I got this car from someone and I just noticed none of the gauges on the dashboard work!
Everything else works fine and the mileage still shows, engine notifications still show, etc.
It’s a 2005 Chevy Impala. Any ideas on what might be wrong and how much it may cost to fix it?
If none of the guages work, that may be less expensive to fix than if only one guage didnt work. So you may be in luck. The problem is something in common to all the guages. It might simply be one of the electrical connectors under the dash has come loose. Or has become corroded. The next most likely is that the voltage regulator for the instruments has broken.
Most any shop could fix this I expect. The mechanic would look under the dash for a connector that has fallen off or is broken or corroded. If that’s not it, they’d look at the schematic and try to probe the voltage regulator output.
How much to fix? Depends. If it is just a connector to re-install, that would be their minimum fee, $75 or whatever. Worse case? They might need to replace the instrument module, which could be fairly expensive, $1000 maybe. Somewhere in between $75 and $1000 is the most likely answer. I’g guess it will be closer to $75 than $1000.
Look on page 5-96. There is a PCM/BCM/CLSTR fuse you should check.
http://www.extendedgmwarranty.com/owners-manual/chevrolet/2005-Chevrolet-Impala.pdf
Check the fuses in the dash panel. There may be a blown one that ties to the gauges.