2001 Oldsmobile Alero GX review from North America

Car wouldn't start. Replaced the battery, all was good. 6 months or so later, the car won't start. All these weird lights come on on the dash. Car turns over, won't start. Got it towed to mechanic, they said it was brain dead. The "body control unit" crapped out. Estimate $1,200!! It sat for four months. Took it to a different mechanic, $850.

All the symptoms I've read here, radio won't work, lights work intermittently, no fuel pressure, et al. After they replaced the BCU everything was great.

It's been a year & here in south Fla, it's rainy season. So what you say? The brain died again. This time they found a leak in the firewall. The cowl actually. That's that strip of plastic that the wipers come through.

Cut to the chase. Got an answer, a fix. Simple really. The design of the assembly on the passengers side allows water to come through the cowl & into the blower housing. If you remove the glove box (6 screws) you can see it. That happens to be where this "brain" is located!

The fix - cover the hole!! Remove the push pins that hold the cowling. They're plastic too, so don't treat 'em rough. You can lift it maybe 4 inches, just enough, on the passengers side, to slip in an oblong shallow container to cover the hole. I bought a Rubbermaid #2 "takealong", just a disposable container, for $2.50 for 4. If I had had access to this info I could have saved $1,500 or more! All for what, 85 cents?!

I hope this saves someone some heartache, and green stamps!

This little coupe runs like a scalded dog, but the electronics are terrible.

You kinda get an idea of why GM has failed.