Is this a factory setting?

I felt one thing a bit annoying with our 01'impala base, now even more on icy roads.

Over a certain speed, as soon as foot gets off the gas pedal, seems the car maintains much more momentum than any car we owned before, have to brake hard to slow down at red lights etc...

Ever mentioned this to a mechanic, he said some new cars automatically switch gear to a higher level when foot off gas. Is that true for impala and all new gm cars?

I felt one thing a bit annoying with our 01'impala base, now even more on icy roads.

Over a certain speed, as soon as foot gets off the gas pedal, seems the car maintains much more momentum than any car we owned before, have to brake hard to slow down at red lights etc...

Ever mentioned this to a mechanic, he said some new cars automatically switch gear to a higher level when foot off gas. Is that true for impala and all new gm cars?

Gas-Saving Technique thats built in. It just takes more getting used to if nothing else. First person i've ever heard to complain about this though.

Impalas, particularly base models, have very tall gearing. This allows the rpms to be lower at high speeds. Your car probably runs at less then 1700 rpm at 60. When you remove your foot from the gas, the gearing causes very little resistance to the speed and costs along without slowing down much at all. Many asian cars, as they have little engines with peak power too far up in the rpm range, need short gearing to accelerate at a decent pace. Therefore, in those cars, when you let off the gas, you can feel them slowing down quickly. Short gearing helps acceleration, hinders top speed, and cuts gasmileage.

This is something that is programmed into the PCM to help lower emissions and is common on many newer vehicles. I don't like it either. Try this as a test. After you release the accelerator put the trans into neutral and watch your tach. The engine speed will not return to normal idle until you stop, hence the reason you feel poor engine braking effect. Unless you figure out how to reprogram the PCM to change this you will have to learn to live with it. I preferred the old carburetors. They returned to base idle instantly... and had great engine braking effect.

(EDIT) :smile: The trans shifting into overdrive is also a big factor in the feeling of maintaining momentum that you are experiencing, as noted by yourself and others above. You can minimize this while driving around town by leaving your trans in "3" or "D" (not OD). I do this sometimes and it does make a big difference to me because I like to coast down before hitting the brakes. Some drivers tend to go right from the gas to the brake, and therefore never really notice the car isn't slowing down on its own.