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I just usually don't bother with the oil, 'cause it's so cheap and fast elsewhere.
This weekend, I'm replacing the shocks. Unlike the Impala, or just about any other normal car, this particular car has SIX! (And, the four in the rear or coil-overs, like struts, so I gotta rent a spring compressor.
Probably, all GM dealers honor extended GM warranties for all GM makes. I did not check. They honor third-party, aftermarket warranties.
However, this is another story with the initial 36/36 warranty for new cars. I e-mailed GM, asking if I can do warranty repairs at Chevrolet. They answered that two conditions must be met:
1. the car was bought used at that Chevrolet, with balance of warranty, and,
2. the Chevrolet dealer wants to perform the work.
This is GM policy.
I asked again at the Chevrolet dealership, to be sure, and they confirmed the GM policy. I bought my Buick at Buick and must do warranty repairs at Buicks.
On the other hand, every Buick dealer must honor GM warranty for new Buicks, Chevrolet dealer - for Chevrolet, etc. Not only the dealer where I bought the car. Just had no time to for other Buick dealerships around.
Dealers are cool to an extent. Service Dept @ Weber here in St. Louis told me the service bulletin about the ISS & that they are not replacing it, just lubing it w/ the $10 kit. My car is not warrantied any longer so labor would be $130. That's still better than private shops that I called; they charge by hour which would've been over $200. I'll call a couple steering specialists before I get it done though.
I totally avoid the salemen at Weber. They play number games so well that you would pay them to trade in your car!! When I test drove a new 2002 LS, he didn't tell me anything about features or anything about the car. Lazy, old vultures, ALL OF THEM! The parts guy @ Feld Chevrolet is awesome though. He gives me discounts. :-D
BTW, I've never seen a wet hen, so I really don't know how mad they get, but judging from the saying, it must be a sight!
Those "jiffy" places are a nightmare. You wait forever to get in, and then the goobers want to get in your car and touch stuff and grease it all up. And then there are those oil filters. The local "Indy Lube" used "Service Champ" filters. What the hell is a "service champ". Never heard of them.
I use the M1 filter as well. It's expensive, but the loaded up LS was too, and I want that thing running like new after any amount of miles.
So far the 2001 LS is going great. Still love the thing.
LRCobra
The diagnosis involved looking at the obvious spots (electric fan, a/c compressor, coolant level, etc.). Everything was normal. The PCM (powertrain control module) was checked and tested OK. Finally, an open circuit was found in the BCM (body control module), which is located beneath the dash on the left side I think. The BCM is written up in typical GM-ese in Volume 3 of the service manual. It does not appear to have an direct connection to the engine fan or a/c, but evidently it does, via a serial datalink that is described in vague terms.
Anyway, I thought I would relate this experience in case our BCM failure is not out of the ordinary.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Chevy Roadside Assistance. When we asked Onstar to arrange a tow, they called Roadside Assistance, who then called AAA, our insurance carrier, to get us a tow truck. I mistakenly thought we had some towing coverage with the Roadside Assistance but apparently they just refer your need to your insurance company. Well, a tow truck did show up after awhile and this one had a big hook on the back. The guy driving the truck stuck his head in the window on the passenger side and says that he's sorry but there are no flatbeds available. I took one look at the hook and said no way was I going to let that thing get under the front of the car, what with the plastic protruding down there, not to mention the infamous engine cradle. So I call Onstar and they contact Roadside Assistance who then contacts the AAA dispatcher and we conference. I tell them I want a flatbed and they say, sorry, but there are none available. Sigh. OK, I said, why don't you keep looking. In reply the Chevy Assistance person says, do you have a cell number that I can use to reach you? I think, what's wrong with reaching me via Onstar? But, reluctantly I give them the Personal Calling number. A few minutes later I am getting calls from Roadside Assistance (on my nickel) apprising me of the situation. That's when we decided that maybe we could limp out of there without further "assistance." To Onstar's credit their Personal Calling division refunded us the minutes that were burned up after three or four calls from Roadside Assistance. When we were about 2 miles from the dealship, a flatbed somehow materialized and was said to be en route to where we were supposed to be on the freeway. Of course, we said thank you, but no thanks. Do you want us to stay with you the rest of the way to the dealership, they asked? No, we replied, we'll be OK.
How's that for a story.
they are Bridgestone Evicta SL tires and on my first round with them I have to give them a high rating(may change as they wear though?) Just wanted to put in my two cents.
LRCOBRA
Not to nitpick, but the Impala comes equipped with a Harrison V5 "Clutchless" A/C Compressor. The H5 compressor is of the "Variable Displacement" type. What that means is that the 5 piston H5 compressor automatically adjusts displacement to match the vehicle's air conditioning demand. A control valve in the compressor senses evaporator load and automatically changes displacement to match that load.
As to your BCM module...well unfortunately you got a bad one, but it doesn't mean all Impalas or GM W-body sedans that happen to share this part will all crap out at 9K miles. Your dealer appears to be very good as they were able to troubleshoot the open circuit in the BCM right away without going into replacing parts randomly.
What's the build date of your car?
BTW, thanks for sharing the information.
(2001 Impala LS 11K miles, not a single problem, still going strong)
The clutch is not cycled on & off like the olden days where you would feel the compressor come on with a slight jerky feel of the car.
The compressor clutch is turned off when the throttle is near WOT to provide full power for acceleration.
Although we no longer own our 2k Impala I still read the posts from you folks.
Still miss the car too, not the cradle noise though. ((-;
Tony
http://www.impalahq.com/
Our Impala was one of the few that the cradle noise would not stop completely on. GM(at their expense) replaced the aluminum cradle on our car at 43,000 miles and the noise returned at just over 46,000 miles. We traded the Impala off before it hit 46,500 miles. Our car just missed the Arizona lemon law by little over 4,000 miles.
The Impala has a better crash rating than the Ford truck. The Ford has a CD changer and better sound quality than the Impala(our Imp had the early trunk amp).
My wife and I carpool and the one direction is 36-37 miles.
We are quite happy with the Ford(my first new Ford ever). My wife feels the Ford is easier to park than the 2k Silverado xtra cab truck we have. No typo there, we own a Ford and a Chevy truck.
We watch the Impala's to see what changes GM makes to them. If rumours come true and GM brings the Holden RWD platform cars up from Australia I will take a long look at them.
IMHO the Impala does not perform as welll as the Ford RWD cars in the police/taxi arena. I know the police dept's are using the Impala, but I wonder about long term durablity. I witnessed a Crown Vic police car jumping a square type curb last week to get around a traffic jam with his gumball lights flashing.
Having been a mechanic for decades I know the FWD platform will not take the abuse like curb jumping as well as the RWD full frame car will.
Time will tell I guess.
I am currently considering what to do with my 2ooo Impala LS with 8ok+ miles on it. The only cars I am seriously considering are the 2oo3 Crown Vic LX Sport and another Impala. I drove a 2oo2 CV LX Sport and was totally unimpressed:
*The steering is way too loose and difficult to control--I am told the recirculating ball system is out for next year--with a new, tighter rack and pinion coming.
*The car was MUCH nosier than the Impala, mostly wind noise!
*The car was not larger inside (though the trunk certainly was), while being much larger and harder to drive, or so it seemed.
*I was also totally unimpressed with the brakes. The Impala stops much more surely.
*The car will not fit my assigned covered space at my condo, while my Impala will. If I buy a Vic I will have to park it in an open area.
Still deciding. I am also looking at a Marauder, but doubt I want a black car. I prefer white.
The 2oo3 will be out later this year, but the LX Sport has been delayed according to http://www.crownvic.net and http://www.blueovalnews.com
The BCM does indeed interface with the HVAC systems, as can be seen on page 8-539, vol 3 and page 1-119, vol 1 of the service manual. The latter is the HVAC schematic. It shows that the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) energizes the A/C compressor clutch relay. The clutch itself is also shown on the diagram, so Crosley is correct about there being a clutch on the compressor. In fact, the PCM monitors the high side refrigerant pressure and does not allow the clutch to engage when the pressure is too high or too low. The BCM communicates with the PCM via the serial data link. It is not clear to me what is the role of the BCM in all of this, nor is it clear how the BCM interfaces with the electric fans in front of the engine. However, there are four pages of diagnostic steps in the manual entitled HVAC Compressor Clutch Does Not Engage. If you get to Step 33, you are told to replace the BCM. So, discovering that the BCM was bad should have been fairly straightforward for the dealer's technician, considering taht we told them the clutch wasn't working when we handed over the car for service.
What I learned from this experience is that: (1) the BCM is a very important part that controls or is involved in the control of many of the vehicle's functions; (2) the BCM can fail in ways that are not immediately obvious as to cause; and (3) Onstar's ability to remotely diagnose problems may be precluded by a failed BCM. With regard to the latter, we have decided that we shall periodically verify Onstar's ability to geolocate our vehicle and read system health codes.
If you want to take a peek at the BCM on your own car, just pop off the plastic cover beneath your dash board, just above the footwell on the driver side. The BCM is the little box toward the left with the blue connectors plugged into its back side. The list on this beauty is $186.
You are correct about the impala ride and handling. The car drives well. Our 2k Imp was the first FWD car we had owned since 1981. Being a mechanic and working on FWD cars i would never own one till my wife fell in love with the Impala LS that we bought in 1999.
If GM gets the cradle issue fully solved(in my eyes) and some styling changes are done that we like then I may own another Impala. The car is an excellant value for the money spent IMHO
GM is talking about different engine families coming on line too. If the 3.8 engine is dropped then I would rethink another Impala purchase. The old tech 3.8 has a dang good track record of durability and fuel mileage.
LRCOBRA
Could they be Bridgestone Insignia SL? Those are, IMHO, superior in design and construction to the Goodyear Invicta, by the way.
This car has been manufactured almost unchanged (Save for a 1992 re-skin)by Ford since 1979 so indeed most of its bugs have surely been worked out by now. The Crown Victoria is indeed Ford's most reliable product but if you follow the performance of these things in Police dept fleets, they tend to be more problematic than comparable Chevy Caprice cruisers, which by the way most police officers prefer over the CV's.
When I went to Washington D.C. last year, I took a cab ride from Dulles airport to D.C. on a fairly new Mercury Grand Marquis car. Barf, what an ugly, noisy and generally old looking car. I felt right back in the Disco era riding in the back of that thing. The interior is almost the same size or smaller than the Impala's. Legroom for front and back passengers is almost the same. The only difference is that you get an inch or so more of shoulder room.
The dashboard is ugly, the car squeaked and rattled severely on fairly smooth highway, the door panels felt flimsy and the suspension bounced more like a little boat in the ocean during a bad storm.
This car is huge for nothing. Other than the space needed to fit the V8 and the bigger trunk (21 cubic feet vs. 18 cubic feet in the Impala)this is just more hassle to drive and park in tight spaces.
If the CV or GM makes your juices flow with an ancient platform, squeaks and rattles, poor handling, ugly interior, marginal space advantages, huge exterior dimensions and Taxi cab looks, go for it. If you long for John Travolta, polyester and Disco music, this car is for you.
The Marauder looks tempting on paper but something tells me this car it ain't all that Ford is promising. Autoweek magazine showed the Marauder convertible concept (2 door) and the car looks like a 1981 Dodge Aries K. Aghhhh.
I guess I am too young for these old fart mobiles.
LRCobra
Forrest
I do everything to my car except transmissions and air conditioning. Brakes are a snap. Soon I'll have A/C tools and maybe a tranny setup as well.
I wish they had a "no warranty" option that saved a couple grand.
I am talking real world experience, not reading an article written by someone sitting at a desk that was listening to an engineer yapping about numbers.
The comparison I was making is in the rough and tumble driving seen by police type vehicles.
The FWD cars suspensions (front and rear) is quite a bit weaker than the frame type cars.
I would hardly consider a ride in a cab an indication of the quality of any automobile. Cab companies would do zero reapir/maintenance work on the cars if not forced to by some state laws.
So there we were driving back into Alberta from Montana (1600km in total) (little road trip) I was driving on a secondary highway at night (very dark) When all of the sudden the whole right side of the road went black. We finally get to the border to have a look at the burnt out High-Beam. Hmmm, the highbeam bulb itself has shattered. Nothing hit our car, the plastic dome around the headlights were intact. The bulb had just shattered after 45 minutes of on and off usage. I never really had to use my high beams regularly (city living) until this trip. I spoke to GM directly and they said that they have never heard of this before. The same was said by our GM dealership. I took pictures of the shattered glass on the inside of the headlight case. My dealership replaced the bulb in 20 minutes. It was just a very odd thing to happen, especially in the middle of no-where.
Safety was my number one priority.
So in closing, has this happened to any of you guys or gals?
Part of the difficulty is that Chevy did some mid-year changes and there are some differences between the USA and Canada versions. You can get some LS options on a base model and vice versa. Not to mention, TSBs can really mess things up also.
General:
Base: Bench seat, hub caps or base rims.
LS: "LS" added to badge on trunk, "Impala" badge on doors (but I believe I have seen them on base Impalas), fog lights, rear spoiler (can be deleted), LS rims, center console with buckets, dual zone AC.
'00: Indent in rear wheelhouse inner fender (TSB can change that), body colored license plate area, fixed back rear seat on base with standard cloth, OnStar optional on all models.
'01: Revised wheelhouse fender, grey trim around license plate area, OnStar standard on LS, front bench is an option in late '01, rim of headlight assembly painted black in late '01 (so I have been led to believe. I have not seen a '01 with this)
'02: Revised wheelhouse fender, grey trim around license plate area, OnStar standard on LS, front bench is an option, rim of headlight painted black, dual zone AC is standard on all lines.
Other than the black paint around the headlights, it would be really hard to tell the difference between a '01 and '02.
I don't know how to from the exterior if a base has the 3800 engine.
Personally, I would have went to the auto parts store, and sprung for the $8.99 for a new bulb. My time is worth much more than that.
I can't see wasting time at the dealer convincing them to replace a $9 expendable item. (Unless of course I was there having other more serious work done, like wiper blade replacement.)
Chin, chin, the sarcasm hour has begun!
According to the 2002 Impala sales brochure, now you can get the front bench seat option with column mounted shifter on the LS models. I have yet to see one configured like that from factory.
Ken
Cup holders on the front bench changed from '00 to '01 ('00 flip out of the arm rest; '01 are built in).
Don't know about '01 vs. '02; the reason I bought the car I did (loaded base) was because I wanted the 3.8 engine AND a front bench; guess I could have waited a couple of years and gotten an LS with the bench, but who knew? (Plus, I wouldn't have made the 2001 brochure, so maybe it was fate!)
I'm shocked! Shocked, I say!
I'm surprised the Germans have any leather left at all after making all those jack boots.
Doesn't Mercedes use a vinyl product that they call Ambla, in place of leather on many of their cars? (Sounds better than saying "vinyl".)
Teo, I like Hen skin, especially on the Colonels' chicken, original recipe, the Colonel with his wee beaty eyes...