NHTSA Complaint #10232651 — 2003 CHEVROLET IMPALA

ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO MY 2003 IMPALAS HEAT GAUGE STARTED ACTING FUNNY LIKE THE CAR WAS OVERHEATING BUT THEN IT WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL. IT WAS COOL OUT ABOUT THAT TIME OF YEAR AND I ALSO NOTICED THE CAR HAD NO HEAT. I REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT THINKING THAT WAS THE PROBLEM BUT IT DID NOT HELP AND THE PROBLEM PERSISTED. MY HUSBAND THEN NOTICED THAT THE COOLANT LEVEL WAS LOW AND ADDED MORE. THAT ALSO DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM, AND ABOUT A WEEK LATER WE NOTICED THE COOLANT WAS LOW AGAIN. WE LOOKED FOR THE LEAK AND COULD NOT FIND ONE. I FINALLY TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY AUTOMATICALLY KNEW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS AND STATED IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE 3400 SERIES ENGINE. WE PAID NEARLY $700 TO HAVE THE CAR FIXED. I HAVE RECENTLY NOTICED THAT MY COOLANT LEVEL AGAIN IS LOW BUT CAN NOT DETECT ANY OF THE SAME PROBLEMS AS BEFORE, I STILL HAVE HEAT AND A/C AND THE HEAT GAUGE IS NOT FLUCTUATING BUT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AROUND AT RECALLS SOME FORUMS ABOUT THE SAME TYPE OF CAR AND HAVE DISCOVERED MANY OTHERS ARE HAVING THE SAME TROUBLE, BUT THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THE 3400 SERIES MOTOR AS THERE IS FOR THE 3800. *TR