20th Feb 2004, 10:31

I purchased a 2000 Monte Carlo SS. I really like the looks of the car. But the problems seem to be "never ending". The service that I get is unacceptable. When I Purchased the vehicle, I wanted to get rid of my used car and used car headaches. But in return I got a new car with a large payment and a lot of headaches.

It started with the radio. The radio would not operate at all, so I had it replaced under warranty. About a year went by and the radio was not working again, so I had it replaced a second time.

The next problem started when I was driving down the road at about 45 miles an hour, and the car would start to chug or act like it was "missing".

The next problem was my drivers side seat belt was broken, had to replace entire drivers side belt.

The next problem was when I tried to turn my radio down using the steering wheel controls, the controls would not work. The dealer found short in steering wheel and fixed this problem.

The next problem is at night when driving and step on the brake, headlights flicker for a second. Have mentioned this problem to the dealer several times, still have not gotten this problem fixed.

My middle console is also looking warn, due to just resting my arm.

Last, but not least, I now have a clunking sound in the front end while traveling at low or high speeds. I am in the process of trying to get this fixed, and was told this could be my intermediate steering shaft or rear/front cradle mounts.

As I stated at the beginning of this letter, I wanted a new car so I would not have as many headaches as owning a used vehicle. With all the problems I've had with this new car on top of making quite a large monthly payment, I often wander what I was thinking. I really like how the Monte Carlo looks, but with all the problems I've had and am still having, looks aren't everything.

I almost forgot about my most recent problem, my driver side power window is not operating.

I think I will think twice about purchasing another new vehicle in the future. Sometimes I feel like I bought a lemon.

Sincerely,

Shelly Morrison

SMORRISON4@NEO.RR.COM.

3rd Aug 2004, 10:30

Have a 2000 MC LS bought new in 3/00. Just got it out of the dealership for the SIXTH time for steering problems - the same clunking noise many of you wrote about. Twice they lubed the steering, twice they replaced the intermediate steering shaft twice they "fixed it" some other way. It never lasts. Twice they've replaced the steering wheel, twice the rear light assembly due to moisture (problem still there, fyi), once replaced the console for the wearing problem, twice they've worked on the a/c - new blower motor x2, incl one just 2 wks ago that now only works on speed 5 (1,2,3,4 out!). Yes, back to the dealer today, but argued over the ext warranty deductible since I just paid it 2 wks ago, and pressed til they caved in on a free loaner. Oh, and the brakes. Rotors at under 10k miles were turned, then later resurfaced, then later dealer replaced. Shudder stop showed up again bigtime at 48k miles, had local trusted mech turn 'em, symptom gone. GM is well aware of the steering problem history. No recalls. If I didn't have ext warranty, this beautiful medium regal blue baby with a mere 50k miles would probably be gone! Can't afford another car right now, so playing my hand out to the end. Otherwise, she's classy, hot and comfy. C'mon GM. If you read these posts you KNOW your rep is on the line. The posts explaining "road noise" as the reason scare me to death. It's NOT in most cases, it's the known, recurring steering system problem. Do something!

3rd Nov 2004, 08:57

I have recently purchased a 2000 MC-LS, and almost immediately I heard a thumping sound from a wheel or tire... I took it in to get new tires, and was told by the the tire company that they couldn't do a front end alignment, due to the cam bolt. The tire company said that GM didn't put an adjuster bolt on the stock part, so therefore it is an aftermarket fix. Shouldn't GM take care of this, and if so, how and who do I contact?

Thanks, Dave W, in Ohio.

4th Jan 2005, 13:34

I bought a 2000 Monte Carlo LS in 2001 as a "program car" with 30k miles on it. Immediately I heard a knocking sound in the front end while going over rough terrain at low speeds. I took the vehicle to the dealer 6 times and they kept it a total of 10 days and found "nothing". They claimed to have replaced the steering mid-shaft, Lower control arm bushings, and numerous other parts. The sound never went away. At about 41,000 miles, I removed the front wheels to check the brake pads only to find that the outer Tie Rod Ends were completely worn out. How could the dealer have missed something so obvious? After much time spent on the phone with GM Customer Care, I finally convinced them to cover it under the warranty.

I also have the same problems with the center console coating flaking off from nothing more than my arm resting on it.

At 60,000 miles, I noticed a water leak on the engine and found that the water pump had worn out. When I opened the radiator cap, I found something that looked like greasy mud in my radiator. I changed the water pump and 4 days later, the intake manifold gasket started leaking water. When doing research, I found that the orange Dex Cool coolant tends to break down and becomes very corrosive when it does so. It will destroy water pumps, manifold gaskets, radiators, and heater cores. The intake gasket repair cost me about $1000 and GM would not cover even part of the repair, even though it's a known problem.

My latest issues at 75,000 miles are:

Clunking sounds in the steering wheel when turning.

A loud popping sound when accelerating or stopping quickly.

A worn out rear wheel bearing.

A driver's side window switch that will roll the window down fine, but won't roll it back up without playing with it.

A power mirror switch that doesn't work.

All of the coating is coming off the steering wheel.

I'm now looking at a 5 year old car with 80,000 miles and needing another $1000 in repairs.

The car is beautiful and is a very comfortable car, but too many mechanical and functional problems.

I bought this Monte Carlo to hopefully get away from problems I had with an 89 Grand Prix, but I'm having almost as many problems with the Monte Carlo. I will never own another GM product again.

Maybe someone can find this information useful.

RN in Louisiana

nwlaguy@yahoo.com.