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As for added weight adding safety, you have to keep in mind that extra weight adds inertia that has to be stopped in one way or another. If it's being stopped by crush panels in a vehicle smashing against an object, that's less of a cushion for the passengers. More weight is also harder to maneuver so the goal should be a happy medium. That's where I believe the medium-large sedan comes in. The tiny vehicles can only offer limited protection and the ginormous vehicles are so big they become the hazard. :shades:
I've owned nothing but American in the past, but have been burned by the huge repair bills as the cars got older. I'm hesitating so any pro (or cons) for either vehicle would be appreciated.
The fob range problem I mention is all fixed.
The one thing I hated the most about the car was the original rubber. I've fixed this by getting Michelin X-Ice and rims for winter and Goodrich G-Force Sport for summer. The G-Force Sports give INCREDIBLE cornering ability!
Personally, I wouldn't ever buy a 4-cylinder engine. I like my power too much, and with 242 in my Impala I'm more than happy!
Good luck!
Brad
Thanks
Carl
I purchased my '06 Impala 2LT 11,000 miles and 9 months ago. My experience has been fair. Overall, however, I am not satisfied with the car and have been actively shopping for a replacement for the past couple of months.
Negatives:
-Numerous dash rattles (that is after inserting felt shims in the dash to quiet down some really obnoxious noises)
-Intermittent rattle in the rear interior somewhere
-Driver's seat creaks
-Driver's door clunks over bumps (unless I soak the weather stripping around the door frame with Armor All...then the clunk goes away for a couple of weeks until the Armor All wears off)
-Suspension has become increasingly noisy as it "breaks in"
-Overall fit and finish of some interior trim is poor
Positives
-Decent gas mileage
-Relatively comfortable ride
-Dealer service has been good
-Remote Start is handy in the winter
-Bose stereo sounds good (although it doesn't drown out some of the interior rattles)
-OnStar is convenient
When I bought the Impala, I traded in a 2003 Dodge Durango that was killing me at the gas pump. While the Durango was reaching the point where it was starting to "nickel and dime" me to death with nuisance repairs (it had 42,000 miles on it when I traded it), it had better build quality than my Impala.
If I could go back in time to July 2006, I would have walked away from the Impala and either kept my Durango or gone for either a V6 Accord, V6 Hyundai Sonata, V6 Mitsubishi Galant, or Toyota Camry SE.
Just like you, I have always purchased American vehicles. It could be my particular Impala wasn't built as well as it should have been. If it didn't have all of the rattles and creaks, I would be a much happier owner and probably wouldn't be looking to trade at this point.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to buy.
I have 16K on it now and the brakes are starting to make grinding noise. Steering is making noises now too.
Just another day in my life as a Impala owner. . .
I have had my SS for about a year now and have 65,000km on it. I have had no real issues with it. No hiss from the bose system. Remote start does not have the best range but it works from inside my house and my office so I have no complaint. I live in Ontario so we just got finished with winter and it held up pretty good in the snow and ice.
Gas mileage is nothing to be proud of but if I was worried about that I would not have bought it in the first place.
Overall I don't have any complaints about this car. It still makes me smile when I here the rumble when I let her go.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Couldnt replicate:
Intermitt. problems with power steering being very heavy at times when parking
A random chime will go off when the radio is on sometimes, can be heard if audio is muted and will only go away if turn signal is activated or if the radio is turned off for 10+ mins.
Car rolls back with parking brake on but will not roll foward: they consider this normal
&
Transmission has a slightly rough 1-2 & 2-3rd upshift and some time rough 3-2 downshift and can feel a slight hesitation when accelerating hard sometimes: was told this is considered normal for impalas
Rough Idle: Will idle up and down when stopped in drive or neutral. and when easing off of brake in drive or reverse, the car will jerk back and fourth.: was told that if the car is on incline this is also considered normal
Has anyone else been through this with other chevy dealers or is the transmissions with the 3.9L rough and clunkly and you just have to live with it. If driving aggresive it shifts smooth, but under normal driving 1-2 shift has a slight clunky feel to it. Ive never heard of a car shaking when on a slight incline to be consider normal, but this could just be GM still not able to build quality cars. Otherwise everything else on the car works great.
Had to meet with the GM regional manager about the paint and told him about all the other stuff as well. My car has been in the shop for 10 days now with them trying to work on all these problems. We'll see if they can recreate them now.
So I would be interested in hearing from owners who have had the car a year or two - what your experiences have been, would you buy the same car given the chance, etc, etc. Also, is there a big difference in engines? I believe the one I rented had just the base engine in but it had plenty of power and was very smooth.
Thank you very much!
Karen
What kind of rental did they put you in during all this time? Hopefully they didn't stick you in some inferior model while you wait for your car. I was put in a Pontiac G6 that was filthy but luckily it was only for a day.
As for your ongoing issues, I think we discussed your transmission issues previously and while they aren't normal, I would say they are common. Luckily for me, I haven't had the problem with my car so far but mine is a different trim level. As for your steering stiffness, would you describe it as maybe stiff at first, maybe immediately after shifting from forward to reverse or vice versa, and then getting better? If so, I'm going to guess it's a combination of the engine idle evening out between the load of being in gear, through neutral, back into gear and then the load of you turning the wheel. You aren't doing anything wrong, it's just taking the mechanicals a while to catch up. It may be "normal" but not ideal if this is the case.
As for the parking brake, if a car rolls back continually with the parking brake set, the brake is in need of adjustment. That is NOT normal. I'm pretty sure brakes are less effective in reverse but they should hold the car even on a hill.
Since you're still having your transmission issues, depending on how your dispute turns out, if you keep your car I would still consider the Dr. Tranny I suggested earlier. I think you will see improvement. The occasional hard shifts are just a nature of this particular beast, though. It's an older, "clumsy" transmission compared to some of the newer ones out in some of the other cars. But, it's probably more durable and less expensive as well.
OK...I'm done now. I do hope all turns out well for you. Keep us posted.
I kept track of my gas mileage on my rental, and on one tank driving across Illinois at the posted speed limit (65 MPH) and with the AC running I actually got 36 MPG (and that's based on refilling in Indiana and figuring manually, not from the gas mileage computer on the car, so it's a legit figure).
I'm hoping to keep my 2000 for another year or two, as I'd like to see the new RWD Impala that's (maybe) coming before I lock in on another car. I tend to keep my cars for a long time so I don't worry so much about resale value as I do comfort, safety, fuel economy, etc. If the RWD Impala isn't to my liking (looks, cost, fuel economy) I figure I can either get a good deal on an outgoing FWD Impala, or a redesigned Malibu (which should be out this fall). Actually if you can wait for the Malibu to come out you can probably get a better deal on an Impala, since they'll be very similar in size, price, etc. Supposedly they're growing the Malibu to become primary FWD sedan option, with the Impala going RWD (the 2010 model) - so for a year or two the Impala sedan will still be around, but somewhat of a lame duck.
There are rumors of the RWD car being put on hold due to new government fuel economy standards, so there's no guarantee things will play out this way. But the new Malibu is definitely coming out soon, so you might want to at least want to wait until it arrives before you make a decision - it might actually be more appealing to you since it will be a little smaller than the current Impala.
The car is quiet, powerful, smooth riding, has a beautifully tasteful minimalist interior with an acoustically excellent BOSE sound system with XM radio and superior ergonomics and functionality and high quality Nuance heated leather seating. The perfectly tuned exhaust note is exhilarating. The car handles well on all road surfaces and the acceleration never ceases to put a smile on my face. The trunk size is cavernous and the mileage utilizing the Displacement on Demand engine technology makes for decent if not stupendous numbers on the highway. I get 28-29 mpg at a steady 70 mph. This is truly excellent considering the power of the engine.
I have had a lot of cars in my day including multiple Asian and German marques and the Impala SS easily competes with them in every way. The insurance costs are lower, too, not to mention the fact there is a Chevy dealer on virtually every corner so that one is not likely to be located at a distance from dealer service if such is ever needed on an urgent basis when travelling.
As far as reliability is concerned, the car suffers from no transmission hesitation such as is found in the grossly overrated Toyota Camry and Lexus ES nor is it plagued by a cacophony of rattles with poor leather seating and harmonic vibration which are the bane of the Acura TL which I also considered buying but was scared off by its many foibles, as mentioned. In fact, the transmission in the Impala SS is as smooth as polished glass with all but imperceptible shifts.
There was a time not so long ago when the domestic makes such as Chevrolet displayed a wide gap in craftsmanship and quality between them and the foreign makes but those days are over. I consider the Impala SS one of the very best buys in a sports sedan with a very high owner satisfaction quotient. It has excellent fit and finish and build quality. IMO you could not go wrong with such a purchase.
Oh no....not the dreaded ISS lubrication rearing its ugly head again. Almost anyone out there who had the previous iteration of the Impala (including me with an '01 LS) got to hate those words.
The symptoms were a clunk feeling in the steering, particularly when going around a corner (right corners for mine). The "fix" was to squirt more grease into the ISS - it worked for about 20,000 km then it needed it again...and again...and again. GM paid for it the first few times, then said that it wasn't a safety issue so they weren't going to cover it anymore.
I've wondered a couple of times if my '06LTZ was starting to exhibit the same symptoms at 42,000km, but since I put Goodrich GForce Sport's on I've been blaming the stiffer sidewall. Now I'm going to start paying closer attention.
Anyone else out there with the ISS lubrication issue?
My car also has developed what feels like warped front rotors. Noticeable vibration in the steering wheel when slowing down from highway speeds. Not so much around town. I have heard that is a problem as well on the Impalas as mentioned by posters at naioa. At least they went 12,000 miles. The front rotors on my '99 Camaro were shot at 8,000 miles.
As for brake rotors, they're hit and miss. I think it's a combination of defective parts and driving styles. My particular style is kind to brake pads but seems to cause rotors to warp (or they're just defective). But, too bad you didn't catch yours BEFORE 12,000 miles because they would've covered it under your warranty. Chevy resurfaced all four of my rotors (may haunt me later) under warranty but my brakes have been super smooth since. I have over 19K miles on my Impala SS now.
Word to the "wise" out there, even if you notice a problem that is hard to detect and you're within that first 12,000 miles, it's good to take it in and report it to establish a history. That way, if/when it gets worse later, you can come back and prove to them that the problem was there and they just couldn't "feel" it like you could under the original warranty.
The "funny" thing about the 3/36, now 5/100 warranty with GM, was when I had brake problems with my '02 Monte Carlo SS (simple mild rotor warping), I thought it would be covered under warranty and found out about the wear item clause. But, they are so concerned about not establishing a precedent but still wanting to satisfy the customer, that they gave me service credit for more than the amount than it would cost to repair the brakes. They just couldn't agree to fix the brakes under warranty. So, although I still don't like the way "bumper to bumper" misleads you, I was more than satisfied with the way GM took care of my situation. GM still has work to do but they have come a long way and are headed in the right direction. I'm happy to be an owner and am confident that any problems will get worked out with a little patience.
I will say this though; one of the standard responses you'll hear is that the rotors can warp from lug nuts being overtightened. As I recall mine warped before I'd even rotated the tires once, so if that was the case they were overtorqued at the factory. I bought a torque wrench and have always rotated my tires myself, and tightened the nuts to the specs in the manual, and had no further problems.
Yes we talked about the tranny, but I keep listing it so they have the complaint. It is starting to shift hard more often, but we'll see. They don't seem to be able to recreate any of it . . . tranny, engine ticks, hard steering, etc. So nothing gets done. Also, nothing was done about the weatherstripping that is cracking.
As far as the paint, they did a horrible job. I was told they were painting the hood, but actually it was only a portion of it where it was bubbling from underneath. They "touched up" the other chips but it's pitiful. I could have cried. There is "trash" caught in the paint causing little bumps and pits. Clearcoat overspray was on the fender, door and other parts of the hood giving it a very dull look. They apparently sanded some of the chips on the back quarter panel and trunk lid, but didn't paint it. I have new scratches where there were none before, I think where they tried to detail it. Don't know what they used to rub it down, but it scratched. My son is my salesman and I'd been leaving him out of it, but he came through and when he saw what it looked like, he got mad and called the body shop manager. He told them to do what it took to make it right. They are taking it back today, but I think the manager is talking about just the hood again. I told them I wasn't sure I wanted them to touch it again. It is ridiculous. I'm seeing a BBB report coming.
Sorry for the book. Wanda
I am a relatively easy going driver. My 30 mile (in each direction) commute, however, requires me to traverse some rather hilly terrain and at times has some pretty extensive stop-and-go traffic. I attribute the warpage to that.
When I had the warped rotors on my '99 Camaro taken care of at 8,000 miles, Chevy put new pads and rotors on at no charge
No apologies needed, I appreciated the thorough response and I'm sure others will as well. It's a terrible shame that "they" would try to give you back your car after all that time in such terrible shape. The bad part is that with all the time and expense (rental car, detailing, labor, etc), they probably could've paid for a high quality paint job that would've taken less time. Add to that the inconvenience of putting you into a beaten up rental (which you are being overly patient in keeping and not demanding a cleaner replacement) and the sales and service managers really need to rethink their policies here. Once they agreed to take action on this, they should have gone all the way. This half-@ssed attempt at a resolution has done nothing but cause everyone more stress and THEM more money. I just don't get people sometimes.
Good luck in your next go-round. I really would stick to your guns. You are well within your rights to have the car you paid for. :mad:
Ron
TSB
06-07-30-018 AUG 06 A/T - 4T65-E Launch Shudder/Low Power After 1-2 Shift
The power steering problem can be replicated if you try to parrallel park or have to adjust into a tight space.
The car still vibrates back and forth when i start it and ease of the gas and this is on level gorund.
Im pretty sure whats going to happen is when the car gets out of 36k warranty all this stuff will fail. The trans will make it to 100k, but will probably shift rougher and rough. Probably will see many more posts on transmission issues from other owners as time goes on.
Ill just trade for a 08 Malibu 3.6L V6 or 08 Pontaic G8 with 3.6L V6 next year.
It's getting a little much.
For my 01 Impala the transmission didn't make it past 40K miles.
It had issues before the warranty ran out but my dealer told me unless they can duplicate the problem they will charge me the minimum $105 for looking at it.
I should have paid them the $105 and would have had a claim when the warranty ended. You need to get problems documented before the warranty expires.
I won't buy another GM car because they have had many decades to perfect their 4 speed transmission but still problems prevail. When will they learn??
That stupid transmission clunk. My '01 did the same thing to me. I guess I just unconsciously adjusted my driving to not create those conditions, because it seemed to just go away. Same with my '06 - it did it a couple of times, then it was gone. Except when I forget and punch the gas after the conditions dispencer2 described. Then it feels like the tranny is going to fall out on the road.
But of course it can't be duplicated by the techs....
Sigh.
Thank you....