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Post by HighCotton on Dec 14, 2010 18:42:55 GMT -5
While I was duck hunting on Saturday, my wife calls and tells me that the speedometer on our 2005 Impala is going haywire. Sure enough I get home and check it out. I find that when the car sits idling, the speedo needle reads anywhere from 60 - 80. Run down the road and it buries past 120 when I'm only going 40 mph or so.
I called 2 local dealers who tell me I need to replace the cluster and they quote me $629 and $650. Uhhh...I don't think so!
After some search on the internet and some help from the gurus at a site called North American Impala club, I find out that this is a common problem. I also found out that I can order 3 "stepper motors" off ebay for less than $10 and do the work myself (as long as I have some mechanical skills and a soldering iron).
Needless to say, I am going to give it a shot. But, it really frosts me that a car that looks and runs like new with less than 50,000 miles would have these kind of problems. And GM has no recall on this yet there appears to be 10's of thousands of GM owners with this issue as it affects many GM vehicles - not just the Impala.
Anybody out there have a similar experience? Any thoughts or advice before I tackle this myself?
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Post by dadfsr on Dec 14, 2010 21:01:24 GMT -5
Hate to say it Larry but if it was a Toyota, congress would be grilling the company execs....
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Post by HighCotton on Dec 14, 2010 21:37:07 GMT -5
Hate to say it Larry but if it was a Toyota, congress would be grilling the company execs.... No kidding Doug! That is almost word for the word the conversation I just had with my oldest son! |
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Post by Decatur on Dec 14, 2010 22:07:12 GMT -5
Hate to say it Larry but if it was a Toyota, congress would be grilling the company execs....  ! I swore off of all GM products after they spent $1B of bail-out money on their plant in Brazil instead of in the U.S. Then, when they lied, via TV ads, about paying back their government loan, it just reinforced my my resolve! |
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Post by 5kirks on Dec 14, 2010 22:12:42 GMT -5
Our suburban did the same thing a couple months ago, I didnt trust my soldering skills so I sent it off to a guy on ebay & had it fixed, all new stepper motors, all new bulbs for $89. works perfect & he shipped it back quick. They say its not to bad to do yourself though so go for it. I think this problem affects alot of models [gm] so maybe you could make some extra $$ fixing others.
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Post by chicobrownbear on Dec 14, 2010 22:15:37 GMT -5
My family has never had a great experience with GM. There was always something going wrong. Usually small, but annoying. Door handles are notoriously crappy.
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Post by Decatur on Dec 14, 2010 22:22:24 GMT -5
They have had a lot of issues with paint on various models thru the years too. Usually on the hood. Then their notoriously rusting cab corners on their 1500s in the late 80's.
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Post by kevin1 on Dec 15, 2010 7:22:15 GMT -5
Hate to say it Larry but if it was a Toyota, congress would be grilling the company execs.... ! I swore off of all GM products after they spent $1B of bail-out money on their plant in Brazil instead of in the U.S. Then, when they lied, via TV ads, about paying back their government loan, it just reinforced my my resolve! Ditto, I'll never look at another Chrysler product either. |
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Dec 15, 2010 11:09:58 GMT -5
I've always had good luck with GM and will continue to buy their products. Bought a '10 Tahoe this year.
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Post by steiny on Dec 15, 2010 18:15:31 GMT -5
Call Obama and tell him to fix the dang thing.
He bought the company awhile back.
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Post by Decatur on Dec 15, 2010 19:15:41 GMT -5
Obama fix something? YA RIGHT!
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Post by wileyonetoo on Dec 15, 2010 19:38:32 GMT -5
Hmmm, interesting that the dealers called it a "cluster". I'm guessing they're describing their brilliant design. My buddies 2003 Silverado had the "cluster" fail as well.
We had a 2000 Tahoe that had all kinds of electrical issues. My dad's 2005 Malibu, electrical issues. My brother's 2007 Malibu, electrical issues. Has anyone noticed the number of GM trucks/SUVs that you see on the road with only one of their running lights on?
Toyota Tundra and Nissan Pathfinder currently sitting in my garage.
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Post by danf on Dec 15, 2010 19:42:39 GMT -5
Has anyone noticed the number of GM trucks/SUVs that you see on the road with only one of their running lights on? I believe that is partially due to the extreme PITA it is to change the bulbs when one goes out... |
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Post by HuntMeister on Dec 15, 2010 21:40:32 GMT -5
or in my case just lain laziness  I have had great reliability with my chevy trucks (knocking on wood) got an '02 I bought new with 215K miles and going strong! Has anyone noticed the number of GM trucks/SUVs that you see on the road with only one of their running lights on? I believe that is partially due to the extreme PITA it is to change the bulbs when one goes out... |
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Post by ActionPoint on Dec 15, 2010 22:39:56 GMT -5
All vehicles have some problems but GM's product line always struggles with the same recurring issues. From manifold gaskets to evap warning lights, problems persist throughout the model years. They just never really seem to make any improvements in trouble areas.
As far as the Impala and dash instrument problems, make sure your parking brake cable is not binding or rubbing up against any of the wiring for the dash panel. It's a common problem, and as the shielding and insulation on the wiring wears away, you'll run into some very peculiar problems with your radio and instrumentation on the dash. Depending on the wiring involved you can have problems such as stuttering and surging of the motor, improper shift points, and eventually the ECM will shut down completely.
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Post by johnc911 on Dec 16, 2010 7:25:22 GMT -5
Our suburban did the same thing a couple months ago, I didnt trust my soldering skills so I sent it off to a guy on ebay & had it fixed, all new stepper motors, all new bulbs for $89. works perfect & he shipped it back quick. They say its not to bad to do yourself though so go for it. I think this problem affects alot of models [gm] so maybe you could make some extra $$ fixing others. My suburban did the same thing 300 and it was fixed. Guess it was a huge problem with them, but mine had to many miles to be covered by the recall |
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 16, 2010 8:54:27 GMT -5
I haven't had a GM product for quite some tme, but I have owned...
'65 Pontiac Grand Prix
'69 Pontiac Bonneville
' 76 Chevy van
'77 Chevy K5 Blazer
'83 Chevy S10 Blazer
The only one that gave me any trouble was the Bonneville. The rear end went out on it, but it was still under warranty.
No, I do not believe I will be buying any of the GM or Chrysler products ever again. IF I ever bought "American" (whatever that is) I would buy a Ford.
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Post by firstwd on Dec 16, 2010 9:25:11 GMT -5
According to the Government Guidelines we were given at work, "Buy American" means that a certain percentage of the product was assembled in the USA. "Domestic" has to be 100% With that thought all the Toyota's, Honda's, and such that are come out of assembly plants in the USA qualify for the "Buy American" status, but not the Chryslers, GM's, and Fords coming out of Canada or Mexico.....
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Post by jgrimm on Dec 16, 2010 23:08:05 GMT -5
I had a problem with My 99 Z71, tried to fix it Myself . Everything was fine but I had to have it reprogrammed when I put it back together. Do not disconnect it if you can . Good luck.
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Post by dadfsr on Dec 17, 2010 8:05:10 GMT -5
Tried to replace a burnt out headlamp in my daughters '02 Cavalier last night....gggrrrr...bad enough trying to do it with one and a half wings but having to take half the front end off just to change a light bulb....who designs these things?  Plus the the little retainer ring that holds the bulb in had a piece fall off in my hand so I'm waiting until "noon Saturday" for an $11 piece of plastic junk to come in before I can put everything back together.....gggrrrrr....hopefully I can get it back together too since it took me a couple of minutes of working at the whole headlight assembly before it somehow "popped" and came out  What happened to good ole round head light that was just held in with some metal clips that only needed a standard screwdriver to change? ?? |
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Plus the the little retainer ring that holds the bulb in had a piece fall off in my hand so I'm waiting until "noon Saturday" for an $11 piece of plastic junk to come in before I can put everything back together.....gggrrrrr....hopefully I can get it back together too since it took me a couple of minutes of working at the whole headlight assembly before it somehow "popped" and came out 