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Sedans Chevrolet Impala 2007 Chevrolet Impala Owner Experiences
170 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 4:53 PM
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Replying to: teresabutler89 (Jun 27, 2007 8:26 am) Wow...you read my mind...those were the two things I was going to suggest next. Higher octane fuel and another dealership. I was running 87 octane fuel exclusively for the first year I had my SS simply because I could and thought it really made no difference. Then, I got to thinking about how little it would cost and decided to switch. Well, the difference in power (once I had fully gotten used to driving the car with lower power) was truly remarkable. Besides that, I have noticed on the highway, with the higher octane, the car can remain in 4 cylinder mode at higher speeds and on steeper grades which contributes to higher fuel mileage. I don't know that it would be enough of a difference to justify the difference in cost or whether it will improve your situation at all, but it's worth a try. In my case, I haven't had a chance to take a long enough road trip to get a good comparison but I do know that my car can stay in 4 cylinder mode in places it couldn't before and at higher speeds than before. As for going to a different dealership, I have visited three different dealerships with mine. I bought my car out of state so I have only visited the dealership where I bought the car a couple times. All dealerships should treat you equally well and if not, you should contact the corporate offices and report them. GM is making strong efforts to improve customer relations and you shouldn't have a problem with a different dealership. They SHOULD welcome your business as an opportunity to win you over for your next purchase. Again, just be polite, don't bad mouth the other dealership, and explain your problem. One final suggestion would be to offer to ride along with a techician to show them the sputtering you've been describing since you say that the techs have said that they haven't been able to duplicate the problem. Sometimes communicating the problem is the hardest part of the process and if you can get them to let you drive them around and then maybe switch out let them drive you back you may both learn something (you mentioned you weren't sure if it was engine or transmission). Good luck and be persistent and patient. I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of this. The SS is a great car. Once you get your bug worked out, you're going to love it! Give it a fair chance. 
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Replying to: teresabutler89 (Jun 27, 2007 8:17 am)
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Replying to: martin22 (Jun 27, 2007 7:12 pm) |
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Replying to: garsarno (Jun 24, 2007 3:32 pm) DId you already have around 10,000? The service dept. keeps telling me that I have to let the car get to 10,000 miles on the odometer to see anything close to 24mpg on the hwy. I trying to find out if this is true, if everyone else didn't get around 24 mpg's until 10,000 miles.
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Replying to: martin22 (Jun 26, 2007 4:27 pm) How many miles do you have on your 07?
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Replying to: teresabutler89 (Jun 28, 2007 3:41 pm) I suggest you try to use the cruise control more often - as often as possible. By the way, beware of jumping ship to a lesser (LS or LT) model. You may get a better mileage but you may be disappointed in the overall feel of the ride and handling compared with the SS which has a different suspension set up. I rented a 3.9LT once and thought it was ghastly.
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Replying to: martin22 (Jun 28, 2007 4:02 pm) By the way, the front suspension on the 3.9L is the same but the wheels and tires are different. The rear suspension is slightly different but only to make room for the larger wheels.  The ride difference is due to the wheel/tire size difference, weight, and stabilizer bars.
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Replying to: garsarno (Jun 24, 2007 3:32 pm) |
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Replying to: teresabutler89 (Jun 26, 2007 11:54 am) Lemon Laws vary by State. When you purchased your vehicle, the dealership should have provided to you a booklet discussing your State's Lemon Law and had you sign an acknowledgment of receiving such materials (it is the law here in PA that such occur at the time of sale of a new vehicle.) Here in PA, if a vehicle is declared a Lemon, the consumer has the option of receiving a comparable vehicle from the manufacturer or a full refund of the purchase price and all collateral charges. A deduction is made for the use of the vehicle while you owned it (after all, you did drive it) but the adjustment cannot exceed 10% of the purchase price. The refund is made to the consumer if paid in full originally, or the refund is given to the bank/lien holder if financed. So, depending on the loan, a Lemon refund may be enough to wipe out the loan and let you start fresh (maybe even with some money left over). If you elect the replacement, then I imagine the loan paperwork would be changed to reflect the new car's information but everything else would stay the same. However, PA laws says that if the defect for which the Lemon claim was made does not impair the use, safety, or value of the vehicle NO refund or replacement will be given. In the case of fuel mileage, this would probably not fall under the PA Lemon Law since the vehicle has not had any issues preventing it from being driven or used. The PA Lemon Laws are mostly aimed at mechanical problems that cause the car not to be able to be driven (stalling, electrical problems, etc.) Fuel mileage is such a driver specific factor. It can be thrown off by weather, idling time, tire pressures, accelerating, braking, fuel quality, route (flat vs. hilly), etc. I would suggest checking your tire pressures to make sure they are at Chevy spec. Top off the car with a Top Tier gas and reset your trip meter. Then try to find a 20 mile stretch of relatively flat highway with minimal stop and go. Set the cruise on 55mph and take a round-trip drive. After the trip, immediately fill up again. Divide the miles driven by the amount of gas needed to top off again, and see what the mileage comes out to. If you still see 20mpg or less, then I would say the dealer is definitely missing something. If it comes out to be 24 or better, then the car is probably fine. I have a 2LT with the 3.5L engine. I average 21mpg in my everyday commute (60 miles round trip). I may see 24 or 25 during all-highway jaunts, but when the city driving comes back into the mix the average mileage drops back to the 21 figure. Our area is very hilly, hot/humid in the summer and very cold in the winter. The engine is always working hard in such extreme variances. The sticker said 21city/31hwy, but I average the lower number. Compared to the 13mpg I averaged with my previous V8 SUV, I am thrilled! Also...the dealer should give you a work order everytime you take it in regardless of whether or not they find anything. No work order means no record for you that it was ever looked at. Not necessarily a good thing. By the way, IL Lemon Laws look to be very similar to PA. |
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Replying to: teresabutler89 (Jun 28, 2007 3:37 pm)
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