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Chevy Impala Car Repair Questions and Answers

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Question: 2004 Chevy Impala mileage: 84,000. Engine began to miss shortly after I ran out of gas one day.  Now, engine misses mostly when cold while lightly accelerating.  Seems to miss only when the throttle is slightly applied and held steady.  When at cruising speed, it will also miss at times.  It never misses at idle or when under medium to heavy acceleration.  Dealer couldn't find problem, but did an ERG cleaning of the system.  A fuel filter has been replaced, sparkplugs and wires have been replaced.

Answer: When you ran out of gas, you may have damaged the fuel pump.

Question: 1995 Chevy Impala mileage: 55,000. Hi...my girlfriend's old Impala eats batteries! We had one burst last month, thought it frozen. Got a replacement, now this one is belching sulfurous gasses and is warm to the touch after the car has run for a little while. Not cold enough to freeze - possible charging system problem?  Sometimes the interior lights/radio lights go dim, then bright again, also.  The alternator is putting out about 14.7 volts, the battery is charged to about 13.5 volts, seems high.  I thought maybe the voltage regulator could be bad, but don't know where it is on that year vehicle!  Otherwise a great low-mileage nana car...any advice you guys could give on where to start looking for the problem would be appreciated!

Answer: Check the ground wires to make sure they are in place and making good contact, especially the battery cable ground connection to the motor.  If this checks out okay, you probably have a faulty alternator. BTW, the regulator is built into the alternator.

Question: 2001 Chevy Impala mileage: 68,000. My car won't start on the first try...it takes at least three to four times before it will start.  It tries to catch and kind of sputters out, when it does finally start it seems almost to lapse and then surge.  I am not sure if that makes sense, but I don't know how else to explain it. My husband has replaced the plugs and wires, we have also taken it to be serviced at the dealership; they could not find anything wrong with it.  We are at a loss on what it could be....I am desperately wanting to fix this problem, it's making me crazy!

Answer: We are making an assumption here that your dealership scanned for stored fault codes and found none. Your "hard-starting" problem may be caused by the fuel lines draining back into the tank when the car sits for awhile.  This can be verified by temporarily installing a fuel pressure gauge and watching the pressure after the engine is shut off. The problem may be a fuel pressure regulator or a check valve by the fuel pump. TIP: Before you start your car, turn the key to the on and off position several times without starting your car This will cycle the fuel pump which will pressurize the fuel delivery system.

Question: 2001 Chevrolet Impala mileage: 122,000. My car won't crank and the radio, Onstar system, door-locks, and remote transmitter won't work and I am hearing a clicking sound at all four doors. My question to you is what could be wrong with my vehicle? The battery is brand new and all fuses are good. Also the interior lights won't come on.

Answer: If the battery cables where incorrectly hooked upwhen the new battery was installed, this could cause the body control module to fail resulting in the symptoms you described.

Question: 2000 Chevrolet Impala mileage: 55,273. Dear Bob & Ken: There is a rotten egg/sulfur gas smell every time I start up my 2000 Impala. You can actually see a haze in the air after the car is started and it takes about 20 minutes to get the smell out of the garage with the door open. It is a very potent odor. If the re-circulation vent is on outside air, you can actually smell this gas odor inside the car for about 10 minutes after running it. Can you tell me what the problem might be and what to look for? I have had new plugs installed in November, and the gas mileage is still excellent. Could it be the catalytic converter, exhaust or what? Any help and information on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer: A faulty fuel pressure regulator may be your problem. This regulator leaks fuel into the engine when it is off which causes an over rich condition when the engine is started. This is the cause of the rotten egg smell.

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Question: 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS mileage: 84,000. I've got a knocking problem with my car that is driving me nuts. The knocking occurs when about 1/3 to 1/2 of the throttle is engaged. I've tried different brands of fuel, different grades of fuel, replaced the EGR, and run 2 bottles of complete fuel system cleaner with little results. The fuel system cleaner helped some, but the knock is still exists. When I mash the throttle and downshift, the knock ceases. Under almost no engine load, there is no knock. Under high Rpms and engine load, the knock ceases to exist, probably because my ECU doesn't look for EGR at wide-open throttle. I do not suspect a fuel delivery problem because I plenty of power at high load/RPM. I do not suspect an ignition problem either because I've been told that if my opti-spark is bad, I'd have lots of problems at high Rpms, which I don't. I'm frustrated at this point because when my engine knocks, I lose power because the computer sees the knock from the knock sensors and retards the timing accordingly. I'm afraid that eventually I'm going to damage something. Can you shed some light on this mystery knock problem?

Answer: Test the knock sensor to be sure that it is working.

Question: 1998 Chevy Impala mileage: 70,000. Lately while driving my Impala seems to hesitate or surge, it's hard to tell.  It started happening first at speeds around 40-45 mph.  Now when it happens, it is doing it at 60 mph and also when I then start to drive slower.  If I accelerate, it stops but then can start again.  It doesn't happen every day and only seems to happen when I've been driving a while.  It feels as if something is not flowing through properly.  I had a transmission flush done at 60000 miles; they did not replace the filter.  At 63000 miles, the fuel pump had to be replaced.  The fuel filter and screen were also replaced at this time.   I've never had a tune up.  I'm not sure what it causing the problem.  Should I worry about it stalling on me?

Answer: Your car may be ready for a major tune-up including spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, fuel filter and air filter.  Also, perform a fuel pump pressure test.  Clean fuel injection system including throttle bore, idle speed control motor and passages.  Also, replace the oxygen sensor.  If problem still exists, scan computer for trouble codes.

Question: 2001 Chevy Impala mileage: 84,000.  My dash lights do not work nor do the speedometer and turn signal.  I have checked the car manual and cannot find a cause.  The fuse box on the side panel says that it controls other lights but all those work, except for the three above.  Any suggestions - appreciate your help.

Answer:   Check for 12-volts that feeds the fuse panel, especially the connectors that are energized by the ignition switch.

Question: Chevy Impala mileage: 64,000.  Help!!!!  My impala is sick, I have just had the timing chain, distributor, replaced, also a second set of plugs and wires.  My husband the back yard mechanic also added gas cleaner, thinking that I had gotten some bad gas.  The car was running better, the main problem had been the distributor, but now it sounds like it is missing when its idling, and now it is making this loud noise like it has an exhaust leak.  Could all that stuff he added to clean the gas caused damage to sensors, or the catalytic converter.  What do I do?

Answer: The wrong gas additive can cause damage to the oxygen sensor and/or catalytic converter.  Check the catalytic converter to make sure it is not “plugged” or restricted.  Your car is equipped with a computer controlled engine management system.  An independent auto service center can scan your computer for fault or error codes.  The information should pinpoint the malfunctioning components.

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Model / Chevy / Impala