2000 Impala 3.8 l. My Impala is giving me grief; air bag light stays on, my security light comes on sometimes, and only once I had a starting problem. It was cranking over one morning and wouldn't start. The security light came on. I shut it off then tried again and it went. I might need a new clock spring for the air bag light........My ex also had a 2000 Impala that would just shut down in traffic and not start up again. It cost her 500 bucks to fix it.....ignition switch and something else. I'm just worried my car is going to do that soon.

Before I bought my Impala the ignition switch was replaced but I know I'm gonna have trouble with it down the road.......Hopefully GM recalls my car for the ign. switch........The only reason I bought this car was it gets very good gas mileage and the people that had it before me took care of it....I tell ya though, it's starting to nickel and dime me, weak suspension, inferior intake manifold and gaskets, and very poor placement of AC compressor and p/s pump, which both went and had to be replaced within a year...sigh.

2000 Impala LS 3.8L engine

Car has always been temperamental. Intermittent problems of poor acceleration. Also, I drive it hard or on hot days and park it, it won't start until it cools down. NO, I repeat, NO check engine lights until months into the problem.

Without getting into a play-by-play, here's the skinny. The car starts and runs using a few things outside of the engine itself. Give it GAS, AIR and a SPARK and it will start. Here's what goes wrong over time with this car.

3 computers : 1. PCM/ECM powertrain control module / engine control module - find this under the air filter INSIDE the air box. This box MUST be programmed. It MAY be pre-programmed prior to shipment to you. I got one pre-programmed off e-bay for under $100.

2. BCM Body Control Module - find this clipped in just above the parking brake, bottom side of the dash. This box MUST be programmed. This CANNOT be programmed prior to shipment to you because the car key must be present to get the BCM to recognize it. Also, when he BCM is removed, the Radio will likely lock and needs to be unlocked after the new BCM is in. THIS MODULE MUST BE PROGRAMMED BY A GM TECH 2 SCANNER. I know a guy who knows a guy. Call around, I've heard $100 will get it done. I've heard dealers wanting $400.

3. ICM Ignition Control Module - find this thin module sitting just underneath the 3 coils. The 6 spark plug wires come together and are plugged into the 3 coils. This module does NOT need programming. $160 for a good one (lifetime warranty), slap it in, and wow. What a difference.

Fuel : 1. fuel pump. fold the back seats down to see into the trunk, separate the carpet at the seam along the middle. There's the pump. Turn the key to the on position, you should hear the pump come on for 3 seconds. You can test fuel pressure up in the engine by pressing the schrader valve on the front top of the engine. If you don't know where/what that is, you probably should get some help. Gas will forcibly squirt out. If not gas comes out, check the fuel pump, but change the fuel filter before the pump. Its' cheaper and easier. 2. Fuel Filter. cheap and easy to replace. 3. Fuel pressure regulator. A small diaphragm that lets pressurized fuel into the injectors. If that is broken, no fuel, no start. Again, cheaper then the pump being replace.

Spark : 1. Three coils where the spark plugs come out of. Check each one for rust. It's not easy to do with rolled up sandpaper to clear the rust, but it's easier and cheaper than new wires. 2. Spark plugs. buy then pre-gapped and buy good ones. 3. The ICM (Ignition Control Module) - see above. If this thing malfunctions, all bets are off. It will overheat and not work, then cool down and work. A good one is $160 but boy does it make a huge difference. Car runs like new.

Sensors : 1. Knock sensors - 2 of them, front and rear of the engine 2. CAMshaft position sensor. 3. CRANKshaft position sensor. ---if any of these 3 are malfunctioning alone, or in combination with the computers, you have a real ass-pain like I've been dealing with.

My car is 13 years old with a lot of mileage. Stuff wears out. After replacing all of the above except the fuel pump, it runs like the day it was born. Use high quality replacements. Some of the OEM stuff was part of the problem.

Good luck.

love this car but hate the problems, its my first car and there's way too many things that go wrong with it and then we found out impalas are known for electrical problems! so i was driving on the highway perfectly fine, and a little while later it seemed to be not picking up speed and running like crap, and I thought it had an engine misfire... AGAIN. but that wasn't it. went somewhere to hang out so I parked my car and what not. when i got in it to leave later it didn't wanna start up for a few minutes... then my break pedal wouldn't budge... but eventually it started up and my breaks worked but it was still not picking up speed. drove home safely though and the next day before work it started up but it was still hesitating a little. got off work late at night just to find out my car wouldn't start at all now, and it was making thumping noises. i had to wait for my mom to come jump it so while doing so i had my music on. well at first the music wasn't playing right and i swear it sounded like an alien coming through my speakers lol. then i tried to roll my window up and it wouldn't do anything but when i rolled it down it went down but it also turned down the volume of my music with it. and then the time on my clock started changing by itself... and then my doors wouldn't lock. We had our friend that's a mechanic look at it and he said there seems to be a fuse now that somehow stays on all the time and it runs the battery down. i have plenty of other complaints these cars are not worth as much as they're priced, so DON'T BUY ONE UNLESS YOU HAVE THE TIME AND MONEY TO FIX THEM... FREQUENTLY !!