25th Mar 2009, 21:17

I bought a 2004 Oldmobile Alero 2-dr, 2.2 liter, 4cyl in Mar 2006 with 27,000 miles on it. It now has over 78,000 miles, and I have driven it across the U.S. twice.

I absolutely love my car. But I have replaced the window regulators on both sides twice too! And 2 months ago the passenger side window fell into the door for the 3rd time. The problem is that the plastic clips that connect the window to the regulator break. I found a shop that would do the repair for $145.00 each occurrence. After the 2nd he actually did the repair on the passenger side at no charge whatsoever. Of course he knew, and told me as much, that I would be a return customer in only 6 to 8 months. I don't have the nerve to ask for the present repair at no charge so I have been telling all passengers "PLEASE DO NOT ROLL DOWN THAT WINDOW! I'LL TURN ON THE A/C!!", before they even get their door shut.

Other than the window dilemma, I LOVE MY 2004 ALERO coupe. It is fast, responsive, and good looking : A pleasure to drive. Only the windows SUCK!!! I say recall or reimburse for this defect GM!

Raybcn@gmail.com

Phoenix, AZ 85018.

29th Jun 2009, 12:01

I purchased a 2000 Alero in January of 2008. It worked pretty fine until I drove off the lot and noticed that the blinkers weren't working right, which I later found out has been recalled.

In about May I had to have my bearings replaced and then all the problems started. The car began to leak antifreeze every day, and the tire pressure and oil change lights came on weekly.

In December I had to pay $400 for a water pump and to fix the antifreeze plugged, which is conveniently located behind the transmission.

In the last two months my dashboard stopped coming on and I had to remove a fuse so that it would. Now the whole dashboard doesn't light up at all and at night the car is pitch black. I can't see how fast I'm going, how much gas I have, or the time on the radio. As of yesterday the locks aren't power anymore. Also the car still leaks antifreeze.

11th Jul 2009, 22:36

2004 Alero - We bought this car new after GM announced that they were closing the Oldsmobile division. We bought it because my wife's Honda had over 200,000 miles on it and the Alero was VERY HEAVILY DISCOUNTED.

The car developed a piston slap problem in the engine at 2,000 miles, and the engine had to be torn apart.

The radio buttons lost their labels.

When my wife pulled the car to the side of the road and pushed the hazard light button, it fell into the dash. The problem was that a flimsy plastic retainer worth maybe 20 cents let go of the actual hazard switch.

The drivers window failed twice due to failure of the small plastic brackets that attach the glass to the lift mechanism. Again, GM lost a lifetime of future sales by cost-reducing simple parts below the level of reliability.

29th Jul 2009, 00:13

I recently bought a 2001 Alero.. it's very nice.. but the ABS, traction control, and service engine soon light randomly come on.. WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT? It won't pass inspection.. but doesn't throw any codes? Does anybody know why? It's driving me crazy...

29th Aug 2009, 17:05

Well, I have a 2000 Alero. I have had similar problems with my car as well. Now the coolant is running out. What's with that? I am reading that it may be a gasket. Help!

30th Aug 2009, 08:53

If your car is losing coolant, it could be one of two things. One, your car could be simply leaking coolant from somewhere, such as a hose or perhaps the radiator itself. If your car leaves a puddle of greenish-yellow liquid underneath it after parking it, then it has a coolant leak. On the other hand, it could also be your head gasket. If you're losing coolant, and there is no puddle underneath your car, than you will need to replace your head gasket. Another easy way to tell if your car is burning coolant: it will release white smoke from the exhaust pipe, regardless of outside temperature. If it does turn out to be your head gasket, you're looking at a repair cost of about $700-$1300 (this includes the labor involved in replacing the head gasket). I know this because I am a mechanic myself.

30th Aug 2009, 19:22

I bought a 2002 Alero brand new. The first two weeks into owning it I was driving down the 401 at ten k over the posted speed limit and the engine blew up all over the highway. Since then, bad rotors, bad speakers and bad driver and passenger windows. (electric 6x each.) Bad bearing in front axles. Total in all... $18000 in warranty work... $2400 out of pocket. Add this all up and you have a $42400 Alero that originally cost $24000 brand new. Good one GM. Didn't see that one coming.

J.D. Windsor Ontario Canada.

25th Sep 2009, 14:27

Just wondering if anyone has had to replace the crank sensor in their 2001 Alero. We've changed the fuel pump, it ran fine for a month and are still having issues with it not starting. We've gone to Autozone for the part, but can't seem to find where on the engine block the part is supposed to go. The part they gave us doesn't look like anything on the engine block. Any help would be appreciated!

13th Oct 2009, 20:27

I purchased a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero in 2004 after it was in an accident. I drove the car the first day, and stopped at a beauty supply store and bought some lip gloss. When I tried to drive away, the shift lever would not move out from park, so it had to be towed back to the dealer ship where it was fixed. A month later, the manifold played out and had to be fixed. About a year later, the recall for my signal light had to be fixed, but they still continue to work – when they want to. I have replaced three water pumps, two fuel pumps, four rotor replacements on the passenger side, bad struts on the driver side that haven’t been replaced, replaced the fans once, replaced two starters, and now I’m having the car’s coolant running out and the heads need to be replaced. I haven’t decided not to get it fixed because it’s only a car and they do break down, and I don’t want to be a slave to car payments.

I also have that window trouble as well. I have two with paper in them to hold them up, one on the driver’s side and the other on the right passenger side in the back, and the one opposite that is off track. The best working window is on the front passenger side, but the switch doesn’t always work to open and close it, so the driver is the only one with control over it most of the time. The buttons for the radio have all broken, so I can only use SEEK. The rear view mirror has fallen off, so I have to use the side mirrors to look behind me. Not only that, but the side mirror buttons don’t work in order to adjust them to see! I’ve had heat in the summer when I’ve needed air, and air in the winter when I’ve needed heat.

All in all, I can deal with all these problems because WALKING SUCKS as well as making payments for a new car, so I’m going to keep on praying and dealing with the problems until some kind of supernatural blessing comes along…. or until Xzibit receives my message to come pimp my ride. I tell you what though, she (my car) can take a good licking, so I’m not mad at it. Just hang in there with these Aleros until you can get something better. Right now, I’m just content to just keep on, keeping on because new cars are only good for three years anyway before you start to have problems with them as well. I’m not getting a new car until it can actually tell you what’s about to breakdown.

Errica

Jackson, TN.