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So, I visited one of the attorney's that I had talked with earlier and after going over my information and the repair tickets felt that I had a case under our state Lemon Law as well as the Magnuson-Moss Act, the Universal Commercial Code and the Federal Trade Act (I think it was). She emphatically said that the decision to include a usage fee was against our state lemon law. I hope all turns out okay, but she had me reject the offer which ran out last week. Which I probably would have had to do anyway because I don't have $4000+ to hand them. She is negotiating with her contacts at GM. I don't know how long it will be before I know something for sure, and we may have to file a suit. She feels pretty confident and I hope she is right.
Meanwhile . . . for about a week or two there was a new click type sound from the steering column area. It would sound several times after I'd start the car lasting on and off for 10 minutes or so. I have no idea what it was, but I don't hear it as often now as I did. The transmission is also acting strange when I take off sometimes being jerky and hesitant.
Is the "A/C making a moaning/whirring sound" the same as the whining noise you mention a few months ago? If so, what did they do to fix it. I may have the whining noise too. Thanks.
No hiss. Sounds great. No complaints.
10,000 miles: brake system defect, no charge
45,000 miles: engine sensor, tire pressure sensor
55,000 miles: transmission started slipping - dealer couldn't figure it out
66,000 miles: transmission teardown - bad valve body - caused clutches to wear
60,000 miles: traction control randomly fails causing car to go into "limp mode"
69,000 miles: bad wheel bearing and tie rod end
70,000 miles: started to lose coolant, don't know issue yet (praying it's not the engine)
Other stuff: Tire monitor system stops reading pressure on long road trips, traction control light randomly comes on, paint defect on front bumper (paint is bubbling off), power steering has always made squeeking noise during right turns.
Best part about all of this is that I still have 2 more years until this piece of garbage is paid off. I can't support a company that produces this and has a customer service hotline that describes the above as "normal wear and tear"
Anybody else have battery issues? I am wondering if the battery in the SS's ...because of the V8's,.... aren't getting "cooked" due to excessive heat where they are mounted. Most cars (if the battery is mounted in the engine compartment) have a plastic box
that goes over them to insulate them from the heat of the engine, and also it tends to keep the battery warm during the winter. My battery does not have this. I would also like to hear from other 06 and later Impala owners. Anybody else having battery issues? if so are you driving an SS?
If any of you are having trouble getting this sound to re-occur, the best way to make it appear for me is to get the car up to highway speed for a few miles or so and then get into stop and go traffic. It seems to be once the compressor is up to full charge/temperature that the problem shows itself. I noticed that after telling this to the service rep and them not being able to duplicate it, after getting my car back, there was less than one additional mile on the odometer. Way to go, jackasses! :sick:
As for going to the dealership and comparing against other cars...no, I haven't. To be honest, it has been an issue I felt was never going to be resolved and I still feel that way for the most part. Without some real firm data to back up my case, I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. Also, the dealerships here locally always seem to have few cars on the lot whenever I around and none had the Bose sound system. I still have time left on the warranty and hopefully I'll get some more feedback in this thread to make a better case.
Thanks again!
I have an 2006 3LT, purchased in June. It has 32,000 miles. With the cooler weather, when driving off in the morning with defroster/heater on, I hear a clicking or crackling noise coming from the steering column area or dash board. It only lasts about 5 -10 minutes. The best way to descriBe it, is that it sounds like when you 'smack' your tonque on the roof of your mouth.
The sound doesn't bother me, just the thought that it might be related to a serious problem or will continue to get worse. Leaving work today, I didn't put the heat/blower on and I barely heard it. After driving 30 minutes, I started up the heater and blower and heard it. I have an apt with the dealer, but do not want to waste time if they don't have an answer. The service rep said that he didn't recall hearing of this issue. This is the only 'problem' that I have had with this Impala. ANY IDEAS?
That is the TSB for the dash clicking/ticking. If you want to read ryster's post about his car, just click on the link to message that I'm replying to here.
I don't believe TSBs have to do with warranty or mileage so you should be able to have the service performed if you like. They do have to remove the dash to do it...which makes some people a little leary...but I've decided to have mine done if I can get a got service department to take care of it. :P
When we first tried it out I had to turn the volume up really high in the car, but then we realized that was because the volume on the iPod was low...so you might have to find the right balance between MP3 player volume and car stereo volume so that things aren't distorted.
I can't guarantee that all MP3 players use the same mini-to-mini plug setup, but I think we paid $5 with tax for the cable we bought last night, so if you can go that route it isn't very expensive at all.
jt
Speaking of having your car serviced at a different dealer than where it was purchased, I plan to have my car serviced at the purchasing dealer (which is over 500 miles from where I live) while I visit family for Christmas. As you can see in my earlier post, I'm totally frustrated with the level of service I receive locally. I have yet to try a dealership (locally) that isn't owned by the same company but figure I might as well get good service from a known good dealership while I'm in the area. I plan to schedule ahead of time and hopefully pre-arrange alternate transportation. My oldest sister just purchased a used 07 Impala LTZ from the same dealership making four total in the family and three purchased from that dealership. I look forward to quality service and praising them in the customer questionaire that follows the visit. Hopefully things will work out the way I plan. Cross your fingers for me...
By the way, for what it's worth, I recently had my hearing tested extensively due to a tinnitus issue. Although I suspected I may have suffered some hearing loss during my time on the flight line, it turns out my hearing is nearly perfect and way above average. So, it's not me but I may actually be hearing things that some people just can't. We'll soon see...
Zip Linq 3.5mm retractable audio cable
Just in case the link doesn't work, here's the text of it:
http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=8348
That might be a nice complement for the MP3 player.
I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I'm sure they will take good care of you. It's a funny thing. I thought I would probably never use the local dealerships service department. ( I hate thier sales department!) But they took very good care of my wife. I wish the sales department could learn customer skills from the service department! If they could I would probably buy my next car from them. A lot of my friends think it's dumb I buy my cars from smaller dealerships. But many times I am dealing with the owner, who doesn't have to go back and forth between me and a Sales MGR. I also feel I get more money for my trades at a smaller dealership, and they seem to really care in their service departments. All in all I am glad our service visit turn out good this time.
Please drive carefully on your trip, and us know how your service visit went.
I'm kind of disappointed in Chevy still. I've always been a chevy man, and simply got tired of fixing them. I switched over to Honda/Toyota and have never had any problems with those vehicles; Odyssey with 70K and Corolla with 136K....both vehicles never needed anything more than scheduled fluid changes/tires. I lease a brand new Impala, willing to give chevy another chance, and the thing is terrible. Clicks/pops/creaks/cracks/knocks/hose recall. I hear 2009 will be a "much improved" year, so maybe I'll give Chevy another chance then. I hate buying japanese, but I just can't take time off work to have repeated problems fixed.
Are you driving the 3.5L engine? There have been multiple references to ticking from that engine. By the sound of it, it may be normal although agreeably, not desirable.
I have noticed considerable improvement in GM's products over recent years. I believe things will only get better for the foreseeable future. I love the way GM equips their cars and so far, have not had any major problems. Of course, some folks do have issues with theirs but I don't believe it's ony American makes that have issues although they may be SLIGHTLY more prevalent. However, there seem to be problems with certain Japanese makes as well. They just don't get as much exposure as American brands, IMO.
Good luck!
For what it's worth, my sister wasn't able to hear the hiss. This leads me to believe it's an issue for those of us with exceptional hearing. I'm not bragging, just clarifying and as stated in my earlier post, I just had my hearing tested extensively and the results showed I have above average hearing and can hear things at extremely high frequencies...which is where that hiss is.
More to follow...
With regards to the "hiss", I have heard it in mine but only when starting the car or turning it off. I cannot hear the hiss during driving or while listening to music (radio, cd, or mp3/aux.)
This may be a shot in the dark, but what volume do you have your "tones" set at in the Driver Information Center (DIC)? The Impala uses the car's audio system to transmit tones (turn signal tone, etc.) Mine is set to low and the hiss is hardly audible (and only during initial start-up or when turning the car off). Perhaps if the tone volume is set to high, the hiss is more audible as a result? Just an idea.
If it is the blower fan, it would change frequency/rhythm when you set the fan at different speeds. Give that a try and see if the sound changes. If so, you've isolated the cause. If not, it's something other than the fan motor.
You have the 3.5L, correct? If so, you're definitely not alone in hearing a tick in that engine. From what we've seen so far in this forum, it seems to be an annoyance more than a problem. However, I'm not discounting it. I know I would be VERY annoyed with such a sound.
FWIW, I had a ticking sound in my '94 Mercury Cougar. Totally different car/manufacturer but I'm sharing because in that vehicle, it was actually the engine computer that was mounted behind the passenger side kick panel that was ticking. It turned out there was a circuit in it that was noisy but it was definitely the culprit. It wasn't a maintenance issue, just a quirk. I don't know if the Impala has a similar setup or not but this was an issue that surfaced after I replaced that computer. The original was silent...so this could possibly explain why some people are hearing it and others are not.
Have you come to a conclusion in your dispute with GM, BTW?
Thanks,
Ron
I have my tones set to low. I have experimented with that setting, though. There is no difference in the level of the hiss with any change of any setting. I have posted in detail about this in the past but I'll give a quick summary:
If you want to test for the hiss, you can isolate in several ways. With the ignition and ventilation system off (to limit background noise), turn the ignition switch to on (the check engine light and other dash lights will be on) and engage the turn signal. You don't have to lock it in position, just move the lever enough to get your three flashes. You'll hear the tick/tock sound and after it completes, you'll hear the background hiss for an additional 1-2 seconds. You can also hear it if you turn your stereo to the lowest volume level and then one more detent to where it is muted (not the actual mute button). Turn the knob repeatedly from the lowest setting to silent, back and forth, and you'll hear the hiss alongside the nearly silent radio/CD/etc. With the ignition off but the keys in the ignition, open your door so that the key reminder chime sounds. Shut the door so that the chime stops and for that exact same 1-2 seconds, you'll hear the hiss. You can also do this with the hazard flashers...exact same 1-2 second hiss. I think that's every occurence but I could be wrong. The issue is DEFINITELY related to the Bose amp. It's not ALL Bose amps as my buddy's Nissan has absolutely no hiss and I've heard the same about other GM models. This appears to be defect in the Bose amp designed for the Impala. There also is no hiss in the lower level stereos.
I will mention one thing, though. Hearing it in my sister's car is a bit of a relief. Although the hiss is still there, at least now I know I'm not alone. So many others have stated they can't hear it but I wasn't sure if it was a limitation in their personal hearing or that there was actually a better amp out there. Having heard it in the '07 LTZ assures me it is a defect and that it wasn't corrected by the replacement amp or any concurrent releases. It's not the best answer but it helps. :sick:
My parents had a 2003 Impala LS with the premium stereo (no Bose back then) and they also would notice a hiss through the speakers at certain times. They always attributed it to the OnStar system since it would occur with the stereo turned off. It was especially noticeable with the car turned totally off after just getting in (it seemed to be initiated by opening a door). If you were to get into the car, shut the door, and just sit there for a minute or so the hiss would stop. The only things that would use the speakers with the stereo and ignition turned off would be the tones and the OnStar system. The hiss in their car wasn't obvious once you got going with the radio, HVAC system, and road noise.
I am not so sure I would go so far to say this is a defect. Especially since I have heard the hiss in a previous generation Impala with a premium, non-Bose stereo. It would be interesting to see if the hiss was still there on a Bose equipped Impala with the Bose amplifier temporarily disconnected. If it totally goes away, then I would agree it is related to the Bose amp. If it is still there, then it is definitely not a Bose issue and probably related to the DIC/BCM interface or the OnStar.
As for my other complaint regarding certain tones being painfully loud, I haven't had the chance to test head to head with my sister's Bose system yet. However, I'm pretty sure it will sound the same. Regardless, I doubt I'll be able to convince a service rep that it is a problem since they say they can't even hear the hiss. Also, I learned while being evaluated for tinnitus treatment, that along with tinnitus, you are also prone to have certain tones/pitches cause discomfort. So, in this case, it may very well be me with the problem and not the stereo. Unfortunately for me, this system doesn't have an equalizer so I can't adjust it to suit me. In that regard, I just have to accept it although I will definitely be a much more discriminating shopper in the future. No more ASSUMING a premium sound system actually has premium sound. All that considered, I still agree that this sound system is better than the other options available in the Impala.
Took my car to the dealership the next day. Turns out both cooling lines running from the transmission to the radiator are leaking! Apparently they're some of the highest-pressure lines in the entire car. To make matters worse, GMPP (the GM extended warranty) doesn't cover anything called a "line"! My car is 3300km over the factory warranty (but only at 23 months owned). Needless to say I was not very happy when my Service Advisor told me that despite 3 calls to GMPP it would cost over $400 for the repairs.
Naturally I went straight to the Service Manager. His response? "Don't worry - we'll take care of it". Now that's the right answer! His reasoning? "You bought the car from us, you bought a full extended warranty, you bring it here for all service, you're barely over the factory warranty (and only on mileage, not on time), and you're always polite and respectful of everyone here regardless of how upset you are at any given situation."
Proves three things. 1) Be a loyal customer. 2) Always escalate problems. 3) Always be polite and respectful. If you do all these, the businesses you choose to spend your hard-earned money at will go out of their way to do the right thing, even if it means bending the rules.
Enjoy your Impala!
Apparently, they probably turned off this feature for Bose option (same head unit for Bose or non-Bose). To have decent Autotone, one needs more than just 3 bands (Bass, Treb and Mid range). Or may be Bose amp is so "advanced", one does not need it?
jt