4th Jul 2004, 09:47

Q. Older lady at church has two questions about her 2000 Alero. A dash light came on displaying " Trac off" and is wanting to know what this means.

Also: what is the switch behind the parking brake lever marked "ETC"

Thank you.

Lorin.

Ltoman@cox.net.

6th Jul 2004, 08:58

I bought used 2000 Alero with 95,000km on it. Bad idea! I have had nothing, but problems. Hard start - I would have to give it gas to start it. Turns out that it had a bad ground to the ECM(computer). Good thing my boyfriend is a tech cause others would've just thrown parts at it and it would've cost me a fortune for nothing. Also, I had to replace the power steering hose, the fuel pump, and the rotors. Now the "low traction" light comes on and off intermittently. Also the "check engine soon light, ABS light, and trac off light" come on at the same time. Code says "right front wheel speed variation" and "misfire". Still looking into that one. Although the car looks good, one word sums it up. "Lemon".

15th Sep 2004, 09:42

I have a 2000 Alero with 37,000 miles on it. This is the second time the service engine soon light has come on.

Last time I had the codes checked and it was the gas cap.

Which I replaced. Now I have to have it checked again.

Seems to be running fine.

21st Sep 2004, 14:03

I have a 2000 Olds Alero and have had nothing, but trouble with it. My passenger window does not work, engine light stays on half the time, and the tire pressure light comes off and on. The big kicker is the fuel pump. Twice I have had to have it replaced.Don't think that didn't hit my pocket book at $600.00 each visit. Is there a recall on any of these problems?

24th Sep 2004, 15:03

My side mirror fell off. Blinkers work occasionally. When I was driving my alternator went out and my car stalled going down the road. I went to turn my hazard lights on and the button went through my dash board. The brake lights occasionally decide not to work. On a cold cold winter day in Michigan I went to roll my window down and it fell into my door. I obviously couldn't roll it back up so I had to drive to work at 8:00 in the morning in below zero temperatures. When I turn it makes a clunking noise. My indicator lights come on all the time. And that's all I have to say about that.

1st Nov 2004, 13:59

I purchased my 2000 Alero brand new. I haven't had interior problems except for the ceiling light falling out. I notice a lot of people have the "service engine" light come on. That happened once to me and someone told me to screw on the gas tank cap tighter. I gave it a few more turns and that cleared up the problem. I have had the rear window defogger fixed two or three times while under warranty and it has been fine ever since. The front rotors and pads were replaced once while under warranty at 24,000 miles and at 84,000 miles, I just have the front brake pads replaced again. The rear pads are still at 15%. My main problem has been the coolant in the holding tank disappearing. Luckily, the coolant light works so well. I have had this problem for 4 years now and no one has figured out where the water goes. It seems to happen when I am in stop and go traffic. The temperature gauge goes a little above half way and by then, the coolant has emptied out of the tank. I carry the dec cool in my trunk and call for road service to have someone remove the cap and then I add coolant. I have even paid $750 to have a gasket replaced and that didn't solve the problem. I will keep looking for the answer. Otherwise, I love the car. Great power! It's the 6 cylinder.

15th Jan 2005, 13:38

I wish I would have read this before purchasing my 2001 Alero. We bought this as a family car and it has given us nothing, but trouble. I have trouble with many of the same items that were mentioned, such as the power windows and fuel pump problems. I had to have one rear window motor replaced, The front passenger window fell of track, so now it stays up permanently and the drivers window works off and on. (At about $500.00 per window I can't afford and refuse to get them fixed) I had to have breaks and rotors replaced about a month after I purchased the car. The blinkers did not work (recall fixed that), Now mysteriously after taking it for routine maintenance my fuel pump goes out. so, with towing, parts and labor that set me back about $745.00 I have put way more money into this car than it is worth! It is definitely the first and last Oldsmobile I will buy!

23rd May 2005, 17:13

2000 Alero - 4cyc I can't believe this. Same problems!!! First the turn signals stopped working, replaced the flasher unit and that solved the problem. The brakes are horrible and when I get them fixed they still sound horrible. The car didn't start one day and it was a loose battery cable. The check engine soon light came on, so I tighten the gas cap and that worked. The driver's side window wouldn't come down - that was $300. The coolant reservoir was empty so, I just put some more in and that seemed to work. The serpentine belt needs replacing about twice year, so I learned how to do it to save money. The ceiling light falls out ever time I hit a bump too hard. Other than that, Alley the Alero has been pretty good to me. Nothing too major and I have 120K miles.

17th Oct 2005, 13:13

I own a 2000 Alero with almost 130000 miles on it. It has been a reliable vehicle with the normal amount of maintenance and repair problems. However, recently it too is experiencing the "service engine soon" light coming on. I've had it run through diagnostics a couple of times. The first time they found a bad 02 sensor and replaced it. Light stayed off about 200 miles and then came back on. The second diagnostic found nothing. The car runs fine and gets almost 30 MPG Hiway. I decided to ignore the light. However, now if I drive it for any extended time I develops an RPM surge when the vehicle stops or is in cruise. I engine will continue to run as long as the car is in drive.

If I put it neutral or park the RPM will surge up and down a couple of times and then it dies. If I wait two or three seconds, it restarts with no problem, but will still surge the RPM and die again unless it is in gear. If I turn it off and leave it off for anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight, I can restart it and it runs like new. If anyone knows what the problem might be, let me know please.