By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
October 2000 12,254 cars
October 2001 27,661 cars.
YTD October 2000 149,120
YTD October 2001 178,260
Huge improvement. Impala will definitely sell over 200,000 this year.
Unfortunately malibu sales are off so total gain for Chevy is not great.
Numbers are available at www.autosite.com
Judging from the nuumber of rental and government Imapalas I've seen, I'd say those numbers include a couple three fleet sales.
Doing this kind of modification may void parts of your car's warranty. Even if it doesn't, you may be in for a fight with your Chevy dealer.
I'm not saying that the chip is bad and I'm not saying that your warranty will be voided. Just be sure you go into this with your eyes wide open.
And what am I going to do with my car while they have the ECU? I'm still waiting for a plug in programmer.
Doesn't really matter if it is fleet sales or not.
It will still be over 200,000 which is quite an accomplishment for a large car.
Impala has walked right past lesabre in sales.
Impala is the only large car in the top 10.
If, however, you are trying to gauge popularity, than fleet sales certainly count.
Camry and Accord sales numbers are mostlt retail. Very few rental fleets stock those cars.
The Impala, OTOH, is a huge rental fleet vehicle, as well as a government and municipal fleet vehicle.
If you remeoved fleet sales from the list, and only counted retail consumer purchases, you may find the Impala dropping from the top 10.
Personally, I prefer fewer sales. I want to drive a more or less unique vehicle. That's why I didn't choose an Accord.
Of course, this makes owners of these cars "Camcorders".
Ken
Ken
Soon after the ISS replacement, (4 days later) GM paid for the complete replacement of the engine cradle at 43k miles. At 46k mile the car started the "popping" noise intermitantly again.
Our 2k Impala was then traded off. Cradle problem was then solved for us.
Tony
Can ANYONE say with any confidence that the new cradle lasts?
What's the most miles driven without problems?
Is there a chevy mechanic in the forum?
The issues people are having with the seat rocking, is it very apparent?? Or is it a very minor shift when you brake and accelerate?
thanks
At 46+k miles as we backed the car from the garage at our house the car would "pop" ever so slightly. This is the pattern the car has followed for 2 years and 6 trips to the dealer for the cradle trouble.
Actually there were more than 6 trips to the dealer for the engine cradle. In the early daze of 2k Impala LS ownership the dealers did not know what the problem/cause was. Then the dealer would grease the mounts of the cradle to the body structure. That helped for 7-9 k miles. Then a re=greasing. Then the shim material TSB was performed.
Our LS missed the AZ lemon law by just a fuzz under 4k miles.
It has appeared from the get go that some Impala's had this trouble and others did not. The units with no cradle noise seem to never develope it. Some Impala's would not stay quiet for very long periods of time after all attempts were made at a repair.
Our car was traded off. Should we have gone to a lawyer or to GM's problem/resolution people (what ever it's called) ??? We probably should have, but I don't have the time in my life for more crap, so we traded the car off. I imagine GM hopes more people do the same to save them money.
I will add that I've been a mechanic for decades. When we looked at the new Impala I told my wife: " if we have trouble with this car it will be from the aluminum frame". Sometimes I hate it when I am correct.
We really loved the car aside from the cradle issue. Still miss the car and the fuel mileage too. We miss the heated seats, even in AZ. LOL
Tony
It also does it if I deliberately rock it by pushing down on my legs.
I've also noticed two other things that have begun to occur recently: intermittant auto-lock function, and truly terrible radio reception. AM is almost useless. I wonder how widespread those are? I've seen both mentioned here occasionally.
I took it in about 2 months ago for the "Clunks", which I could not really hear, (maybe slightly), but mostly could "FEEL" in the steering at low speed turns, and accelerating from a stop. They did some work, (again, I forget exactly what), and the clunks were gone......... for about 1 to 2 weeks, anyway. Then they returned. I took it back about 2 weeks ago, and reported the same problem, "a clunking feeling at low speed turns". I did tell him at that time that I felt it might be the ISS, due to my attendance on this board. They replaced the ISS, and so far, no more clunks......
NO CLICKS, NO CLUNKS !!!
The ISS seems NOT to be resolved..some confusing info from mechanics and no TSB from Chevy, right? And replacements have been done but there has not been enough time on them to be sure it's fixed due to a new design or simply a brand new part that may go bad a little later. is the ISS on the Impala shared with another car?
What about that AM radio reception?
Anyone know any Chevy mechanics or mechanic internet forums?
First of all, the responses from this forum come from a very small pool of owners..in other words you are missing the whole picture.
If you want a statistically valid and more accurate measure of the Impala's reliability, pick up a copy of Consumer Reports...simple as that.
If you really want the car and if you really like it, then the only other way you are going to find out if the car is good or not is to buy it, drive it, own it and enjoy it...there is no other way around it.
You are trying very hard to build a picture based on 2 owners that had very early build cars and another owner that had his cradle re-welded and so forth...fine but you are not even scratching the surface in terms of the issues that have you so concerned about.
If you were buying an used 2000 Impala, I would say watch it with the Cradle and ISS problems, but a 2001 or 2002, you should be fine!!!
If it makes you feel better, go back and read all responses for the last 6+ months and see how many people have complained of ISS and Cradle problems on the 2001 Impalas? How many? That's for you to find out, but I can't tell you that there are no complaints at all.
Look, I had a 2000 Impala LS with the ISS problem and early signs of cradle trouble...GM bought the car back at 15K miles, no problems. I was given a brand spanking new 2001 Impala LS and after 7 months of ownership ZERO, ZERO and I say it again ZERO, NADA, ZILCH problems.
The most pesky bugs of the 2000 Impalas (First year cars by the way) have been effectively fixed and implemented on the 2001 and 2002 model years.
So seat back, relax and reflect over this post and ask yourself this question? Do you really want a new Impala or not?
Good luck.
My reaction is based on the idea that there aren't that many people posting here..not a huge cross-section so if I see a couple people iwth unresolved problems, I take note. If they know what the problem is with these clicks and clunks, it should just be a matter of replacing what's known to be defective. When I read posts that are inconclusive I wonder if they have identified the problem corectly in the new, post 2000 designs. Reading an owner musing about resale value because of problems makes me concerned as one looking to buy. Can you blame me? Maybe so..but it's alot of $$ for me. I thought some of your recent posts regarding your own lo-mileage Impala were kind of wait and see. I apologize if I'm wrong on that. As far as CR is concerned, maybe it's worth the sub fee to check it out. I've always had the impression they leaned towards imports.
Just trying to make the best choice.
http://www.ronalusa.com/cars/cars_html/chevy_impala-00.html
That "looseness" and "nudging" you feel is an accurate description of the steering problem with the dreaded Intermediate Steering Shaft (ISS) - at least it was for me.
Hopefully, replacing it will solve your problem.
It's a quick replacement - about 20 minutes at the most - IF the mechanic knows what he's doing.
Mine was done 1000s of miles ago and no problem since then. I understand the same ISS is used on SEVERAL GM cars - NOT just Impalas.
An aside:
Just got back from an 1100 mile trip in a rented Mercury Sable. Not a bad car. Comfortable, quick and a little softer riding than the Impala LS but it didn't feel/sound as well-built. Really missed the Driver Info Center, auto headlights, theater dimming of interior lights etc. Funny how we get used to all those little luxuries so quickly.
I just cannot seem to avoid front end problems, I had a '93 Mercury Sable that was a nightmare, Steering Rack, Strut plates, Transmission and an ongoing Hissing Steering Column,(It had that steering that firmed up over 35 mph, then was over boosted at low speeds) luckily we do not have any Hissing going on, then I had a '96 Monte Carlo LS (the one recent Exception, It was a Great Car,traded it for the seemingly Greater Impala LS ) My Wife had a '94 Grand Am that the Front Struts fell apart on the floor when the mechanic took them out to inspect for a front end noise, then her '99 Z24 was a major nussiance of Clunks that was never solved, now this....We drive very carefully and avoid potholes and ruts at all costs, I couldn't imagine being actually Rough on a car. I think I need an Excursion or a F-350, or a Heavy Duty 3500...Nah, I like cars over Trucks, But some truck do look appealing at times, I just don't think I could live with a Huge Truck day in and day out. Don
1. How long did it take for the Chevy team to diagnose and agree to replace it for you?
2. How long did they ask you to leave it at the shop?
3. Did they issue you a rental or loaner in the meantime?
4. Was there any charge to you?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me before i bring mine in. I love the car, and on the highways and parkways here in NYC people are always curteous to Impala drivers (maybe because our NYPD uses em for marked and undercover cars!).
I had no charge on the ISS replacement (still under warranty); did pay @ $50 to have my front rotors turned, though.
The best way to diagnose the ISS problem, is to have the Service Manager (Or Service Advisor) to test drive the car with you sitting by his or her side. Once they feel the clunks traveling upwards the steering wheel and downwards the brake pedal (Plus the general loose feel of the front end) they should be able to tell right away.
By this stage of the game, most Chevy dealers should be very familiar with the ISS problem on 2000 Impalas and Montecarlos.
Before the ISS was replaced on my 2000 LS, the whole front end felt like it was going to fall apart at the next turn of the steering wheel...very diconcerting feeling. But once the dealer replaced the ISS, the car felt even better than when I first took delivery of it. The steering felt tight again, precise and no clunks felt anywhere in the front end. Car felt brand new after the ISS was replaced.
Provided that you are still covered by the 3 year/36,000 warranty, GM should replace the ISS free of charge.
To the best of my knowledge there are no TSB's or recalls in regards to the ISS, so your best source for info remains to be here and your local dealership service dept.
Another W-body car that was plagued by ISS problems was the Oldsmobile Intrigue sedan. However, I have not read or seen about ISS complaints on the Pontiac Grand Prix or Buick Regal/Century, which are Impala platform cousins.
The ISS problem seems to be resolved in the 2001 Impalas (Recent build dates) and owners with cars with more than 10K miles seem to be doing OK so far, but time will tell if the ISS problem was caused by a broad bad batch of parts or some other design related issues.
As long as your car is under warranty, get the ISS replaced and don't wait until it is too late. The ISS clunks will not go away until the part is replaced properly.
Gweilo: Good question. If there was any design or manufacturing problems with the original ISS, perhaps the part numbers did change somewhere along the way, but if the haven't that could also mean that there were craftmanship defects in the original ISS but not design related issues. When my ISS was replaced back in January, the part number was the same exact one found in the original ISS being replaced. I don't know if the part number has changed 11 months later..