2001 CHEVROLET IMPALA Engine And Engine Coolingcooling System Problems

ENGINE/LOW COOLANT LEVEL LIGHT ON! OVERHEATING. PROBLEMS APPEAR TO BE SAME AS OTHER OWNERS OF 2001 IMPALA'S! HAD TO REPLACE ENGINE. STILL SAME PROBLEM W COOLANT. *TR

DEXCOOOL LEAK THROUGH HEAD GASKET, 2ND VEHICLE - PROBLEM ON OUT OF STATE BUSINESS TRIP. *TR

SUDDEN MALFUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE GAUGE (NOT WORKING), COOLING FANS RUNNING, AFTER CAR IS TURNED OFF, NO A/C. MANY OTHERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVING SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. *TR

LOW COOLANT LIGHT LIT. ADDED DEXCOOL AS NEEDED. LIGHT THEN BEGAN TO COME ON AND GO OFF INTERMITTANTLY. TOOK TO DEALER. THEY TESTED AND SAID SENSOR WAS DEFECTIVE. REPLACED AND DEXCOOL ADDED. COST$225. I NOTICED SEVERAL SIMILAR PROBLEMS ON NHSTA. GM SHOULD COVER THIS COST OR HAVE A RECALL.

I HAVE A 2001 CHEVY IMPALA AND IT HAS BEEN LEAKING ENGINE COOLANT FOR SOMETIME NOW. WE PUT THE REQUIRED DEXCOOL COOLANT TO REPLACE THE LOST, BUT IT JUST KEPT ON LEAKING. WE TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC TO REPAIR IT AND HE INFORMED US THAT IT WAS LEAKING FROM THE INTAKE GASKET DOWN ONTO THE SPARK PLUGS AND IT WAS DAMAGING THE SPARK PLUGS. HE SAID DON'T PUT DEXCOOL COOLANT INTO THE CAR AGAIN BECAUSE IT JUST DAMAGES THE GASKETS. HE SAID I CANT TELL U HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE HAD TO REPAIR THIS SAME THING ON CHEVROLET VEHICLES. TOTAL REPAIRS $749.43 . THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ON THIS. NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE DEXCOOL COOLANT BUT BECAUSE OF THE GASKETS. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING ANY SPEED THERE WAS A BANGING NOISE IN THE STEERING COLUMN ACCOMPANIED BY A VIBRATION. THE BANGING AND THE VIBRATION BECAME GRADUALLY WORSE WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED TO EITHER SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A SERVICE DEALER WHO DETERMINED THAT THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPACKED. THE SHAFT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY REPLACED, BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED. UPDATED 9/22/2006 - THE FUEL TANK SENDING UNIT WAS REPLACED. THE FUEL INJECTOR UNIT WAS REPLACED INTAKE GASKET LEAKED. *NM

I RECENTLY BOUGHT A 2001 CHEVY IMPALA. SHORTLY AFTER I NOTICE WHEN I FIRST STARTED THE CAR,THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE SHOWED THE CAR OVERHEATING, TOOK TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID THAT IT WAS NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE. A FEW WEEK AFTER THAT IT QUIT WORKING ALL TOGETHER. SO I LOOK ON THE CAR STATS. COM AND FOUND COMPLAINTS CONCERNING THIS PROBLEM. SOLUTION I TOOK THE CAR TO REPEATABLE CAR MECHANIC .THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS TO TAKE THE RADIATOR CAP OFF, IT WAS FULL OF BROWN SLUDGE, HE SAID THAT GM TRIED TO SAVE MONEY BY PUTTING IN A $2.00 MANIFOLD GASKET IN ALL 3.4 ENGINES, THEY ALL FAIL BETWEEN 35,000 AND 40,000. IT COST $580. YOU CAN NOT REPLACE ONE GASKET YOU BUY ALL THREE IN A REPLACE KIT AND CHANGE THE OIL AND ANTIFREEZE. I FOUND OUT THAT THIS PROBLEM IS ROUTINELY MISSED. THEY JUST RESET THE COMPUTER AND...

THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE IS NOT WORKING CONSISTENTLY. IT WILL GO BELOW COLD SPORADICALLY. THIS WILL CAUSE THE FANS TO RUN CONTINUOUSLY AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON. THE CODES DO NOT MATCH THE PROBLEM AND THE HAYNES BOOK DOES NOT MATCH THE CAR EITHER. COOLANT LEAKS FROM INTAKE MANIFOLD, PROBABLY BAD GASKETS. *NM

COOLANT SYSYEM:TEMPERATURE GAUGE MOVES TO HOT FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES THEN BACK TO NORMAL. CLICKING SOUND IN STEERING WHEEL WHEN YOU YOU MAKE A TURN. LOUD POPPING OR CRACKING SOUND IN THE DASH AREA WITH VARIOUS TEMPERATURE CHANGES.*AK

THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT STAYS ON INDICATING THAT THE ENGINE COULD OVER HEAT. CONSUMER CHECKED THE ENGINE AND FOUND THAT THERE WAS A FLUID LEAK OUT THE ENGINE. AS A RESULT THE CONSUMER HAS TO PUT IN COOLANT ABOUT ONCE A MONTH TO AVOID OVERHEATING.*AK DEALER PUT NEW GASKET IN AT INTAKE MANIFOLD AND REPAIRED RADIATOR. *BF *NM

(1) COOLING SYSTEM FAILURE, TEMP GAUGE NOT WORKING, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, COOLING FANS RUNNING CONTINUOUSLY (2) IMPROPER ENGINE OPERATION, ROADSIDE STOPPAGE (3) RESET CONNECTION ON COOLANT SENSOR , SYSTEM RETURNED TO NORMAL OPERATION. I'M NOT SURE THERE WAS ANY CORRELATION WITH THE SENSOR CONNECTION. THE COMPUTER RESET ITSELF AFTER A FEW MINUTES AND ALL CONDITIONS RETURNED TO NORMAL.*AK

THE INTAKE MANIFOLD/GASKET ON THIS VEHICLE HAS TO BE REPLACED. CAR WAS OVERHEATING WHEN IDLE. NO HEAT WAS BEING GENERATED. COST TO REPAIR HAS BEEN QUOTED AS $580. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM ON THESE VEHICLES, GM NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL AS ANY KNOWLEDGEABLE MECHANIC IS AWARE OF THIS VERY COMMON PROBLEM, DUE TO POOR-QUALITY INTAKE MANIFOLD/GASKETS BEING USED ON THESE VEHICLES. *NM

UPPER INTAKE PLUENTUM WAS LEAKING COOLANT AT 30,000 MILES. *JB

WHILE DRIVING, THE TRANSMISSION STOPPED PULLING. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE, BUT THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING. THE MECHANIC STATED THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW WATER PUMP. *JB

VEHICLE IS 2001 CHEVROLET IMPALA. AT 11,500 MILES, ENGINE BEGAN TO LOSE COOLANT. (NO VISIBLE LEAKS). DEALER SERVICE MANAGER INDICATED "THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM" AND THAT PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS ON GM V6 ENGINES ARE WARPING CAUSING COOLANT LOSS. DEALER "FIX" WAS TO INSTALL "GM PELLETS" TO SEAL COOLING SYSTEM. IF ENGINE STILL LOSES COOLANT, INTAKE MANIFOLD WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED (APPROX COST=$800). ACCORDING TO VARIOUS INTERNTET CHAT GROUPS, THIS PROBLEM EXISTS AMONG A WIDE RANGE OF GM MODELS WITH 3.4 AND 3.8 LITER ENGINES, YET THERE IS NO RECALL OR ANY WRITTEN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM GM THAT THIS PROBLEM EXISTS. THERE IS ALSO NO INDICATION THAT REPLACEMENT OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD WILL CURE THE PROBLEM, AS THE REPLACEMENT PART IS IDENTICAL TO THE ORIGINAL.

WARPED/CRACKED INTAKE MANIFOLD

CHEVROLET IMPALA LS WITH 3.8L ENGINE. THE UPPER MANIFOLD WARPS AND ALLOWS COOLANT TO LEAK. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. MY CAR IS IN THE SHOP WITH NO PARTS AVAILABLE IN HOUSTON. THERE WERE 15 ON BACKORDER. GM NEEDS TO REPLACE THIS PLASTIC PART THAT WARPS AT 17-24,000 MILES.