2007 Chevrolet Impala

level

I recently replaced OEM tires with H-Rated quiet Conti Premier tires. After searching online tire review sites, found several quiet tires I could have gone with though.

Road noise is "gone". Can't explain why highway wind noise is gone. My 2007 LTZ was already smooth riding now it is an "excellent" quiet ride.

Karen_S

Got a 2007 Impala or just looking now? Talk about this year's model here.

colchester47

Let me be the first to bring bad news to this topic....NHTSA is recalling certain Chevy's(Impalas), Buick and Pontiacs because of the adhesive layering missing on top of the gas tank, which could cause a fire...recall #06V419000.....started 11/13/06.....07's only...not 06's.....Fuel tank MAY have to be replaced..so much for getting the bugs out in the 2nd year!.........Units affected to date...1602

mymitties

I really don't want to be sarcastic here, But just as an observation.. you could be the last..!! I know,I know, I should get over it..!!
But, there's only 1 posting in 6 days.....YOURS !!
Anyway, many thanks for your info here Bryan...It's very interesting !! Gee, for a change, it's good to know that we missed this one !! So, the tank has to be ripped out for this one( ouch !!, again I hate this on a new car). Well, No such luck for Ron and others with their '07's, I guess..!! :sick:
Again , thanks for spotting this...
Frank

colchester47

Frank,
It's about time someone responded to this!!...Geeezzz!..I thought maybe I had bad breath or something!!! :sick:

quietpro

Bryan/Frank,
I had nothing to add so I didn't respond. Mine is an '06 and not affected. Sounds like they had one of those bad robots (like on the Super Bowl commercial) that fell asleep on the job. I'm sure the offending model has gone off and "offed" itself for failing to apply that adhesive. :P
Still smilin' and drivin' my '06 Impala SS.

Ron

geffen

I'm thinking of purchasing a used Impala LS with 3,800 miles on it, dealer has it priced at 17,500 seems like a very good deal, I haven't seen many comments on the 07 Impala are all the bugs worked out from the 06 Impala?

mama1

I just recently purchased the 2007 Impala, and I have noticed that when I try to make a turn there is some major traction in my steering wheel it pulls terribly. is anyone else having this problem

mama1

I regret buying an Impala. I went to make a right turn a few days ago, and my steering locked up and almost landed me into a light pole. :mad:

rguthrie

Purchased 2007 LTZ about 2 months ago, and when the trunk lid is wet, and then opened, water drips off side of lid,by chrome trim, onto weatherstripping, and right into the trunk, on both sides. Anybody else have this problem, and how was it corrected?

charts2

Go back to the dealership. Its under warranty.

rguthrie

I have tried that but they say there is no repair for the problem. District Manager is suppose to stop by within 30day to look at, but don't hold much hope.

carnut444

You should report this to your dealer and get a response. If you are not satisfied and continue to have the problem,
follow the proper procedures to get 100 per cent satisfaction. If this turns out to be a federal recall issue, you may save lives.

carnut444

I have a 2007 SS, Red jewel tintcoat, and am, so far, reasonably satisfied. I will report further on my experiences. Caution, be cautious of "torquesteer" on heavy accelleration.

kutt3r

can you display BOTH artist and song title , & how?

thx

quietpro

Kutt,
No...common complaint of the "Black Tie" stereos. For their many improvements/advancements, they lost some of the simple conveniences of past stereos, most notably the scrolling display of XM (FM RDS broadcasts still scroll, go figure). I own an '06 SS and assumed a lot with the new stereo...won't ever make that mistake again.

Good luck!

Ron

kmauss

Hello there! Just bought a new Impala 2LT over the weekend, taking advantage of their Memorial Day rebates. I had been casually car shopping/ test driving for quite awhile, and I kept coming back to the Impala. The ride is incredibly smooth and the handling much improved over the pre-2006 model. The one I bought has the 3.5 V6 and has plenty of power, very responsive, great acceleration, quiet engine, all that good stuff. I found a VERY nice sales demo with only 1000 miles on it with exactly the equipment/ color/options, etc that I wanted. But erring on the side of caution (and because I needed the lower payments) I did a 36 month "Smart Buy" on it. So if it develops any issues, I'll turn it back in. Meanwhile, anything else should be under warranty. I do hope not though; I really love the car. Karen

teresabutler89

so far not to happy with the MPG. Sticker shows Mpg of 27 for highway. We are getting 20.5 mpg for the highway. I drive well within the lega speed limits, just like I did w/our 06 malibu, that we got 30 MPG highway. I do not stick my foot into it from take off either. I'm not much of a hot rod. Bought the car for the passinng power & the sticker showing MPG pretty much the same as the V6. SO we figured why not , Boy sure wish we would have went with the LTZ w/the V6.

weathernut

I have a 2007 Impala LT 3.5 6 cylinder. Anytime the car sits for several hours it emits a loud whining sound for about 1 minute immediately after starting.The dealer tells me that it is the air pump and that the noise is normal. Is anyone else having this problem?

mbmiller2000

are there any other recalls you are aware of? I have an 07 SS and it has 2097 miles on it. It is in the shop for the second time. The first time they replaced two wires. Now, there are two more wires they want to replace, but are waiting for authorization to get reimbursed for the 6 hours of labor. They really aren't sure why it keeps dying. It makes me sick. It is a gorgeous ride, I love driving it, but I can't depend on it to leave town. And I paid a lot of money for it. Anyone else having this dying issue?

quietpro

Do you happen to use your cruise control? I get no less than 24 mpg with my 06 SS and sometimes get just under 27 mpg. Are you driving in a lot of traffic with braking and acceleration? There's got to be a reason. :sick:

teresabutler89

no recalls yet , that I know of involving this problem you are having. But I am also starting to notice that when I have my AC on max my cars starts to idle rough & acts like its going to stall.

teresabutler89

I have tried using the cruise control setting it in when the road is pretty straight not many hills & such, I-55 from Springfield Il to StL. I was staying pretty much at 65-70, not much braking, nothing crazy on the acceleration.
I just do not think the fuel management is working like it's supposed to. I've even noticed my car , w/the AC while stopped at a stop light acting like it's going to stall now.
We are in the process of getting out of this car & into the V6, complained enough to the dealer they are going to work something out w/use.

Just wondering if I should stick w/the smaller V6/3.5 or if we should push for the bigger V6/3.9. I really want to see the 30 MPG's again on the highway like we did w/our 06 Malibu that had a 3.5L.

The last time I checked our car the 07 SS, I did it using the odd fashion way, I wrote down the odometer, filled up then, let it get down to 1/4 of a tank, filled back up & checked odometer, subtracted the two readouts and then divided by the gallons i used, & it actually was getting worse, it was coming out around 19.8 HWY MPG's.

teresabutler89

Sorry to change the subject , but I noticed you have a 07 LTZ What kind of Gas mileage you getting on it for the HWY? thanks

rguthrie

This week, I made a round trip from Chicago to St. Louis, and averaged 26.12, doing about 68 mph, using the cruise control all the way. I got as low as 24.6, and as high as 30.4 with the gas fill ups. I have the 3.9 engine. I purchased the car in mid February, and in March my average for the month was 23.17, for April was 18.73, for May was 26.7,this being a combination of city & highway driving, using cruise control whenever I can. So, as you can see, the mileage goes all over the place.

garsarno

I have 10,700 miles on my 2007 Impala SS (black) since 1/27/07 and no problems at all. I would take the car back to the dealer for evaluation. Best mpg was Wilkes Barre to Cleveland at 75-80 mph, got 24.7 mpg per computer.

quietpro

Keep in mind when you're figuring fuel mileage that when you fill up, you could throw your mileage figures off considerably depending on how you "top off" the tank. If you go to the nearest dollar, that could vary your top off by a 1/3 of a gallon at $3/gallon. If you just stop pumping when the pump auto-stops, you're letting the calibration of the pumps determine your top off. That's fine if you use the exact same gas pump at the same gas station every time but otherwise, there will be a variance. Over time, the variances will even out but you are basing a decision on whether or not to get rid of your car on a relatively short period of time so I would consider these variables as well.

As stated earlier by you and others, it sounds as if you do have some mechanical issues as well. Have you ever run your DIC in the instantaneous economy mode and watched as the engine switches between 8 & 4-cyl mode? I did that a good bit when I first bought the car and learned to hear and feel when the engine switched into 4-cyl mode. Learning how to "soft pedal" the car may help improve your economy as well.

teresabutler89

Well we were not successful in working things out on our 07 SS to get into a Impala LT w/a V6. They were going to trade us straight across but my husband was furious because we only had this car 30 days, & does not want to be upside down farther by having financing for a 07 SS, then loose further money when we go down in a lesser value car & you factor in the depreciation. So we turned them down. Tried to get them to just buy the car back from us, but they stated they had too much inventory & were not interested in purchasing any more vehicles. So I do not know what were are going to do.

THe thing is not running right. SOmetimes at a idle w/the air on it's wanting to die. Not good when your stuck in the middle of intersectin somewhere & your car acts like its going to stall on you.

Also today I had another weird thing happen. I was behind a old guy in a pickup truck & for some reason he almost stopped after taking off from a stop light & no one was in front of him. I'd just starting acclerating & had to slow down pretty quick, we''ll then you started taking off so when I went to step on the accelartor the car acted like either the transmission was not shifting right, slipped or the engine wasn't wanting to respond, I just know that it was rough, had a pretty major hesitation from either the transmission or the engine. I was lucky I did not get rear ended.

I'm really being to think we've gotten ahold of a :lemon: I sure hope not.

I not it's getting lousy HWY MPG's & I've had it looked out & have been told nothings wrong w/the car.

rguthrie

I had the leaky trunk. I called Chevy direct @ 1-800-222-1020, and talked to a rep about all the problems I was having with the car. She then gave me a "Service #", contacted the dealer, and set up an appointment with the Zone District Manager. It took about 2 weeks, but I met with him, and had answers right away. You might try doing the same thing.

ryster

It sounds like you may want to look into your State's Lemon Law rules. For example, in PA, if a new car is in the shop for the same mechanical problem 3 times or more within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles a Lemon claim may be initiated.

Just make sure when you have the car looked at, each and every time get a work order from the dealer that clearly states the concern and their response. Make sure the concern is stated the same on each work order so it doesn't look like something different is being diagnosed and/or fixed.

After the 3rd time of the same concern not being repaired, go back to the dealer the 4th time and let them know that this is their last chance for a fix before you file a Lemon Law claim. Many times this is enough for them to "suddenly" be able to fix the car. Be firm, but also be polite. Once the Lemon Law claim is started, working with the dealer gets kind of touchy. You don't want it to become adversarial BEFORE a Lemon claim is made.

teresabutler89

The first time I took it in was because I was complaining about it's HWY MPG"s of only 20. They said they could find nothing wrong w/it, they did not give me paperwork showing I'd had them look at it.

What happens if each time I take the car in they say they can find nothing wrong w/it? If the problems are only occuring randomly & not continuously, but does not occur while they are checking the car out.

Doesn't it have to be a break down that they actually have to show that they've had to do some sort of repair to the car?

How's that lemon law work anyway? Does GM have to give us back all the money we paid for the car? just wondering how that works when a person has a loan to pay off & if GM just pays a person back the amount paid on the car when you factor in the differnce they tack on when you do a trade in paying off the trade in so the dealership can get the trade in's title. I imagine a person is stuck paying the bank back the remainder like the tax, ext. warranties purchased, & of course the difference between Payoff & the trade in dealerships give.

Has anyone on here every got a car bought back due to the lemon laws? What happens when it comes to the financial issues involved?

teresabutler89

I'm having problems explaining to my dealership that I've been comparing MPG"S w/other 06 & 07 SS owners. I explained to them that pretty much everyone else is getting alot better MPG's on the HWy then we are, They of course come back w/well it's pretty hard to compare MPG"S w/other people because most people tend to stretch the truth when comparing their cars to others, so not getting anywhere w/this HWY MPG situation.

We did have a guy last night , who saw us in a parking lot & came over & checked our car out , he started talking to my husband asking about the cars MPG, my husband explained the car was only getting 20 on the HWY, & that they sticker showed 27 for HWY. The guy said if i bought the car I'd really be on to them about only getting 20 for the HWY.

Not for sure If I explained that the 20 HWY MPG was driving on the interstate w/ very little braking & normal acceleration. It's getting pretty much the 20 HWY MPG on the interstate as well as driving through towns on the hour long trip I take to Springfield or Pekin. I can't understand why it's not doing at least somewhat better on the interestate w/little slow downs at stop lights like I do going through the small towns I have to go through.

martin22

Teresa,
I'm getting well over 20mpg on the Interstates around Champaign in my SS and you should be too. Two things:
Are you sure your engine is switching to 4 cyl mode? It should stay in that mode when cruising at 65 - 70 mph on a level road and the indicated mpg should range between 25 and 30.
Also, what RPM are you showing at 65 mph? From memory as I write, it should be just under 2,000. There is a remote possibility that you're not reaching overdrive top gear.
Hope you get your problems sorted - it's a great car!

teresabutler89

martin22, The computer readout shows it going into the 4cyl mode, & I try to set my cruise sometimes if possible, but most of the time it's not so I do not use the cruise alot, I try watch my speed & make sure I'm keeping it steady & in the 4cyl mode on flat straight aways. I'll have to look at the RPM gauge & seem what it's reading. I'm pretty sure it's under 2,000 though.

WHen you say well over 20 MPG's on the highway, what are you varying, if you don't mind me asking?

I've heard that several other people that have these SS are also getting better than we are I just can't understand why are car is not, I know it's very disappointing & I love the car's looks, power , safety & comfort, but the MPG's is killing us coming from a 06 Mailbu getting around 30 MPG'S on the HWY. The sticker showing the 27 MPG's is what sold us on the car, so I'm depressed over this MPG stuff.
Thanks I hope they figure something is wrong w/it & fix it so it starts getting better MPG's on the highway. What's really crazy is that it's doing about the same maybe around 18-19 for the city mpg's .

martin22

I'd say an average of 25 mpg highway. I did not expect to get the 27 - those figures are always optimistic. I've also heard that mileage improves as the car beds in - ours has now done 13K. We did a 5.5K mile road trip last winter down to Florida and back through the Carolinas and the DIC gave me an overall 23.9 mpg. That included a lot of interstate but also a good deal of town driving at 'base camps'. From what you've said about near stalling, I would guess there's something wrong with your mixture control - as if the engine is running too rich. That would obviously give you poor mpg. It could even be something simple such as a piece of rag stuck in the air intake. Your dealer should really give it good seeing to.
Best of luck!

teresabutler89

Ya, I didn't really expect to get 27 either, but I was at least expecting close to 24 at least.

So far we've got 3,000 on it. I got something set up for a second look over on this car. I'm hoping they come up w/someting this time. Last time which was only 2 wks ago, they said they could find nothing wrong w/the car.
Thanks for your input. Glad you like your car & are getting pretty descent HWY MPG's , wish I had your car.

Is it a 07 or 06, which color did you get? Did you get the Bose speaker package? We have the Bose speakers, silver trim on Dash, not the woodgrain. Has a sunroof. It's a beautiful car, just wish for better MPG.

teresabutler89

Yup, tried that, that's pretty much where I keep my readout set. I try to watch were the readout is & try to make sure on a level flat straight away that i keeping it at 4cyl.
I know it's not because I have my foot into it or anything, because my husband complains that I drive like a grandma w/it that I should be driving it differently just because it's the SS. I drive like I always did w/ our 06 Mailbu, sometimes on the interstate I'll find myself getting up fast 75, but even when I did that w/the Malibu I was still getting 30 MPG's. So if anything Maybe I need to try a higher octane gas?
I'm running out of ideas, maybe the service dept. is just not finding out what's wrong w/this car. I'll give them another shot, & if things do not improve I'll try taking it to another dealerships serive dept. I hate doing that though because I didn't buy the car from them, so I do not know how that works when you want to go to another dealership beside the one that we've purchased the car from?

quietpro

Teresa,
Wow...you read my mind...those were the two things I was going to suggest next. Higher octane fuel and another dealership. I was running 87 octane fuel exclusively for the first year I had my SS simply because I could and thought it really made no difference. Then, I got to thinking about how little it would cost and decided to switch. Well, the difference in power (once I had fully gotten used to driving the car with lower power) was truly remarkable. Besides that, I have noticed on the highway, with the higher octane, the car can remain in 4 cylinder mode at higher speeds and on steeper grades which contributes to higher fuel mileage. I don't know that it would be enough of a difference to justify the difference in cost or whether it will improve your situation at all, but it's worth a try. In my case, I haven't had a chance to take a long enough road trip to get a good comparison but I do know that my car can stay in 4 cylinder mode in places it couldn't before and at higher speeds than before.

As for going to a different dealership, I have visited three different dealerships with mine. I bought my car out of state so I have only visited the dealership where I bought the car a couple times. All dealerships should treat you equally well and if not, you should contact the corporate offices and report them. GM is making strong efforts to improve customer relations and you shouldn't have a problem with a different dealership. They SHOULD welcome your business as an opportunity to win you over for your next purchase. Again, just be polite, don't bad mouth the other dealership, and explain your problem.

One final suggestion would be to offer to ride along with a techician to show them the sputtering you've been describing since you say that the techs have said that they haven't been able to duplicate the problem. Sometimes communicating the problem is the hardest part of the process and if you can get them to let you drive them around and then maybe switch out let them drive you back you may both learn something (you mentioned you weren't sure if it was engine or transmission).

Good luck and be persistent and patient. I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of this. The SS is a great car. Once you get your bug worked out, you're going to love it! Give it a fair chance.

martin22

It's an '06, fully loaded, Sport Red/Neutral. Last July, we couldn't resist the 72m/0% deal so we're in it for the long run! The only work done on it so far is the replacement of the screeching window seals. It still spooks me when it sends me an email every month telling me how it's doing!

teresabutler89

wow 72 m/0% , that really was a heck of a deal. How you doing on the warranty, did you purchase a extended warranty? I'm glad Chevy went to 5yr/100,00mi. We purchased a extended on for our 07 because the computer part would only be covered I believe for 3yr/36,000? I imagine that computer that controls the fuel management could get expensive really fast.

teresabutler89

how many miles did you have on the car when you got the 24.7 on the HWY?
DId you already have around 10,000?
The service dept. keeps telling me that I have to let the car get to 10,000 miles on the odometer to see anything close to 24mpg on the hwy. I trying to find out if this is true, if everyone else didn't get around 24 mpg's until 10,000 miles.

teresabutler89

martin22 , do you thing there is any truth to the story I've been told that my car needs to get around 10,000 miles on it before I'll start to see anything close to 24 mpg's on the hwy?

How many miles do you have on your 07?

martin22

Well, that's what they say. Our '06 has 13K now so should be well bedded in and we have no complaints about the gas mileage, considering it is a 5.3L after all!.
I suggest you try to use the cruise control more often - as often as possible.
By the way, beware of jumping ship to a lesser (LS or LT) model. You may get a better mileage but you may be disappointed in the overall feel of the ride and handling compared with the SS which has a different suspension set up. I rented a 3.9LT once and thought it was ghastly.

quietpro

My '06 SS got over 24 mpg highway on its first tank. As a matter of fact, I've never gotten anything less than 23 (in the mountains) and have gotten as high as just under 27.

By the way, the front suspension on the 3.9L is the same but the wheels and tires are different. The rear suspension is slightly different but only to make room for the larger wheels. The ride difference is due to the wheel/tire size difference, weight, and stabilizer bars.

teresabutler89

i've had it to the dealer twice now , they keep telling me that they can find nothing wrong w/our car. Keep saying it's not broke in yet. We're a little over 3000 now & still no improvement yet on the HWY MPG. What Octane gas have you been running in it? I might try running higher octane gas, ALways heard though that It doesn't make much difference in MPG's though.

ryster

Hi!

Lemon Laws vary by State. When you purchased your vehicle, the dealership should have provided to you a booklet discussing your State's Lemon Law and had you sign an acknowledgment of receiving such materials (it is the law here in PA that such occur at the time of sale of a new vehicle.)

Here in PA, if a vehicle is declared a Lemon, the consumer has the option of receiving a comparable vehicle from the manufacturer or a full refund of the purchase price and all collateral charges. A deduction is made for the use of the vehicle while you owned it (after all, you did drive it) but the adjustment cannot exceed 10% of the purchase price. The refund is made to the consumer if paid in full originally, or the refund is given to the bank/lien holder if financed. So, depending on the loan, a Lemon refund may be enough to wipe out the loan and let you start fresh (maybe even with some money left over). If you elect the replacement, then I imagine the loan paperwork would be changed to reflect the new car's information but everything else would stay the same.

However, PA laws says that if the defect for which the Lemon claim was made does not impair the use, safety, or value of the vehicle NO refund or replacement will be given.

In the case of fuel mileage, this would probably not fall under the PA Lemon Law since the vehicle has not had any issues preventing it from being driven or used. The PA Lemon Laws are mostly aimed at mechanical problems that cause the car not to be able to be driven (stalling, electrical problems, etc.)

Fuel mileage is such a driver specific factor. It can be thrown off by weather, idling time, tire pressures, accelerating, braking, fuel quality, route (flat vs. hilly), etc.

I would suggest checking your tire pressures to make sure they are at Chevy spec. Top off the car with a Top Tier gas and reset your trip meter. Then try to find a 20 mile stretch of relatively flat highway with minimal stop and go. Set the cruise on 55mph and take a round-trip drive. After the trip, immediately fill up again. Divide the miles driven by the amount of gas needed to top off again, and see what the mileage comes out to. If you still see 20mpg or less, then I would say the dealer is definitely missing something. If it comes out to be 24 or better, then the car is probably fine.

I have a 2LT with the 3.5L engine. I average 21mpg in my everyday commute (60 miles round trip). I may see 24 or 25 during all-highway jaunts, but when the city driving comes back into the mix the average mileage drops back to the 21 figure. Our area is very hilly, hot/humid in the summer and very cold in the winter. The engine is always working hard in such extreme variances. The sticker said 21city/31hwy, but I average the lower number. Compared to the 13mpg I averaged with my previous V8 SUV, I am thrilled!

Also...the dealer should give you a work order everytime you take it in regardless of whether or not they find anything. No work order means no record for you that it was ever looked at. Not necessarily a good thing.

By the way, IL Lemon Laws look to be very similar to PA.

garsarno

The car only had low thousands when I got that mileage, cruise set at mid 70mph range. Drove Interstate 80 in PA, plenty of hills etc. I have a little over 11,000 mile on it and got 23.5 highway mpg in the Baltimore area.

rwisem

I have a 2007 SS with about 3k miles and found this discussion interesting. I have noticed that the DIC shows pretty impressive instant mileage when the engine goes into 4 cyl. mode

Yesterday I drove from my daughter's house in Towson,MD home to Marlton,NJ. I reset the average mpg when I hit the freeway and 90 miles later checked it when I exited and it read 29.7. I drove the speed limit of 55 to 65 and kept a steady foot on the gas,pressing down to almost maintain speed on hills trying not to go to V8 mode too much. The road is not totally flat, but not too hilly. There were 2 stops for tolls and one bridge. The AC was on the whole time.

teresabutler89

How do you reset the average MPG? I did not know that it could be reset.

I sure wish there was a way for someone to take a pic of their Average MPG readouts & post them on here. I keep getting told when I complain to the dealership that everyone is probably stretching the truth a little bit on the internet!

nosirrahg

So are you saying your DIC is reading an average of 20 MPG from the day you bought the car? If that's the case, then I'd be VERY happy with the MPG you're getting. I average just under 23 MPG in my 2000 Impala with the 3.8l engine; if you're averaging 20 MPG and getting V8 power to boot, I'm jealous!!

rwisem

How do you reset the average MPG

When the average fuel economy is showing, press and hold the top DIC button to the right of the steering wheel. It has a check on it. After a couple or three seconds the readout turns to o if stopped. This method resets all readouts.

I agree with the last poster. If you have an average of 20 showing after many weeks and/or months, you should be very happy. My overall average is in the low 16's. I find this car to be a real Jekyll and Hyde. Put you foot in it and it slurps gas like no tommorrow, but ease up and maintain 4 cyl mode as much as possible and it does as well as a V6.