2005 Chevrolet Impala

I HAVE A 2005 CHEVY IMPALA, CURRENTLY WITH 22,320 MILES. AT MY OIL CHANGE AND TIRE ROTATION, (~20,500) I WAS INFORMED BY REPAIR PLACE THAT THEY WOULD NOT PERFORM THE TIRE ROTATION AS I WOULD BE NEEDING TO REPLACE THE TIRES SOON. I ASKED WHY THEY WERE WEARING SO FAST- I WAS TOLD, THEY NOTICED IT ON MANY IMPALAS- PREMATURE TIRE WEAR BETWEEN 18,000-25,000 MILES. ~ 15 MONTHS AGO, WITH ONLY ABOUT 13,000 MILES, WHEN I HAD AN OIL CHANGE DONE I WAS INFORMED ME THE ENGINE WAS LEAKING OIL FROM THE REAR OF THE ENGINE, I SHOULD TAKE IT TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER HAD TO REPLACE (UNDER WARRANTY) SEVERAL SEALS/GASKETS- OIL PAN, DRAIN PLUG, OIL FILTER, PLUS REPLACE THE DRAIN PLUG. THE CAR IS SOMETIMES HARD TO START AND HAVE TO HOLD THE KEY IN THE START POSITION, AND/OR LIGHTLY PRESS THE GAS PEDAL TO START IT. ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, I GRINDED THE STARTER. SOMETIMES THE CAR WILL START ROUGHLY AND IMMEDIATELY STALL, OR WILL STALL THE FIRST FEW SECONDS AS I AM BACKING OUT THE DRIVE WAY. DEALER ABOUT THIS THEY TOLD ME I WAS USING CHEAP GAS AND TO USE A BETTER BRAND, BUT I ALWAYS USE "BRAND" GAS, I EVEN USE FUEL INJECTOR CLEANER DEALER LATER TOLD ME I NEEDED TO HAVE THE FUEL INJECTION "FLUSHED" WITH THEIR SYSTEM FOR $199, PLUS TAX AND CHARGES, HEARING IT WAS NOT GOOD FOR THE VEHICLE, I DECLINED. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED A "CLUNKING/BUMPING/BANGING" NOISE WHEN TURNING, ESPECIALLY HARD TURNS. MY BRAKES NEED TO BE REPLACED, THE FRONT BRAKES ARE STARTING TO MAKE A THUMP WHEN BRAKING, AND YESTERDAY WHEN BRAKING HARD, I HEARD A SQUEAL NOISE, (REAR?). FUEL GAUGE SOMETIMES RAPIDLY FLUCTUATES, WHEN DRIVING, AND AT TIMES WHEN ACCELERATING,(THOUGH NOT CONCURRENT) I HEAR A "SWOOSH/GARGLING" SOUND. I WAS ACCELERATING TOO HARD. THE FUEL GAUGE WILL SWING AS MUCH AS A 1/4 TANK WHEN DRIVING BEFORE RECOVERING TO THE CORRECT POSITION. GAUGE SHOWS LOW FUEL LEVEL, LOW FUEL LIGHT COMES ON, I ONLY NEEDED 10-12 GALS TO FILL IT (~16 GALS). *TR

STARTED TO NOTICE "RUMBLING" AND CLICKING NOISES AS WELL AS VIBRATIONS IN THE STEERING WHEEL AS I MADE SLOW TURNS. CALLED THE LOCAL CHEVROLET SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WAS WRONG FROM MY DESCRIPTION. HE SAYS IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE "UPPER INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT" ON SEVERAL CHEVY PRODUCTS, INCLUDING MY 2005 CHEVY IMPALA WITH 50,000 MILES ON IT. IT IS SO COMMON THE REPAIR PART IS ON NATIONAL BACKORDER. I AM GOING TO GET A REPAIR BILL OF AROUND $240. I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE A NATIONAL RECALL DUE TO THE "KNOWN" ISSUE BY CHEVY. IT IS NOT RIGHT NOW DUE TO THE FACT IT IS NOT CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE, YET. I UNDERSTAND PARTS GOING BAD AND DO NOT EXPECT THE MANUFACTURER TO GUARANTEE NOTHING WILL EVER HAPPEN. BUT, WHEN THERE IS A KNOW DEFECT, WHY SHOULD I LEFT HOLDING THE $240 BILL??? THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD HAVE THIS AS A RECALL AND SHOULD REIMBURSE CUSTOMERS ACCORDINGLY. *TR

THERE WAS A LOUD CLUNKING NOISE WHENEVER I MADE A HARD TURN IN MY CAR - BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT, AS WELL AS A FEELING THAT THE STEERING COLUMN WAS LOOSE. ALSO, THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE WOULD MOVE BY TOUCH. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT THE STEERING COLUMN WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AND I WOULD HAVE TO HAVE NEW TIE RODS BECAUSE THEY WERE LOOSE. I WAS ALSO TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE IMPALA. WHY HAS A RECALL NOT BE INSTITUTED IF THE DEALER IS REPAIRING MORE THAN ONE INSTANCE OF THIS PROBLEM PER WEEK? *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 1 AND 25 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD CLUNKING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. HE ALSO FELT A VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THERE IS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (01-02-32001H) REGARDING THIS SAME FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE CONTACT WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIR COSTS. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 37,500 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET IMPALA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE HEARD A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN DRIVING IN REVERSE. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER ON FOUR OCCASIONS AND REPAIR WORK WAS PERFORMED. HOWEVER, THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE AND THE NOISE RETURNED. THE CONTACT HAD ALL REPAIR ORDERS FOR EACH TIME THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING GEAR WAS REPLACED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 30,100, AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 29,995. *AK

HAD TO PAY DEALERSHIP TO LUBE MY INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT DUE TO IT BEING DEFECTIVE. VEHICLE STARTS TO MAKE A POPPING NOISE FROM UNDER THE HOOD WHEN TURNING AT LOW SPEEDS. FILED CLAIM WITH GM BUT THEY WOULD NOT PAY. THEY CLAIM IT IS A MAINTENANCE ISSUE. THE SHAFT IS SEALED IT WAS NOT INTENDED TO BE LUBED SEVERAL TIMES. *NM

CLUNKING/BANGING NOISE FELT IN STEERING WHEEL, GAS AND BRAKE PEDALS WHEN TURNING RIGHT OR LEFT AND SOMETIMES WHEN GOING STRAIGHT ON A ROUGH SURFACE. TAKEN TO DEALER THREE TIMES FOR REPAIR. THE FIRST AND SECOND TIME LUBE KIT WAS REPLACED ON STEERING SHAFT. THE THIRD TIME, OWNER WAS TOLD THAT THE WHOLE STEERING SHAFT WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AND THAT THE PART WAS BEING REDESIGNED BY GM AND WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR SIX MONTHS OR MORE. OWNER WAS TOLD THAT CAR WAS SAFE TO DRIVE IN THE MEANWHILE. OWNER WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS A BULLETIN REGARDING THIS ISSUE. OWNER FILED A COMPLAINT WITH GM. *NM