This is the first time this happened. The dealer repaired the leaking intake gasket, after I argued with them. The next night when I went back to pick the car up, they were going to charge me 100.00 dollars, I went off on them, the manager came out, and told them to get me out of here, so I left, and did not have to pay them dime. I did not receive an invoice that day, but it should be in their records.
The first time this happened was around 10/08/05, the dealer replaced the intake gasket. I never received a receipt but it should be in their records. Now, this is the second time the gaskets are leaking. My mechanic pulled the heads, and had them checked to see if they had been warped from overheating. This was done on 07/22/10. The mileage was 71,277. The question is, if they replaced the gaskets for no charge the first time, are they not recognizing a major problem?
We were about to go on a road trip and we were washing, cleaning, and topping off fluids when I noticed the coolant overflow was brown and sludge-ridden. Needless to say it took us awhile to fix ourselves and the mechanic told us it was the intake manifold gasket and would cost anywhere between $750-$1,300. Instead of shooting myself in the foot by dishing out that much money; I spent around a hundred dollars and replaced it myself. 20 hours and plenty of frustration later the problem is fixed and I'm on the road again. Put my name on the list for this law-suit and this Impala is definitely getting sold when I save up enough to buy a better vehicle, if it lets me save up at all!
I have a friend that owns one of these Impalas, and it has had various problems since he bought it, including electrical, ignition, wheel hubs and now this coolant leak from the intake gasket. Have replaced the coolant temp sensor, thermostat, hoses (old ones were collapsing, another typical issue with these cars), and now are about to dive into the intake gasket repair.
I used to buy American, but after over 30 years of fixing American products and repairing and replacing major components I now buy good quality used Hondas, the Accords are very reliable, with proper care major components do not break. We have better things to do with our time than constantly repair GM crap. GM needs to own up to their inferior products and recall these cars for the intake leak issues.
Hear this is common problem and want GM to pay for it to get it repaired. I have just bought the car and cannot afford the cost of this repair and am in a rut in my life (spare you the details). Please add me to class action suit I will always buy American cars but getting harder to buy cars period so have to buy cheap and pray
This is the second time I have replaced this Intake Manifold Gasket in this car with a POS engine. Low Coolant light comes on and its on its way out.. 4 gallons of water and 2 quarts of oil gone in 4 days.. Chevy needs to recall all poorly made gaskets and put the redesigned metal ones in there.. My brother is a mechanic and said once it blows its a degenerative problem. You'll be fixing it at least 1 time a year.. Mine only took 10 months to blow out again. This engine is notorious for it.
March 2011 car started overheating, I took to the shop and ended up in $1,000.00 worth of repairs, intake gasket, thermostat, water pump, and cooling flush. Found that the coolant was leaking into engine, oil. Now as I am writing this 11/23/2012 my low coolant light is on and there is plenty of coolant. The temp gauge is rising. on top of this problem I have elect. issues which i filled a complaint here as well. Security light on, air bag light on, radio on but does not play. Chevy needs to recall these problems as many people are complaining and they have the BCM module replaced which is another 1,000.00 job and still have issues! this is too much!! The people that do the recalls are the National HWY Traffic and Safety Admin. Please call and file your complaints!! 888-327-4236
Bought this 02 impala in 2003, this particular problem started early 2006, $1200 to replace the intake manifold gaskets, etc. Had to have it done again in 2010, steady stream of replaced low coolant sensors, change fluid, etc. Last GM product I will ever own. Hope they survive government aquisition, but next time I will look for a Ford product.
I inherited this car from my mom who died 9-11-12. Immediately I noticed a significant coolant leak under the car as I always pre-trip my vehicles as a force of habit. After taking it in to have the coolant system pressure tested I was told that there were two different leaks coming from the intake manifold gasket along with a small leak in the radiator. I replaced the gasket and radiator and was also advised NOT to use the Dex-cool because it "plasticizes the gaskets" and that their is a class action law suit against GM because it has been proven that Dex-cool destroys gaskets and causes leaks. They returned the coolant to the standard green stuff. I must say, I think this vehicle is not a bad vehicle and I have owned at least 30 GM vehicles in my lifetime. I do however, believe the Dex-cool is the culprit. The mechanic also replaced the head bolts, cit
Well hello everybody that has a 2002 impala. It really sucks that I cant depend on this vehicle, cause i thought this rig was one of the best quality vehicle that were ever made. I guess I was fooled. I am having the same problems that everybody is having. Intake manifold gasket leaking, shocks makes an awful noise, transmission is not wanting to change gears, low coolant light stays on since i got the car. I have to say the 1964-66 chevy impala is still the best running vehicle around, that's a chevy product. I have been around impala's all my life, and I am 35 years old. But I have never seen such poor quality in a vehicle. Maybe GM should bring back how they use to build chevy products, like a ROCK.
We were told that this was a problem with the car. We took it to the dealer a year ago with some suspicious problems. We were told that our Impala seemed okay. After heating and A/C problems this week, we took it in and were informed that we had the dreaded leaking manifold problem and the BCM sensor....the dreaded duel for these lemon cars. I will be adding the BCM as another complaint. Will NEVER buy another American made car. These jerks knew this was an issue and have done nothing about it but just crossed their fingers as they waited for the coolant to corrode the manifold gasket.
I WENT TO HAVE NY OIL CHANGED AT MY SHOP. THEY TOLD ME THE MANIFOLD GASKET WAS BAD AND OIL WAS LEAKING ALL OVER THE MANIFOLD AND COOLANT INTO THE ENGINE.I CALLED GM AND THEY MADE ME TAKE IT TO THE DEALER AND PAY 70.00 DOLLARS TO HAVE THEM LOOK AT THE CAR. THEY SAID EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THIS IS A DEFECT THE CANT FIX. I CALLED GM AND GOT THE RUN AROUND FOR TWO WEEKS THEY SAID SO SAD BUT THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM. SO I HAVE CAR PAYMENTS ON A CAR THAT NEEDS OVER 3000.00 IN WORK BUT I KNOW WE HAVE TO LIST EVERY PROBLEM, GM COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THERE CUSTOMERS NO WAY SHOULD THIS CAR HAVE THESE PROBLEMS AT 48,000 MILES CAN WE GET ANOTHER CLASS ACTION SUIT GOING. THEY DON'T WANT TO HELP YOU IN ANYWAY FOE THEIR DEFECT. I GUESS I WILL HAVE TO TAKE THEM TO SMALL CLAMS COURT.MY LAST GM CAR THAT'S FOR SURE.
So I have an 02 3.8 LS Impala that has had nothing but problems these past 2 yrs I think ive put more money then I should have into this car. My intake is leaking also, I replaced the water pump not the problem leak came back 3 days later. So this weekend instead of enjoying the snow I get to go play in a cold wet garage to replace intake gaskets. Oh yeah and for those who just want to do the upper or just lower don't do both will save u time and antifreeze a few hundred miles later. U can find cheap enough gaskets I got both upper and lower for 65 bucks and no labor coast just my time witch is worth money also....
Since I've had this car it's been nothing but problems.....but I;m supossed to report each problem seperatley. So....the gaskets had to replaced because of all the mess this caused. And not to mention EXPENSIVE!
Well where to begin. I bought the car three yrs ago. nothing but problems. bought an extended warranty. what do you know I had a leaking intake gasket which was covered but of course they found something else wrong. It cost me $600 Then 6 months later I un hooked my battery and it made everything not work trunk,stereo. would not even turn over. It was some kinda switch BCM or something. this cost me $450. don't even know if they actually did anything but it ran so ok. My master switch for my window went out $150
Now antifreeze is everywhere. hopeing waterpump but probably intake gasket I never did like chevy growing up influenced from grandpa. I guess now I know why. chevy piece of sh*t
I'm disabled....this is my car and now I can't drive it. I don't have the $1,000 to get it fixed. I'm tired of big businesses taking advantage of the "regular guy". This sucks.... This vehicle had an earlier recall - they had to replace the stereo system TWICE and that wasn't even part of the original problem. I loved this car when I bought it, but I'll NEVER buy another GM vehicle again. Firsts the extended warranty we bought went bankrupt; then the dealer took it over (only for the one problem); then GM closed the dealership becuase the dealership asked for more money to operate. GM you stink! I'm disappointed, depressed and frustrated.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This is the first time this happened. The dealer repaired the leaking intake gasket, after I argued with them. The next night when I went back to pick the car up, they were going to charge me 100.00 dollars, I went off on them, the manager came out, and told them to get me out of here, so I left, and did not have to pay them dime. I did not receive an invoice that day, but it should be in their records.
- William H., Maple Heights, OH, US