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Anyways, here is my update: The GM lady finally messaged me back, but it doesn't look good because my car (an 07 Impala, 3.5) isn't under warranty and has over 100,000 miles on it. I'm currently waiting on a replacement throttle body and will attempt to fix it myself. I've already replaced the gas pedal and it didn't work. Another post said that it has to be one of these two things. I expect the part to arrive within a few days and will come back in a week or so to let you know if it worked. If I can, I will have someone record me fixing it and post it to Youtube for you all to see.
Me: I believe the name of the dealership is Bauman in Port Clinton, Ohio. My car has 104,000 miles on it. Considering that it costs 100 dollars to have them run a diagnostic (for something I may just end up fixing myself), I chose not to take it in to be diagnosed. But I did take it to Advanced Auto about a year ago (there were no symptoms, just a check engine light) and it said something about the throttle control module or something like that. I know my car isn't under warranty, but I thought I'd take a shot at it since there were so many newer models also in the forum complaining about the same issue.
Her: I understand and apologize. I wouldn't be able to continue and create a case until your vehicle has been diagnosed at the dealership. Just keep in mind, I can not guarantee any assistance. Please let me know how you would like to proceed.
Me: Hmmm... well if you were to give me an idea of what the possibilities are, I might be willing to pay the dealership to run a diagnostic. For instance, if you were to say, "If it's X, we can do something for you. However, if it's Y or Z, you will have to pay for it yourself. But we won't know until you take it in." But I'm not comfortable with taking it in just because you asked me to.
Considering that you've had a large number of other Impala owners with similar issues who probably did end up taking their cars to a dealership, could you tell me what you have you been hearing so far? What were the various reasons for this malfunction that you have encountered in helping others? What were the fixes? What conditions were required for the fixes to be discounted? Is there a website where GM admits the flaw and gives instructions on how to fix it? If not, is it possible to have this done? Now that you know that I've replaced the gas pedal, what else could it be based on your experience with other customers? I won't hold you accountable if the list you give me ends up not helping me with my own problem. I simply want to know what people have been doing to fix similar issues (people have a bad habit of getting on forums to complain, but never returning to inform others of what they did to fix the problem).
I'm willing to bet that over 80% of the people who take their cars in for a diagnostic let the dealership go ahead and fix it after that. I'm trying not to fall into that trap. If you could answer the questions above, that would be super helpful.
Her: I'm very sorry, as I am not a trained technician at the dealership, I am unable to diagnose or repair your vehicle. You will need to take your vehicle to be diagnosed for me to continue. Again, I can not guarantee any assistance. Please let me know how you would like to proceed from here.
Me: What assistance? What are the possible types of assistance you could offer based on what the diagnostic says? What conditions are necessary for you to offer me assistance after I get the diagnostic? If you can't answer that, then you're obviously just trying to get me to spend some money with GM. This requires no knowledge of auto repair. It's a simple question. If you can't answer this question then I do not wish to continue this exchange, i.e. there is no need to proceed further. But thanks for you help.
Her: If I am able to provide any assistance, as well as what type of assistance I can offer, fully depends on the diagnosis of your vehicle at a GM dealership. As I've said, your vehicle is no longer covered under warranty, so I can not guarantee any sort of assistance. If you change your mind, and get your vehicle diagnosed, please let me know, and I'd be happy to take the next steps and create a case. Thank you
So you see, if she really wanted to help, she would've at least given me an idea of what my options are. All she wanted to do was get me into a GM dealership to spend 100 bucks on a diagnostic. Nothing more.
I can see where that interaction would be frustrating and hope to clarify a few things on my coworker's behalf.
On this "Reduced Engine Power" matter, I myself have not handled any of the Service Requests on this, and our main social media agent has moved on to other pursuits at this time, so your agent was brand new to this issue.
That being said, we handle each vehicle inquiry on a case-by-case basis. While a particular symptom may be common on a forum, the reason behind it may be different when we have our technicians look at the individual vehicles. I can understand how that may be off-putting to you all as you share your stories on the forum, but it is how we proceed in these individual instances.
In so far as the ability to provide cost assistance, if that is what you're seeking, this is quite a process as well. We look at service history, history of ownership of GM vehicles, what is causing the vehicle concern, the time and mileage that the vehicle is outside of its warranty, and other factors. Our primary concern is to repair the vehicle, with any other offers coming secondary.
I hope this at least helps to set your expectations in working with us; if you have further questions I'll do my best to answer!
Sarah, GM Customer Service
As for your criteria: they're anything but straightforward. In fact, they seem to be convoluted and more for weeding people out than helping customers with an issue that is of no fault of their own. Your post doesn't tell me anything that the email conversation that I posted hadn't already stated.
You still haven't met any of my expectations. Which I will again write below.
(a) You have dealt with other customers along with their respective dealerships who were having similar symptoms? What came of them? What ended up being the problem with their cars? Did you even keep track? This is why we're all here: to find out what others had to do to get their Impalas fixed.
(b) Instead of saying, "Well, it all depends on X, Y, and Z. After you give us that information, we'll decide whether we should help you or not." Why not just say, "If you car is newer than X, has less miles than Y, and your warranty status is Z, we can help you. If you think your case to be special in some way, feel free to contact us for a discussion on the issue." If you said that, we would all consider you a real straightforward person who wants to help as many people as possible. But that's not what you said. All this circumlocution only makes me more suspicious.
Not only that, but when you have a car that isn't safe to drive, who has time to wait for you all to sit over there and decide these things? Since first contacting you, I've already been trying to fix it myself and when I do, I'll post everything that I tried and discovered in order to help everyone else out. But YOU guys have access to a lot more data that could be useful in helping folks with this issue. You could post this and help guys like me avoid trying 10 different things before getting the issue resolved.
You have my information. If you don't plan on fixing my car or telling me all the results of the other similar issues that you've encountered, please do not respond to this. It's for the other customers in this forum, not for you.
Best,
David
1. The manual will tell you to drain the engine coolant. DON'T. It's not necessary.
2. Take plugs off of throttle body and air filter hose (2 total).
3. Take of the cover for the air filter (2 clips).
4. Take of hose that goes from air filter to throttle body (2 screwed clamps: 1 on filter, 1 on throttle body). Now you can see the throttle body.
5. There are two screws up top and two nuts on the bottom of the throttle body. Easy to reach. Take em off.
6. There are two black pipes attached to a piece of steel that's connected to the same 2 screws to which the throttle body is attached (on the bottom). You either need to unclamp these hoses and move them out of the way or you can do like me and just use brute strength to pull them off and move them out of the way. Oh, by the way, there is another screw in front of the 2 pipes. Take that off too. My way avoided spilling any antifreeze at all. The other way may have involved losing a tiny bit of antifreeze, which you'll have to wipe up. But no biggie.
7. After you pull those pipes away the throttle body still won't budge. That's cuz there are 2 more nuts at the bottom 2 corners on the same screws that you took the first 2 nuts off of! Take em off!
8. Now the throttle body should come right off. Put the new one on (mine already had an O-ring on it. you may need a new one).
9. Work your way backwards to reassemble the rest!
My problems started with a slight problem in shifting from 1st to 2nd gear about a year ago. Then I got a check engine light, but cleaning the throttle body fixed it. So I forgot about it. Then my rpm's started getting funny while waiting at stop lights and stuff. Then I noticed that my car wasn't responding when pressing the gas during take-off, but it was VERY settle. Could barely tell. This got worse though. Then my car went to reduced power while on the highway about a month ago. Since then it's gotten worse every week. Sudden jolts when coming to a stop and stalling out when coming to a stop. Gas pedal was WAY worse, barely working at take off. Also, I noticed that when the car wasn't responding to the gas pedal, I could hear a soft buzzing noise coming from the engine (probably the throttle body control thingy acting up). Even if i was coasting in a parking lot, I could tell when the car wasn't going to respond cuz I could hear that buzzing noise.
Anyways, it's fixed now. I bought the throttle body online for 160 something dollars. I get a 50 dollar rebate in the mail if I send in the old part. Your dealership will charge you top dollar for the throttle body (probably around 300 bucks) and then they'll charge you for the diagnostic and a couple hours worth of labor (300 bucks). They may even do the engine coolant drain/refill, which will cost you another 100 bucks or more. So compare this 600-700 dollars with the 120 bucks that I'll have spent in the end (200 counting the replaced gas pedal). The pipes were a pain to get out of the way, then back on, but all-in-all it was an easy fix! Best of luck to you all!
Since I've changed my gas pedal (6 weeks ago), I haven't got the Big 3 error messages/codes. However, I've started to notice my car's RPM's seem to bounce at times when using cruise and now I'm noticing almost a shudder or jolt when cruising around 40 mph. It feels like the car might be missing. Did you experience this before you replaced your throttle body? I did just replace my spark plugs and that hasn't cleared up the issue. Oh and I put in new Air/Cabin filters and a new battery.
(btw they are quoting me 300 bucks to change the fuel sensor too)!!
We're sorry that you're having these troubles on your Impala. If you would like for us to work with you and your dealership towards hopefully getting this concern resolved, please contact us via email at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, a brief summary of the situation, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your involved dealership).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
Have you experienced the Reduced Engine Power concern or had this checked into at your dealership already?
Sarah, GM Customer Service
We're sorry to hear about the troubles you had with your Impala yesterday. Have the repairs already been performed? Keep us updated, and if you want for us to check into anything further please contact us at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a brief summary of the situation so far).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
I did have to have this fixed... It cost me $250.00 and they also told me that the Throttle body (induction service) needed to be done as well. I chose to only have the gas pedal done right now because I do not have $400 to pay for it all.. This should not be happening and I think something like this should have been covered under powertrain warranty! I could understand if my car had 100K or close to it, but it only has 48K miles on it!!!!!! I am not happy about this at all. I traded in my Durango so that I would have a reliable car that I would not have to put in the shop every year. If I contact customer service at GM what will they do? Nothing??
So far I have found someone to do the job for $170.00. It is the throttle position sensor that needs to be replaced. B/c my car won't start I hope i don't have to get the "Body" because if so, my girlfriend paid $1000 to have her's replaced. My friend did say that the problem went away. So I will see in the next couple of days.
Sarah, GM Customer Service
It's correct that once you're out of bumper to bumper warranty that sensors would not be covered by the powertrain warranty. If you would like for us to look into the situation further (not promising anything up front but we'll do what we can), please email us at [email protected] (include your name, contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and the name of your involved dealership, as well as a brief summary of the situation).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
That is the exact same thing that happened to me... you would think that GM would do a recall, but NO.............. I had to fork out $251 to have that stupid pedal senor replaced (they have to replace the entire gas pedal as well to get to it) So many people are having the same issue and it is happening when the cars are getting close to 45K miles or a little over... Too coinsidental huh? They just don't want to "fix" the problem. My mother in law has a trail blazer and there is a problem with the fuel gage and her sister also has one. They will not fix that either... Alot of people have problems but GM doesn't want to step up the plate to fix it. They only want to get the cars out of production and sold... If I have any more problems to this car, I WILL NOT be buying another GM made vehichle. I traded in my Durango because it was always in the shop. I cannot afford this... Maybe that is why so many people are going to the foreign made cars?
You can get a diagnostic for free at Advanced Auto. Also, I posted earlier on how to fix it. It ended up costing me about 200$ to replace the gas pedal and throttle body ($70 for the gas pedal; $120 for the throttle body; about 2-3 hrs of my time). The gas pedal is extremely easy to fix. The throttle body wasn't too bad either. I did it and I don't know much about cars!
Best,
David
The sensors are attached in ways that they are supposedly inseparable from the car parts, thus making the customer have to spend twice as much when the sensor goes out. This isn't just for the gas pedal and throttle body. If your muffler goes bad, they will try to charge you 900$ to replace the entire exhaust system because those parts are now inseparable as well.
Also, they could have easily replaced your gas pedal and driven the car around for a few minutes to see if that did the trick. If not, put the old gas pedal back in (as it's not the problem) and fix the throttle body. But they didn't do this. They want you to pay them to fix every possible problem all at once, thus raising the bill even higher. It's a sham.
Simply back up the front seat. Reach down under there and unplug the gas pedal. Undo 2-4 screws (can't remember how many). Plug in new gas pedal. Screw screws back in. They are all very easy to reach. Like I said: you'll be done in 5 minutes. Best of luck!
We certainly understand why you're frustrated and would be happy to check into this further with you if you liked. Please email us at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation).
Regards,
Sarah, GM Customer Service
The only way to stop GM from taking advantage of us is to get smart to their game.
1st- Stop taking your car to GM dealerships.
2nd- Always check youtube and other online resources to see if the problem is fixable at home.
3rd- Don't just get on here to complain. After you've solved the problem, be sure to get back online to inform everyone else before they go through all the same problems that you did!
4th- For this particular forum, the problem is going to be either the gas pedal or the throttle body. Both are fairly simple fixes. The throttle body isn't quite as simple for the average Joe, but it IS simple for anyone who knows about cars. So if you can find someone like a friend to do this for you for 50$, all the better. Don't worry. He won't mess it up. It's an easy fix for someone who knows his stuff.
I'm done with GM! I also, do not like the Cheverolet dealership in my town, so I wasn't taking my car there anyway. The customer service is horrible!!
Thanks again!!!
I must tell you I am extremely ticked off right now. Almost a year ago this happened (see my post above) and it happened again tonight!!! This time I was on the highway. Do you have any idea how frightening that is?? It is 20 degrees out there and dark. I was alone and I am disabled. I cannot have this happening every year.
They replaced the throttle body last time but apparently either the work is shoddy or the parts are. The Impala is unreliable and I only wish I could dump this car but I'm stuck with it. Now I have to take more time off of work and find money somewhere to pay for a loaner so that they can come up with some other BS reason that this happened. And this is a CERTIFIED used car. Imagine the issues with an uncertified one?
The original broker/dealer who is 45 miles away from my home, so now I have to find a new dealer to work with. I have been watching this thread for a year now and I see that GM does not care about keeping their customers happy nor safe.
You can be assured that everyone I know is going to hear about this, especially now that it is a consistent and KNOWN problem that GM doesn't care to address on a large scale.
Sincerely,
A Ticked Off Customer
I have experienced something similar in my older vehicle this past week and certainly do appreciate how frightening it is to have a vehicle not respond. If you would like for us to work with you through the process of getting this looked at by your dealership again (or a different dealership, if you wish), we're here. Please email us at [email protected] (include your name and contact information, a summary of the situation, and the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
I think what gave mine away as being the throttle body (as opposed to the pedal) was a slight up and down of rpms while idling. I don't want to say too much though because this forum is for Impalas. But yeah, get that manual; try to change the pedal sensor yourself. If that doesn't work, find the other sensors and see if they are within reason to be done at home!
Most importantly though, see if your car is under warranty!!!
Is your mechanic associated with one of our GM dealerships? If so, we'd be happy to follow up on this with them. Email us at [email protected] with more information (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation so far).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
On 2010 model year vehicles on, the throttle body assembly was removed from power train coverage. If you have any questions about any warranties on your vehicle, we're available to get you more information on that (email us at [email protected] with the last 8 digits of your VIN).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
We're sorry to hear that you are experiencing this concern and can understand how it's a frightening experience. If we can check into this further, please contact us at [email protected] with more details (including your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a recap of the situation so far).
Sarah, GM Customer Service
Loose Throttle Body Harness Wire Fix
This is my last Chevy, too.
So this is the establishing shot, once you have popped the hood this is what it should look like more or less, pardon the dirt and sand its wintertime here, also pardon the picture quality its currently -4 degrees fahrenheit with a windchill making it -7.
This red circle is the area you're going to be concerned with, you can leave the valve cover on if you like. if you wanna take it off it involves unscrewing the oil cap and removing the oil cap fill neck and giving the plastic a tug. Instructions can be found on google
Engine shot
This next picture is of the drivers side front portion of the engine, the bunch of wires circled in red are the throttle body wire harness, Grip these wires in your hand and push them towards the plug and any loose connection that may be present will re-establish and either your motor will be back to running like normal or else this isn't the problem... but this is a good check to do before you go to the dealer and throw money at them to try to fix your car, if it's not this bunch of wires chances are its either the throttle body itself, or the APPS sensor in the gas pedal
Harness close up
Hopefully this helps some people, if your car is still running like garbage after having the dealer replace the throttle body and gas pedal check this bunch of wires because this wire harness is not often replaced when the throttle body is serviced.
Impala SS Wire Harness