2004 Chevrolet Impala Speedo High

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SRQSPEEDY
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  • 2 POSTS
2004 Impala, 44,000 miles recently experienced malfunction of speedometer. After driving a short distance in intown traffic, I noticed the "needle" was at the 110 mph mark, and moved ahead to the 150 mph mark. When coming to a stop it returned only to the 110 mark. All other electrical systems are functioning normally. What needs repairing and is it something that I can do myself?
Jul 27, 2006 at 6:41 AM
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DEMEARSJR
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 110 POSTS
Could be a vehicle speed sensor, or the needle got whacked out of alignment.
Jul 27, 2006 at 5:48 PM
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SRQSPEEDY
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
[quote="demearsjr"]Could be a vehicle speed sensor, or the needle got whacked out of alignment.[/quote]
Thank youfor the reply. What I am interested in knowing is, is this something I will need to return to the dealership for or can I use a local certified mechanic to do the repair and do you know about how much I am looking at spending.
Jul 28, 2006 at 8:31 AM
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MIKEYBDMAN
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 623 POSTS
Read this first:

The IPC displays the vehicle speed as determined by the IPC. The IPC calculates the mileage based on the class 2 vehicle speed message from the PCM. The IPC calculates vehicle speed based on the class 2 wheel speed message from the EBCM if a loss of communication or malfunction occurs with the PCM. The speedometer defaults to 0 km/h (0 mph) if the IPC detects a loss of class 2 communications with both the PCM and the EBCM.

Now, I would suspect if it saw a malfuntion of the PCM signal, it would have refered to the EBCM signal, or go to "0". With that said, it is eaither your IPC not displaying the correct speed from a good signal from the PCM, or the PCM sending a bad signal to the IPC. I would therorize that the PCM would have a way to determine if the signals it is looking for from speed sonsors was invalide, and probably send a error code. I would also think that more symptoms would be present if a sensor was giving bad info. But all of this is just guessing, your best bet is to probably let the dealer test it out. You should have a warrenty on that car, so have them fix it for you.
Jul 28, 2006 at 9:58 AM

Suggested Repair

Have a dealer diagnose the instrument cluster and the PCM vehicle-speed message before replacing a speed sensor. A high reading is more consistent with a cluster display fault or a bad PCM signal than a lost sensor signal, which should default the speedometer to 0. Warranty may still cover testing and repair.

Conversation Summary

The owner of a 2004 Chevrolet Impala with 44,000 miles reports the speedometer needle rising to 110 then 150 mph in town and returning only to 110 when stopped, while other electrical systems work normally. One reply suggests a vehicle speed sensor or a misaligned needle. A second reply explains that the cluster uses the PCM speed message and falls back to the EBCM, defaulting to 0 if both are lost, so a stuck-high reading points more to the cluster or a bad PCM signal. The recommended step is dealer testing, possibly under warranty.

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