I had a clunking noise that appeared around 30000 Km, seemed to be coming from the steering whenever I made sharp turns. Dealer noticed it too and had a special "kit" to fix the steering shaft, which was covered under warranty.
No other problems to report.
I love the car, and the attention it gets while driving on the highway.
I'll be honest and say that originally I wanted to buy a Ford Crown Victoria police car, but those are not available in Canada to the general public. I'm not sure if given the chance I would switch, as I love my little Impala 9C1.
The clunking noise from your Police Impala is probably the welds on the engine cradle... common problem on 2000 and 2001 impalas.
John.
Actually what you hearing is a ujoint in the steering column that has been updated twice... gm knows about it, but if your like me and your warranty is up its gunna cost you like 300 just for the part... i can live with a little noise...
We have the same problem...isn't it sad you have to live with it???
I have the same problem with my 01 Impala too. I also have a problem when I'm driving in town and it goes between gears it doesn't want to go into the next gear and sounds like it stays in neutral for a couple seconds. Otherwise great car for 100,000+ miles on it.
Actually Crown Victoria Police Interceptors are available in Canada. It is rare to be able to buy one new (you can only buy one if a police agency has ordered it, then declined it upon arrival) but it is very uncommon. They are easier to find used than the Impala interceptor, they are cheaper, and they are of higher (reported) quality.
There's a dealership in Canada who sells a lot of these x police cars. I noticed they have a lot of impala's too. They may have some info on these things...www.aawcars.com.
Prior to buying mine, I test drove it for 2 days. I noticed the "thumping" from the steering column immediately after leaving the dealership (not during the initial test drive) and reported it. The dealer's first story was that it was the suspension and they'd give me their over-inflated cost on fixing it. 20 minutes later it was the motor mounts (I'm not sure what happens to a car in 50k miles that causes motor mounts to fail) and I could get their cost on fixing that too. they told me it wasn't a safety issue and that i'd have to live with it and they weren't going to fix it. I left the car and went home.
The next day, the sales manager called me, told me they fixed the steering column, and asked if I still wanted it. I got it and I love it, but I'll be limiting my experience with the particular dealer at all costs.
The Crown Victoria is a great car! I had one. but if it wasn't for the gas guzzl'in 4.8 V8 engine. I'd keep it.
Its true you can find a CrownVic (P71) more easily. Craig's List is a great site to find that cop car you're looking for.
www.craigslist.org
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