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Sedans Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Impala Catalytic Converter
24 messages, Last post on Oct 07, 2007 at 9:01 PM
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The car is a 2001 Chevy Impala LS. It has 61,330 miles. This started yesterday on the freeway. It won't go over 35 mph or 3500 rpm in any of the four forward gears, even with the accelerator floored. I don't know about reverse gear. When in 2nd gear, if you floor the accelerator, it will get up to 35 mph and 3500 rpm, and the Check Engine Light will blink on and off. When you slow down, the Check Engine Light goes off and stays off. When in 3rd gear or drive, it still won't go over 35 mph or 3500 rpm, but the Check Engine Light does not come on. If I'm in 3rd gear and shift down to 2nd gear, it's a hard shift. That is, you can feel the tranny engage hard. Sometimes the car will buck when you try to reach 35 mph / 3500 rpm. I took the car to my regular (non-dealer) mechanic. He said he put the scanner on it, and nothing showed up. I don't know if he drove the car and reproduced the 35mph/3500rpm/blinking Check Engine Light symptom while the scanner was connected (I forgot to ask). Since I gave him a good descrition of the problem, I doubt that he test drove it. He told me that since he didn't get a code from the scanner, he called the local Chevy dealer for help. The Chevy dealer told him that it 'sounded' like the engine computer, and to bring the car to them. I don't own an OBD2 scanner, so I can't diagnose myself, and even if I did, it sounds like a dealer repair. But, I'd like to be armed with more information before taking to the dealer, since I don't even trust the dealer to do much more than replace parts until it's fixed. Any ideas? By the way, if I were to purchase and OBD2 reader or scanner, can I connect a scanner (or reader) to the vehicle while driving the vehicle to capture the codes/specs when the problem occurs? Would the less expensive reader do, or must I purchase the more expensive scanner? I'm afraid that even if I get the information, such as voltage, pressure, etc., off a reader/scanner, I still won't know what to do with this Chevy, and I'm destined to take it to the dealer and will be at their mercy. I haven't been to a dealer for years, because my normal mechanic is quite good. I just dread going to a dealer, not particularly because of cost, but because of hassles and stress, and not doing the job right the first time. Thank you very much.
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Replying to: gretchen4 (Jul 21, 2007 7:56 am) Good Luck.
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Replying to: jimbmw (Jul 22, 2007 10:02 am)
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Replying to: quietpro (Jul 22, 2007 1:26 pm) Thanks.
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Replying to: gretchen4 (Jul 22, 2007 1:59 pm) "For 8 years or 80,000 miles, whichever comes first, if the catalytic converter or vehicle (powertrian) control module is found to be defective, GM will repair or replace it under the Federal Emission Control Warranty."  Is the 'vehicle (powertrain) control module' otherwise known as the Engine Computer? At any rate, it does sound like the catalytic converter. I dropped it off at the dealer's shop tonight. I'll write back with the results. |
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Replying to: gretchen4 (Jul 21, 2007 7:56 am) I am the one that posted on the Chevrolet Impala 2005 & Earlier Discussion Section. Please look at posting 13377 dated 06/08/07. This references the warranty extension of the 2001 LS catalytic converter to 10 years or 120,000 miles (whatever comes first). The replacement is no charge. Not one penny! I did not have any problems at the dealer. I had forgot about the letter until they told me that it was covered under an extended warranty issued by GM. I then found the letter and typed it word for word on the Discussion Section so that others may benefit from it. Hope this clears up any confusion that you may have had.
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Replying to: topper7 (Jul 23, 2007 6:10 pm)  ) I never received the warranty extension letter from GM, so I'm looking for your post 13377. When I enter 13377 in the message number and press go, I go nowhere. I'll keep looking. Thank you. |
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Replying to: topper7 (Jul 23, 2007 6:10 pm) I just found your post number 13377. (This forum is a bit difficult for me to navigate.)
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Replying to: gretchen4 (Jul 24, 2007 7:45 am) car acts the same as what yall had sad in the other post i got an 2002 Impala Base 3.4 v6 New Motor but on take off my car is very slow slow i mean it struggles to get reach 25 mph an at low speeds u can feel it cutting out and jerking and it kills my gas millage since the cat went out iv ben getting around 9.2 mpg i have to floor it 97.9 % of the time to get it to even move faster then 30 but once i get rolling it will run up to 115 mph i mean once it warms up it dose good on the high way i can put it to the floor and suck up to the car in front of me an pass them with out any problem but after i hammer it for a while it will display a light saying Reduces Engine Power i noticed with my old motor i was getting 24.8 mpg and thats everyday driven in the city also who ever has the 3.4 v6 watch out for over heating problems it only takes one time for it to over heat to start messing up very bad i over heated my 3400 once and about 3days later it blew the intanke & head gasket theres nothing you can do to stop so be ware and watch your temp gauge when my head blew it took 4 weeks for the whole motor to blow i mean it threw a rod threw the oil pan and on to my tires and the motor causen a fire and i spun the car out |
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Replying to: gretchen4 (Jul 24, 2007 7:38 am) This is correct. DO NOT let them tell you otherwise. The emissions warranty covers the ECM/PCM (computer) and some other emissions sensors. If the catalytic converter has failed and you are with in the 8 years/80,000 miles, then they have to cover it under warranty and you should not be paying a dime. Now, they can charge you for waste disposal fees, diagnostics and incidentals, so they have you there. The dealer just called and said yes, it's the catalytic converter, and he has to order one (2-3 days, since they don't store them there, due to hazardous materials). There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't even know where to start.  In the first place, new catalytic converters are not classified as hazardous materials. Used ones, possibly, but not new ones. So who ever told you that is clueless. Besides, even if for some reason, the cat could possibly be hazardous material (which it is not), then I would have to assume that they couldn't keep bulk oil, coolant, brake cleaners, carb cleaners, A/C refrigerant, paints and a whole host of other automotive chemicals, as those ARE all hazardous materials. I sometimes wonder about some of these places and what they tell people. I'm betting that the reason that they don't stock the cats is cost. They don't want to put the expense out to keep something like that on the shelf.
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