. So at 112K miles and 4 years old on your car, I am not surprised to see that it has sludged up....
So a couple of things could have happened. Either the mechanic you took it to is trying to pull a fast on on the oil coated plug (probable, but since I don't know the mechanic or thier business pratices, I can't point the finger at them), and the motor really is okay, since it is highly unusual even at 112K to have blown seals on a regularly maintained engine.
It is also possible that the you blew a head gasket and coolant leaked into the combustion chamber and deteriorated the ring seals. But I think you would have noticed a burning coolant smell and or noticed coming out the tail pipe (For that matter, with oil coated plugs, you should also see evidence of oil in the combustion chamber coming out of the tail pipe).
Also possible is that maintenance was not performed as it should before you got the car, but if you aquired it at 16K that's not a long time to do permanent damage. Even if the car only received one oil change in the 16K period, that's not too extreme. With the quality of today's oils, 16K and one oil change is pushing the limit, but shouldn't have caused permanent damage. So like I said before, something doesn't sound right. It is also possible that you just got a flukey car that just happened to do atypical things... Sometimes you just have that luck.
It is odd that you are having such problems as my 3.4 has plenty of go juice. Not going to blow you out of the water of course, but plenty adequate. So maybe you really did just get a flukey car. Luckily, if you liked the car otherwise, they are a dime a dozen and you can get one pretty cheap. Even the newer ones from 06 can be had at a pretty good bargain and they make the '00-05 ones look a decade old.
I would recomend you go with the interchangible stuff. With that you can probably change it every other year or so without a problem. I am not really sure what the change interval on coolant is, but I do know that I have never been able to go more than 3 years on Dex-Cool, even though it says it is good for 5 or 150K miles.
I notice this forum is a little slow sometimes and you might want to post your question here as well.
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.ef790fb/0
You might get a better response and probably a more qualified one too. It is also possible that the very question you are asking is contained through out the discussion.
But then again, it is also a base bare bones model. 3.4 motor, and all the basic options. All in all, been a great car. I do wish I had bought the used cream color LS one they had on the lot... it already had 25K on it, but it was an LS and even had a sun roof..... but financing was better on the new one so that's what we got.
I am thinking this is signs of a clogged fuel filter. Car has 27K miles and it has never been changed. How hard is it to change a fuel filter on this car?? I've done it on my trucks, but never on this car...
Maybe I'll try the fuse thing and see what happens. If not, a little bit of degreaser and a good hosedown of the engine bay would get rid of any lingering gas and keep it from burning and smelling off. Thanks for the info.
Loosened the nut side of the filter first and let the remaining gas drain out. There was no pressure so it didn't spray, thankfully. Put the new filter on. All in all about 15 minutes worth of work.
I know you can buy an adpater and such, but I don't want to deal with it and I don't drive the car enough to need/want better sound. My wife drives it mostly and she thinks the sound is fine and the CD player still works just fine too... By the time the CD player needs replacing if and when it quits, I think the car will have been replaced. It only gets about 10K a year if that. We bought it 3 years ago next month and it just barely broke 27K.
Also I have been having issues with the horn. I have taken it twice to the dealership and they have replaced the horn twice. Once was the low note, the next they said it was the high note and just after we got home from picking it up for that, I checked the horn and it was only one tone again. I guess I should have tested it before I left the dealership, but oh well. Back it goes. It has to go back and sit overnight anyway so they can test an intermittent stumble.
I can't figure out what the stumble is. I feels as if the fuel flow is being cut off. I have changed fuel filters and also changed brands of gas. No codes have been tripped, and of course when we took it in, it showed no symptoms at all. So we are going to leave it overnight because it is most noticeable first thing in the morning.
The history is as old as we have had the car. I first noticed the problem when we first bought it and every once in a while the horn would only sound one note of it's dual horns. Then after about 1 1/2 years or so it finally became a constant single not horn. It stayed that way until I took it in to have it fixed and it stayed fixed for about a month. I took it back it and I didn't try the horn until I got it home, and when I did, I noticed it only had one note. That was a couple months ago and I haven't been back yet. Call me lazy, but it hasn't been a high priority for me... the car is now out of warranty, and although I am sure I could take it back and state my case, I am not sure I want to deal with the hassel. I would much rather just get a new horn and replace it myself and see what happens.
edit: I just did some quick research on the net since the car isn't home right now for me to look at and it appears that the horn is located behind the rh (passenger?)headlight. When my car gets home, I'll take a closer look and see if I can tell without tearing anything apart.
BTW, I just completed a 2600 (finally after 3 1/2 years of ownership, I broke 30K miles) mile round trip from Oregon to AZ and back in my Imp. This was the longest I had spent in the car and the longest trip it has ever taken... A few things to report. While it wasn't a horrible trip (I can think of worse vehicles to make a long trip in), it wasn't entirely without discomfort. The seats began to get hard after about 8 hours of sitting in them and I found it hard sometimes to get comfortable... but then again, I think that almost any vehicle's seats would be a tad hard after so long in them.
I will say that I appreciated the room. The large trunk and the lack of goosneck hinges allowed me to stuff all our luggage and our substantial amount of presents into it. The only thing in the cabin of the car was the car seat, a stack of DVD's and, a couple of pillows and blankets and our snacks. Even with the 3.4 motor, I was never at a lack of passing power or hill climbing power. The transmission did an okay job of hill holding as long as I was able to maintain 60-70. Any slower and I was having to brake more than I like on the hills. Average speed was probably in the upper 70's and I was able to maintain an average of 30 MPG. When we got to town, the tank I burned while running around town dropped to 25, but all tanks all the highway returned over 30 and I even crept close to 32 when I filled up with premium by accident. So overall, not a bad travel car.
I honestly still like my S-10 though, although it is not a family vehicle, gets way worse mileage and rides more like a truck. But it is actually quieter at highway speeds and the seats are more comfortable and it has a better stereo... but I digress. If you are looking for a good, reliable and spacious comfort family car, I say Impala. I'd buy another, but by the time it reaches that point, I'll need a larger car.