23rd Aug 2006, 11:40

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.

25th Aug 2006, 12:37

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

30th Aug 2006, 20:24

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~

2nd Sep 2006, 15:51

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.

9th Sep 2006, 08:25

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.

13th Sep 2006, 09:29

I'm just adding to the list of "isolated" issues.

We have a 2001 Olds Alero GLS with 64410 miles, this car was purchased new with a GM Employee discount..

Wouldn't it figure just out of warranty and the problems start to pile up.

Here we go...

1. The brakes and rotors have been replace 3 times. The first two were OEM parts, I switched to Brembo Rotors (August 2006) after reading that the OEM rotors warp quickly- How True this is. We haven't had any brake issue since moving away from OEM (GM original) parts.

2. We have also had the typical low speed fan switch problem, replaced in August 2006.

3. As mentioned in an earlier post the radio was replaced under warranty because the writing on the buttons rubbed off. This fix was short lived they have been rubbed off again.

4. And now for the biggie. The drivers side door window fell in to the door last night September 12th 2006 and won't come up. You can hear the motor raising and lowering, but the glass is not moving. My wife stopped by the local glass shop this morning to see about getting it fixed. The glass company said the regulator and the motor will need to be replaced. Parts with GM discount 330. Labor 180. I think I will try to save on the labor and replace the parts myself since I may have to do this 3 more times that could be quite a savings. If anyone knows where there are instructions please reply to this forum.

Despite these issue this has been a decent car. I would like to point out that GM should have recalled the rotors as they are junk and a safety hazard in my opinion. GM should have also recalled all of the window regulators and motors.

I hope that this information helps someone out there.