2000 Oldsmobile Alero from North America - Comments

I HATE MY ALERO!!! I feel seriously ripped off! I have replaced three of the windows for going out, and have two that are broken right now. It is seriously expensive to fix this problem and I feel that GM should do a serious recall from all of the exact same issues I am seeing happen on this car. Something needs to be done... GM should know I will NEVER buy another car of theirs and will inform everyone I ever talk to about cars of these continuous problems with their product.

I bought my 2000 Alero after getting into a serious accident with a drunk driver who totaled my previous 2000 Alero... I can't say I have been too happy with it either.

My new Alero is adorable - midnight blue, great cosmetic appearence, nice tan leather, and a sun roof that I adore. Underneath that cute exterior lies some seriously huge problems.

Head gaskets were blown within a week of purchasing the car - thankfully that was under warranty from the person I bought the car from. That only took two weeks to get back *shakes head*, which was a week too long according to other mechanics. They did a bang up job on that; throwing it together quickly and haphazardly... as a result of this, they neglected to replace the thermostat, something that should be done if the head gaskets are replaced. Also, a new manifold of some sort had to be replaced. Whatever correlates with the head gasket. Two weeks after they "fixed" that problem, the water pump went causing a slow coolant leak. Took that to my local mechanic; they had it fixed in a few hours for 165 bucks.

Now my car is in the shop AGAIN. It reheated on Tuesday on the highway (thank god my boyfriend was in my car to drive it for me - I was terrified it was going to blow up), and when we took it home we found out that the coolant was BOILING. My initial thought was "****, another head gasket." My boyfriend told me to relax - it's probably the thermostat. Sooooo now it's in the shop, again, getting the thermostat replaced. The bad news is that's another 200 bucks, and my mechanic said it may be my infamous head gaskets again. I almost started crying; if head gaskets are blown again, I'm going to sell that piece of ****, take out a loan and buy a brand new mazda 6 - I've HAD IT.

Not to mention that thing sucks gas and has a huge tank. It's quick, sporty, and chicky, but for the love of God, the novelty is wearing off as my wallet is decreasing rapidly in size.

In addition, I need new brake calipers, and I'm positive something is wrong with the spring that correlates with the brakes. The car makes a wicked weird sound whenever coming to a stop.

Hmm in my Alero previous to this one - the window fell down in the back, I didn't really care. We just left it rolled up. I hit so much stuff with that car, didn't maintain it at all, and the only thing that had to be replaced over a year ago was the rotors. I religiously take care of the current car, and this thing has been nutty every since I bought it - I am TERRIFIED to drive the thing now!

Kate

Pewaukee WI.

My Oldsmobile Alero also has SERIOUS problems with the windows, brakes, driver seat lift, and dashboard peeling. I was nearly in hysterics reading the comments on these pages ~ ALL of the problems are the SAME as mine. ARGH! I will try to fix the windows on my own to avoid the expense. I am a young, female professional who could generally afford the fix. But the do-it-yourself work with this car is really the only way to go as the above problems are always RECURRING. GM maybe now is the time to take responsibility as this might be why you are facing such extreme losses!

I have had many of the same problems, but I guess I still consider my car a good car.

My parents bought a 2001 Alero for me in 2005 (I was going away to college). The first day I had it both of the windows got messed up... we took it back to the dealer and they fixed it.

Two months after getting to college (3 hours away from home) my master cylinder went out, so my brakes didn't work... I was going down the biggest hill in the city at this point... very fun.

Of course, the radio buttons are scratched off but it doesn't really bother me. The oil/tire pressure lights do come on at random times but I've learned to ignore them. I rarely reset them anymore because it's just a waste of time.

In July, my passenger side window came off the track. I duct taped it until I could get it home and get it fixed. I believe it was the motor? A family friend did it for just the cost of the part - about $100. Yesterday, my driver's side window did the same thing. I don't have to duct tape it yet and I'm hoping I don't have to.

Still, with all of the problems, I think this is minimal and I'm still happy with the car... I got into an accident in December where I did a 180 into a ditch and backed into a telephone pole... only damage to the car was a slight crack underneath the bumper... I had more damage to myself! But, the window thing is extremely frustrating.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

I have recently purchased a 2002 Alero with 109k miles on it. The only issue I have had is the window thing, but I can handle that, oh and I stupidly parked on the sand and sunk it. 500 tow because a super nice guy pulled me out by my control arm. They are not that durable, but I found that piece for 35 bucks.

OK OK OK.

The sensors can be adjusted by a mechanic at like Jiffy Lube. I found my change oil light comes on occasionally, well every 5k miles, but the service engine light comes on at like 3k, so I just stay on top of that. Otherwise I like the car a lot; it's fast, responsive and fun to drive.

My 14 year old wants it for his first car. Well we will see won't we LOL.

Eron, Salem, Oregon.