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2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

13618 messages,  Last post on Mar 19, 2013 at 11:54 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Impala, Sedan

    

Messages Page 1246 of 1363

#12446 of 13618 back to the usa by road46

Feb 08, 2004 (7:02 pm)

After 10 years driving Japanese (Toyota) I' am back at home with Chevrolet. I read all 12000 postings in this discussion, plus read the others. What I found was quite a following for the Impala. I had a 1966, 1969, two 1970's and a 1971 Impala years ago. I was in a highway crash with my first car, a 1969 Impala that was T-boned by a 1967 Chrysler and everyone in the Impala walked away. When I read that the Impala had a 5 star front crash rating, I decided to give one a test drive. I wanted a used 2003 LS but wound up buying a new 2004 with the 3.4 engine, sport seats with 6 way power seat and 200 amp radio. Paid $17,770 after rebates and discounts. Folks, do your research, then go drive an Impala, hope you agree that you get a pretty good bang for your buck. Plenty of power, smooth ride, excellent heat (it's been below zero here in Upstate NY) and outstanding disc brakes. So far I put on 1100 flawless miles in two weeks. I have rented other cars for my business travels in the Adirondack Mountains and this is without a doubt the best all around car I have driven. It's good to be home.

#12447 of 13618 reply road 46 by pluto5

Feb 09, 2004 (3:32 pm)

You might want to try some winter tires on your Impala, IMO they really improve the grip, which would be even more important if your Impala doesn't have ABS.

#12448 of 13618 Winter Tires by t_tookalook

Feb 12, 2004 (5:25 pm)

I put Bridgestone Blizzaks on my '03 Impala
and really like them. I've had the car for
a year now and still like it. I got rid of
a Mountaineer Lemon.

#12449 of 13618 Power steering issue by nosirrahg

Feb 15, 2004 (6:25 pm)

Hi guys; been awhile since I posted anything here (I was a regular poster early on, and ended up being one of the lucky folks quoted in the 2001 Impala brochure who were found through this forum).
 
Anyway, I'm still driving my 2000 3.8l base; have just under 64k miles on it now. Just got reimbursed for the warped manifold issue, and have been through the ISS, warped rotors, etc. But still love the car, and much prefer driving it to my wife's 2003 Honda Accord 4-cylinder EX.
 
Yesterday I had to go into work, and when I came out, there was an inch or two of snow on the streets. I meandered home, but had to traverse a couple of hilly areas (including a long steep decline down my street to the house). Traction control (and ABS) kicked in several times, with traction control active almost continuously up one particularly steep section (I enjoyed casually driving past a couple of folks who were stranded while driving up the hill!!).
 
However, once I got to my driveway (which is sort of half-bell curve shaped), traction control was no help. I tried several times, but could not get up the drive. I managed to get the car out of the street, but had to leave it at the end of the driveway until the snow melted this afternoon. I had to go to back to work, and when I did, noticed I seemed to have no power steering assist when turning at low speeds when coasting. If I gave the car a little gas in a turn, I'd suddenly get power assist (but accelerating into a turn isn't very intuititive, or safe). Car seemed to drive fine otherwise, so there wasn't a sense that I might have bent something in trying to get up my driveway. Got home, then had to make another trip, and the problem persisted...then all at once, I made a turn that was especially sharp, and I manhandled the wheel to get the car into position, and suddenly the problem went away. I purposefully drove the car home the long way on a curvy street, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.
 
Anyone else had a problem like this, and does it magically go away, or will it come back from time to time until the power steering goes out completely? I was able to deal with it, but I doubt my 5'3" wife could have steered the car without the power assist...if it's a tell-tale sign of a fixable problem, I'd rather deal with it now than have it hit when she's driving it sometime.

#12450 of 13618 nosirrahg by b4z

Feb 15, 2004 (6:38 pm)

Good to hear from you again.
 
Traction control is a godsend.
Mine has gotten me out of a couple of situations
one in snow and the other in a muddy field.
 
Don't know how to help you with the power steering. it was a major problem on the Intrigue, but haven't heard of it being a problem on the Impala.
 
Have you had any contact with teo recently?

#12451 of 13618 b4Z by nosirrahg

Feb 17, 2004 (7:06 am)

This is the first problem I've had power steering-wise with the Impala; since it immediately followed my fairly extensive snow/traction control event, I'm hoping it might have been a one-time thing associated with that workout, and not an on-going problem.
 
I read back through the posts here from sometime in October forward, and only found one listing of anyone reporting power steering problems (but they did say it was intermittent, and ended up being some type of internal gasket problem which was hard to diagnose originally). If it becomes a regular problem, I'll probably take it in and have the power steering pump replaced...I'd rather spend the money getting it fixed, than risk having my wife drive it and it go out, and lead to a bigger problem.
 
I haven't heard from teo or any of the other "original" Impala posters from here for some time. I think the last time I came around I met up with mcdill, but that was probably over 6 months ago.

#12452 of 13618 nosirrahg by larryfl

Feb 20, 2004 (7:53 am)

My wife drives our '02 IMP LS and we've had no problems with the power steering either. However, I drive a '95 OLDs Aurora and had something kind of similar happen.
 
In my case, the power assist was intermittently going on and off (like throwing a switch). Of course, it only happened in corners and/or parking lots and it became very dangerous.
 
First, the obvious suspect - what I first thought - is that the steering pump pulley is seizing or the belt slipping. I took it in and the culprit was the steering rack was going bad and losing pressure under the load. My favorite independent shop charged me $900 for a new one installed.

#12453 of 13618 Anniversary by hvan3

Feb 24, 2004 (11:17 pm)

Today, Feb 24, I've had my Impala LS for 3 years now. With 47,700 miles, this car is still drives like a dream. The transmission is so smooth and silky!

#12454 of 13618 Speaking of power steering by gregp5

Feb 25, 2004 (6:29 am)

I just had a recall done to my '97 Lumina re. power steering. I was not having any problems with it, but the recall said that upon hard left turns, I believe, the effect could be like no power steering at all.
I also own a black '04 Impala Ls which I like a lot.
FWIW I have the upgraded radio in it and I think it sounds great and it also has plenty of bass which if I remember correctly seems to have a lot of dissatisfaction in earlier years.

#12455 of 13618 Relocating Head Unit To Trunk by flashepix

Feb 26, 2004 (8:10 am)

Hi all. I have been looking all over these message boards to find out how to relocate my factory head unit to the trunk and have came up with no directions, parts needed etc? I have ran across a few that Say impalahq has the plans but I didnt not see it under the How to section. Does anyone know what I would need to do this and where to get the parts from. A diagram would be nice if someone knows where there is one. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone knows of a good aftermarket head unit that fits the impala that would be nice to.:} Thanks ahead of time guys!

Messages Page 1246 of 1363

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