I have a 2015 Chevrolet Impala Limited that I'm picking at. I'm looking at replacing the alternator for a few reasons. While I'm at it, I'm thinking of replacing it with the same thing except with a decoupler pulley version from a 2015 Traverse. Looking through sample shots online, they look like the same exact alternator except for the pulleys:



Aside from a couple of divots that seem to come and go randomly across manufacturers, these look to be the same thing with different pulleys. The back and sides seem the same also . . . and the plug looks the same.

Does anyone know of a reason that a decoupler-pulley unit would not work in a non-decoupler-pulley car? Would the computer be confused during gear changes or something?

Part of me says "GM MUST have had a reason to put the decoupler pulley on the SUV version and not on the budget sedan version" but another part of me says "It was probably because they could save $0.69 on each Impala they produced and nobody would notice" .

I may or may not use BBB Industries and/or Rockauto, but their pictures were most alike between models for comparison.