23rd Apr 2005, 09:45

2000 Alero with the V6, bought it new and it now has 82K miles. Have replaced the brakes and rotors 3 times, the power steering pump once, the intake valves (?) once, but have been told that they are going bad again. Also the hazard light button disappeared into the dash the one time I had to use it. Worst car I have ever had, and I will never buy another GM product.

27th Apr 2005, 15:19

The problem with the Intake Manifold Gasket that everyone is having has to do with the design of the 3.1 liter second generation GM motor. GM uses this motor in most of it's full-size sedans. The design uses a technique where the push-rods actually go through the lower intake, and the only thing separating the oil and DEX-COOL is that lower gasket.

I own a '99 Chevy Lumina with the 3.1 motor and noticed that I had water in the oil. At first I thought it was a blown head gasket. After researching it on ALL DATA, I found a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) from GM stating that the gaskets were faulty. I've heard from some people that it stems from the motor "loosening" up and the gaskets sliding. I've also heard the problem has to do with the Orange Anti-Freeze (DEX-COOL).

I know from first hand experience that the problem is DEX-COOL. I've seen gaskets on water outlets that were burnt and should'nt have been.

Everyone here stated that they paid $650-$1000 dollars to fix the intake gasket, it only cost me $50 bucks for the gasket because I did it myself. If you purchase a Haynes manual, it tells you step by step how to perform it. Quite a simple task with the help of the manual.

21st Apr 2006, 16:43

2000 Oldsmobile Alero GL 4 cylinder.

Bought it used in 2003. First thing to go was the drivers side electric window. Had to have the motor replaced. Second thing at around 70K was my car shaking when idle and sometimes stauling. Pretty embarrasing at a stop light when your car looks like it is having a seizure. Got is fixed for $300. Happened again after taking a 1400 mile trip (don't know if was from using the cruise control or the long trip) Got it fixed again for $250. Then one day I noticed the dashboard had all these bubbles on it from the sun on it I guess. Would not recommend this car!

28th Jul 2006, 10:15

I have 2000 Olds. Alero and have had to replace more tires than 5 cars should have in their lifetime.

I have a horrible shimmy in the front end and have replaced the ball joints twice in the last year.

The wind noise the car gets is horrible, and the worst and most unsafe thing is the blind spots.

18th Aug 2006, 13:29

AUGUST 18, 2006.

I have a 2000 Alero too and the dashboard is rippled up from driver side to the middle. Looks horrible and tacky! Also when driving, car dogs out when trying to get speed and even sitting at stop signs. Also, storage area between front seats does not stay fastened. Smells like antifreeze! I think I'll purchase foreign car next time.

I really liked the looks of car when purchased, however, am very dissatisfied with its performance and wear.

28th Feb 2007, 04:22

I too have a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero, I have only had 2 problems with it to date within the 4 or 5 years and 276,000 miles that I have owned it. The current problem is with my cooling system. The thermometer gauge on the left of the display area is broken because of a coolant leak of sometime, but I had my auto-mechanic friend diagnose it and I can fix it for about $20 by myself. The only other problem I've had was that one of my compact discs was stuck in the stereo for a little over a year. That was my fault for breaking the front axle in half by driving up on a curb. I took the stereo apart a couple weeks back, and I pulled my CD out. It has been working perfect ever since. As for everything else, heat, A.C., doors, windows, and everything else is fine. The sound system is by far, up to par for a stock stereo, some of my friends have even asked if I have a ten inch sub-woofer installed, and I haven't blown one speaker to this day. I love this car.

27th May 2007, 09:51

Alero Alero... what a great car! Just got out of winter with this 2001 Alero 6 cylinder that I just bought in 2005 at 70000km on a 5 year financing plan. I had a Mazda Cronos 626 before and something blew while I was on the highway. I got super desparate and opted for my current Alero. Problems seem to be coming up more frequently now than ever. Heating didn't work for half the winter coz I couldn't get the blower to blow hot air. So to remedy that I drove with my back window open partially to force hot air thru the heating system and into the car... Now imagine me in the middle of traffic... CD player stopped working way back, so I had it replaced with another model off the shelf. That was a nightmare coz of the color coding on the wiring that I could not figure out. I have had numerous oil changes, filter changes, disk and pad changes, injector system clean ups and still I seem to be losing power and money. I have about 3 years to go before I payoff this car that I bought at a ridiculous price. Now I just wish I had taken the time to shop around before committing to this lemon deal... What a great car!

12th Jul 2007, 22:22

I bought a 2000 Olds Alero about 5 years ago for my daughter. Seems to be having the same problems everyone else has expressed in the previous comments. The heater fan does not work on the first three speeds. Thanks to someone for telling me that it is the heater/blower resistor block that needs replaced. We had to replace the trunk weather seal because you could not wash the car without getting a lot of water in the trunk. Now it only leaks a little. The driver window register and motor have been replaced, but now it makes a bad ratcheting noise every time it is rolled down or up. The rear defroster doesn't work. The reverse on the automatic transmission is going out. If the car is driven for some time and gets a little hot, after put into reverse, the vehicle doesn't want to drive forward sometimes. We've had the "vehicle dies on the side of the road" problem too. It's happened three or four times. The last time it happened, I replaced the battery. Hasn't happened since. The worst problem is just like everybody else. The intake manifold gaskets. If we turn on the air conditioner the radiator fans kick on and keep it from boiling water out of the surge tank, but sooner or later we have to fill the tank up with radiator fluid (about every other day). Took into a Chevy dealer and they diagnosed it to be a bad intake manifold gasket. Said it would cost about $1200 to repair. We're having a mechanic (not the dealer) repair it, then we're trading it in for a new Honda Civic or Scion. My family way back has been GM people, but not anymore. Honda is where it's at!!!