Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the remedy referenced in the federal safety agency campaign id number 09v116000 (engine and engine cooling) would not sufficiently correct the failure. He stated that by installing two new spark plug wire retainers for free will not stop drops of engine oil from being deposited on the exhaust manifold through hard braking. The dealer did not assist. The failure and current mileages were 158,000.
2001 Chevrolet Impala engine complaints
Page 5 of 7: complaints 101 to 130 of 188, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I purchased this car with 28,000 miles on it. Around 38,000 miles is when the problems started. The check engine light came on and it would not pass smog because of that. The thermostat gets stuck, the fan continues to run after car is shut off, the low coolant light comes on even when it is not low. The car smells like it is burning or running hot. The car now has 53,000 miles on it and I cant afford to get it fixed. It has expired tags on it because I cant get it to pass smog. I am really upset to find out this is a defect in the make of the car. It was hard enough to come up with the money to buy this car and now I cant drive it more then to work and back. I am hoping they will recall this car and I could finally get it fixed.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. On most occasions, he would have to wait fifteen minutes for the vehicle to crank. The dealer could not find any failures or error codes with the vehicle. During the failure, the engine fails to start, but all the other components work normally. The failure mileage was 120,000.
2001 no-start situation similar to hundreds of others that are posted on the internet for the 2000-2003 chevy impalas & malibus (there may be other model years with similar problems). The car will not crank when the key is turned to the start position. No noise when this happens but sometimes security light will come on. It is an intermittent problem that we've spent over $1000 trying to resolve. It occurs with no rhyme or reason and has put our daughter in dangerous situations. Car always starts eventually and it seems that it's just a matter of waiting a range of 10 minutes to 2 hours. Always a pain in the butt but sometimes a safety issue with bad weather and other factors. Local gm dealer not too concerned about our problem and gm corporation doesn't seem to care either. Maybe the federal safety agency can get gms attention to resolve this problem because it's obviously affects many people.
At around 75,000 miles, my 2001 impala began to lose power,particularly when accelerating. I tried fuel system cleaners, replaced fuel filter, air filter, etc. No help. Then one day a hole was blown through my intake manifold. That's right, the intake manifold. I took it to a local mechanic, because I knew I couldn't afford the gm dealership shop price, and was informed that the egr valve and catalytic converter were totally stopped up consequently trapping hot engine exhaust in the intake area with nowhere to go. The cost of parts and repairs cost me over $800. I have had many cars over the years and never had a catalytic converter completely stop up. According to my local mechanic this is a very common problem with this car model. I think gm should reimburse for this expense.
My vehicle had lack of power especially on the highway. Nearly rear ended a couple of times. Took it to a transmission shop, thought that was the problem. It turned out to be a clogged catalytic converter. My car is a 2001 chevy at the time my mileage was 66,624 . The mechanic informed me that if I didn't repair it, I could damage the transmission and or engine. I had them replace it a cost of 745.31 labor & parts. After the repair the car worked fine & happy to say it still does. Sent all necessary papers to general motors for re-imbursement under the 80,000/8 yr emissions warranty but my claim was denied! The reason was I didn't take it to a dealer but I felt it was a safety hazard to me & others. (cat converter was blocked/clogged).
2001 chevrolet impala with severe engine problems. Consumer states that a valve that was touching the engine melted. The melting of the valve caused burning to the fuel lines, electrical lines, vacuum lines, and protective coverings. *kb the consumer stated the problem was with the catalytic converter.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet impala. While the vehicle was parked in a paint shop, it spontaneously exploded. Although the contact was experiencing the same failure as noted in the federal safety agency campaign id number 96v116000 (fuel system, gasoline:fuel injection system), the dealer stated that the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer stated that he would have to replace the cover intake manifold and the fuel injection system. The manufacturer was unable to assist. The failure and current mileages were 95,000.
Dexcoool leak through head gasket, 2nd vehicle - problem on out of state business trip.
This car has been a electrical/mechanical nightmare and I'm finding many, many, reports on the internet of owners having the same problem(s). 1) intake manifold gasket leaks causing catalytic converter and egr valve to clog. The result of this is exhaust gases can't escape , backing up and burning/blowing a hole in the intake manifold itself. All above items had to be replaced at a very substantial cost. 2) blinkers intermittently work. Mostly they don't work. This is caused by a defective (flasher) module located in the dash behind the 'flasher" button. This ia very,very common. 3) A/C heater blower fan stops working on speeds 1,2 then 3 resulting. This is due to resistors burning up on a module mounted behind the dash and in front of the blower motor. My question here is, at what point does someone hold the manufacturer responsible for these obvious factory defects. All you have to do is google any of the above complaints and see how many people are affected. Help !!!
While jump starting vehicle intake manifold explodes. No start condition.
While jump starting vehicle intake manifold explodes. No start condition.
Sudden malfunction of temperature gauge (not working), cooling fans running, after car is turned off, no A/C. Many others across the country having same problem with this vehicle.
2001 chevy impala engine, radiator and battery replaced. Consumer had the vehicle fixed at her own expense because gm would not help her out. She stated that the transmission went 3 months after the engine. *kb the power switch and side mirror was replaced.
My daughter was in the market for a used car. She found a car on the website fo city auto auction of chicago, priced at 1500.00. We arrived at the auction and inquired about their bidding process. I was told to read and sing the bidders paddle. We inquired about the car listed on the website and was told it was no longer available, but we could bid on another like car. We bidded 2800.00 for a 2001 chevy impala. I asked the salesman if we can see the car for inspection. His insisted I put a 600.00 down payment to hold the car. I did. We waited 3 hours before they called us into the office. They presented us with a bill of sale totaling 3858.00. I asked for an explanation of the charges, and to see the car to determine whether there were any defects. The owner became irate and told me, they didn't have time to explain to me the charges, he called security and I was asked to leave. The following monday, my daughter went back, I was to meet her at the dealership. She asked if she could inspected the car. She was told she had to pay the remaining balance first. She did. The servicemen brought the car out, locked the door and refused to answer any of her questions. Needless to say the car had no radio, no rear view mirror and was knocking. I had her bring the car to me. The car began to sputter and would not accelerate pass 50 MPH. She continued to drive, the car then slowed to 10 MPH. She eventually got the car to my office, where it died, and would not start. I called city auto, talked to mr. Al, who told me the car was sold "as is" and there was nothing they could do.
No accidents yet, but very easily could've been. Car stalls with no warning and sometimes doesn't want to start. Car has stalled 3 times - it happened twice shortly after leaving a stoplight, so 20-35mph and the third time was going 55mph down the highway. The two times it stalled at 20-35mph it started up right away. After it stalled at 55mph, it took 3-5 tries to get it started again. There have also been two other separate times that the car did not want to start. This happened after driving the car a short distance, about 5 miles, turning it off for 10-20 minutes and then it took 3-5 tries to get it started again. The security light did not come on when these incidents happened. Car does have 126,000 miles on it. Car is currently at the dealership and there is no code indicating what this stalling/no start problem is. This is the third day the car has been at the dealership and they still do not know what it is. The car has died once while at the dealership, but it started up right away so they couldn't do the test they wanted to do. This is ridiculous to have such a huge safety-related issue with no known cause/code and it appears from other complaints and automotive "chat rooms" I am not the only one with this issue and no resolution.
1. Crank sensot failed and ran hazard lights on side of innerstate for 3 hours while gm roadside assistance sent tow service. 2. Turn signals failed intermittently and operation of hazard switch would be restore them temporially. 3. Replaced hazard signal switch and the old part is available.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet impala. The contact stated that the power locks, fog lights, and power trunk release do not work. He also stated that the service engine light and low fuel indicator illuminated while driving 25 MPH. The dealer will inspect the vehicle on september 6, 2007. The current and failure mileages were 90,000.
On 12/13/06 after 1 year of owning the vehicle we had a loss of power upon accelerating. We were advised the coolant was leaking. A common problem with this vehicle upon research. In addition, the coolant leaking onto the catalytic converter causing it to fail and need to be replaced. The manufacturer would not honor the warranty for the catalytic converter , claiming the coolant caused the problem and was not covered. Had to pay over $!,000 for repairs. 2 days later could not start the car. Was advised that these vehicles had an anti theft feature if work was done on the car it could cause the anti theft feature to fail and would be a need for a new ignition. Several hundred more dollars). As they would not cover this either. These failures were due to the awful design of the vehicle, and they should be recalled and the owner reimbursed for the cost of repairs. Here we go 7 months later and the vehicle was now in the shop again about the same type of failure , sluggish upon acceleration.
Engine coolant light would not go out after I had radiator flushed. Took the car back to the mechanic and was informed that there was some brown, muddy looking, oily substance leaking into the radiator at which time he informed me of the problem that gm cars were having with the manifold gaskets. This is an outrage and there needs to be a recall on this problem before a death does occur due to this negligence on gm's part. I'm sure that all the owner of these cars feel the same way and that the manufacturer should be liable and ordered to pay to have these cars repaired, since it is such a widespread problem, which they apparently knew would happen after the car had been driven to a certain mileage. I also had a problem about 3 years ago when the car would not stop when I was driving it. The cruise control module got stuck and the car continued to accelerate unless the brakes were applied. And even then the engine continued to rev very high! I was in fear of my life.... And luckily I made it to the dealer without having an accident. These impalas are death traps and I think that there have been deaths that have not been explained due to the same problem that I had with the acceleration module. Unfortunately... Dead people can't tell what happened to their cars before they lost control of them.
Low coolant light lit. Added dexcool as needed. Light then began to come on and go off intermittantly. Took to dealer. They tested and said sensor was defective. Replaced and dexcool added. Cost$225. I noticed several similar problems on nhsta. Gm should cover this cost or have a recall.
In the past 6-8 months, my 2001 chevy impala started to show the obvious signs of intake manifold leaks (sludge on oil cap, brown residue in coolant overflow reservoir, small coolant puddles on engine). At 71,000 miles I received a quote at a gm dealer for the fix...$900.00. The dealer said he does one a day on these gm 3.4 engines. As a side, my wife's venture, sister's venture and father impala all have the faulty intake maifold coolant/oil leak. After speaking with gm, they agreed only to pay for the two bolts, a gasket and a small tube of sealant. This past week, the oil pressure light came on and I stopped the car at the next parking lot. It stalled there and never started. After a tow, the mechanic attempted to fill it with oil and run it. Within seconds it flows out the oil filter and the filter and/or filter gasket ruptures. After checking the oil pump and oil pump sensor, his diagnosis is for an engine replacement. He claims that the sludge from the antifreeze has built up, and a cam bearing has been damaged, rendering the engine irreplaceable. I currently have ,multiple options, the cheapest of which is $3,500.00. We are a gm family, my father retired from gm. Why can't gm face the faulty design flaw of the manifold gaskets and coolant problems?
There is a huge amount of oil in the coolant in my 2001 chevy impala. Knowing just a little about internal combustion engines probably an intake gasket leaking. For a car which has been very well maintained with under 80,000 miles on the odometer this was alarming. High engine temp and a sludge in my motor are the obvious consequences. Who knows what the long term affects will be. The car is now at the mechanics and already I am looking at 700 to 1,000 dollars which I do not have to repair.
I have a 2001 chevy impala and it has been leaking engine coolant for sometime now. We put the required dexcool coolant to replace the lost, but it just kept on leaking. We took it to a mechanic to repair it and he informed us that it was leaking from the intake gasket down onto the spark plugs and it was damaging the spark plugs. He said don't put dexcool coolant into the car again because it just damages the gaskets. He said I cant tell u how many times I have had to repair this same thing on chevrolet vehicles. Total repairs $749.43 . There needs to be a recall on this. Not just because of the dexcool coolant but because of the gaskets.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving any speed there was a banging noise in the steering column accompanied by a vibration. The banging and the vibration became gradually worse when the steering wheel was turned to either side. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer who determined that the intermediate steering shaft needed to be repacked. The shaft was subsequently replaced, but the problem recurred. Updated 9/22/2006 - the fuel tank sending unit was replaced. The fuel injector unit was replaced intake gasket leaked.
I recently bought a 2001 chevy impala. Shortly after I notice when I first started the car,the temperature gauge showed the car overheating, took to the dealer. They said that it was normal operating temperature. A few week after that it quit working all together. So I look on the car stats. Com and found complaints concerning this problem. Solution I took the car to repeatable car mechanic .the first thing he did was to take the radiator cap off, it was full of brown sludge, he said that gm tried to save money by putting in a $2.00 manifold gasket in all 3.4 engines, they all fail between 35,000 and 40,000. It cost $580. You can not replace one gasket you buy all three in a replace kit and change the oil and antifreeze. I found out that this problem is routinely missed. They just reset the computer and the gauge works for a short time then without warning it quits. My mechanic said this is so common he has paid for his childrens college education. Gm does not cover this common failure under any warranty. I will think twice before I buy any gm product.
Low coolant light stays on - replaced first time low coolant light stays on - replaced second time.
The catalytic converter failed and was covered by a gm special policy. Due to the failed catalytic converter the upper intake manifold also failed resulting in an expensive repair bill. Gm would not cover the cost of the upper intake manifold even though it failed from a known issue. The repair bill states, "upper intake manifold failure due to catalytic converter failure."
Dt: the contact received a letter, but this was not a recall letter. The letter stated the catalytic converter was being replaced due to the end cone insulation breaking away and blocking the front of the first catalytic converter, and preventing the free flow of the gas. This vehicle was not included because it was over the mileage limit. The vehicle has been taken to 2 separate transmission mechanics and they told him it was the catalytic converter, and not transmission.
The temperature gauge is not working consistently. It will go below cold sporadically. This will cause the fans to run continuously and the check engine light to come on. The codes do not match the problem and the haynes book does not match the car either. Coolant leaks from intake manifold, probably bad gaskets.
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