2002 Chevrolet Impala LS from North America - Comments

Transmission at only 10,000 miles.

Stereo quit working at around 13,000.

Brakes wear incredibly fast.

Cruise control failed.

I picked this car over a Chrysler 300M and another Ford Taurus and now I'm really not sure why. It is a very nice looking car, however, its mechanically challenged. since day one, minor things have been been happening, like the windshield wipers quitting. But when you have to replace a transmission at only 10,000 miles, then there is something wrong. the dealer was not pleasant to deal with and they tried to blame it on me. I take excellent care of my vehicles with oil changes at every 3 thousand miles and all required maitenence at the required times. Thanks to that, I had a 1997 Ford Taurus that I kept for 160,000 miles with hardly any problems and my wife is still driving her 1996 Dodge Intrepid with almost 155,000.

The second problem I had was first, all the stereo lights failed, and the dealer said that I had to replace the entire stereo to fix it. shorty after, the entire thing quit and I had to replace it.

The Impala does have a decent ride and acheives decent highway fuel mileage.

The 3.8 may look impressive, but don't be fooled, its hardly what its cracked up to be. it provides adequate power, but it certainly isn't neck-snapping.

GM needs a lot of work on this car as well as the rest of their line of cars. The quality just doesn't stack up to the others.

Thank God, I've traded it in and i am totally happy with my new Chrysler 300M

I agree with you totally. I had a 2002 Impala LS for about a year before I had to trade it in. There were just way too many problems. I've never owned a car that needed so much work within 20,000 miles. I bought a 2003 Chrysler Concorde, after telling myself that I would never own a Chrysler. The quality is just so much better and there is so much more attention to detail. I have driven the Concorde for over 60,000 miles and have not had a problem with it. It just goes to show the difference in terms of quality. I will never own another GM vehicle.

I also agree, I owned a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT with the 3800 motor. I have never owned a car with so many problems with such low miles. So I did some research and Traded it in for a 2003 Dodge Intrepid ES and I LOVE IT!! I was also someone who said that I would never own a Chrysler vehicle, but it is honestly made much better and there is more detail put into this vehicle. Haven't had any problems yet at 75000 miles.

I also Agree, I actually still own this pile of garbage. Its currently rotting at the end of my driveway while I Drive my 07 Ford Fusion. I can't even get rid of the thing! I should have just traded it in, took the loss, and be done with it. I just can't believe the difference in quality between the two makes. My wife is still enjoying her 2001 Taurus with well over 100k on it, while the Impala barely made it to 41,000 miles. Never Again will I purchase a GM product. My sister owns a Pontiac Grand Prix with the same motor, and she is also at the end of her rope.

Sounds like you might have a lemon on your hands. New tranny after 10,000 miles? At least the warranty covers it.

I have a 02 3.8 with every option in it. Overall, it's been a great car. However, the few problems that have come up over the years have been very costly.

The wheel bearings went out - that was a $1000 fix.

The A/C, around 65000 miles started making a sound like a leaf was in the fan. Had it into a Chevy dealership, they said there was nothing wrong and the problem should "fix itself." 5 months later, only hot air would blow out. Took it to my normal mechanic - metal parts had broken down internally and shot pieces through the entire system - $1400 to pretty much replace the entire A/C system. Of course, that was after the Chevy dealership said nothing was wrong.

I have 85000 miles on it now, and it's currently in the shop because of the dreaded intake manifold leak. $800 to replace both manifolds, all gaskets, thermostat, completely flush the system, and an entire tune-up.

The only other major problem was the catalytic converter had to be replaced - which is covered under the special 120k mile warranty from Chevy.

The small issues were the drivers side window motor stopped working - $100 repair.

I have had no electrical issues, like so many others talk about.

Basically, the car is paid off and parts will break down over time. I put almost 45000 miles on the car in a 2 year period of stop and go highway driving.

I think Chevy's are being built very cheaply these days, and that tends to be the major culprit for all these problems. However, with almost any car your going to have problems. Parts break down.

The main thing is you have to have your car checked out regularly, at least twice a year once you reach 50k miles. Most people don't do this because it cost a few hundred bucks to get that done. It's hard having to shell out $1000 twice a year to fix these issues, but like I said... the car is paid off and spending $4000 in the last 3 years is a lot cheaper than paying car payments.

If you take care of your car like you're supposed to take care of your body, they should last for a long time. Most people don't do this, and they think cars should never have problems. That's not the case. That's why car's are the worst investments you'll ever make. But what choice to we have?

Just for every 2002 Chevy Impala LS 3.8 V6 owners, my major repair experience started at 119k miles when the idiot light came on, found muddy looking coolant fluid in the reservoir, replaced lower intake & upper gasket manifold while at it replaced the serpentine belt (no timing belt on this car), water pump, valve cover gasket, PVC valve, oil and coolant flush all done by a local mechanic for $1900, the dealer wanted $3600 for the same job.

Now at 126k miles it threw a rod putting a hole on the engine oil pan below, I ended up replacing the engine from GM, total cost $4700. Replaced fuel gauge sensing unit at 75k miles ($220), catalytic converter at 71k miles, passenger power seat control at 50k miles replaced tires and brakes around every 60k miles, car paid off, repair still cheaper than monthly car payments.

From Fremont CA.

I have a 2002 Impala with the 3.4 liter engine. This car has been by far the most problematic vehicle I have ever owned.

We have put over 1800.00 into it the last year or so... first the ECM died, then the BCM. Shortly after that something to do the evaporative system and then it stranded us 900 miles from home because the ignition key would not turn, had to tow it to a dealer and spend over 500.00 for the ignition switch to be replaced.

And yet again, another problem has surfaced... loss of power. I got a letter 3-4 years ago about this and it is supposedly and issue with the catalytic convertor, our local dealer is researching right now. We have 106000 miles on it and the letter stated the catalytic convertor would be replaced up to 120000 miles or 10 years.

We have a 1999 Toyota Camry we bought used with 75000 miles on it and we now have over 170000 on it and have had not absolutely one issue. Even if GM survives their bankruptcy, I will never buy another one of their products, and my family has been buying GM products for almost 40 years!