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Chevrolet Impala: Problems & Solutions
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On the way home, the sun hit my dash. There were greasy palm prints everywhere. Plus there was a "Dent" in the corner of the dash. I informed the dealer and was told they would "fix" the dash on my next visit and was apologetic regarding the grease on my car. This is the second time they left my car dirty. BLECH! Next time I will inspect it before I take the keys.
Forrest
Forrest
It appears that on the 2000s and the 20001s there are good and bad ISSs as well as good and bad rack-and-pinions. There are some kind of TSBs that delineate the good from the bad by part numbers. (whether this is true of the 2002s is not clear yet - at my dealership - since its probably too early for the problem to show up)
In my case, I was having the steering clunk problems and had the "grease kit" procedure done to the ISS. The clunks not only continued, but got worse. The service manager decided to replace the ISS and the rack-and-pinion, assuming they were of the faulty part numbers. It turned out the ISS was one of the good ones, so just the grease procedure was redone, but the rack and pinion was replaced brecause it was one of the bad ones. The steering is very smooth now. I'll let you know if it doesn't remain so.
Has someone ever replace these wiper blades yet? How did you do it.
Thanks for your advice.
Dennis
Will have to bring back to the dealer for future work but looking for help to try and pinpoint problem.
If I try really hard, I _think_ I can feel a faint clunk when turning while breaking. As far as I remember, this would indicate an ISS problem.
Has anyone else had a whine problem and if so, was it also the ISS or something else?
The steering on my '01 LS is super smooth and quiet so that whining of yours is most definetely not normal.
What's the build date of your car?
I printed out the ISS explanation from Nathan's page and took that to the dealer as well.
Taking it back next Tuesday. Third trip for a supposedly simple-to-diagnose whiny noise, I'm having trouble believing that.. Pretty soon the steering won't be the only thing whining
Either your dealer is pretty incompetent at diagnosing a steering noise or they are just simply ignoring it.
Try a different store and see if they can troubleshoot it more effectively.
Incompetence springs to mind, yes. I already rode with a tech and am going to do it again next week. That'll be the last chance they get to fix it.
Well, at least I'm getting a whole bunch of new parts to my car
Riding along the tech or service advisor is often a waste of time and they'll give you the round around.
Once the Service Manager gets involved and becomes accountable for your case file, the B.S. stops there.
Good luck, I am sure is something simple but yeah it can be very frustrating!
Not necessarily. It just piles up deeper in one spot.
On another note, I finally managed to scratch a "real" CD. As to why that's a good thing, I don't know if anyone remembers but early last year I had problems with the CD-player scratching CD-R disks.
Chevy / AC Delco and the dealer all gave me the cold shoulder and they decided I shouldn't play CD-R disks. Sheesh. I had a hard time believing that since in the physical dimensions (yes, the player does a physical round scratch on the disk around song #3) of CDs and CD-Rs are identical.. Anyway, today I got a "nice" scratch on a real CD, so I'll take that issue up with the dealer as well.
I have ABS and have not experienced any of the symptoms you have. The "it's normal for your car" is an excuse we have heard time and again. You might want to take it to another dealer and have them take a look at it.
I suspect that most of oyur problems have been caused by your dealer. Impact wrenches when putting back the tires on the car can warp the rotors thus creating a chain of issues with the brakes.
My dealer always torques the wheel nuts at 100 punds feet of torque per specification using a manual wrench, not a single problem.
I agree with Night_owl, all newer cars have noise brakes. There is nothing that will ever get rid of that unless you go with asbestos pads. Trust me, this is a malady of the semi-metallic and metallic pads. Ask any independent certified professional brake mechanic. That will be their answer as well.
Oh yeah, do yourself a big favor, take your car to a different dealer. You don't have to enter into arguments to prove that your car has a problem or not. Your dealer I am afraid is very incompetent.
Spongy or soft pedal is usually caused by contaminated (by air or water) or wrong type of brake fluid. It could be low pressure caused by a faulty master cylinder.
Squealing can be easily reduced or prevented by using an "anti-squeal" compound such as Disc Brake Quiet. It is applied between the pad and caliper, NEVER on the rotor side of the pad.
Find yourself a new dealer that understands how important your brakes are.
Click on "Awards and Evaluations" then "GM Evaluation".
Besides tightening the wheel nuts to the spec, GM suggests cleaning the bearing flange and rotor hub (inluding the bolt holes with a Kent-Moore tool). The rotor orientation on the flange should not be changed, it says. Reading between the lines, it sounds like heat transfer between the hub components is important.
GM lets these problems go on year after year and the dealers can't do much except replace the rotors (reluctantly if under warranty or expensively if not). I think that somebody who thinks about buying a GM car should understand that maintaining the brakes will be expensive and the rotor warping will go on for the life of the car.
I can see that brakes present difficult problems. The temperature of the rotor can exceed 1000 degrees in a hard stop. Then the wheel can splash through a puddle, quench hardening the rotor, perhaps unevenly. But why does everybody but GM have good brakes?
later
Joe
History, purchased as stated above, and visits to the shop to fix the Intermediate Shaft Problem, a recall for another problem, and then the rotors, rotors, rotors and pads (Pads that I paid for!, what happened to 36,000 miles bumper to bumper!
They have turned my rotors, replaced my rotors, and turned my rotors again. By the way one year later I have 35,000 miles on my car already. In other words I use my car for work, and put lots of miles on this puppy.
The only traveling on dirt roads is 2 miles out to the black top to and from each day. Excuse me but the dirt road traveling excuse is wearing thin, any last minute advice before this car is my 100% responsiblity?
By the way, when I purchased this car, they were made aware of the dirt roads, as a matter of fact, I asked specfically, "Will this car hold up to dirt roads?" The response was, "with no problems!"
Thanks in advance for your attention and help and input with this matter.
I have a feeling your dealer is screwing your brakes after each visit. Change the dealer.
Some rotors do not stand up to heat or rapid changes in temperature well. Perhaps your type of driving causes those things. Lots of sudden stops, riding the brake, going through snow or puddles right after hard stops, etc.
BTW, their Malibu is notorious for rotor warpage. I don't think the Impala is in the same league as that. Like Teo, my Impala still stops on a dime. 60-0 is just as important as 0-60!
Number 1: I have had no problems with the brakes failing to operate. They have operated perfect to date. The problem is noticed by a shimmying at highway speed 65 or 70 mph and brakes are applied slowly.
Number 2: I do not feel it is the way I drive. I was raised around a junk yard and even drove the tow truck on several occasions. I have exchanged engines between Ford Pintos, (how about that blast from the past). I have some mechancial knowledge, even though I am female. Yet I pride myself in being able to research a possible problem and not afraid to ask for advice. As far as the driving issue, our fire department was one of the first in the county to purchase a new engine with ABS System. I had to educate myself in the how to or not to do's of their operation, and thus educate the men and women of the department for their protection and better vehicle operation.
Thanks again everyone I am still here reading and learning with each response.
The holes don't add to cooling. They enble the gasses that build up between the pad and rotor to escape. Many experts even believe that the holes weaken the discs, and may make them MORE susceptible to warpage. It doesn't matter to the racers that these rotors were originally designed for, as they usually change them after each race.
For me, general principal would prevent me from spending any money on something that should be repaired for free. I'm kooky that way.