Hi everyone,

I just recently purchased a base 2001 Impala with the 3.4L engine.
All I can say is WOW, what a cheap china looking car this is! I never owned a GM vehicle before, but I couldn't resist the price of this Impala since my buddy had a foreclosure and had to get rid of the car.

Here are a few problems with the vehicle:
1. Front end shudders when accelerating..seems to me to be tranny related;
2. Fuel gauge goes up and down crazy never know how much gas you got in it; Sending unit bad?? Bad ground??? ????
3. AC/Heating control only works in 1 position...seems shorted out;

Do you guys have these kind of problems?? What to do??
My wife likes the Impala and I want to fix it for her.
I apreciate your help in advance.

 

My 01 Impala has all these exact problems.

I wish someone could help.

 

Give us the mileage on the car. That could help. Did you not know about these problems before buying it?

1. Bent rim or alignment problem?
2. Bad sending unit
3. You mean only works on 1 setting? 1,2,3,4 or 5?

These can be easy fixes

 

Fuel gauge going up and down is probably bad grounding of the meter. Check if your negative and grounding cable are still connected.

Same could be the cause with the A/C but i would advice you to bring it to an A/C supplier and let him test it for you. could be there is not enough freon in it (or whatever it is they use these days...) or maybe just a bad wire.

Impala has rear wheel acceleration, right? So if it would be the transmission, then it would be the rear part that shudders. My guess would be that your (djees, really...someone send me a Dutch/english dictionary :-s ) rockers are worn out. (those parts that keep your engine from rocking the boat ).

And if you bought the car from a garage...Dont you guys get warranty on that????

 

Nope FWD

 

1.the shuddering problem during acceleration could be a number of things. one of the more common things is a axle going bad. check the axle boots for signs of grease coming out of them. but just because you dont see any grease doesnt mean the axle isnt bad. either that or like hotsauce said it could also be an alignment issue.

2. i have the same problem with my fuel gauge when it gets below 1/4 tank. its most likely the sending unit.(i havent fixed mine yet) the sending unit is inside the tank. but you dont have to drop the tank to get to it. if you lift up the carpet in the trunk you will see a plate with a few screws in it, its just infront of the spare tire well. remove the plate and you will see the access door to the tank. you can do this to replace a faulty fuel pump also.

3. the blower only working on 1 setting is the blower motor resistor. on the passenger side of the car under the dash is where the blower motor is. you will have to take the blower out to replace the resistor. i havent had to do this but i dont thik its very hard.

 

Blower motor resister is a PITA..haha

 

well, i never had to replace mine. lol