The A/C could not keep the vehicle cool from day one. This required two trips to the dealer in the first week. Problem was corrected.
Bumping noise from truck. Two different deals declared this “No Problem with the Vehicle” and “we found something loose in the spare well”. After vehicle is out of warranty, I have discovered a TSB for this issue. Some type of modification needs to be done to the gas tank mount or something. Local dealer says too bad, out of warranty.
Brake Pulsation at 11K miles. Funny noise from steering on hard turns. Dealer says both are related to the Brakes and there is a TSB. Required overnight in shop. Brakes fixed, but funny bump noise in steering was noticed again within 1K.
Air Bag warning light coming on intermittently while driving somewhere between 18K – 22K. First trip to deal for this they said it was fixed…it was not. (During this trip the funny bump noise in the steering was again mentioned to the service under writer.) When Air Bag light continued to be a problem, car went back in. They kept the car overnight and called us to come get it. They had removed the RADIO and left a hole in the dash…said they would not pay for a loaner car while the got a new radio? A week later, we took the car back in and waited for 2 ½ hours while the radio was put back in. This supposedly fixed the airbag problem. Since then, at least once every couple of months, you will notice the air bag warning light flash on and right back off. Third trip to the dealer…they could not verify or reproduce the problem. During this third trip for the air bag, the funny bump in steering was brought up again. Service writer said this was not a defect and was nothing to be concerned about.
The radio display light intensity went wacky after the radio was replace (or repaired) for the air bag problem. Full brightness is the only halfway stable setting. At anything less it will flicker between off-dim-full brightness. By this time disgust with the deal had grown so high that we let it go.
At 43K the head gasket blew, or rather leaked. Out of Warranty - - Big Bucks! This developed slowly and the car never over heated. There was faint smell of antifreeze for several days, like a slow leak. Low Coolant Reservoir light came on. Added coolant, cause was not found. Two weeks latter, Low Coolant Reservoir light again. This time the cooling system was pressure tested and leaking into the engine.
At 54K or so the Check Engine light started coming on, then turning back off again. About 75% of the time the code is EGR valve position. The remaining 25% of the time the code seems kind of random. This is worst in hot weather. The EGR valve has been replaced once (not cheap) with no effect.
At about 54K the “Low Tire Pressure” warning started going off without cause. It has become quite predictable when starting with the vehicle cold and driving at a constant highway speed for 20 minutes the light will come on. When you reset it, it will not appear again until the same conditions occur again (cold start and drive at constant highway speed for 20 min).
I have since discovered that the funny bump in the steering (which has gotten worst with time) is a known defect and there is a TSB. But guess what…its out of warranty now. I traced the time line for this issue and the TSB dates back to BEFORE the first time we had the dealer look at the problem.
Many little issues like the rubber trim strip along the room buckling, the battery failing in under 3 years, Remote door locks are unreliable (sometimes takes three or four tries from right beside the vehicle.)
Because of the problems with the car, especially a concern that the air bags may not function correctly, my wife prefers not to drive the car! We cannot afford to get rid of it because it is worth so little. With 10% down and 5 year straight financing (not a balloon payment or financing program type issue) the note has been way upside down since year two. My credit union car loan rep said the wholesale bluebook had dropped a higher than normal amount, as compared to purchase price.
When its running, it's a great car. Handles and accelerates well enough to be called "fun to drive".
Lots of room and trunk space.
A/C vents are a little lacking on the Drivers Side.
Reliability and Chevrolet service have made this car a burden to own.
Thanks for the very well documented (mileage vs. event) on the problems encountered. Understandable that the author is frustrated with all the poor service that he has had. The fella mentioned that the car battery went dead in less than 3 years. Mine did too - however yesterday, 7-29-03, my car battery went dead - twice!! I have an explanation that may explain his problem that he hasn't had an explanation for - please forward this to him. I had just been on the freeway for 40 minutes - so it was bizarre cause the battery should have been fully charged. The point is that I found out that there is a technical service bulletin that the circuitry associated with the trunk light may cause electrical grounding!! When calling in to AAA the first time, the representative had a 2000 Impala too, and informed me that there were problems with "seat belt" and "some type of heating" problem - since I hadn't been informed by my dealer. I had to go to an appointment and was forced not to buy another battery immediately. When I came out of the appointment, my car again required a battery jump, again, just having returned on the Fwy for a 40 min ride back to my side of town. After the second battery dead event, I drove straight to the dealer and inquire about the recalls - he had no recalls at all he said while my car stayed running all the time. I bought the battery and he installed it. I remember this dead battery event happended to me about 2 years ago. I investigated about my care last night and learned about these 70 or so TSBs!! No one had told me! So I've disconnected my truck light, while I research if by buying the light switch will take care of it, or if the circuitry under the hood that controls this is still susceptable to grounding.
I love my impala 2000, I can fit my scuba gear and my buddy's in the trunk. I love the fold down rear seats to get long poles through the trunk. I love the 5 star safety. My car is a very nice car to drive. I have had the intermitten driver's air bag light come on - it's been a true concern for safety. They said it was the passenger's air bag faulty senser and they replaced it (not the drivers). I am concerned that my radio to the touch is very very hot - I don't feel comfortable that this is normal. I just read the title of a TSB that says there is an issue about the front being too low or it bottoms out - now this agrees with my frustration of my car radiator plastic air deflector always scatching on the floowr at low intersections and while always driving in or out of my drive way. I also was frustrated with the noise that the dash board dials make on turn on/off. The repair shop was so off and expensive by error - they replaced the whole dashboard!! As I started to drove off - the dials still made the noise!! When I informed them, they took it back to a mechanic and they said that that was typical of all new cars - dials making a friction dragging sound in being turned on/off - after the had just changed a very expensive item. I do enjoy my car, it's very smooth. I also am frustrated by the lack of proper service intelligence. Hope this helps!. jmancera@earthlink.net.
I have a 2000 Impala with 31,000 miles. It has preformed very well and is great to drive. The 32 mpg on long trips has been easy to accept and with the added comfort of the size and ride we are reluctant to replace it with a smaller vehicle.
The only problems to date were a frozen steering shaft coupler that gave a clunking noise over bumps and the battery that developed a leak. I installed an Interstate battery and had the steering repaired.
As the tires have gotten harder and the tread shorter with age, it seams that there is more tire noise coming from the rear. A lot more. The noise starts to become noticeable at even 15 mph. Added insulation under the trunk pad, the spare tire well and around the rear wheel wells has not done much to quiet things. I plan on new tires at 40,000 miles. I will try and find some quieter tires if I can do so without affecting the good handling.
Larry.
I drive a '00 Impala for work, I got it with 54 miles on the odometer and as of today it has 168148 on it, the steering problem which my dealer fixed wich they said was a steering coupler that needed grease started at around 30k, the air bag light is a switch conector under the driver's seat, it is for the side airbag, when my light comes on and I move the yellow plug under the seat the light goes off, other than that I have had no problems what so ever with this car, I love to drive it and the 32mpg on highway impresses me to this day.
I own a 2000 Chevy Impala. For the past year, the check engine light sometimes comes on. My uncle who is a mechanic used a computer to check for the problem. The diagnosis was a problem with the secondary air compressor. He said it was odd because I don't have an air pump? (Not positive) But, he didn't think it was a big problem. Lately, my dash lights and radio lights aren't working at night time. Also, last night, the air bag light came on. I looked it up in the car manual, and it says it means there is a electrical problem. My question is, what does the TSB mean? Other people have mentioned them in their comments. If the problems I have experienced are TSB, what do I do? Thanks!
TSB = technical service bulletin... Which is a bulletin sent to "Authorized service centers". The bulletin will detail any problem or defect that has been discovered, and provide a solution or fix for the problem.
I too own a 2000 Impala. I love the way it looks, but am frustrated with my problems. The steering box was first replaced at 35k miles, the airbag lights come on for no apparent reason, numerous brake problems and now again at 80k the steering is having the same clicking and rattling that it did previously. I've never replaced a steering box in one of my autos once, much less twice. When I called Chevorlet Customer Care they said they had no bullentins or recalls for steering problems. How can this be? Of course now they refuse to take care of it. My $80 ceiling fan has a 10yr warranty, should not a factory installed part like the steering box be covered for more than one year? I'm totally frustrated. My family has owned over 40 Chevy's over the years, but now I am considering another car maker for my next purchase.
The information or comments contained here are great. I bought my used 2000 Impala with 90,126 miles on it. The night I brought the car home, the SES light came on. It is giving a P1404 witch is a EGR Position issue. This is very intermittent, it comes and goes as it pleases, and the dealer cannot reproduce. Since I got it on 08/31/04 I have also had to replace the battery because it had a short that was causing the car not to start along with other electrical problems. The drive belt tensioner because it snapped in half while I was driving. And this morning, my Air Bag light came on and stayed on. I found this site earlier in the day and I follow the suggestion on wiggling the yellow cable under the drivers sear and sure enough it worked.
All in All I like this car platform, I think they could have made it better, but it is fun to drive.
I bought my used 2000 Impala LS two weeks ago at 64,000 miles. I loved driving this car and it seemed nothing was wrong. The dealership had had the car for over two weeks as it fixed mostly cosmetic problems and I just got the car for good yesterday. Today, the car wouldn't start.
When I turn on the car it doesn't turn over and dashboard lights flicker off and on a couple time.
The dealer said I had a bad cell on the battery, but reading these comments makes me think it might be more. What should I do?
I also own a 2000 Chevy Impala, It has been 1 problem after another starting at approximately 4000 Miles. Steering Wheel rattles and vibrates, Took the car to a shop and was told this was an Intermediate shaft issue which was not covered under warranty due to regular wear and tear. Also the check engine light is always on and the airbag light turns on and off almost daily. Also the Fuel Pressure Regulator was leaking and then the manifold exploded one morning when I truned the key. Cost me three thousand dollars to repair, two years later a recall was issues and I only got reimbursed one thousand dollars. Chevy and Gm are cheapskates and definitely not customer service oriented.
I've contacted Chevrolet and GM almost 12 times and the Customer service is terrible. I kept getting the run around by inexperienced employees not willing to help.
I got better service from my private mechanic than from any GM or Chevy person I ever talked too. Car is too expensive to maintain and issues keep re-occuring. I will definitely never buy another GM or Chevy car again and recommend you don't either.
Boycott Chevy / GM.
Frustrated with GM / Chevy Customer Service.
I have a 2000 Chevy Impala that I purchased two years ago at 45,000 miles. I travel merely 100 miles daily to and from work. And I have driven my Impala every day. I have also driven my car from Florida to New York last summer. Furthermore, I travel down to south Florida from Central Florida frequently. Throughout all of this traveling I did not have any problems until I hit the 85000 mark. I began to have problems with my battery. And initially I thought that the TV’s in my car were draining the battery. After taking the TV’s out of the car the battery continued to present problem similar to that which another person explained above. I would head out for my morning commute to work and the car would not start nor would the doors unlock with the key control. Oddly, the car would start immediately when I placed my jump start kit on the car. I had my battery and alternator checked (free service) by discount auto parts and their diagnosis stated that the battery was fine, but the alternator presented a problem. The other problem that I have is my check engine light comes on for days at a time. However, when I attempt to have the car checked the light goes off and will not register on the diagnostic machine. I am sick and tiered of the light coming on because it scares me. I don’t want anything major to go wrong. So if any one has some advice please place a comment regarding the check engine light. In the mean time I will look into some of the problems that were mentioned in other comments. And yes I agree with everyone that the miles per gallon are wonderful, the care has an excellent amount of space and drives smooth. Most of all the car has a style that makes you look good while driving. Overall, I am currently at a little over 100000 miles and would likely purchase another Impala if I were to trade it in, but I have a new Tahoe so there is no rush. I wish every one else luck with their Impala's and I pray that your repairs are not expensive.
I am having problems with my dash lights. They don't always turn on and if they do turn on they will shut off at any time, day or night. They will work fine for a few days and then they stop for a few days. I will turn on the car and they will light up and then die down. I was told by a mechanic that the problem was in the whole instrument assembly being sealed off and needs to be sent out to a company at the fixing cost of around $800. I am not sure that this is the problem. If anyone has had this problem or can give any advice on how to solve it please contact me at stephp144@hotmail.com.
I'm noticing a lot of airbag comments. My sister had a Pontiac Aztec for 2 years. The third time she had it serviced for the airbag light, she filed a lawsuit. After 2 months, GM settled, refunding the entire amount paid for the car and she returned the car. Airbags are a safety issue no different than seatbelts.
Airbag light comes on in cold weather, under 5 degrees celicus! Came on in my 2006 impalla ss my 2000 impala ss, my 98 impala ss, my 99 lumina, and my oldsmobile achieva, oh and at times my sunfire too! Must be a problem with all gm vehicles!
P.S. AIR BAGS SHOULD BE IN FOR A CHECKUP EVERY 7 YEARS!
Drive safe!
I can address a part of the EGR valve issues (Service Engine Soon light comes on and diagnostic indicates and EGR valve problem). I have a '96 Lumina LS with this problem. I took it to AutoZone for the free diagnostic, where I was told the EGR valve needed to be replaced. I then took it to the dealer, they said it did NOT need to be replaced, but that the tubing connected to it needed to be cleaned. They did so, and it was fine for a couple months, then the light came on again. The dealer told me to put Fuel Injector Cleaner in with a full tank of gas with every oil change, which seems to have corrected the problem. I get the cleaner at W**-M*** for about $2 USD.
I hope this helps some of you!
I got a Chevy Impala 2000 and this car has almost 90 K I feel very good with this car which I buy almost 2 years ago, now I have a problems with the intermediate shaft located at the wheel steering, I went to the dealer Octuber and they told me it needs to be replace it, they do and now the noise is coming again I went to them and they put some grease, but the problem stills, also I has some noises at the front or on the bottom of the car I am so frustrated, also the brakes are making some noise due to some padlocks that the brakes has. I will be so thankful if one of you can give me some advice or put me in contact with somebody who has been in this situation and resolve it and how they do Regards. Francisco.