2000 Oldsmobile Alero from North America - Comments

I have a 2000 Alero and my blower works when it decides it wants to, and not when I want it to. The driver side window keeps falling down and you have to buy the whole regulator for $150.00 instead of a.50 plastic clip.

My wife has a 2001 Alero, the regulator for the passanger window went out. (3 out of 4 windows needed a new regulator)

I have a 2000 Aler. I feel better knowing I am not alone having experienced all the same problems. My male friend thinks it is just because I must abuse the car. I have replaced the brakes 4 times. Replaced gaskets, have had air conditioning leak, over heating motor (only when it wants to), drivers window fell in, have had no blower fan for 8 months, clicking sound like emergency flasher while driving, noise stops periodically when wheel turned to the right (dealer supposedly fixed this in recall, but 5 blocks from the dealer it started again and they would do nothing more about it), etc., etc. I am a single mom, on disability and have a son in college. I cannot afford to hire mechanics so we drive it as is and pray. GM should fix all of the problems as they are the same with each car. I believe in buying American, but God help us!

Turn signal problems are a recall item. Mine was eventually replaced. Check with your local dealers for free replacement.

Dear Alero owners,

Owner of Alero 2.4, automatic transmition. 105000km. GREAT CAR!

Minor problem, tachometer is +/- 10 km's on the conservative side. Any suggestion?

ALE (G) RO owner

The Netherlands.

I have a 2000 GLS and up until now it has been fantastic, however in the last 2 months:

My Fan does not work on lower speeds.

Passenger Window clips broke.

A/C clutch/pulley died.

Wheel hub.

I just stumbled onto this page when searching for Alero window problems. I own a 2001 Alero, and my driver’s side window will not work, of course I bought a new master window switch, thinking that was it, but that was a waste of money. I guess now I will look into replacing the window motor. I have already experienced numerous problems with this car; I wish I never purchased it.

I also have a 2001 Alero. We bought this car new and for the most part it runs very well. The biggest problem has been the Brakes and Rotors. We have had them replaced the rotors twice and the brake pads 3 times. As of June 2006 the low speed fan does not work. The passenger side power window sounds like its scraping on the way up and down. We get a nice GM family discount, but will not be using it on future purchases. GM quality is just not there. I have always bought American, but I think its time to put quality and reliability at the top of the list.

I originally wrote in on 9th Jan 2004. Just checking back in because my rear driver's side window regulator broke @ 117k miles. So that makes my 4th power window... which reminds me back when my 3 one broke... I called GM and they told me that my power window problem was an "isolated case"...hmm. I think all the comments here really show that it is an "isolated case."

Btw, I have all the other common alero problems by now too. 1) bad dashboard 2) bad turn signals, 3) bad brakes, 4) radio labels rubbed off, 5) bad intake engine manifold, 6) fan speed selector doesn't work at low speed, 7) window coverings warps... but heck, you guys know all that!

We have a 2000 Alero, which was purchased a year ago, and I think that we were able to drive it maybe a total of 1 month. It has been in the repair shop for everything under the hood. Replaced intake gasket, Radiator, water pump, over flow tank, fan clutch switch, brakes, rotors, Signal lights switch, hazard light switch, tune up, timing belt, driver side window fell. Car is a total lemon. We are now at the point where the car has broke down again because it over heated. All this with a car that has less than 50,000 miles. Now the same mechanic is saying that we need a valve job. Don't get us wrong, it is a nice riding vehicle the times that there is not a problem, but that is to far in between to be happy with this vehicle. What's funny is that we stumbled across this site looking for a head gasket set and now we know we are not alone!!!

I bought my 2000 Olds Alero GLS in Sept 2005 and also have found my driver side door window has fallen in. The pieces of plastic cost atleast $36.00 each at the dealership. I was wondering if anyone has found them cheaper online and if they managed to successfully do it themselves. I was told before I bought my car about all the problems that an Alero will give me so I went ahead and fixed them before they started. Got heads cleaned, gaskets were replaced early on and also removed the DEX A Cool from the whole car - seems to be working so much better since I put the green liquid in. There is a KNOWN issue with Dex a Cool and GMC vehicles. The car's dash problem is a cosmetic problem that can be easily rectified. Aleros are known for running themselves out of oil and fluids just check them frequently. Good Luck.

I recently encountered the broken clip on my driver's side window. Since my mechanic wants $400 to fix it, I was considering doing it myself. Exactly how tough would this be? What steps are required?

Thanks!

Goldsman@mindpsring.com

I bought a 2002 (bought it used) Alero, my first car, and it was a great car - used for work, driving a pretty long distance everyday. For the first year, it was the perfect car, and I kept it immaculate.

But slowly started deteriorating. Now it seems like every other month I'm putting some of my limited budget towards fixing my car's myriad of problems.

**First, the driver side window stopped working. Luckily it was under warranty and it was fixed by the dealer from which I purchased it.

**Then while driving home one night, the electrical system goes haywire, and all these lights come on all of a sudden while I'm driving 70 MPH. Then the car just decided to "take a break" and stop working for the night. I coasted to a stop on the freeway from 70 MPH while dodging traffic and trying not to have a panic attack. I had no idea what was happening with my car. It was 11pm on the freeway and I had to call someone to call a wrecker for my car.

**I've had the brakes replaced (all four pads) 3 times already. I just had the rear pads replaced 2 months ago and not less than a month later, I heard the front brakes start to squeal.

**The passenger side window does not roll down. I could fix it. It could be something simple. But it most likely isn't. And I don't have the extra money to throw away on it. I would if it were the driver side window. It annoys me that all of the motors or clips or whatever have to be replaced after 2 or 3 years on these Aleros.

**I have also replaced the battery (twice), catalytic converter, and alternator.

**THE WHOLE REASON I AM ON THIS PAGE - to complain about the dashboard!!! About 2 years after I bought the car the dashboard vinyl started the shrink, wrinkle and bubble up, as did the vinyl covering on the doors. I know that a Houston Texas summer can get very hot, and I take the precautions to keep my car as cool as I can. I tinted the windows as dark as legally possible and always keep a windshield reflector in the windshield. It's still hot as hell, but maybe not as hot. I think it just comes down to shoddy and poor workmanship if you can't make a car that can handle ALL CLIMATES, even very hot and humid ones, where the inside of a car can reach 130 degrees. I know there is a very strong glue out there, there has to be. (I think that GM didn't want to spend the money in order to use it.) Just tonight, I had enough of the peeling and ugly look that I had to look at everyday and decided to do something about it. I thought maybe if I rolled it and glued it I may be able to make it look presentable. No such luck - the vinyl has shrunk. And trying to contact GM apparently is useless because they are out of business, and with good cause - they sell good-looking cars that somehow know how to self-destruct just after the warranty expires.

I just think it's sad that the only happy Alero owners are those who are mechanics or people experienced with building a car from scratch. Because when you have to replace everything... like both window motors, electrical system, battery, catalytic converter, upholstery, etc... that is basically what you're doing. Maybe I should be on MTV's Pimp My Ride.

~Annoyed Alero Owner~

2001 GLS Owner.

I've put on ~82K Miles on my Alero, and all this stuff started coming to my attention. Apparently I'm just going to be echoing everyone else:

1) Low fan settings failed just after the 50K mile warranty

2) Radio and AC labels started rubbing off after the warranty

3) Turn signals work intermittently

4) Passenger window just fell in

Go figure the window falls in over the Labor Day weekend and it'll have to wait for repair.

Just another unhappy Olds. Alero owner. I just stumbled onto this site, while trying to find out how to fix my power window problems. Seems like a lot of GM owners have the same problem. My drivers side window stopped working some time ago and the back window on the drivers side just fell into the door. Does anyone have any info on what I should do, I am a single grandmother raising 3 grandchildren and do not have a lot of money to spend. HELP!!!

Dcoozr@cox.net DEBBIE.