For the last 8 months my car started idling and stalling at sporadically stoplights and stop signs, then it became more frequent. I changed the spark plugs and wires and problem still remained. I took the MAF(mass airflow) sensor off and cleaned it. That seemed like it worked for only a few days then back to its normal self revving up and down and stalling. About 2 months ago it started stalling as I was driving down the road no warning, no codes, no nothing. I put in in neutral and started. It then became more frequent and then when I would try to restart it as I'm coasting down the road, hoping no curves lie ahead, it would not start it would just turn over like it wasn't getting any fuel. I changed fuel filter and had Hires do a fuel service and a fuel pressure test and it read 47 psi. that's one over then what it should be :) It kept stalling and no codes would pop up so my local mechanic wasn't able to pull anything off the P.O.S. I told him what it was doing and he said he doesn't know what it could be so he hooked up his computer and he drove it about and hour and nothing happened to him, ran perfectly he said.Later that night died again next morning and now a day after that it died for the last time. I was driving down the road and it did its thing and i coasted to a stop sign, no where to pull over, and no nothing just a click, click, battery dead. Replaced battery, Starter shot, WHAT NOW!!!??? why can't anyone figure out what the problem is??? GM need to figure out what the problem is before someone gets in an accident and killed due to this issue. GET TO WORK GM DO YOUR S**T RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AROUND!!!

i have a 2001 chevy impala with the 3.8L V6. in April the car started to surge so i put new spark pulgs,wires and fuel filter in it. it kind of help it out but in the last few month it got bad. you can drive one day and it fine the next time you get in it u my make 20 miles down the road and it will surge and after it surge it run just fine and other time it may die after it surges and it wont start so i thought it was the pump was going bad because it acted like it wasn't getting any fuel when u try starting it right away after dying.but thats not the problem because it still surging like it was.

I bought the car from a private owner in June and i was driving from work to the other side of town during rush hour traffic on the street. Go and stop, and my car stalled out. I had to push it out of the road after trying several times to start it but it would not. After about two hours the car started with no problem and it continued to stall after long periods of driving. Now i only go places in my car when they are close by home and work thats it. No more problems then but my engine light remains on. I went to auto zone and they told me nothing was wrong but i know something is!!!!

Well, the better half's Impala would just quit running, either stopped or going down the road. At first thought it was a fuel issue, so replaced the fuel filter and did the fuel injector service and throttle body. No change. Mechanic road tested the car with diagnostic device attached. He found a problem with the MAF sensor. It was reading zero intermittently, which caused the computer to cut off the fuel flow, shutting down the engine. It would usually restart immediately. Once the sensor was replaced, the car runs like new!

Hope this helps someone else with this problem.

I have a 2001 Chev. Impala LS with 3.8L v6 and have had it for 3 months. Today was the first day that my impala stalled while driving down the road at about 50 mph. I didn't even know the car had cut off because the radio was loud until the dash lit up and it felt like someone had mashed on the brakes. When this happened the steering wheel wouldn't turn as the car was shutting down. I was on a straight road and happy their was nobody behind me. The car started right back up then did the same thing over again in less than 1 minute. This is 1st time and hopefully it doesn't happen again. With only 57,000 miles on my car I am rather shocked that this happened. I searched the internet and found this website so here I am posting about my problem. I love this car but if this problem occurs again don't know what to do with the car. From what I have seen so far there is no sure fix to this problem. Will GM do anything to fix this major problem? I also noticed that the car stutters when it starts.

I bought this car new in Oct 2000. My wife started driving it in Nov 2004 at 75,000 miles. After 6 years of owning and just 2 weeks before the extended warranty expired the car suddenly wouldn't start one day. It just cranked and cranked. Towed to the dealer twice (free with Onstar), but the car started there and no codes. The problem continued. Most times it would eventually start. Then it started stalling intermittently. It seemed to happen when the engine was cold, like when first driven in the morning. No codes again. The dealer could find nothing and replaced the ignition module and fuel pump under the extended warranty before it expired.

The same problems continued intermittently over the next 2 months. The stalling started happening more often and was dangerous and it was making the car undrivable. Finally it stalled on the road and wouldn't start. It was towed again to the dealer (where it started) and they had it for 10 days but couldn't reproduce either problem. I had spent countless hours researching the problems on the internet, and I suggested replacing the crank position sensor. The service manager didn't think that was the problem because the combination of the no-start and stalling problems don't point to that sensor.

Since I didn't have the car to drive anyway, I said to just replace the crank position sensor. That solved both problems and after almost 2 years later the problems haven't returned. If that did not fix the problems I would have had to get rid of the car. The dealer did it for free because they had the car so long and the car was always serviced there, plus I also own a 2004 Impala LS which was serviced there too.

It has been said that electronics will/can be the downfall of the modern car and that is why it would be hard to trust any late model used car. A problem that doesn't set a DTC can be very difficult to find and fix.

This was a very frustrating problem, especially since I wanted to keep the car and eventually pass it on to a child, so I had paid for all maintenance to be done above what Chevy recommends. The 2001 now has 101,000 miles. My 2004 (also 3.8L) has 105,000 miles and I drive it 500 miles a week. Recently replaced an oxygen sensor on the 2004. Overall, both cars have performed very well, excepting the no-start and stalling problem, which wouldn't have been a big issue if the cause was known and fixed immediately.

car was stalling waiting for traffic light, driving city speed. Took to the dealer and wanted to change the fuel pump asking $740. No warning lights on dashboard. I read the complaints here and fixed with a mechanic for $200.and for 3 weeks I don't have the problem and the car is running beautiful. GM nust know about this problem and is very

dangerous to go in the expressway with this problem and should recall the vehicle.

I told the dealer about fixing the problem changing the crankshaft position sensor, they did not accepted that this was only the solution for the problem.

My car was stalling out on me while I was sitting in traffic and driving at highway speeds. I took it to several shops and the dealer (CHEV) and of course they couldn't find anything. I read some other posts about replacing the crankshaft position senor. I was a little iffy about spending the money on a maybe fix. But being desperate I took the gamble and purchased the part (Crankshaft Position Senor) and took it to a electrical garage shop and had them install it. Parts and labor about $200.00. And guess what, PROBLEM FIXED. Since then I have put close to 20,000 miles on the car and knock on wood it hasn't stalled out on me. So if this is happen to your Chev Impala replace the Crankshaft Position Senor, my opinion is its not a maybe fix its a sure fix. P.S: When the part was failing it did NOT produce a code (Check Engine) in the OBDII computer.

HELP, I own a 2001 Impala police package 3.8. and dam thing is shutting down on me while I am driving it. When I go to restart the car, the engine just turns and turns and takes forever to start again. The battery is good and all, just got a brand new trans for the car too. Noticed once in a while the dreaded SECURITY light goes on and off. Note: When the car stalled out I didn't notice the light was on. Used to happen maybe once a week, now its once or twice a day. It should be noted that I travel about 40 miles each way to work a day. It sometimes happens when I am sitting in traffic. Once it shut down while I was driving 65mph. When that happened guess what? Took forever to stop, no power brakes, and almost lost control of the car too. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! The Impala is going into the shop in the next couple of days to try to find out what it is. ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS, PLEASE COMMENT. THANK YOU

Update from Dec 28, 2009: CHANGE the "Crank Shaft Position Sensor". Back in 2006 my Impala was stalling out on me every where, at red lights and at highway speeds. The vehicle never produced a code in the computer (OBDII), no check engine light. I took it to several shops and the dealer too, NO ONE could figure it out. I was ready to get rid of the car, then I read some where about changing the "Crank Shaft Position Sensor". I took a gamble and took it to a local shop. Parts and labor about $200. Well got it changed back in 2006 and guess what?? Close to 4 years and 40,000 more miles later and the car runs GREAT. NEVER stalled on me again. I figure I'd be nice and share the news with everyone since the dealer "CHEV" doesn't know what their doing with this problem.

HERE'S THE FIX

I purchased a 01 police special from a county auction, love the car but started have same problems you all are having, probably the reason I got the car so cheap�

1) INTERMITTENT STARTING PROBLEM- "wait ten minutes thing" "reset computer thing" problem is in the ignition switch. Not the lock cylinder, but the switch attached to it. Inside the switch there are six metals contacts that resemble fingers, they make contact in a set pattern when you turn the key, the problem is these contacts are metal and when they open and close they are prone to arching which in turn creates carbon build up. Your passlock system reads the resistance from these contacts to determine if the vehicle is being stolen, the more build up, the more resistance and your computer thinks you are jacking the car. You can buy a new switch from any parts house for around $120.00, I opted to remove mine and clean the contact's myself. I removed the ignition switch from the cylinder and opened it up, as I did this some of the contacts and springs fell out, don't panic, if you can remove the ignition from the car you can figure out how to put it back together. I used my rotary tool's brass brush to clean them up, I've heard of others using emery cloth, what ever works, you really can�t damage them. I haven't had any problems since. GM claims they don't know what the problem is, SHAME on them. DO NOT SPEND ANYMORE MONEY on computers or sensors, and ask yourself how much, do you trust your mechanic?

2) STALLING WHILE DRIVING- this was due to a bad crankshaft position sensor, I purchased from local parts house for $31.00 I removed the front passenger side wheel, took off the splash guard, removed the serpentine belt and removed the harmonic balancer to access the sensor, two bolt's removes the sensor and plug in the new one. The only problem I had doing this job was my air compressor was not strong enough to remove the harmonic balancer bolt so I put the belt and wheel back on, drove the corner garage and paid the mechanic $10.00 to loosen it with his air wrench, he agreed to tighten back down when I was done. No problems since, no more stalling.

3) HARD START-I also discovered from my inspection that the fuel line quick disconnect attached to the fuel rail would spray fuel when wiggled, this could be causing the fuel to leak back into the tank and aggravating the hard start thing, never the less fuel on the manifold is not a good thing so I installed a new fuel line purchased from GM $90.00

Now, does anyone know why my passenger floor board is soaked after a good rain?????

i wanted to respond to a problem i had with my 2001 Chevrolet Impala 3.8L V6. My car would die going down the road. It didn't make any difference as to the speed..at a redlight it may shut off, driving at 70 mph it may shut off. I had this problem since August 2007. No codes would show up to say what was wrong with my car. I felt unsafe and helpless in my situation because other drivers would not know my car shut off I feared having a wreck.. Finally in December 2007, I read a comment on this forum that it could be the crankshaft position sensor, since i had nothing to lose and a broke car, i bought one and had it put on. It did not solve my problem, but my car actually started to code when that sensor was replaced. It coded the idle position sensor, had that replaced problem still not solved, a new fuel pump, problem still not solved. Then it coded a mass air flow sensor. I had that replaced. I have been driving my car now for 2 weeks and it has not sputtered or missed a beat. My car spent 6 weeks at my local Chevy dealer. They just shrugged their shoulders. They did not know what was wrong with my car, nor did they care. A local garage owner fixed my car. He stayed with it until he found the problem and he charged me very little labor.. If your car is still not fixed, I know how you feel, I could not afford a new car, so I had to suffer until it could be repaired. I hope that my experience helps some one else.

Daughter recently bought a 2001 Impala LS, and found it stalled while driving or slowing to a stop ( cold or hot ) - very dangerous depending on traffic and highway conditions! This happened several times each day. No code showed on OBD-II system. Mechanic did fuel injector service, changed O2 sensor, cleaned throttle body, checked idle controls and for vacuum leaks, throttle position sensor, etc. Car still stalled while driving - but could not find root of the problem. I suggested changing CPS (crankshaft position sensor) based on reading others' complaints and solutions, which the mechanic did - - it's been a week and so far no more stalling !!

GM had a non mandatory TSB (I call it a recall). Basically the Catalytic Converters they installed on 2001's were crap and once they start to fall apart they will plug your exhaust. In my case and other cases I've found the only place for the exhaust has to go is back into the plenum and burns a hole through it.

Auto mechanic said I drove it too long with the cat plugged, but I noticed it on Sunday (they didn't tell me not to drive it in) and had the car in their garage on Wed when was the first day they could get me in, I drove it in and car died half way. Called GM and they refused to cover anything else other then the cat converter. GM can kiss my rear on this one, ended up paying $1300 for dealer to replace plenum and other parts caused by GM's crap converter. For driving it too long, the main service manager told me that the gasket that breaks down most likely had one large chunk fall off it while driving causing such a quick failure. Oh well had it fixed sold the POS and now have a new Toyota in the drive way. I'm selling my Caddy STS next, GM's paying for this one way or another.

Browsing through all of the problems/complaints regarding '01 Chevy Impala, I've decided to post my ongoing problem which has been causing a lot of frustration and disappointment with my impala.

The car keeps stalling at all speeds and without any warnings. The problem started about two months ago, and I brought it a Chevy dealership where they tried changing the ignition switch ($350 + $520 for 3hrs of labor). O. K., So now I'm out almost a grand and the car still keeps stalling, as if they never placed a finger on it.

Talking to the manager at the service department, I realized that they're clueless as to why it is stalling, and the computer is not reporting any error codes at all. "We do not know what is wrong with your car, and we're not sure how to fix it", are the exact words of the mechanic. Where do you go from here?

However, their solution to all of this is to start replacing random parts in hopes that they will figure out what is causing the car to stall. I don't know about you, but I ain't got that kind of money nor the time to be going back and forth with this.

So, If anyone knows or has had a problem like this in the past and found a solution, PLEASE let me know. I'd be forever thankful!

Also, I've been able to find only one solution, here on auto beef's website, and the suggestion is to replace a "faulty crankshaft sensor". Could this really be what is causing my car to stall???

That would be all for now. I really hope that some of you will be able to help me out, as there is very little info. available online - regarding this problem.

Best regards,

Damir

This damn car shuts off at stop lights, when driving at 25 MPH or 70 MPH. Sometimes twice a week sometimes once a month, very random. Dealer can't find problem, just wants to start replacing parts, GM built this damn car & they should find the problem. I called the executive offices, they suggested let the dealer start replacing parts. Replacing parts until you find the problem is a stupid way and expensive way to solve a problem. If this car shuts down at the wrong time there will be an accident. Everyone with this or any other problems should call the GM Executive Offices And raise hell, and a class action lawsuit should be started. GM'S phone is 313 667-7153 lets flood them with calls until they find out what is wrong with these cars.

I actually having been having all sorts of problems. I've had to change: Lower Intake manifold gasket, thermostat, 3-steering columns, fuel filter, computer modulator, pass-lock system, blower motor, turn switches for shorts along with the flasher modulator, transmission pan, charcoal canister, drive axle and boots, engine gaskets for leaks, driver's side window motor and glides. This was all covered under my warranty (THANK GOD!) so I only had to pay $100 per item vs. the $7,000 of work actually put into it. Now the car stalls when I am at a light or going 75 down the freeway. We were in South Carolina on a road trip and it would just randomly stall. No one can give me a good answer on what the problem is unless they just start fixing random things and I can't afford that. I really love this car and that is why it is so hard. It drives, rides and handles so nicely, I just wish we could get the bugs fixed.