21st Mar 2009, 17:36
I too bought a 2002 Aztek this year, and even though it's used, I loved it right away!
But... then the problems started happening; front wipers mechanical arms (trans) locked up; just changed the alternator and battery; about ready to change the thermostat, filter, and intake gasket, when the car dies all of the sudden, no power, couldn't shift into neutral, had to tow it home. The next day it started right up no problem.
Now the dash gages are shorting in-and-out along with the radio, heads up display, and anything else electric in the vehicle. What to do?
My drivers window won't work, hatch won't open unless you have two people.
It has some noise from the rear end when driving, sounds like universal??.
I love the car, I just wish it were better made.
19th Apr 2009, 16:02
Me and the wife bought a 03 Aztek in Oct 06.
1. Shifter went out.
2. R&R the wheel bearings, all 4 of them each summer because the snow builds up in the wheel well and rips the wires off.
3. Shifter head came off locking the car in Park.
4. Transmission slips for no reason and the auto shop can't find out why after many repairs. Still don't know.
5. Wiring harness under battery box rubbed raw and fried the computer. Bid $$$ there.
6. Battery is a pain in the ass to change, but has to be done every 2 years as the posts corrode off.
We love the car, but it's very badly made.
10th May 2009, 14:58
Bought a used '04 Aztek 2 years ago with 36,000 miles on it -- key got stuck in the ignition. There is a small hole under the column with a plug in it, pull the plug and shove a small screwdriver in the hole, and then turn the key and remove. There is a solenoid that holds the key in so you can't pull it out while in gear. This means it's gone bad, I hear it's about $350 to replace. If you are a REALLY crafty car guy you can pull the bottom of the column, (Remember to Disconnect battery -- Airbag is $450) you can see how it works and tactfully place a zip-tie for about $0.05 and take the key out whenever you want!
I now have 66,000 miles on it and am waiting for all this other stuff to happen! Great car, made just like all the other foreign made American stuff! Can't afford good American made foreign stuff!
7th Nov 2009, 20:34
I have an "04" Aztek. The rear hatch won't open. The button inside the car will not work at all. The key chain one used to work, but now the hatch won't work at all, no matter how much you pull on it.
The car gets stuck in park. You have to shut the car off and restart it.
I have had the wheel bearings replaced 3 times so far, once under a recall, the other 2 times my husband did them.
I love my car, but the Azteks seem to be pretty expensive to fix.
21st Jun 2010, 18:16
I have got a 2001 Aztek. Has anyone had the computer done, and does if solve the problem of the lights and gauges flickering? I have put tons of money in this thing. My wife loves it and wants to keep it, but I can't afford to go through with this computer thing if it doesn't fix the problem. If anyone has had this, or know of a way to get around this, I would like to hear from you. Thank you.
16th Sep 2010, 18:38
I have a 2001 Pontiac Aztek with the check engine light, anti-lock and ABS light on. When parking the SUV, I cannot get the battery to go off without turning the wheels a certain way with the steering lock. The battery is still on after the key is removed. The other day I noticed water on the driver's side floor. Please help! I am a college student.
Oh yeah, there's also white smoke that doesn't have a odor to it that comes through the vent when the air is on. I love this SUV, but sometimes it is very nerve wracking when no one can help resolve my problems.
I am a lady, and it seems as if every mechanic tries to over charge. Please please help. lamyron_bailey@yahoo.com
20th Nov 2011, 12:46
Our 2001 Aztek will run fine for a month or two, and then we go to start it and it's dead. Have had the battery replaced many times over. It will start with a jump, you can drive it, turn it off, and it will be dead within seconds.
Have had the instrument cluster panel replaced, worked fine for two months, and now all the starting problems are beginning again. We spent over $900 to fix this!
Now it sits in our driveway, because you can never count on it starting.
27th Oct 2012, 19:15
Replacing the BCM at a dealer cost 550 (parts and labor), and yes it fixes the flashing lights and many things. I have the same year Aztek, but all was fixed with that alone. My problem is a hard shift in warm weather. The solenoids check out to be fine, so I'm at a loss on why it's doing this.
24th Nov 2012, 19:41
Had a 2001 Aztek that I drove 2500 miles, and could not get the OBD2 monitors to reset. In the end, I only had 5 reset and 3 not ready. In New York you need 7 ready and 1 not ready to pass the emissions test. I put in new intake gaskets, tuneup, fuel sending unit etc to try and get it to go, but got nowhere. I finally sold it so I didn't have to get it inspected. Well, just bought another one and had to change the battery, and now I only have 5 ready and 3 not ready. Here we go again, anyone else had this problem? Anyone have any ideas to help me?
19th Aug 2014, 17:08
This happened to our 2001 Pontiac Aztek with all the dash lights and everything else going crazy. We changed the computer, the BCM, and everything is working fine now except for the fact that our radio is now locked, so now we have to figure out a way to fix this.
19th Aug 2014, 17:11
It is the computer or what they call the BCM. We have had the same issue and changed the computer just yesterday, and everything is working fine now.
4th Sep 2015, 13:16
Unplug the BCM fuse under the hood for a few seconds and replug it in... the hatch will work... but unfortunately you may have to do this each time you want to open the hatch.
15th Feb 2017, 01:29
I was just given a 2001 Pontiac Aztek 4 door front wheel drive. Everything works fine except the driver's door window will go down, but will not come back up. What could be the problem causing this? Please let me know something ASAP because it's supposed to rain tonight and I need to get out there and get it up.
6th Feb 2009, 22:56
I have 2001 Aztek and my radio won't unlock. Took it to dealer and cost forty dollars, and it still didn't unlock, so I went to put an aftermarket stereo in it, and it wouldn't work right, so had to wire it direct. So it is the first time I have ever come by this problem.