13th Nov 2006, 10:30

I have 2000 Alero bought on July 28, 2006. It had only 51000 KM and I thought it was a good price. Service engine soon light came on all of sudden. I decided to get it checked. So after I spend 200 dollars and was to take car out, noticed that the radio was not working. Service department is not sure what is going on, only thing they tell me is that battery was disconnected because of a repair they were doing.

Does anyone else has encountered a problem like that, and if you know how to fix the problem, I shall appreciate it.

Thanks.

15th Nov 2006, 18:45

It's really too bad that you have all had these issues. I bought my 2002 Alero in April 2005. I have only had 1 issue with it. The fuel pump went out. I bought the extended warranty when I purchased it so it only cost me 200.00 to fix it. Not a big deal.

I don't have electric windows so no issues there either. My friend has a 2003 Alero with electric windows and she just said that they had fallen in. I get really annoyed with my crank windows, but after reading this, am thankful for them!

4th Feb 2007, 20:15

My Alero is a 2000 GL3. Nice looking car. I bought it two years ago, immediately had a radiator problem. Kept popping the cap off the reservoir... not really sure what that was all about... my mechanic finally got it worked out, but put the DexCool back in. (Had I seen this site first, I might have asked him to change back to the standard fluid.) Haven't had a problem since, but have tried to be serious about yearly flush and fill.

My passenger side power window also had the same problem already so thoroughly documented by other posts, but I assumed that was my fault: I tried to roll the window down once while it was frozen shut, and once it "broke", I realized it hadn't just broken ice, it broke the clips and regulator arm inside the door. Motor was still good, but my mechanic got another nice payday from that little fix. Dumb on my part, though.

Some of the dot markers around the fan switch have begun to rub off the dash, and the light in my rear defrost switch sometimes does not work when the defroster is on. The rear defrost coils in the glass have miniscule breaks, leaving spots on the glass that do not heat up (could this also cause the intermittent operation of the light in the button?). The radio is a factory CD/cassette combination, and has been one of the best I've ever had in any vehicle I've ever owned. (I work in radio, so I listen to audio for a living, and I like it better than the aftermarket units I've owned in the past.) It sounds great and the letters have not rubbed off. The CD player skips more due to bumps on the road than other units I've used, but I'm happy overall.

Dashboard is bubbling, just as many others have reported. I assumed that living in the humid Midwest and not having a garage, it was just "one of those things". I didn't realize it was so universal.

Other than this, I've been pretty happy with the car. It's never stranded me anywhere (God grant that it never will). Today's issue is the heater blower motor. It's been making a noise for a few months, but it didn't seem serious and it didn't stop working. Within the last week, it's gotten 'slow'. I didn't lose the low speeds and keep only high, like a lot of folks report... ALL speeds run slower than they should normally and sometimes quit altogether. Replaced the resistor, as recommended; worked great for a day, then back to the "whenever it feels like blowing" on all speeds. (It would do this on the coldest week we've had all winter...)

When I reach under the dash and press the connector on the motor, it will suddenly make proper contact and blow strong again. Is this a problem with the connector on the wiring harness, or the connector on the motor itself? I really don't want to replace the blower motor, but I am considering taking it out and having a friend resolder the connections on the motor itself. I could order the connector that attaches to the wiring harness, but I don't think that's the problem due to the angle at which I have to bend the whole assembly to get it to make contact again.

Is this a known problem? What is GM doing about it, if there are SO many documented complaints? The Oldsmobile marque is retired, but so what? GM still made this car and should support it. Besides, the Pontiac marque is still active and has a similar model built on the same platform (Grand Am). In any event... I know GM is on financial hard times, it's in the press often, but it's only going to get worse if they can't make a reliable vehicle or stand behind what they sell.

I feel like one of the lucky ones... I haven't had as many problems as some of the folks I've read about on this and other sites... but it doesn't go very far with me when a dealer says "we can't help you" or "we can't find a problem" or "yeah, we hear that all the time, that part is known to go bad, we sell a lot of 'em". I considered Honda Accord when I bought this car, but always liked the Alero styling and knew if I was ever going to have one, it would have to be now... they wouldn't be a 'classic' car that you'd find years later. I guess I was right. But it looks like it will be Honda next time. I don't earn enough to continue to 'buy American' if I'm not buying reliability.

8th Feb 2007, 11:21

I have had the same popular problems as most others: The low motor fan, the windows falling, the low trac/ABS light, and the dashboard vinyl peeling. I have had my 99' alero since sept of 02 and it currently has 140,000 miles. I have found a diagnosis which has worked for some of these problems. The low motor fan computer, which is located below a part of the fan system that condenses while air conditioning, gets dripped on and that is the cause of the shorting out of the low speeds. A new part is not very expensive ($20-$40), but I am not sure about labor costs. The windows falling is a result of poor plastic being used for the window clips. The problem when replacing these is that they will only sell you the entire window lift assembly ($130). I have replaced this, which isn't very difficult, but have a problem finding a glue that will adhere to both the window and the clips. I live in Wisconsin and every winter the glue comes undone due to frozen windows pulling the pieces apart. The low trac/ABS light came on in my car when the wheel bearings were needing to be replaced, which also came along with a loud howling sound. And my vinyl pulling off the dash was never a problem until one day when I left my windows open in a dusty, dry construction area and then that night it rained. The next morning it started pulling apart.