Impala 2005 Problems
 

Wife decides she wanted a newer car. So she brings a 2005 Impala home. It has a bad case of torque steer when you give it a little throttle. It also seems to wander, always having to correct back and forth. Very annoying. Anyone else have any issues with these newer Impalas?

Get the front end checked for alignment, and possibly a CarFax. It may due to previous damage. Also look for overspray where the paint may have been touched up after a wreck.

Carfax was clean, I will take a closer look anyways. Thanks

torque steer is probably from the motor mounts shifting. brake torque it from reverse let off then drive let off then reverse again while someone watches the mounts... Also vertical control arm bushings in front pull thru and can cause it. Have seen cv axle shafts cause a similar issue but not near as often.

We do a lot of control arm bushings on the newer W-body cars. I would look at those very closely.

V8 SS?

Wife brings the car home = V6

Husband = V8

The ss in 05 was a supercharged 3800. little extra grunt but no v8.

Correct, 06 was the first year. This was a wife decision to bring this piece of crap home!

240 hp as opposed to the 200 hp of the standard 3800 series II.
FWD will always give a little torque steer but the wandering is cause for some concern.
I would take it to a good alignment shop and tell them to check the car thoroughly for evidence of damage.

W-bodies are known for broken sway bars in the front. The end where the link connects can rust and split, eventually breaking off. An easy check.

true but sway bars dont cause torque steer...

My bad. Any movement of the motor can cause torque steer. The hydraulic motor mount is prone to leak and collapse. I'd check that too. It's an easy fix.

I learned about torque steer real easy when I had my srt-4. Stage 3 moper kit on it with air-shifter would change lanes on me whenever i reached 15-20psi boost. Wholeshots smoked the engine mount bushing twisting the engine in the cradle under acceleration. That change in axle geometry caused a severe pull to the left it would literally "jump" lanes