trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

hey guys. I know this aint about civics, but its really urgent. My mom's 02 Chevy Impala is actin weird. when I try to accelerate between 10-40 or 50 mph it kinda coughs and hardly accelerates at all... it really takes its time. I just noticed today that its 3000 miles OVERDUE for an oil change. (It not my fault, I thought mom got it changed... but apparently she forgot) Could this be the problem? also, once while I was accelerating it flashed the check engine light a few times... Im kinda worried.

My plans were to have the oil changed ASAP and then take it to Autozone and see if they can tell me why it flashed the check engine light... do you guys have any ideas???

Please help me ASAP! thanks guys!!

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

*BUMP* cummon guys....anyone?

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Change the oil. Run some sea foam or carb cleaner thru the intake manifold, fill it up with premium fuel and run injector cleaner. Should be good to go.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

The problem is its a gm.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

so do you think that it was just the lack of an oil change?

btw- does autozone charge you to hook a car up to their machine?

thanks in advance....

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Hell, I could have told you that. I told them not to buy it. But they just think I am Honda biased... as I have posters all over my room at home of dif imports :D

anyways! so... do you guys think it just needs an oil change and some injector cleaner? Im not lookin forward to my spring break... i forsee alot of work in my future....(i already got to fix the rear brakes on my moms chevy cavalier) [:@]

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Lack of acceleration in particular speeds is probably not related to the oil not being changed. 3K overdue isn't a big deal unless oil is being burned or leaked and the level went down.

Check the spark plugs, distributor cap and rotor. Replace them if they look worn.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

My sister has a 90 somethin Jimmy and her Catalitic converter went south... it caused it to do something alot like this... could it be that you think? im worried, b/c I KNOW they will blame this on me... I hate that stupid ****ing car! [:@]

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

it doesnt have a cap and rotor button. how many miles does it have? 100k and your suppost to change the spark plugs. 30k fuel filter. im asuuming its a misfire by the blinking light, telling you not to drive anymore because you could ruin the cat.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

For some reason my first instinct was the cat, but check the plugs. It could just need a tune-up.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Highly doubt it's the oil....unless you don't have any! :eek:

How many miles are on it?

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

bah GMs arent bad. some hondas are better than some GMs, and some GMs are better than som hondas.

its Ford that you have to look out for.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Change the oil, but i don't think thats your problem. A flashing cat means that the cat is in danger of melting down. Usually this is caused by a misfire, so if you find the source of the misfire you will prolly fix ur acceleration problem. I would start with the ignition jus as the other guys suggested. Pull the spark plugs and see if they have brown/black stuff on the ceramic part of the plug. If this is the case, the spark is jupming around and is not going to the electrode. The best thing would be to change the plugs and wires and use dielectric/silicone greese on the top of the spark plug. We had a similar problem today in autoshop. The plugs had black stuff on the ceramic so the owner is gonna change the plugs. Its not too expensive to change the plugs (if you DIY) and it can't hurt anyway.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

If you've got a CEL and it's a 2002, get the codes read. That will help you narrow it down so you're not just throwing money at it. Being overdue for an oil change ALONE should not cause these symptoms. Air/spark/fuel are the three usual suspects in such a situation. However, with modern emissions requirements and electronic engine controls there are other factors to consider. Really though, start with getting the codes read and that should point you in the right direction.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Nah, according to a Top Gear survey, you have to look out for French cars...

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Hey guys. got it fixed. my dad talked to his mechanic ( good trusted family friend) and he suggested it was the cat, just like on my sisters Jimmy. Well we took it in and found out this is a widespread problem and that our cat had an extended warranty. They fixed it in a day, and no more problems. :) BTW- I had the oil changed a few hours after I started this thread and it didnt do anything...but oh well, it still needed it!

THanks everyone! I LOVE HCF!!!!

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

theres a bulitin on most newer cars with a 3.8... iv replaced atleast 5 cats with this problem.

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

spark plug wires spark plugs, distributor, injectors. in that order.

what does lack of an oil change have to do w/sputtering at a certain speed again?

RE: trouble with mom's chevy Impala HELP ME!!
 

Cats are actually the easies part to find out if its broken (in my mind). You hook up a scan tool and compare the graph of the first and second O2 sensors, they will be the same if the cat is busted. They will be different if the cat works. Jus a little tip for next time.