chevy impala 2006 crazy resonance and compass ?

[1 FMF]

have a chevy impala for a rental, 2006 I believe. It has less than 3k miles on it. I'm in West Palm FL.

question- the dash driver's info display has a compass but it needs to be calibrated. It says press button to start calibration, then tells you to drive in circles. So we drove in circles in a parking lot, first around an island so it was a mini oval, then we did a tight circle. Maybe the tires need to be squeeling when you do this? We spent 3-4 minutes, did circles in both directions, and it never said done. anybody know what gives?

other thing is there's a wild resonant percusion when you open either one of the back windows by themself and are doing 40+ mph. The wind goes thump thump thump inside the car, like if you had a 1000 watt subwoofer at max volume just thumping air. It hurts your eardrums. Anybody experience this? Maybe it's just unique to this car, hopefully for GM's sake. If you open the front windows an inch or open the other rear window it doesn't happen, only when one rear window is all the way down.

 

[Huhwhye]

Open another window it will go away. It's the pressure from the air, they call it buffeting. Lots of cars do it. Opening another window will let it equalize the pressure and the noise should go away. Just need to open them a crack.

 

[wavinwayne]

quote:

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Originally posted by 1 FMF:
have a chevy impala for a rental, 2006 I believe......there's a wild resonant percusion when you open either one of the back windows by themself and are doing 40+ mph. The wind goes thump thump thump inside the car, like if you had a 1000 watt subwoofer at max volume just thumping air.

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I had an experience like this once, just after I purchased my VW GTI. I was about to drive up a steep mountain one spring day, so at the bottom of the mountain at a stop sign, I opened my sunroof. I didn't open either of the windows, since the air was still a little chilly.

As I started up the mountain, at approx. 35-40 mph, it sounded like a helicopter was about to land on my roof. Now, I know the only kind of helicopters that follow me are the black ones, & you can't hear those; So, I pulled off the road immediately, did a check of all the car's vital signs, & realized that this is what happens when you drive my VW with the sunroof open & don't slightly open a window to vent.

Lesson learned; carried on with my daily activities.

 

[GoldenRod]

wavinwayne wrote:

"Now, I know the only kind of helicopters that follow me are the black ones, & you can't hear those..."


huh

 

[The Critic]

^^^^

Police helicopters ???

 

[wavinwayne]

I was wondering if anybody would pick up on that.

A joke guys.....a joke, you know, funny haha........

 

[michaelc80]

quote:

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Originally posted by wavinwayne:
I was wondering if anybody would pick up on that.

A joke guys.....a joke, you know, funny haha........

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Some of us understood it and saw the humor in it. Now go put on your tinfoil hat!

 

[moribundman]

About calibrating the electronic compass: I have an aftermarket compass in my Audi that is also calibrated by driving in a circle. In my case, I press the calibration button, drive a full 360 degree circle, then press the calibration (or is it "set"?) again. If I don't press the calibration (or "set") button again, how would the compass "know" that I turned a full circle?

Alternatively, start an ever-expanding circular search pattern until you reach your destination.

 

[Papa Bear]

It's a rental....forget about it !!

P.B.

 

[keval85]

What do you need a compass in a car for,you guys got no road signs?

 

[ekpolk]

Shame on me. I opened this thinking, "well, GMs done it again, released a car with some gross and obvious problem unresolved..."

Then I read your description of the problems.

My G35 sedan does exactly the same thing if you get the windows in the proper relative positions. Darned near sucked my ear drums out once. Ouch.

My G's compass has never come "uncalibrated" before, but its display is so un-intuitive, you have to look at it and think about it a moment each time, unless it's precisely at one of the cardinal directions.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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What do you need a compass in a car

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Some states have roads arranged in a strict north/south/east/west grid pattern and a compass can be useful.

However, CT is not one of them. Neither is VA.

 

[ekpolk]

I dunno. I think compasses are a good thing, especially for those folks who don't understand that having the sun on their left while driving on I-95"N" at 8:00 a.m. is a problem.

 

[JHZR2]

we had a new impala rental last week... it actually was a decent car, and the (honda owner) driver was impressed. I like it, but it doesnt offer diesel or MT, so, not for me.

The window thing is common... and the compass is likely a set of buttons that need to be pressed.

JMH

 

[Matt_S]

The compass in most GM cars works the same way. I've had to recalibrate mine a few times. I've NEVER driven in circles to do it. Normal driving takes care of it just fine. If it's working properly, it'll finish itself after a few miles.

 

[Papa Bear]

Detroit, MI is North of me, and I'm in Canada.
Yes it is.....Yes it is !!

P.B.

 

[andyd]

A compass would do little good in Boston or its suburbs which were laid out on cowpaths. Rt 93N south of Boston is actually taking you south-easterly.

 

[brianl703]

Or the ones who don't understand that Baltimore is north of Washington is north of Richmond...

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by andyd:
A compass would do little good in Boston or its suburbs which were laid out on cowpaths. Rt 93N south of Boston is actually taking you south-easterly.

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Only solution to that problem: get a GPS! I've had a nice hand-held Garmin for about four years. It clips neatly into a dash bracket for car use. Reading the map is a tad difficult on the move because of size. To solve that problem, drop big $ for a dedicated in-car unit. Compass instantly irrelevant. . .