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The Impala is a fine car, it's only non-wear repair so far has been a headlight switch (it has had brakes and tires).
It will probably be replaced by an SS or a Pontiac GP GTP (2004) or even a Mazda6! Don't know yet.
Did you read my post? Will not void the warranty unless it caused the problem on the warranty claim.
It is fast too I don't care what anyone says. Where can you find a big car like this that can keep up with most of the cars on the road and gets this kind of gas mileage? It should be even better with a Thrasher CAI and a better exhaust setup. When you look at everything that this car has it is very hard to beat. Sorry rice boys.
What about traction control? Will I get better acceleration off the line with it enabled or disabled?
About the Thrasher CAI and Exhaust: Get exhaust if you want deeper sound/tone, but you won't get any performance from it. Same with the Thrasher CAI, you won't see much performance from it. I would suggest against the Thrasher CAI. I had it and sold it. I now have a Custom Fenderwell Intake that I made myself (easy) for about $30 plus filter and it is much better than the Thrasher. Better performance. Just intake and exhaust won't give you much gain, but you will breath a little easier on the highway. Also intake is neccessary if you have plans for other performance mods. Let me know and I can send you my directions for the Fenderwell Intake (FWI).
For the track, you want your Traction Control OFF!! It robs a ton of power from the engine. This is big!
Look on the Accessories & Modifications board for my Mods present and future. Email me or post if you have any questions. Good Luck!
Truck sales Ford and Chev still out in front. To date 2002 Ford truck sales 3Million. Chev 2.8M Toyota closing every year this year 1.5M... It goes to show American manufactures are falling behind even if their quality is getting better...From 1957 to 1966 Impala was #1 in sales every year except 1958.... The times are a changin'...............
I need to let you know that terms such as "[non-permissible content removed]" are not used here due to their derogatory ethnic origins. We appreciate your understanding.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email (click on my name above for the address).
Have fun and again, welcome!
I wonder if it'll get to the point that the Impala ever outsells the Taurus? The Impala's remained fairly consistent since it came out for 2000, while the Taurus has been stumbling. It'd be nice to see Chevy back on top. I think the Taurus has outsold its Chevrolet competition every year it's been out except for 1986, when the Celebrity outsold it.
I am NO Ford fan, but the new Taurus looks ok, and from what I see on the street, it's selling very well. It's a much better version than the ones they've had recently.
And I don't believe GM loses money on the small cars. They just don't Make much money. But if what you say about the gas taxes are true (small cars can cancel out the trucks), then that's the reason, and you're right!
If you compare Gm's truck with the 8.1L V8 and four wheel drive on the HD chassis with Quadrasteer then mileage is dismal.
THat same truck with the 5.3L in 2wd can pull 20 mpg on theh highway no problem.
As far as the future GM will be the first with Displacement on Demand and will offer a 6 speed auto. Expect well over a 10% increase on the higway with these features.
next is all aluminum engines, then composite beds
250-400lb savings (already available) then composite doors, hoods etc.
This is 8-10 mpg less than our 2K Ls Impala. It is an apples and oranges comparo though.
Our 2001 Ford F-150 Super Crew averages 1 to 2 mpg less than the Chevy truck does.
At the prices they charge for the trucks there must be a large profit in them.
Tony
I worked on some of that garbage in those days...most often you had to disable the system so the car was driveable.
=========== yes that is true. look at the aluminum sub frame under the 2K Impala.
There were a few troubles. Our 2K LS was one of them.
The Aluminum Sub Frame is now a great plus for the Impala. The Grand Prix owners only wish they had one. Some are even switching to them (ala the fastest W-Body with original powertrain @ 11.7 sec.)
2003 Mustang Cobra has a $1000 tax added to the price.
I am having the same exact problem with my '01 Impala LS with 18.5K miles on it.
Since just about a month ago, I started to detect a strong coolant smell coming from the engine compartment. There was still coolant in the recovery tank, albeit at or below the COLD mark (This is with a hot engine).
I have never had any overheating problems or any "Low Coolant" warning messages. However, knowing about the tendency of these cars to have warped intake manifolds with low miles, I decided to take the car in for a pressure test.
The pressure test, according to them, did not show any leaks in the system. They sent me home and again today the antifreeze smell has intensified. I checked the recovery tank and the little bit of antifreeze left there is well below the COLD mark (Engine is hot and the coolant should be at the HOT mark or at least halfway between HOT and COLD).
The car is going in tomorrow morning. This will be the second visit for the same problem. I have high suspicions about the gasket or the plastic intake manifold with a slow leak.
I checked the oil and it looks crystal clear and very clean. I have no white smoke coming out the pipe which would suggest coolant leaking into the engine.
Not happy about this, let's see what the dealer has to say.
The Gasket/Manifold seems to be a very big problem in the 3800 V6. This is a stain on an otherwise smooth, fuel efficient, powerful, durable and reliable engine hardware.
The Coolant smell is aweful. Let's see what the dealer has to say, doesn't seem to be a very simple repair based on what I have read elsewhere in the 'net.
Problem seems to be dragging since about the 1995 model year to the present day.
You bet this is an expensive repair outside of warranty....$700 to $800 as it is very labor extensive.
Haven't heard from the dealer yet. I very much doubt the car will be ready today. Probably the car will spend Xmas at the dealer...I don't know yet.
In the mean time, I am enjoying driving around in my MINI Cooper.
Keeping an Impala beyond the limited warranty period without any extended service contract protection is simply insane in my book.
It appears to be that even when a pressure test is done the first time, the test does not immediately reveal a problem in the manifold.
Bottom line is that I have a leak somewhere, my coolant tank level is very low and my car is being looked at the dealer.
Right up to this point I have been very happy with the car but if this gasket/manifold problem is a fact of life with the 3800 V6, then I will reconsider keeping the car for longer than the factory 3 year warranty.
"Keeping an Impala beyond the limited warranty period without any extended service contract protection is simply insane in my book."
Why??
If you car experiences a failed transmission or a seized engine, the cost of the parts alone will have paid for the cost of the extended warranty, time and time again.
I believe that the Impala is a very reliable car, unfortunately some critical components such as the thermo-plastic manifold are not durable over the long haul.
Why cars with less than 20K miles are having these gaskets replaced? Why??
It was described as a "warped upper manifold base."
Edmunds is only a tiny sampling of owners and of those here, only a few have had this problem. We are only a small representation of the ten's of thousands of 3800 engines out there. It's hard to say either way just based on what we see here. Another thing to consider is if this is an epidemic, there would be a recall. These cars are part of taxi, police, and rental fleets. If this was widespread, red flags would be going up all over.
We received a letter from Saturn a few years ago. They found a problem with cracked blocks on the same model that we owned. The letter was to inform us of the problem and if we experienced it, Saturn would cover it up to 100,000 miles. We never had a problem. So it's not inconceivable that if there is a problem, that Chevy wouldn't do likewise.
If I remember correctly, some of the coolant issues was flashing on the filler neck and a faulty coolant level switch.
This reminds me of the radio, engine cradle, disk brake, discussion issues.
I did not pick up the extended warranty and I plan on keeping my car way after the original warranty expires. I am taking a gamble and I may lose. Of course, I can rebuild engines so I have a little edge here.
The latest that Edmunds states is the 2004 Impala SS will debut in the fall of 2003...Doesn't make much sense if they are revamping the car for 2005....
Hardly, based on my 'net searches, most GM vehicles equipped with the 3.1, 3.4 and now recently the 3.8L V6 engines have experienced premature failure of the intake manifold. There are thousands of complaints logged from owners of these vehicles. Notorious in this dept are the 3.4L V6 GM Minivans from year 1997 on.
GM has not issued a recall in more than 5 years, but one could be coming soon. Currently NHTSA has an open investigation on fires coming from warped manifold intakes in the 1995-2000 model year 3800 V6 engines.
Rest assured that unless there is Govt intervention or a class action law suit, GM will not do an iota to recall these cars. Is business to them. A recall costs money + reputation so they are not going to take the initiative. They haven't done so in several years.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the car and it has been very good to me but the more I dig into the manifold intake failures of recent production GM vehicles, the more I get concerned about it.
BTW, the dealer has not yet called me, so I have no idea as to if they have been able to locate the leak or not.