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Comments
My 2002 trailblazer I just changed the rotors and pads myself, all 4 rotors were rusted badly on the inside. The impala is always garaged and the TB outside so that could be it.
anyway, the problemn with our cd player is the disc would go in, and you could hear it try to start, it would spin and start a few times, then the check cd message.
I hope this works. I may have to start a side radio repair business. LOL Will advise.
One funny thing I remembered in leafing through the brochure, the photographers who came here had spent the day before with a guy in Dallas (they specifically had me wear a blue shirt, because they knew the other guy wore a red shirt). Anyway, his picture is in the brochure on page 20, and the guy is sitting inside his car. The reason for that was that a day or two before the photo shoot he'd had a wreck in his car, and they said there were literally pieces hanging off the front of it, so the only decent shot they could get was of the interior!
Kind of neat going back through the brochure actually; they got most of the quotes from people in this forum, so when the brochure came out it was almost a "who's who" of the Edmunds Impala forum...except we knew everyone by their screen names instead of their real names used in the brochure. It'd be interesting to see how many of the folks featured in the brochure held onto their cars, and what their experiences were.
I noticed that gasket you talked about and the baffle must be put in correctly also.
You have to have a good memory, I have this ability to take anything apart, spread it out on the table and put it all back together from memory. I do other car repairs for friends too.
It helps to remember LOL
I found this guy, he is in Philly, he was selling radios on ebay, I called him then he created this page
http://www.kigma.net/TEMP/1002/1002.htm
with pictures of it to make sure it was the same.
call him for parts, very good service. If you cant do it yourself, they fix them too.
http://www.marketworks.com/StoreFrontProfiles/default.aspx?sfid=104387
Terri :confuse:
Two approaches - One is to remove the front of the dash (which isn't as daunting as it sounds) and approach the replacement from the backside of the dashboard; the other is to pry the switch out from the front. I went the dashboard removal route, and it wasn't that difficult. After I did so I saw how approaching it from the front could work, but I think I might have screwed up something doing it that way...plus you'll probably let go of the wiring harness and it'll fall behind the dash, so you'll end up taking if off anyway!
Actually I just went and found the post someone else left earlier; it's under Chevrolet Impala Lighting/Electrical Issues and it's post number 227 (the last one there currently). It also lists the part number. When I replaced mine I also found some info at www.naioa.com that was helpful (especially in terms of removing the dash).
Good luck!
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Jeremiah
Having cashed in my GM Card earnings last year when my parents' truck got hit and they needed a replacement, I didn't have enough credits this time around to make much of a difference in my new car decision. Because my wife already has a sedan, I was looking for something that would give us a little more flexibility in terms of towing/hauling things larger than a bag of groceries, but also wanted to get as good or better gas mileage as I was getting in the Impala. I wound up buying a 2008 Jeep Patriot 2WD yesterday, which I plan to use mainly for commuting to work for the next decade. However, my 15-year-old says she wants it when she goes off to college, so I may be in the market again around 2011...which should actually be a very good time to have some GM Card earnings built up with the Volt and many other new options out there by then.
I contemplated an Equinox this time, but with the better gas mileage and 0% financing on the Jeep, plus the lifetime powertrain warranty, I thought the Jeep was the way to go. So if my daughter drives off in the Jeep three years from now, I'll be back shopping with my GM Card earnings...and if I end up keeping the Jeep and we get her something new, I'll have enough credits on the GM Card that it'll surely steer us to a Chevy dealer.
I just submitted a classified ad for our local paper to run towards the end of next week, so we'll see what happens. While the Jeep gives us some versatility, I honestly doubt I'll be as happy with it as I have been with the Impala. Without a doubt it has been the best all-around car I've ever owned, and I already miss the comfort and visibility the Impala offers.
My father in law just bought an 08 impala LT. They come with nice options like the remote car starter from the factory. I got him a good deal, $100 over invoice plus there was a $1500 rebate. out the door with taxes for $22k.
Hey, I found my Impala pin set, did you ever find yours?
At least the Jeep is over two feet shorter than the Impala, so I'll have a little more room to work around it in the garage, so maybe I'll get things organized out there a little better. Of course on the other hand it was nice having the Impala with the bench seat, so my wife could get in on the driver's side and slide over, which she can't do in the Patriot...so I may be forced to clean out the garage no matter what.
Just a word of warning to anyone considering this model not to bother, best of paying a few extra dollars for a Honda or Toyota.
Tonight I will be picking up my car (2000 Impala) from the dealers repair shop, after shelling out $2000. This cost covers the following:
Headlight Dimmer Switch (Headlights didn't come on)
ERG Sensor
Transaxle Solenoid (the second time for this part too)
Re-lubing of the steering shaft
This all related to cheap part and or piss poor engineering. It is easy to see why GM is now the number 2 auto maker, and I look forward to the day they close their doors forever.
Did you ever think it might be the dealer working on your car?
As for all the other issues I've had with this fine automobile:
:lemon:
Mass Air Flow sensors
Bad rotors front and back (poor quality parts)
Coupler on the steering shaft
Tensioner pully ceased up (broke belt and left my wife stranded on interstate)
Fan controls only work on two of the settings
As I write this I am going to invetigate another issue (noise in left front) that I am sure will cost me.
I curse the day I bought this damn car!!!!!!!
As a long-time poster to this forum and an admitted GM-flag-waver, I have to admit that I strayed from GM fold this time around, but here's my logic. Since I tend to keep a car for 8-10 years, I wanted to make certain whatever I got would be an improvement over the Impala in terms of gas mileage. I also wanted something with a little more versatility in terms of hauling ability. I ultimately narrowed my choices to the Equinox, the Jeep Patriot, and the Nissan Rogue. The Equinox didn't really offer an improvement in gas mileage over the Impala, and knowing it is due a remodel in the next year or two, I scratched it off my list. I never actually test drove the Rogue, and it's probably a nice vehicle, but it just wasn't a look that appealed to me. The Jeep ultimately came out on top, with better city gas mileage, good maneuverability, and a lifetime powertrain warranty (though it isn't transferable).
There are so many exciting things just over the horizon at GM, I'm sure my next vehicle will be a GM product (plus I'll have more GM Card points saved up too, having cashed in over $3,500 last year on a GMC Sierra for my parents). One of two things will happen to my Jeep; either my oldest daughter will commandeer it when she goes off to school, or I'll drive it as long as I did the Impala, but then I'll probably keep it around instead of selling it (since, if the lifetime warranty proves to be valid, I have an incentive to keep it). By having a trucklet in my stable, and (hopefully) having an empty nest by that point, I can see myself in a Chevy Volt or some other hyper-efficient hybrid commuter vehicle.
In any event, since I first got involved with this forum back when I ordered my Impala and I wanted to know how long it typically took from order date to delivery date, I felt obligated to post somewhat of a farewell here. This forum definitely played a huge role in the pleasure I got out of owing that car, and I'll probably still lurk around and offer advice from time to time. I made a point of giving the new owner a copy of the 2001 Impala brochure that had my quote in it, which was a direct result of being involved in this forum. Fortunately he only lives about a mile from here, so I hope to see it every now and then.
Oh well, my laptop battery is about to die, so I'm going to hit "post" and say farewell for now. While I know lots of people here complain about their cars, I can honestly say I enjoyed my Impala more than I have any other car I've owned thus far, and if I knew then everything I know about the car now, I would still buy it, warts and all. I wanted my kids to have a traditional American sedan experience, and I'm glad they did. Hopefully they'll carry on the tradition with their kids, and hopefully they'll have an Impala to do it in.
I am also in that 2001 impala book. did you ever find your pin set?
take care.
If I remember correctly I got 45-50k miles out of my first set of brake pads, and didn't replace the original rotors until this past summer at @ 111k miles. I probably could have gotten by with getting them resurfaced and using the originals, but it was easier to buy new pads and rotors and install them at one time versus running them back and forth.
Mine was a base model that I pretty much loaded out with everything except leather; I splurged on the car at the time because I had a substantial amount saved up on my GM Card, so it wasn't like I was spending "real" money. I miss many of the features that car had on it versus my current vehicle though...things like auto headlights, auto volume control on the radio, RDS, split heat/ac controls, etc. etc. Timing-wise it just didn't make sense to keep it around at this point, as my wife's '03 Accord will likely pass down to my oldest daughter in a year or so, and then whatever my wife gets at that point will pass down to my 10-year-old in 6 years. My plan is to drive the Jeep throughout all that activity, and then when the kids have left home keep it around for running errands and such, and reward myself with something really nice (our house will be almost paid off by that point too!). I know the landscape will have changed dramatically over 10 years, but I'm thinking something equivalent to a CTS might be about right. Or maybe a base model Corvette...something practical like that!
I had the plugs replaced on mine this summer, but left the original wires intact (they didn't have any signs of problems, and they snake all over the place). I was trying a set of "Halo" spark plugs that were supposed to increase gas mileage, but I almost immediately started having a missing problem. I then went ahead and changed the wires thinking that might be the problem, but it didn't help. Finally I got exasperated and bought a standard set of replacement plugs (iridium, I think) and replaced them myself...that's when I discovered my #2 plug was broken, which was the cause of my misfire problem. After I put on the regular plugs, I had no other problems, and I feel certain replacing the plug wires made no difference, and if I'd know about the broken plug initially I would not have replaced them.
One thing that jacks me is that the dealer didn't program the fog lights back into the new BCM so I don't have use of them anymore. They want a bunch of money to add them back. Bastages.
I've also had my ISS lubed twice but I think they got it right the second time and I never paid for it.
It hasn't been problem free but it's a great car. I'd get another one well before getting a Toyota or Honda or Nissan or Mazda or Subaru or ........
Later
While I took a leap away from GM this time around, in a few years I'll have a more substantial credit saved on my GM Card points, and I'll also have a daughter who will be going to college who likes the Jeep, so I might be in the market again around 2011/12 if she takes the Jeep to school with her...and there should be some interesting things out there from GM by that point, both in terms of style and powertrain.
I do wonder where the Impala might go next design-wise; if the RWD version that was in the works on the G8 platform is indeed dead, could that means the Impala will fade away in a couple of years (since the larger-than-before Malibu could take its place), if they'll freshen the current FWD version to get a few more years out of it, or if there's something else in the works.
Oh well, I guess we'll wait and see. Still, looking back at the cars available to me over the past 8 years when I had the Impala, I can't think of another I'd have rather had. Like yours, mine wasn't problem free, but I don't think I've enjoyed owning a car more. I think part of that has to do with the community that formed around the car here at Edmunds back when the car was first introduced, which is probably one of the reasons I still lurk around here.
what would the coolant have to do with the steering and the shaking with the car?
The PS reservoir is located on the back side of the engine (towards the firewall) on the passenger side. Mine started making a whining noise that varied with the speed of the engine; I traced the sound to the power steering pump (which as I recall sits somewhat above the reservoir) and was afraid it was going out...so I took it to a shop, and all I needed was a fluid top-off. I'd never even seen the reservoir before, or I'd have checked myself.
There was a post on this a couple years back, but the links provided for fixing it are now dead. Anyone have any info on this problem?