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2006 Chevrolet Impala

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Comments

  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Offended me?...about what Frank?..... :confuse: ....Soooooo, your 76 years young?...Wow!!!.....you are an old-timer..... no offense here......Mr. Frank..........talk later................bryan :D...ps ...if we run into each other hopefully it won't be in our Impalas!!
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    ....Ooops again.....!!

    Sorry Bryan...Message was supposed to go to Ron...
    I must of had you on my mind for some reason, and not thinking, just typed in your name. Old age here..???!!...Naaaaa probably because I was searching through ebay alittle for you to see if I could spot any of your original GM 18" chrome wheels... Nope..No luck yet !! Anyway , good talking to you.....
    Frank ;)
  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Soo, your not 76? :confuse: :)
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Well.... it's supposed to be 15 years over Ron ...yep, that makes me a big " 55 ". This is getting messier by the minute - I'll stop here.!!

    Later....
    Frank ;)
  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Sooo, your saying now that I'm the old man here, huh?.......nothing like offending me!!...I knew I should have bought a Toyota!!........ :cry: .....................talk later..............bryan
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Hi Bryan

    Naaaaaaaaaa...it's all relative, including age.. Right!!
    I think it's the maturity factor here , age and other, that
    sets this Message Forum apart..... A great bunch of guys...!!!

    Thanks
    Frank ;)
  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Well, today my onstar light stay green all day...still havn't had the battery changed..................probably won't now!! :D
  • robs6wagonrobs6wagon Member Posts: 68
    Hi all, well, just my luck, the car has developed vibrations similar to a tire or tires out of balance. It started Thursday morning on the highway at 60mph. I thought I lost a wheel weight on one of the wheels, so I had my garage re-balance all the wheels. They found two a little off. Anyways, after driving all weekend, with the same symptoms, I had the wheels re-balanced again today. Same result, although it now seems like the car is shaking at 45mph! Has anyone had these symptoms?? I hope its not the driveshafts already, especially on a 13000 mile car! The right front rotor assembly was replaced at 6500 miles, but I dont know yet if the wheel bearings are inside those assemblies or the rotor stands on its own. No wheel bearing noise is evident, just a noticable shaking in the seats, and the shifter! Thanks for the input! Perplexed, but otherwise ok! -Rob
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,147
    Has the alignment been reset to the middle, preferred settings? This is not "within specs." It means set to the middle.

    Have the wheels and tire been balanced by a Roadforce balancer with a knowledgeable tech?

    I'm wondring how much of this may be similar to the stiff chassis problems with H and C bodies a few years ago. On mine the Michelins were off less than 11 units on the roadforce. I could still feel the one tire when it was on the front. BUT what fixed it all was realigning the rear toein. It had changed since the factory set it.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • quietproquietpro Member Posts: 702
    Rob,
    Sounds like Imadazol has some personal knowledge. The only thing I'd add is to ask if you had the tires rotated to see if the vibration follows one of the wheels. Hope you get to the bottom of it quickly. I feel for ya.

    Ron
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Hi Rob.. Yes I have , with my previous 2002 Impala !!

    Sorry to hear about your problem.. It certainly can be aggravating, I know. When you say your garage, is it your local corner shop or is it Your GM Dealership..? I ask because I personally think it still likely a balancing problem here. You have gone from a 65 mph vibration down to a 45 mph vibration and this can be based on who and how he balanced your wheels!!! Rob, go to the very best, even for tire balancing ,because my experience is that.. " their are wheel balances and then there are wheel balances" with the proper technicians and proper equipment..Now, lets see if we can isolate this ...Usually, when you feel a vibration in your seat and shifter it's the rear tire(s) and any noticable vibration in the steering wheel is most often the front tire(s)... You can take it from here......

    Good luck .. and keep us posted
    Frank ;)
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Hi Bryan..

    Well ...I don't want to be a pessimist here .. but, just want you to be aware and prepared...
    In my experience, this seems to be the pattern when the OS battery is on its way out ..One day its green and the next day its red, and so on and so on....and until one fine day, it just stays "RED" !!
    As I think I said sometime ago, the battery is located in your trunk and is about the size of a candy bar.The tecnician can change it and reset the sysem in a matter of minutes ...It's very painless..doesn't hurt at all...!!
    Hope you prove me wrong though..!!
    Frank ;)
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Well, now I'm a little confused here.. :sick: After my post on this subject, I went out to my local " Performance Improvements" store and bought myself a K & N filter to replace the stock GM paper filter. Wow, am I ever out of touch !!! It was $ 78.00 before taxes..!! :cry: But, what is even more concerning is what I'm now hearing and reading.... Apparently, there is much talk about the oiled K & N filters now contaminating the Mass Air Flow sensors. Some articles are saying that recent observations and tests have been made that indicates that the paper filter/elements provide better filtration without messing up the MAF system.
    Anyone else hear this or have any experience here...???
    Thanks for the help..
    Frank ;)
  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Frank,Accuse me for being stupid here, but, why would you or anyone change the filter on your NEW car? What is the purpose of putting an aftermarket filter on there?...Remember, according to your owners manual , you could void your warranty with "MODIFICATIONS"........ :confuse: .......talk later.........bryan
  • tireissuetireissue Member Posts: 3
    I have a 04 impala and am thinking to trade up to a 07 3.9l impala. I also have a 05 sienna with a 3.3L vvti v6 and drive by wire.

    Two questions:

    1. The Sienna drive by wire suffers from delays and sometimes erratic responses (not always predictable), as it also learns a drivers style. This is well documented in the Toyota forums. I hate it. Does the 06/07 impala have drive by wire, and how are drivers finding its responsiveness to driver input.

    2. The Sienna vvti has some feature (vvti?) whereby at around 3500 rpms, some change (maybe the valves) occurs and the engine sound becomes noticeably louder/coarser. Does the 3.9L impala have the same annoying feature, and at what rpm does it occur. It is mostly noticeable at highway cruising speeds.

    Thanks in advance and this message is in no way intended to flame the impala. I love my current impala and really want to upgrade to the 07.
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Hi Bryan...No...You are are not being stupid here at all..!!
    It's a Good question...
    Actually, it's a personal and yet a performance thing..!!!
    The issue here is not that the stock filter is new and
    not dirty at this point. It all has to do with air flow into the engine ...i.e. less restrictive and better flowing intake(air in) makes more Horsepower and better gas mileage etc. etc. Performance mods are ok ..I've done my share lately as long as you have the permission from your dealer..

    Thanks
    Frank ;)
  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    gotcha, I thought there was something wrong with the filters in these cars.....
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Bryan,
    Nope..!!...So sorry if I gave you that impression. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the stock GM air box filter
    in our Impalas. It's just a matter of a less restrictive - better air flow filter that the K & N supposedly provides. This is somewhat important for street machines but much more important if your racing. I can remember the days when I would be looking for every tenth of a second and/or mile per hour that I could find..... Hope this helps....
    Talk to you later
    Frank ;)
  • carl10219carl10219 Member Posts: 18
    True it has been said that the K&N filter can screw up your sensor but K&N has done extensive testing on this and says it is bunk. If a sensor goes and they have proved it was the sensor itself not caused by the filter,the dealers like to blame anything that is aftermarket so they don't have to pay for it.My salesman said he runs K&N himself and would have no problem with me putting one on our new SS,he said you get a little better mpg and horsepower when the engine breathes properly.
    Carl
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,147
    The part that rings true is the 13000 miles. That's enough for the tires to have worn slightly and taken a set if the alignement is not perfect. GM would realign up to 12000 my service manager said when he redid mine.

    In that cycle of stiff H-body and G-body (Park Ave) and C-body Cadillacs in 2000 or so the tires made the difference. They replaced Cadillac tires and Park Ave IIRC with Michelins as a troubleshooting method because the Michelins tend to be best made and roll round under the crush force--that's what the Hunter 9700 RoadForce balancer checks for.

    My car came with Michelins and had one at 11 or 12 and others in single digits. The tolerance level was 17 or 18 or 19 units of out of roundness. Many other brands were off that much and more but the stiff chasses can magnify the effects. Even new tires and wheels would come out high. The dealer was replacing tires on a Pontiac under warranty and the new set was off more than the tolerance level.

    A good thing is the slight roadforce error seemed to get better as the tires ran more miles. I suspect the belts softened from flexing and rolled better.

    I haven't heard that problem discussed in Impala discussions. But a good dealership will probably have a Hunter 9700. Like someone just said, sometimes it's cheaper to have someone troubleshoot than hunt and peck.

    Hunter 9700 info and list of stores using it

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Something like this I would not take to the Union boys at your dealer.....Go to a well established Alignment shop!! Your dealer mechanics can just barely figure out how to change your oil, and even that can be a problem for them. I personally have been known to go to independant mechanics and pay for something rather than have the idiots at my local dealership screw it up even more! Want stories?...Do you have 3-4 days?
  • nosirrahgnosirrahg Member Posts: 872
    I've got a 2000 Impala without OnStar, but I was wondering...my battery went our on me Sunday night, and I called AAA to give me a jump. I used my cell phone, but as I was sitting in the dark waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I thought how nice it would have been to have OnStar at that point. But if the battery was dead, does OnStar work? And if it does, but runs off this other battery in the trunk, would driving around with the "red" OS light on mean if your primary car battery dies that your OS is dead too? Just thinking the only times I could have used OnStar has been when my battery died and left me stranded, so if OS doesn't work when the battery is dead, it wouldn't have done me any good.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,147
    If the alignment shop has a Hunter 9700 Road Force balancer for the wheel part. It happens I have a great dealership. The service manager started there long ago as an alignment guy. He's knowledgeable and customer oriented. When I go in, I don't mind paying a little more than the shop down the road. They've given other service that makes up for it.

    But some dealerships don't work that well, I understand.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • robs6wagonrobs6wagon Member Posts: 68
    Hi everyone, thanks to all of you who gave your input! As always, I appreciate your time and wisdom. To update, today I took the car to my local family owned garage who have been super to me over these years. They put the car on their alignment machine, and the car was spot on perfect! They checked the stabilizer bar, the struts/springs, and found that they couldnt budge any of them. The only thing they found that was just a little off was the driver's side muffler's rubber hanger was a little stretched out (I noticed the tail pipe hangs down about a 1/2in lower than the passenger side), but they and I doubt that would cause the vibrations. Yes, the vibrations are only in the seats, and the shifter (to a lesser extent). The steering wheel is fine. SO, I will indeed go to a local Hunter wheel balancing shop and perhaps get the rear tires done again. After visiting that website that imidazol put up in his reply, I have confidence that this will solve the problem! Thanks again everyone! -Rob
  • robs6wagonrobs6wagon Member Posts: 68
    Hi tireissue, I just recently purchased a 06 SS with the V8, and the car instantly responds to the gas pedal being pushed. I also got the opportunity to drive a 3.9 LT and it too had instant responsiveness. My wife's 04 Mazda 6 wagon has a bit of a delay in responding, so I know what you mean! My advice is to take one out for a spin. I think you will enjoy the ride! -Rob
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Hi nosirrahg
    Well, If I understand it correctly, that is the main purpose for the On Star battery in the trunk...It's a safety feature for if your regular battery goes down. But don't leave it like that for days, as I have found out ..it will totally drain and knock out the On Star battery altogether and then it has to be replaced ....The Red light "on" usually means trouble with On Star battery or the system at our end ,but be at peace, the On Star system at their end is still operational.

    Does this make sense ????...Hope it helps !!!!
    Frank ;)
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,147
    I left out the fact that my dealer used the vibration analyzer on a smooth freshly repaved asphalt road. They put the vibration analyzer on the seat track on the floor pan. They put it on the dash. They put it on the steering column to find where the vibration feelings were being transmitted which is a clue to their source and what frequency they are.

    Then they also checked balance on the wheels using the Hunter. And they set the sensitivity to maximum on the Hunter so they could get the best accuracy on the balance. Let us know what you find out.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Well Guys...

    It is absolutely wicked weather out there today, and I have decided to keep my baby in the garage all day. :cry:
    'Ya, We just got hit here with our first large snow fall of the year....wicked stuff !!! Sorry,..Even though I was born and raised here in Toronto...I still hate the stuff..!! :mad: No, I'm not a skier..
    So far, we've received about 15 cm (6 inches)of the white stuff and they say it should slow down around lunch time.On a more positive note, it should be gone in a day or two.
    Wow, I really feel sorry for you guys out farther west i.e. in the Hamilton, Waterloo, Buffalo, & Niagara Region ...
    Up to 50 cm ( 20 inches) for you today !!! This is a bit much...!!!!!! So, all you Impala brothers down in the warmer US states....Be blessed...!!!

    Later.....
    Frank ;)
  • jeberlejeberle Member Posts: 15
    Well, all I can say is so far, the fobs and remote start are working perfectly. Now that it's decided to be around 0 degrees wind chill, it sure is nice starting my cay from my office. The 10 minute time out works just right as this is the time it takes for me to walk from my office to the car.

    The only remaining problem is trying to get my windshield washer fluid to thaw so I can replace it with some lower freeze point stuff assuming I can find some.
  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Yeah, Frank, Mine is in the garage today also..too much ice and snow here today in New Jersey. Hey, Frank, are you a Blue Jays fan?...............bryan
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Hi there Bryan,

    Good morning to you in NJ....!! :)
    'Ya, you might consider me a Toronto
    Blue Jays fan , but certainly not a fanatical one.
    I love cars too, too much.. My wife says that I need to get a life... Naaaaaa, not at this point..too much fun !!

    Good chatting Bryan, Hope you get a quick thaw as well.
    Later......
    Frank ;)
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    I got my exercise this morning moving 16 tons of the white stuff. :sick:

    I've been enjoying all of your great posts and the camaraderie here. One thing I'll hope you will consider...we like to keep our make/model discussions strictly about the vehicle as it makes it easier for new people to jump in with questions they may have about the car. So for the off topic stuff, it would be appreciated if you posted that in the Chevrolet Impala: Meet the Owners topic.

    Thanks!
  • colchester47colchester47 Member Posts: 261
    Take care everyone............
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Well folks...Sorry for causing a problem here..!!
    In my humble opinion, it's a little of the personal and off topic stuff mixed in with the great topical messages here that made this particular '06 + Impala message forum a more personable, friendlier, safer and helpfull place to be and go ...

    Take care everyone.... ;)
  • quietproquietpro Member Posts: 702
    No problems. We can still share our experiences but they just want them to center around the car. For the other stuff, we need to go to the other forum.
  • ltz06ltz06 Member Posts: 3
    Just wanted to introduce myself. Bought an '06 LTZ this August. Grey metallic with black cloth interior. Love the car so far. Had the power steering hose recall done. Still waiting for some better weather to get the key fob business sorted. Been lurking here awhile & like the friendly tone.

    Regards, Al.
  • quietproquietpro Member Posts: 702
    Nice to meet you Al. Ron here from SC, owner of a black on black SS. I'm waiting for some more results of others experiences with the remote issue before I take mine in. I've already wasted one trip and want to be sure it's taken care of the next time around.
  • ltz06ltz06 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks Ron. I thought long & hard about the SS model. We occasionally need the ability to carry a 6th passenger & for some reason you can't buy an SS without the center console. Also the cylinder de-activation scheme on the V8 scares me a bit (I'm old enough to remember the Cadillac 4-6-8 fiasco)
  • mymittiesmymitties Member Posts: 242
    Hi there everyone...
    Well, I was supposed to take my gorgeous Black on Black
    into the Dealership yesterday to finally get my Coax Antenna replaced. Ya-know that Fob thing that most of us are STILL having big problems with..!! :cry: So,I had to re-schedule my appointment to this Tuesday because of the recent snow storm we had here (I'll be carefull not to go there again...!!). :blush: Now that I have taked about my car a little, can I be a little personal ?! OK, OK, so I'm probably being a bit sarcastic now ... Well anyway, I'm a little troubled at this point because it appears that we have lost our friend Bryan ... After post # 2509,( our little slap on the wrist), he wrote # 2510... " So Long..." "Take care everybody.." This just dosn't feel right to me.. Has anyone else picked-up on this ?? :confuse: I sure hope i'm wrong .. He's a valuable member of the family here!!
    Frank
  • kw5kwkw5kw Member Posts: 19
    The 5.3L in the SS isn't the only engine that has cylinder de-activation. In 2007 the 3.9L V-6 deactivates 3 of it's 6 cylinders at times to give better fuel economy.

    I have one of the first (purchased August 15, 2006) of the 2007 LTZ's with the 3.9L V-6, and I'm here to say that the engine works flawlessly.

    I'll also say that I also own a 2007 Avalanche that has the 5.3L V-8, Flex-fuel, that also has the cylinder de-activation (purchased June 28, 2006) and it has 10,000 miles on it now including 800 some miles pulling a 30 foot travel trailer and it also has worked flawlessly.

    It's NOT the same system that Caddy had back in the 80's!

    Russ
  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    Meet me over here and we'll talk.

    Thanks!
  • ltz06ltz06 Member Posts: 3
    I know the concept has advanced since the dark days of the old Caddys & it does save some fuel. I just don't like the added complexity & the fact that you have to pull the intake manifold to get at the control components. (I keep my cars a long time & do pretty much all my own repairs)

    Also, since it's always the same cylinders which de-activate, I wonder about uneven cylinder wear. Was one of the deciding factors when we opted for an '06 LTZ instead of an '07.

    Al.
  • quietproquietpro Member Posts: 702
    We had a long discussion about the DOD system here about a year ago. None of us are GM engineers but we did educate ourselves about the basic theory behind the system. Unless burning fuel inside the cylinder causes it to wear more or less, there's no difference in the cylinder wear since all eight move together. The deactivation is in the affected push rods that telescope between the "on/off" positions. I have 16,000 on my SS and not a single issue with my engine...in fact, I absolutely love it.

    I like to think that the 4-6-8 fiasco was a hard lesson that would cause GM to make sure they got it right this time around. Time will tell....

    As for the 3.9L with DOD, there was one post on one of these forums where the owner was having a electrical issue when driving at night with DOD engaged. His lights flicker while in 3 cyl mode. It's shown up on a few and GM is working the issue. I'd rate that one an annoyance rather than a major problem...at least at this point. :) I like to remain optimistic.
  • quietproquietpro Member Posts: 702
    I posted a while back in an answer to a question about clicking sounds while shifting and opening the doors about hearing a sound that was something like maybe a bug crawling in the dash. This sound occurs after approx 30 secs after shutting my door (I'll time it later). What I discovered today while taking a short break from work in the peace and quiet of my Impala is that it ISN'T a bug but the gauges. After about 30 sec, the tach and speedometer jump a couple times and then return to normal.

    It's kind of strange. Is anyone out there willing to try this in their '06+ Impala to see if it's something peculiar to mine or if they all do it?

    Thanks,
    Ron :)
  • jntjnt Member Posts: 316
    Your car rear glass antenna may have a crack in it. Or it could be a connection problem between the antenna with radio. There are 3 possible locations: between antenna pattern (similar to rear defog wires) and the antenna amp module; between the antenna module and coax cable; between coax cable and the radio. Also sometime the antenna amp module is bad.

    car radio should be able to receive AM stations 200 miles away.

    jt
  • jeberlejeberle Member Posts: 15
    Thanks for the input. What it turned out to be was a grounding wire problem that the dealer found out about through a TSB. It works fine now.
    This gets me to another question. Is there some way for us "commoners" to get access to these TSB on our cars? Sometimes it seems that thaere are "things" that GM has found that nned to be fixed but unless we know to ask, they don't get fixed. It would be nice to check out the buukletins for a particular car once a month so we can see what need to be done to correct a problem
  • chevy038chevy038 Member Posts: 4
    Yeah, I'm the guy with the annoying 3.9L v6 with DoD/AFM, whatever. I do like the technology, I'm a mechanical engineer and I have confidence in its reliability. Yes, the irratic electrical issues are VERY annoying, they are caused (I THINK) because of decreased belt tension due to the firing order under 3 cyl mode. GM installed an alternator decoupling device..and I think thats the culprit. Also, it does get a little rough when i'm in 3 cyl and the engine load increases...such as when I'm chugging in overdrive at low speeds, yes, when I press the gas it instantly goes back into 6 cyl and smooths out, but it can get a little harsh leading up to that
  • chevy038chevy038 Member Posts: 4
    ATTENTION ALL: my dealer called me today, and they have the reciever modules back in stock. I will be going in next Thursday. Everyone call your dealers..and let us know if this finally works!
  • cnwcnw Member Posts: 105
    QuietPro--I'll check mine tomorrow and let you know. As you recall, in post #2454 I posed a question regarding clicking and dash noises as well. I'm curious about all the strange sounds as it talks to me. I seldom stay in the car after the ignition is off and if I do it's to listen to something on the radio, but I'll make an effort to see if I can corroborate what you're hearing. Clark
  • jntjnt Member Posts: 316
    I found this Edmunds's article about TSB (see link below). Unfortunately, it will cost you $24/yr from alldata.com

    http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/maintenance/articles/44745/article.html

    jt
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