Top 10 2001 Chevrolet Impala Questions & Answers

I have a 2001 Impala. My security light will flash and sometimes the car won't start. My dad told me turn the key to the start position, place your foot on the break, put your car in the last gear it was in (D, R, or N). Then shift all the way back into park. Make sure you shift all the way into park. Take your foot off the break. Then turn ignition back to off. Your car should then start right up. He said the sensor still thinks the car is in D, R, or N although it's in park. So it confuses the system and it doesn't start because it doesn't know which function to do. It pretty much locks up. I'm pos. this will work. My car does it every few months. Hope this helps.

I FIXED THIS ISSUE IN MY CASE. NOT TOO HARD IN A FEW MINUTES.

I didn't know there was another fuse box in the crevice of opening the passenger door. It helped when I found that out in the owners manual.

Narrowed things down by checking to see if I had rear parking/running lights since I heard this was also the dash light fuse.
*I did not have these rear parking lights coming on, just when I would apply the brake*

Sure enought that 15A fuse was blown, its in the passenger side box. I heard in my searching for a fix that this fuse also controlled dash lights. Sure enough it does! ( I have 2000 base model 3.4 impala)

SO, Things worked after that, UNTIL I MOVED MY ASH TRAY IN AND OUT A FEW TIMES!!

The dash lights flickered a bit when I moved the ashtray in and out and after a few times I heard a POP! and no more dash lights just like before. Fuse was blown, and I didn't have another 15A that wasnt plugged in making something work. My ashtray light had not been working for the last while by the way.

SO, I pulled out a 15A fuse from the the slot that said CIG on the passenger side, I never use the 12v ports anyway. (used it for the rear parking light/dash light slot to get the dash lights working again.)

*But, the dash lights looked a little lazy, meaning I could see a bit of a powerup happening over 1-2 seconds to full illumination*

SO. then I went in the book and found out what fuses that had anything to do with the ash/aux outlet sliding tray which was good at popping the fuse that lit up the dash. I wanted to disable the ashtray light and 12V ports in the tray to be safe.

I already pulled the appropriate 15A fuse on the passenger side which I used to bring the dash and rear parking lights back. But also, I decided to remove the 10A fuse on the drivers side that was for the accessory outlet. ( it might have been labelled CIG?)

Dash lights come on fast and solid now, sliding the tray does not have an influence or cause flickering.

My car is old enough that I don't care about having to rearrange fuses to make things work, If end up needing the 12v ports I can put the 10A fuse back in since the tray needs to be held open anyway.

I hope this helps.

Locate and replace the fan relay, you can purchase a electrical component locator which is packaged on cd repair manual at ebay motors $20.00.

Follow the positive battery cable down to it...I believe it's on the side/ bottom of the engine towards the front of the car on yours.

Solution: Chevy Impala Window Fix - If the window goes down but wont go up or stutters on the way up. This is a difficult process but if you have some common knowledge and a little know how it takes about an hour to fix.

I broke mine by leaving the window down and then rolling the window up while it was wet. I did this multiple times so I cannot blame Chevy for the problem. Started stuttering at 80,000 miles

Tools: Star drive screw driver, small flat head screw drivers, dental pick, Q-tips, thin sheet of hard plastic (I used two hotel room key cards) Optional: Soldering equipment

1.) Remove the two screws in the handle of the door to and take out the window control switch. (easy)
2.) Unclip the two wiring harnesses on the back of the panel - I did this with a flat head screw driver and a hotel room key card to wedge under the clips and not break the harnesses. (easy)
3.) Remove the back of the Window Switch box. Once again I used aflat head screw driver and two hotel room key cards to wedge under the clips. (complicated - most time consuming portion for me)
4.) Take off the five window switch tops, pull slighty to one side and then the other. They do come off but it feel like you're going to break the thing. (easy but do it slow)
5.) One the five button tops are removed take off the top of the switch plate. (easy)

Now you're looking at the main switch circuit board. I took a picture to make sure I knew what the circuit board should look like when reassembled.

6.) Remove the large plastic X in the middle of the board. Then use a dental pick to unclip the plastic "horseshoe" attached to the driver side window switch. (easy)
7.) Use a dental pick to carefully unclip the driverside window switch. Visually Note the position of the two "M" shaped pieces. Then take out the two little "M" shaped metal pieces. At this point the bottom right connection of the switch in my car was all blackened by lots of use. I used a Q-Tip to clean all the areas of the switch. Note: there should be some lubricant on the top of the 2 "M" shaped pieces of metal so the switch functions efficiently. (Complicated - go slow)

At this point I took apart the right rear window switch to see the difference in wear. Do not try to exchange another Switch with the driver side window switch. The driver side window switch has clips for the "horseshoe" piece that was detached earlier.

8.) Two choices to Fix the problem:
A:) Put a slight bend in the left "M" shaped piece of the switch so that the connection can be completed when pressing the window button. (Easy)
B:) Put a small dollup of solder to raise the connection area, to complete the connection. (Complicated)

I put a slight bend in the left "M" shaped piece. You can visually see the difference in the two pieces when you press them down. The Left "M" shapped piece in my Switch had to raise up an additional 1/16 of an inch to touch the lower side of the connection. With a slight bend it worked perfectly. I had my solder gun ready but figured if it went out again I could put a dollup of solder in the bottom connection to fix it the next time. No sense in taking the risk of over soldering when a simple bend did the trick.

9.) Reassemble - reattach the top of the driver side window switch ( make sure the blue dot is facing outward), reattach the "horseshoe" shaped clip to the window switch, put the large plastic X back in the middle of the Switch (it can only be put in one way, there is a gap to cover the auto roll down horseshoe piece), put the top plate of the switch back on, put the back of the switch plate back on, then reattach the window buttons to the top of the switch plate, reattach to the two wiring harnesses - Double check the button is working, then put back in the door and screw back in place. (easy)

Troubleshoot: If the button didn't work, redo steps 1-6, then slowly do step 7, then take apart another switch and compare, make sure the "M" shaped pieces are in the appropriate position, if they are add a small dollup of solder to the lower left portion of the window connection and file down the top of the solder for a flat solid connection. Reassemble and try again. If the window still won't go up. Take apart, then exhange components of another switch on the circuit board. You will no longer be able to use the Auto Roll down function but at least the window will work properly. By exchanging the pieces of another switch on the circuit board you may loose the function of that window, but you can always get out of the car and use the switch on that door to roll the window up or down.

Hopefully that works, if not, go to a junk yard and get the pieces out of another switch it can be almost any Chevy of similar year Switch.

There is a blower motor resistor located up under the passenger side dash. I believe there is actually 3 fuses that can cause problems with the blower....relays/fuses should be located in the engine compartment fuse block. They are High Blower fuse-HVAC fuse-Radio/HVAC/RFA/Cluster/etc...fuse. Hope this helps.

This is an indication of a fault with fuel evaporative control system. The system consists of vapour coming off from 'sealed' (always check that your gas cap is on good and tight after refills) fuel in the tank being trapped in a carbon filled canister or trap. Also fitted to this trap is a vent tube with a solenoid operated valve to the atmosphere and a purge tube with a solenoid operated valve to the inlet manifold. When the engine cold the purge valve remains closed. Once warmed up the purge valve opens to allow fuel vapour to contribute to the intake to the engine. When the engine revs higher the vent valve opens to allow external air to help flush out vapour from the trap to the engine. The error code says that there is an error with this vent valve (most likely that it is not opening when it should). To check put a voltmeter across the electrical contacts on it and just check for resistance /continuity. If there is no continuity the solenoid has most likely burnt out. A further check is to apply 12volts across the electrical contacts and this should be seen to open and close the valve. If you find that this fault is any way affecting the function of the car, as a temporary measure simply block the purge tube as it enters the inlet manifold (sometimes on the throttle body). This is only a temporary fix as if left like this it will fail its next test.

Check to see if the security light is on. Sounds like you have an antitheft mode problem. If you can jump it on the starter but not at ignition, sounds like the security is blocking you.
If there is a light on your dash that says security when you put the key forward, read this info.


So the Security light is on or flashing in your vehicle and you are looking at 1 of 3 things. Either the vehicle won't crank over and start, It cranks but dies in a few seconds, or your vehicle shuts off while driving scaring the **** out of you. You have now experienced GM's worst security system ever created. GM's security, also known as Passlock Passkey or Vats.

There are 3 parts in this system.
1.The CHIPKEY
Normally a black resister chip in key which "communicates" to the lock cylinder. Sometimes is hidden in the plastic part of keys in new models. Same concept, might say PK1 PK2 PK3 PL or something similar to that. The newer ones work on frequency. Same thing tho.
2.The LOCK CYLINDER
Inside there are pins that read the chip in the key or the part that reads the frequency on new models. This then "communicates" to the TDM)
3.The TDM
Theft Deterrant Module-Sometimes called the "computer" or "brain". This is the part that sends the signal (**NOTE**) to your car and allows your car to start or continue running depending on your type of system.
If any of these parts are not communicating properly, your SECURITY light will come on and shut down your vehicle. The idea being, that without the chipped key or FOB key, the vehicle wont start and cant be "hotwired" or stolen. Pretty nice when working, but these systems are flawed and the average life is 6-10 years. Every single aspect of this system is expensive to replace and can only be worked on by "authorized" GM service men with out voiding warrenty. Most garages dont even touch them and if they do,
they will sell you every part they can before "fixing" the problem/
*QUICK FIX TRICKS*
1st trick
Try a spare key that is newer or used less. The pins wear down with use and so do the keys causing the security to fail.

2nd trick
(if not starting) turn the key forward 2 clicks till right before it would normally start, leave like that for 10 minutes. ( no less ) After 10 minutes, turn key back then forward and your car might start. I did this in my Buick for more than a year. If its shutting down while running, I'm sorry I have no quick fix...

*PERMINANT FIX*
Well since the lifespan of these systems are so short, and are extremely expensive to fix, and in my opinion far worse of a threat to owners than theives, my only perminant suggestion is to eliminate it completely. After a year of 10 minute tricks and a "key bypass" that lasted 2 months and stranded me out of state, ($375 tow charge) i have only one good suggestion. After surfing the web for hours thru forums and websites i came across http://newrockies.com/passkey to the starter or injectors and so on. Thus eliminating the ENTIRE system completely. I came upon a fork in my road. A TDM for $600 in my $1000 car or the $200 bypass. Or throw my car away. Lets say i now drive a Buick with the chip ripped out of the key and the TDM sitting in my glovebox for show
and tell. If you have any questions or anything else. Comment on this post
and i'll get an E-mail to reply to you. If you do choose to buy the bypass,
i have pictures of what a TDM looks like and will definately help you when
installing the newrockies bypass. Good luck
Here is a list of known effected cars that can be fixed with the
newrockies bypass. This is the same list from the site and updates
frequently.
Trucks
.
GMC/Chevy
1998-2006 S10/T10/Sonoma
/Blazer/Jimmy
1998-2007 Suburban/Avalanche
/Tahoe/Yukon
1998-2006 Sierra/Silverado
2002-2008 Trailblazer
2003-2006 SSR
1998-2006 C1500/C2500/C3500
1998-2006 K1500/K2500/K3500
2003-2007 Hummer H2
.
Isuzu
1998-2000 Hombre
2005-2006 I280/I350
2007-2008 I290/I370
.
Cars/Vans
.
Isuzu
2003-2007 Ascender
.
Pontiac
1994-2003 Grand Prix
1998-1999 Montana
2006 Torrent
1996-2005 Grand AM
1994-1998 Trans Sports
1988-1999 Bonneville
1988-2002 Firebird
1995-2005 Sunfire
1996-2002 Trans Am
.
Buick
2004-2007 Rainier
1994-1996 Century
1993-1996 Regal
1982-1999 LeSabre
1991-1996 Park Avenue / Ultra
1994-1996 Roadmaster
1991-1996 Roadmaster Estate Wagon
1982-1999 Riviera
1988-1991 Reatta
1996-1998 Skylark
1982-1990 Electra (all models)
.
Oldsmobile
1996-1998 Achieva
1999-2004 Alero
1994-2004 Aurora
1998-2004 Bravada
1991-1993 Delta 88
1994-1999 Eighty-Eight
1991-1996 Nighty-Eight
1998-2002 Intrigue
1990-1992 Toronado
1994-1997 Cutlass Supreme
1997-1999 Cutlass
1997-1999 LSS/Regency
1997-1999 Silhouette
1991-1996 Custom Cruiser
.
Chevrolet/GMC
1998-2005 Astro/Safari
1998-2008 Envoy
2005-2006 Equinox
1998-2007 Savana/Express
1995-2005 Monte Carlo
1997-1999 Venture
1995-2001 Lumina
1988-2002 Camaro
1995-2005 Cavalier
1982-1991 Corvette
1994-1996 Caprice/Caprice Wagon
1995-1996 Impala SS
2000-2005 Impala
1997-2005 Malibu Classic
1997-2003 Malibu
.
Cadillac
1986-1993 Allante
1982-1996 Fleetwood
1985-1996 Fleetwood Brougham
1992-1995 Seville
1992-1995 SLS/STS
1985-1995 Deville
1994-1995 Deville Concours
1988-1995 ElDorado
1994-1995 ElDorado Touring
1999-2007 Escalade
.
Saturn
2000 LS/LS1/LS2/LW1/LW2
2001-2002 L100/LW100
2001-2003 L200/LW200
2001-2005 L300/LW300
2004-2005 L-Series
2002-2008 VUE
1996-2002 SL/SL1/SL2
1996-2002 SC1/SC2
1996-2002 SW1/SW2

The daytime running lamps in your 2001 Chevrolet Impala are controlled by the Body Control Module (BCM) Here is a description of how the system works:

The ambient light sensor is a light-sensitive transistor that varies its voltage signal to the Body Control Module (BCM) in response to changes in the outside (ambient) light level. When the BCM receives this signal, the BCM turns ON either the DRL or the headlamp relay for auto headlamp operation. Any function or condition that turns ON the headlamps will cancel the DRL operation.
Thirty seconds after you start the ignition with the headlamp switch set in the OFF position, the DRL will perform one of two actions:

Illuminate the high beam headlights at a reduced intensity in daylight conditions
Illuminate the low beam headlights in low light conditions
The DRL/EXT lamps fuse in the top of the engine fuse block supplies battery positive voltage to both the DRL switch contacts and to the DRL relay coil. When the BCM energizes the DRL relay coil, current flows through the right high beam lamp, to the left hand high beam lamp, to the energized DRL relay switch contacts, to ground G101.
The high beam headlamps are now in series, and split the voltage so that the headlamps illuminate at halt intensity. The DRL operates when the ignition switch is in the RUN position, and the parking brake is not set or the transmission is not in park. When these conditions have been met and the ambient light sensor indicates daytime conditions, the DRL will illuminate.

Is this what your sounded like I'm just curious mine is a 2007 Chevy impala lt 3.9 liter v6. Lifter tick