2000 Chevrolet Impala LS from North America - Comments

I bought a 2000 Chevy Impala to drive back and forth to work only (180 miles round trip). This car is a death trap and a piece of junk. I had about 65,000 miles on it when the tranny started to act like it was gonna explode. Overheated constantly. Burned oil like a furnace.

Chevrolet really should fess up to all the major problems with this car. Very upset to say that I probably will never buy another Chevy. Not just because of the poor quality, but also because of the poor service I received. The dealership is a complete joke. Almost a big of joke as the car was.

Thankfully I hit a deer with it and it was totaled. A huge blessing in disguise. BEWARE OF THE CHEVY IMPALA.

I own a 2001 Impala LS which I bought new and now has 122k miles on it.

1st problem: water pooling in left reverse light... solution, removed entire trunk lid light housing and carefully drilled a small drain hole in both reverse lights, then resealed the seems... no problems in over 7 years.

2nd problem:at around 36k the car began to have a rough idle and mimicked fuel quality/delivery system issues... I found out that the catalytic converter was bad and that there had been a recall on the unit... got that replaced... worked fine until recently in 08 when I got a bad catalytic converter check on a computer but the car seems to run fine compared to last time so I don't know... also had the airbag wire fixed from a recall.. was a simple wire behind the glove box.

3rd problem (s): 50-73k lived in Iowa for 2 years and 3 winters... two plastic elbows which deliver coolant/antifreeze into the engine broke somehow.. they did not free, but I suspect that some lube technician stressed them somehow by possibly putting leverage on them while changing the belt, causing a fracture which ultimately led to their eventual failure. The OS sensors both went out at this time as well. (I replaced my battery by this time and had brake work done as well)

During the same time my drivers side control switch for the windows failed with the window partially lowered... -17 wind chill in Iowa.. not fun. The lower steering wheel based controls for audio and cruise failed, but I think this is more likely caused by inadvertently spraying fluid into them while cleaning the car... do not assume that they are waterproof! Also my blinkers and hazard buttons have failed... I can get them to work sometimes if I repeatedly push the hazard light button. The car started to leak from the passenger vent under the hood as well..

4th problem: 73K... power steering pump went out and my traction control and ABS would seem to go haywire at low speed left turns, like when turning left at a light or backing out of a parking spot... my guess what that somehow the salt from the road interfered with a sensor or actual hardware, but I have no proof of this as the problem seemed to perplex nearly every mechanic I took the car to... half the time the car would behave normally when I took it in and nothing would come up... they all wanted to change this or that or had their own theories.. I went to two dealerships and warranty or not, both service centers I approached tried to charge almost 400 bucks just for an estimate! Rhey all wanted to basically replace every known sensor and wearable part in the car! One dealership quoted me almost 3K before he could even tell me what was wrong with the thing!.. stay away from them!

Latest problems: @ 101K noticed that my key would fall out of the ignition and that it would not turn properly... mechanic quoted me a new ignition, but then I started to look at the key more closely and it appeared worn... all those times using it as an emergency knife I guess... anyway.. I remembered that I had a spare key so I tried it and it worked perfect! until 120k...

122K: at the current time my security light stays as well as my trac, ABS and some other light... every once in a blue moon the car just won't start, battery is fine, but car won't start. I have isolated the traction ABS malfunction to the left drivers wheel... I have replaced the hub and sensor 3 times to no avail.. even when trac is off it still kicks on... that makes me think that it is a wiring or circuit board issue just like the blinkers and hazard lights.. I have had similar problems with electronic when they fail or are exposed to water or just simply short out..

I have also noticed my transmission making some odd noises similar to the one I had in a 97 Bonneville with the 3.8 series 1 engine... the powerband wore out (turns out it was common for GM aute trans).. it's doing the same thing so I am just babying it every chance I get.. had it serviced etc.. the OS sensor has gone out again.. the speakers went out, dry rotted and cracked... replaced the front ones with some Pioneer premier 6 & 3/4 components and some 70 dollar Sony 6x9s for the back.. sounds amazing on factory power.. would like to get an amp and new tuner, but just can't seem to bring myself to spend that kind of money on this car for non essentials just yet..

I received a recall on the wiring system of my impala the other day, so that sort of confirms my suspicions somewhat.. I think that GM has been using faulty second rate wiring and sensors from other countries and it's finally catching up to them... hell they are bankrupt now right? Pinch a penny now pay a dollar later... I have done some research recently and I have seen some blogs where mechanics have actually seen evidence of shredding on the wire that goes from the hub sensor to the engine... one of these day I'll crawl my lazy behind underneath it and look...

I just bought a 2000 Impala police edition. I had the car for 4 hours and heard a loud bang come from the underside of the car, along with a strong smell of transmission fluid. My husband looked under the car and the side of the transmission is blown out. It literally exploded. I should have listened to my gut and walked away from this car. I bought it from a private seller so now I am stuck with the repair costs for a car I go to drive once... Also the paint is peeling and I know that is a common GM problem... I will not buy another one..

Oh my god! It actually exploded?! Wow, I believe that it happened because it's a GM. I've just never heard of that ever happening before! Sorry that you got stuck with it though, should've bought a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry.

I own a 2004 Impala LS with 49K miles on it, and the reason I came on this message board was to find out about the "security" light that comes up on the message board, and by reading just a few comments on here I see this is a common problem, the light has showed up from time to time while driving, but nothing has ever happened until this morning when I tried to start it.. and nothing happened, lights came on inside car but starter motor would not engage, I came back a few hours later and it started right up... I figure it is some kind of anti theft device that is failing. I read somewhere else that people have brought it to the dealer for this and have had to pay in upwards of $400 to have some sensor or module or some B.S. replaced.

Along with this problem I also in the past have experienced the wet carpet on the passenger side, which happened once or twice since owning the car (since new).

Also about a year ago my car started having issues with the traction control system and ABS, when I would accelerate from a stop while turning, the traction control would kick in and the lights would pop up on the message board reading "service traction system", brought it into a dealer and it turned out to be a bad wheel sensor which set me back $1000 (ridiculous I know).

I'm reading about more and more problems with this car which is scaring me.. I mean come on, the car doesn't even have 50K miles on it yet and it's the fourth year of this body style, you'd think Chevy could have sorted out the problems by then..

I can't believe I sold my 97 Thunderbird for this car... I hate to say it, but I wish I still had it.