2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

impalaboy2001 · June 2002

For those people waiting on indiglo gauges....

Found an LS cluster on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1833569668

rsteph · June 2002

My 2000 LS (Navy Blue) is just over 2 yrs old now (took delivery April 2000) with 32,000+ miles. A few of the problems discussed here have come up but all were fixed (some took more than one trip to the dealer). Presently, no issues and running fine. Was seriously considering selling it to get a 2002 Silver LS (momma likes that color better) but decided to hold off and see what the 2003's and 2004's look like. Heard there is supposed to be some "tweaks" to the 2003 but that the 2004 is supposed to get a complete redesign. We'll see.

casl · June 2002

Almost 32 months - hit 50,000 miles last week. Had the warped rotors replaced last year and still have the occasional hesitation problem. Replaced the tires last month. Other than that (and the rattling of the rearview mirror and under the dashboard) everything is OK.

roderacer · June 2002

...I wa driving from my fishing hole the other day and noticed the rerview mirror shaking a bit. Adjusting it, I noticed that there is a slight amount of "play" in it. It isn't firmly set to one spot - but rather has some give.

By design?

[Deleted User] · June 2002

They all do that. Yeah. That's the ticket!

Hey! I can be a GM dealer service advisor!

jeffreyw1 · June 2002

My 2001 Impala LS is 19 months old and has nearly 6,000 miles on it. Yes, I know I should have more miles on it, but I drive my truck to work. I plan on taking my Impala on a trip starting tomorrow. I can't wait.

b4z · June 2002

Took the imp to the dealer yesterday because I am going on a long trip tommorrow.
The car was pulling to the right and I was getting a slight pulsating sound when braking.
Also there was a vibration under the car.
The tires were making a wop wop sound too.

The alignment was way off and they did a rear alignment also.
The tires are damaged from the bad alignment and nothing can be done until I replace them.

The rotors were slightly out of round and were turned. If it doesn't help I will get new ones.

One of the baffles is loose in the muffler and was causing the vibrating sound, They have ordered a new muffler.
Anybody heard of that one before?

drivinisfun · June 2002

Front wheel drive vehicles demand religious servicing if one expect the tires to last for a reasonable amount of mileage. Tire rotations are essential and should be done between 5K and 7.5K miles, no exceptions. Tire balancing should be done whenever vibrations are felt at the steering wheel, particulary at highway speeds. Tires that are left improperly balanced, aside from causing annoying vibration, can damage the tire itself and the suspension components. If you frequently drive on poor road surfaces with dips, potholes, etc it is recommended to have a tire balancing job performed at least once or twice a year.

Tire air pressure should be checked for safety and also to ensure tire durability at least twice a week. Air pressure should be checked with the tires cold or when the car has traveled less than 3 miles.

4 wheel tire aligment should be done whenever the steering wheel is off center or the car pulls either way at speed. It is also recommended to perform it once a year or every 12K miles.

The muffler problem is very unusual but it can happen. It is a good idea to have the dealer inspect the underside of the car on every oil change stop to prevent damage of that nature from taking place.

It sounds like your problems are more maintenance related than the fault of the car itself, IMO.

[Deleted User] · June 2002

Sounds like drivinisfun might have one of those perfect Impalas, otherwise known as the Teo model.

drivinisfun · June 2002

Another ignition killer, believe it or not, is when using heavy keychains (Key rings full of keys)the weight of the keychain puts pressure against the ignition slot opening, damaging it overtime.

Unless you wrestle with the ignition, I don't see what could be causing it to fail on you so many times.

Not a common problem.

drivinisfun · June 2002

Who is TEO?

Garypen: Who are you?

hvan3 · June 2002

My Impala LS is 16 months old with 17,100 miles. Still a great cruiser! Only problem I had was slight engine hestitation, which was fixed with the PCM software upgrade.

Next week, I'm driving up to Dublin (Bay Area) to visit a friend whose daughter is graduating from high school. This will be my first long drive in my Impala.

drivinisfun · June 2002

Why the hostility in this room?

Who or what is a TEO?

I Taught the purpose of this forum is to talk about cars and the Impala in general.

Geez!

Not to worry, I won't be back.

[Deleted User] · June 2002

Where?

drivinisfun · June 2002

Good question...why ask why?

pluto5 · June 2002

Good advice, except not sure about your recommendation for annual 4 wheel alignments. Possibly some models do not hold alignment well, have not heard that about Impala, but my experience is that annual alignments are not necessary.

[Deleted User] · June 2002

It also depends on road conditions. Horrible, pothole laden roads like that of NYC wreak havoc on a car's aligment.

roderacer · June 2002

I only see it necessary for alignments if the car is really pulling hard. After you drive out of the garage after getting an alignment, the first bump you hit will throw it off again.

nosirrahg · June 2002

I'm not a big fan of the stock Goodyear tires on my Impala, so I let my rotation go a little long - I didn't rotate the first time until 19,000 miles, and I'm at 37,000 now (so I'm almost due again!). Darned if the things won't wear out!! Even with this abuse (and with very infrequent tire pressure checks; my garage is VERY tight, so I can't readily check the tires on the passenger side), it looks like these tires will last me well into the fall. I'll probably replace them in Oct/Nov when the weather cools some, and it starts raining here again pretty frequently. Even then they won't be "technically" worn out, but once they start spinning much at all on wet roads, I usually err on the side of caution and replace them.

nosirrahg · June 2002

Not to dis Goodyear on the stock tires; they handle great - but as has been noted here before, they're pretty noisy, especially on concrete surfaces (like most of the Interstates around here).

I surfed through tirerack.com yesterday, and looked at three tires:
Firestone Firehawk SH30
Yokohama AVS dB
Bridgestone Turanza Revo H

Any thoughts on any of these tires? I know the Yokos are supposed to be quiet, and from what I've read they're good tires. I'm not so concerned about snow use, but mainly want good handling, quiet tires that perform well on wet surfaces (which seems to be the biggest problem around here).

drivinisfun · June 2002

I have a very "quasi-obssesive" approach to auto maintenance, hence my recommendation of the annual 4-wheel aligment procedure.

I truly believe that preventive maintenance saves a lot of money and headaches down the road. So $50 a year spent on an aligment seems like cheap insurance to me.

Unless there is an inherited and confirmed design problem on a car or serious defects in materials and workmanship, in my experience, most cars do not eat tires or frequently experience aligment problems unless that aspect of the vehicle's maintenance has been totally neglected.

A lot of people wash their cars on a weekly basis and perform timely oil changes, yet they barely check the tire's air pressure, let alone check the balancing, perform rotations or do aligments.

garnes · June 2002

2001 LS with almost 22,000 on it. No problems except the air bag light flashes for a fraction of a second once in awhile. Great car. Any ideas on the air bag light before I bring it to the dealer?

I agree with drivinisfun about maintenance on tires. I've had a lot of problems as of late with tires developing that "rump rump" bad wear pattern noise. I wasn't really careful about alignment, rotate and the like. I am now. I never did much for some small economy cars I've had and it didn't matter. Now that I've been driving bigger cars it seems to matter a lot more. Rotate them and keep things aligned. I'm a convert.

I hate tire noise!! It drives me crazy.

b4z · June 2002

I will be putting about 1400 miles on the car over the next 4 days. I am sure my messed up tires will have driven me crazy after the first 100 miles. I am praying for smooth roads.

b4z · June 2002

Garypen is our resident smartaleck. He generally finds something in a post that he disagrees with, either in content or tone and pounces on it.
I think he thinks he is being clever.

Ignore it and keep doing what you are doing.

Teo was our resident impalaphile but is no longer posting here.

b4z · June 2002

Changed my airfilter for the first time tonight.
Whoever designed the airbox should be taken out and shot.
It took me 15 minutes because I was afraid I would break something. Needless to say it was a tight fit and I really had to pull the assembly back and push the the throttle body convolute hard to get the thing out of there. Putting the new one in wasn't much fun either.
Next time it will take 3-4 minutes.

norbnancy · June 2002

My 2000LS is getting close to 31000 miles and no problems yet. Never been back to the dealer except to say hi. My Goodyear tires are wearing good but have always been noiser than I like. The good wear and handling are the trade off. I watch maintainance very closely. As to front end alignments and tire balance, the tires tell you when you have a problem. Cupping & uneven wear are signs of above. Naturally steering pulling and vibration are cause to have steering & suspension checked promptly. When rotating tires, it is a good time to check for brake wear and hydraulic leaks. Although leaks are rare, they can happen. Teo was helpful when he was posting. Hope his 2001 holds up as he anticipates. Normally,I have traded by now but, this one is a keeper. Unless... Chevrolet or G.M. comes out with something that I can't do without. Enjoy the ride.

crosley4 · June 2002

interesting thoughts.

Some shops here in the metro phoenix Az area will not charge you for the alignment if they do not put a wrench on the vehicle. Some, probably not many.

We had 46k miles on our 2000 LS when it went bye-bye and never had it on the alighmnent rack. Just near 40k miles on the OEM Goodyear tires with no unusual wear.

Ok since some folks feel an alignment is due yearly , how many of you have changed your fuel filter??

About every 25k miles is when i change the fuel filter.

Also....how many of you have checked the spare tire air pressure lately? Our spare usually lost 5 psi a month somehow.

spence30 · June 2002

I replaced my goodyears at 48,000 miles. I had an alignment done when I put new tires on the car. I purchased dunlop Sp Sport A2. They are so much better then the Eagle GA's. I have to worry about snow conditions, and they did pretty good.

yurakm · June 2002

Last summer we spent 3 sunny summer days in Franconia, NH. Criss-crossed White Mountains, drove around, and visited the top of Mt. Washington. Beautiful state, beautiful places. Would like to live here, would not my work...

I noticed unusually many Impala on the roads while being in NH. Much more, than I saw them around our city the last summer. Most of "NH" Impala were in LS trim. In CT I see more often the base models.

I even told my wife, that Impala LS must be good for mountain roads.

johnclineii · June 2002

90,000 care free miles here (perhaps I should be Teo II, then again, perhaps not...)

Aligned only when buying new tires, checked in between, always on spec and our little burg is pothole city.

Also, I replace fuel filters every 30,000 miles or about eight to ten months. Have done this for many, many years. Can't believe the manual has no recommendation. Service happy dealers can't be amused, especially when this change is a wise one. I bet many people don't even know there is such a thing as fuel filter!

roderacer · June 2002

I had the fuel filter changed at the 17,000 mile mark, per the manual. Actually happened at 15K, since I was due for oil and tire rotation. So the manual may not explicitly say to replace it, but the service dept. was on it anyway and did it as part of the 17K maintenance package.

I have never been big on rotating the tires until I got the LS. But I NEVER leave the center caps on - the techs would MAUL them - I leave that to my careful hands. Every 2 oil changes is when I rotate.

drivinisfun · June 2002

Thanks!

Have a safe and great trip.

[Deleted User] · June 2002

Good thinking, RR. A clogged fuel filter can cause poor engine performance. Fuel filter, air filter, PCV valve. All VERY important.
I wouldn't leave those spark plugs in there for 100,000,000,000 miles, or whatever they rcommmend, either. Every other year, at the most.
Don't forget your oxygen sensor(s) as well. I'd replace them at 30K miles.

[Deleted User] · June 2002

Some people enjoy good natured disagreements. They find it challenging and feel it makes life a little more interesting.

Others want everybody to agree with them, and find it insulting, or even take it extrememly personally if someone were to disagree with them. How boring that must be. I also don't understand it.

The former take pride in their individuality and uniqueness. The latter take joy in being part of a group of like-minded individuals. I'm proud to be the former. I'll bet most here are too.

roderacer · June 2002

....we would all have TEO rides if we ONLY performed maintenance at the "recommended" intervals. What we don't know won't hurt us - but it will hurt the car.

Prime example is the last oil change. Simple lube job turned into cleaning injectors and throttle bodies because of carbon.. how many have proactively had that done??? Exactly.

Well, I said before that I didn't notice a difference in the perofrmance since the cleaning, but I lied. Much better throttle response and torque is like the day she rolled off the lot.

Scheduled maintenance just doesn't cut it if you want the Impala to be healthy.

Spark plugs??? O2 sensors??? There are spark plugs in them thar engines???? Jeez, gotta refer to the manual.

cheers!

[Deleted User] · June 2002

I might also recommend a bottle of GOOD injector cleaner in the fuel tank at every oil change. I'm not talking about STP or Gumout. I mean powerful stuff like Red Line SI-1, Clean Power, or BG-44K (hard to find, but reputed to be the best.)
BG also makes throttle body and injector cleaners that spray before and after the throttle body, respectively.
BG products are generally only available from shops that use the products, not retail from auto parts stores. Perhaps Night Owl knows of an online supplier?

drivinisfun · June 2002

Sarcasm does not have a place in good debate or exchange of ideas.

roderacer · June 2002

...sarcasm, when used correctly, is an invaluable tool for getting those ideas across... albeit in a sarcastic way

glad to have you on the board drivin'.. unfortunately, sarcasm is taken as malicious conduct in your eyes - I will try to use it sparingly.

DOH! Impala....

drivinisfun · June 2002

Its OK I guess as long as it is not badly intentionated.

I appreciate the welcome.

roderacer · June 2002

nah. we are all good people here. any sarcasm is meant in good fun.

keep the discussions going...

IMPALA

nosirrahg · June 2002

Should we start a pool now as to when we'll hit the 10,000 post mark? I'm saying July 13.

yurakm · June 2002

back to $2,500 for middle-size cars. Impala is mentioned as sales success:

http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/06/news/companies/gm_incentives.reut/index.htm

drivinisfun · June 2002

Impala has been a sales success, but then why GM needs $2500 to sweeten the deal.

Were Impalas flying out the dealer lots?

[Deleted User] · June 2002

It looks like maybe a higher percentage of Impala sales were for fleets (police, rental, corporate, etc) than some would like to think.

Why else offer retail consumer incentives?

drivinisfun · June 2002

Fleet sales are way down accross the board for GM, hence the lower sales reported in the last few months.

[Deleted User] · June 2002

A silver lining! I won't have to fear driving near the airport for awhile.

yurakm · June 2002

I believe Impala really is success. I see more and more of them on the streets. The last time I was at Chevrolet dealership, there were very few Impala on the lot.

However, car sales fell substantially in the spring, after GM reduced rebates from $2502 to $2000. Possible, it affected even Impala.

Additionally, GM coordinates pricing of different W-body cars.

norbnancy · June 2002

I believe spark plugs (platinum type) will perform well for100,000 miles, especially with mostly highway miles. My 1993 Fleetwood Brougham has original plugs at 102,000 miles and runs fine. I traded a 1991 Beretta V-6 in on this Impala LS. It had 149,000 miles with about 95,000 miles accrued on platinum replacement plugs. When traded it ran fine. If I detect a engine miss, roughness, or drop in fuel economy, then I consider plugs. Before then-- Why?Enjoy the ride.

night_owl1 · June 2002

Gone a week, Edmunds changes, missed a discussion on peanut butter and the EPA, and received a whole bunch of interesting news.

You have to be really careful with the sarcasm online. Internet message boards (and e-mail for that matter) lacks the non-verbal cues (body language, tone of voice, etc) and it is easy to misinterprate messages. I can see how drivinisfun thought he/she got blindsided with gary's response. Driving didn't know the history behind Teo and gary's *ahem* quick wit.

night_owl1 · June 2002

No that's a work in progress. I found a set of APC taillight/stoplight bulbs so next step is to install them and check the current draw and light output. After I figure out that, I can play with LED combinations.

2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

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