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2003 Impala base trans issue?

Dadillac

New member
So the '03 Impala is having issues. I am not the primary driver so I have only some knowledge about the issue. My son has told me about it and I have felt it on limited driving. So the car, when running and in gear, is super sluggish. Let me explain. When at a stop sign or light and you let off the brake to begin moving the car will just sit there. It will not move until the throttle is pressed. Also when the trans is cold it will jolt before moving from a stop. He also told me of another issue that I did not feel when I was driving it. He said that when he climbs a slight incline and keeps the throttle position constant he is getting some bucking/stuttering.

My old school knowledge points me at the torque convertor. But I know with all the sensors and wiring that cars have nowadays that it can be almost anything. I forgot to mention that I drained and refilled the trans with Dexron VI this past weekend since the car is 11 years old and has 116,000 miles on it. I do believe that the trans fluid was still factory fill. Son says fluid change had negligible results.

Anybody that can point me to a starting point? I am hoping that this issue has happened to somebody before and that an easy repair took care of it. thanks in advance folks

Don
 


The bang start is likely a worn input piston piece, rebuild kits have longer seals and that piece is nearly an automatic replace in these transmissions.

The sluggish could be seals leaking etc. For some odd reason impala owners report more symptoms like this. Not sure why, maybe something in the programming makes it easier to feel/notice.
 
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