20th Mar 2008, 10:19
Wow, do I ever feel your pain! I bought this car with about 9,000 miles on it in 03 and I have had soooo many problems with it. I hate to think how many times I have had to replace the brake pads. I have completely lost track. It's ridiculous! Always on the driver's side... the passenger side brake pads are hanging in just fine for whatever reason but not the driver side. I've also replaced the rotors at least twice. I'm about to replace the wheel bearings again for the second time. I've put about 60,000 miles on the car and the noises are unbelievable. I had someone in my car the other day and he asked me if I had a turbo booster because of the noise my car makes. Argh! I am taking it into the shop this afternoon and am praying for good news...
2nd Apr 2008, 22:25
The gentleman replacing brake pads on the drivers side so many times he's lost count - you can keep replacing them, but you obviously have another problem, like a caliper hanging up or worn/defective. There is nothing unique about Alero disc brakes. I suggest taking it to a shop that knows what they're doing... ask around and find out who does quality brake work in your area. Bet they'll fix it once and for all.
Again, foreign won't solve all your problems - they'll just change. Like the domestics, some are great, some are not so great!
Good luck.
19th Feb 2008, 20:56
First of all, I bought the car from a 55 year old woman who bought it brand new - so I highly doubt that it was ever abused in any way. I'm glad to hear that you are having good luck with your GM vehicles, but I will never purchase one again. My very first car was a 1993 Lumina I sold with 160k miles, and I really wish I would have kept it because I still see it driving around town to this day. They used to make solid and reliable vehicles. In my opinion, GM's quality has done nothing but gone downhill. I also had a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am GT that was nothing but a nightmare for me, so I sold it not realizing how much more of a nightmare I would be getting myself into.