Oldsmobile Alero

burdawg · March 2006

See post #2291 in the Pontiac Grand Am forum. It should be essentially the same on an Alero.
Of course the other option is to have it repaired.

kathyann517 · March 2006

I did not have a problem until the remote start was installed and my husband has had it back 4 times trying to get it working properly. I'm guessing they don't know what they are doing. Thanks for your help. I might just have to give up the remote start.

mikey00 · March 2006

What type of problem are you having? It sounds more like a remote start install problem than security system problem.

gkirk · March 2006

I have a 2001 Olds Alero that has power locks. I want to add keyless entry. I have a key FOB and already tried to program it (via directions I found on the net) but it didn't work. Are there components that need added or connected?

burdawg · March 2006

I believe you need the receiver that mounts in the trunk under the parcel shelf. I'm not sure if the wiring harness is there or not.

seagypzy · March 2006

I have had warning lights intermittently come and go on my car that checked out okay by the mechanic. I have had so much trouble with this car-2 fuel pumps, warped dashboard, gear shift button broken. I don't have an owner's manual and now another light is on. There is no online diagram for dash lights but this is a new one-red battery or engine block with a water drop. My oil change is recent, so I am not sure what this is. Any help would be appreciated..1/2 my paycheck seems to go to the mechanic. 2000 Alero

dad4 · March 2006

I have a 2001 Olds Alero (3.4 V6) that suddenly won't start. Engine turns over fine, won't fire. Given a shot of starting fluid, it starts, stumbles a bit, then runs fine. Drives great.

After turning engine off, wait just a few seconds and it starts right up. Wait longer, it gets harder and longer to start. Wait 35-45 minutes, won't start. - more ether to get it going.

Any ideas?

dad4 · March 2006

I have a 2001 Olds Alero (3.4 V6) that suddenly won't start. Engine turns over fine, won't fire. Given a shot of starting fluid, it starts, stumbles a bit, then runs fine. Drives great.

After turning engine off, wait just a few seconds and it starts right up. Wait longer, it gets harder and longer to start. Wait 35-45 minutes, won't start. - more ether to get it going.

Any ideas?

mikey00 · March 2006

Sounds like low coolant indicator.

rdeschene · March 2006

You can access the owner's manual through the Oldsmobile website:

https://www.mygmlink.com/main/US/en/oldsmobile/home?cmp=oldshp

The only warning indicator I see in our owner's manual (ours is also a 2000 Alero) that has a water drop (actually, an oil drop; it looks like it's coming out of a small oil can) is the oil pressure light, indicating low engine oil pressure.

rdeschene · March 2006

This may have changed, but according to my owner's manual, the low coolant warning light looks like a square tank with a cap on top, and a horizontal line near the bottom (I guess indicating the low level of coolant). Underneath the cap on top is an arrow pointing downward.

mikey00 · March 2006

Here is a link to a graphic of all the Alero warning symbols and their meaning.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e302/mnovak99/alero.jpg

rdeschene · March 2006

Thanks for the link! The coolant graphic looks different from what's in our owner's manual, but the engine oil pressure graphic looks the same.

peterjackson · March 2006

Hi im wondering if you can help me out .. I ve have done some
reading and could come across anyone with the same problem im haveing but
I tried instuling a car sterio and i didnt
work out , the power wouldnt come on the unit when everything was wired
correctly . so i figured that this wasnt going to work .I put back the
original one.Now my dash lights dont come on and my keyless lock and unlock
flashing lights are not flashing on/off now when i press on keychain. The service vechlie soon light is on too now so,but everything else is working fine .. what did i do wrong and how can i fix this do you know plz help me i dont want to give my arm and lag to the dealer. if you can give me some solution or give me some idea i would really be greatful Thank you and by the way I have a 2004 alero

pat · March 2006

Hi. You've got a real mess, don't you - sorry to hear it. You might want to cross-post this in our Electrical Problems discussion as well.

Good luck with it.

peterjackson · March 2006

Hi pat sorry i will try to cross the post to where you want me to ..I ll try t figure it out how to do it

Thank you and have a great day

peterjackson · March 2006

Hi i posted where yo told me to now how can i ease this one here.. i will do this if i can. thank you again and have a great day

pat · March 2006

No, let's leave this one here just in case someone here knows something about this.

I hope we can help.

peterjackson · March 2006

Thank you

for letting me post here
I hope i can be of some help too ,to everyone anwell

have a great day

djmichaud · March 2006

I had this same exact problem with a 1990 Pontiac Grand Am. The problem was hard to find because the car ran flawlessly and was only intermittent. The problem was my fuel pump that resides in the fuel tank. I put a fuel pressure guage on the car and that is how I found the problem. My fuel pump pressure was going up and down; this is why it was hard to nail down. After dropping the tank and replacing the pump, never had a problem again.

Even though the cars are different, the solution is the same. The longer the car sits, the more time available to let the built-up pressure drop. The pump is to suppose to seal it once it has passed the pump (like a one-way valve). The pump's internal seals are no longer holding the fuel in the fuel line. When the pump is turned off, the pump seals allow the fuel to drip back into the tank, thereby dropping the fuel pressure. djm

cmk8895 · March 2006

Hi all. First post to this forum.

2001 Alero had a bad wheel speed sensor on driver's front. Bought aftermarket hub as replacement. Got old hub off with a LOT of work, put new hub on. Torqued everything up (but see note later). Also replaced brake pads while I was at it.

After hub replacement lights are all off, but now there is a popping sound when making a hard right turn. I thought maybe I didn't grease everything up on the pads, so I took it all apart and greased the heck out of it. No go.

I lifted up the front end of the car, put it in drive so the wheels spin, and turned the wheels both ways. No noises at all. So something to do with the weight of the car on it all.

The only oddity is the torque on the hub nut. The new hub came with a new hub nut of a supposed 'better design.' The paperwork with the hub said to torque it to 180ft-lb, anything more with cause 'excessive wear' to the bearings. The Haynes manual, however, says 284ft-lb on that nut.

So, that's the only possible confound. Any ideas? It sounds very much like a CV popping, but why would that happen right after a hub replacement with no warning beforehand?

Any ideas?

Thanks a bunch guys and gals.

sputt · March 2006

i too had that noise when i first purchased my car. i replaced both axles, and all four rotors & pads. still there. i took it to a steering/suspension specialist and they look at it, and said that they didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and that they'd be able to dig further for $69/hr. i said that it didn't effect the drivability of the car. the only thing that i could think that it was is chasis flex. i'm going to replace my struts & install a strut brace tower to see if this solves the problem. another thing that i may be is the rack & pinion. you won't hear the noise when it's off the ground, but when you apply pressure to the tires & the rack & pinoin attempt to actuate, it may click. that's my $.02 and i'll keep you updated on my strut & brace install and tell you if that solved the problem. :shades:

sputt · March 2006

i bought two sets. one for my truck & one for my alero. the truck wiring kept burning up so that meant repeated trips to the stealership to buy new pig tails. my alero on the other hand, i haven't had that problem, and i've only had to change one bulb in 2 yr (error on my part caused bulb to blow). for some reason an 8500K bulb doesn't like to be exposed to the rain! go fig. otherwise, i highly recommend you install them because it's like night & day. DON'T pay $77 for them, when you can get them on ebay for $1! yes, that's correct..one dollar! do a search for hyperwhite 9005 & 9006. GOD bless, and have fun with your car! :shades:

sputt · March 2006

good day. the red battery indicator tells you that your car is not being charged properly. it's either the altenator,the serpentine belt, the battery wiring, the battery, or the starter. yes, the starter can rob your car of a proper charge if the silenoid is going bad. you'll this because the car will make a screeching noise upon start (not every time), or will crank but not engage preventing the engine from starting. but i'd check the serpentine belt first as this is the easiest to check. if there are ANY cracks on one of the six ribs under the belt, it's time for a new one. if there an autozone in your area, they can tell you if you car is properly charged by hooking up to your battery & running the tachometer up to 2000rpms.
as for the engine block with a drop of water, it's either a low coolant notification, or if it looks like an oil can, it's an oil pressure problem. to check your coolant, the car's engine MUST BE COOL/COLD! do NOT open the radiator cap after the car's been driven. i'd refill it with a premix water/coolant mixture that you can get from your local autoparts store. make sure you get the right color. the green & orange coolants are NOT to be mixed! as for the oil pressure, make sure your oil fill cap is on, the pcv valve is properly seated. the pcv valve is located at the right hand side of the engine, on top, and looks like a black 90 degree elbow (shaped like an L). follow that line to the rear and make sure the back is also connected. if that's ok, try replacing your oil sending unit. this may be faulty and not sending the correct amount of oil to your engine. remember, where this is NO PRESSURE, there is NO FLOW! GOD bless.

sputt · March 2006

have you replaced both of the oxygen sensors in the vehicle. if you're not getting the proper air to fuel ratio, it'll run rough, or not at all. also, have someone at a carshop perform a crankcase pressure test, and test the pressure from your fuel pump. and lastly, is it time for a tune up? i'd recommend every 80,000 mi. try those and let me know how it works out? :sick:

kriskgia1 · March 2006

I bought my 2003 Olds Alero in June 2003. First day I had it, I was hearing grinding noises, had to go back to the dealership, they replaced all 4 brakes, rotors, pads, everything. The car had 81 miles when I bought it. This should have been my first indication of things to come! I have had nothing but problems ever since from the alignment, to wheel bearings, to struts, brakes again, power window problems, etc.

Does anybody have any advice on who I can contact regarding all these problems? The car is 3 years old and has had a TON of warranty work done, now my warranty is over and they found a bad wheel bearing, although my car was in the dealership for an oil change 3 weeks ago, they said they didn't notice anything...3 weeks later, heard a LOUD noise every time I excellerated and picked up speed and now have to pay 400 bucks for a new wheel bearing on the same side of the car where I just had my struts repalced. The struts were done when my warranty was still in place, now the warranty is up and the wheel bearing needs to be replaced! Never again will I buy an Oldsmobile.

The dealership that did all my warranty work said they never saw anything wrong with the wheel bearing when they checked everything out 3 weeks ago and there is nothing they can do and expect me to pay for it to get fixed. Can a wheel bearing really go bad in 3 weeks?

isseyvoo · April 2006

Bought my '01 new. It spent its life garaged and pampered. Now has 25,000 miles.

Since January:

1. Shorted out instrument panel
2. Water leaking from windshield into front floorboard
3. Broken power seat
4. Replacement power seat mechanism faulty - drained battery
5. Shorted out power window switch
6. Now, gas starvation issue causing stalling and bucking(which dealer says they can't replicate)

Dealer service has been abominable. Just couldn't be any worse. I've had my fill. No more GM products for me. Going car shopping this weekend. Pity the residual is so lousy on the Alero, but I sure understand why!!! I had hoped to keep this car a long time, but can't take the unreliability any more - especially at such low mileage. Hope you all have better luck than I!

rdeschene · April 2006

Can a wheel bearing really go bad in 3 weeks ? Well, when both of our front wheel bearings went, there was NOT a gradual increase in noise in the weeks preceding it. They were fine, and then they were not. So you don't necessarily have a shoddy service department.

That said, I agree with you that the mechanical problems you've had and that I've had in a well-maintained, fairly low mileage vehicle are not acceptable.

We bought ours 1 year used (already depreciated, always a good idea) and it's paid for now and we really do like the excellent responsiveness and highway gas mileage with the V6 power. So we'll be keeping it, and enjoying it, and grimacing every year at another unnecessary $500 repair bill.

kriskgia1 · April 2006

There has to be someone we can call to vent our frustrations. Obviously, these Aleros have a lot of problems and maybe that is why they are not making them anymore. I give up, I got my wheel bearing fixed and left the shop to bring it back 3 days later for the same SOUND! They have had it for over a day and were not able to tell me anything when I called last night to come pick it up except that the mechanics had all left and the guy who answered the phone had no idea where they were at!! UURRGGHH! Someone told me to check my Owner's Manual to find corporate headquarters information. I know nothing will come out of it, but someone should do something! The customer service I have received has been atrocious and I dread going there, but they need to ifx the problem they just fixed, so I am stuck!

Thanks for the vent session and good luck with the car shopping, I may be down that road soon as well!

youngiowapilot · April 2006

I'm also starting to have a slew of problems with my Alero. Ever since I bought the car in 2003 (it's a 99' GLS, w/ 78K), I had problems with the front rotors. I've replaced the rotors and pads with aftermarkets; they always end up grinding all the hell and when I slow down I hear the humming noise coming from the front end, but I've been told by service shops they made the rotors too small for the car. I think it's a design flaw.

Just in January, I put 1K into the damn thing for a new driver's side front wheel bearing and to fix the upper and lower intake gasket oil leak. Just last night, I was driving and luckily (there must be angels), the power steering went out two blocks away from where the auto shop I go to is located! I found out today that the rack and pinion went out and that the hose is bad; price tag w/o replacing the power steering unit, $700, otherwise $1000 if the power steering pump is out. So that makes for $2,000 in three months. Plus, I need new shocks and the other wheel bearing sounds like it's going out. It's sad, since the car doesn't even have 80,000 miles on it! I've never had so many problems with a car in the past! I wish there is something we could do as well, especially about the brakes, since my brakes are going to hell again after replacing them a year ago. Oddly, the rear brakes have been fine; it's only the front ones that really suck. Does anyone know of anything that can be done, especially since Olds is out of business now????

Lesson learned: I'll never buy GM again! :mad:

jrp1225 · April 2006

i have an issue with a 2001 olds alero v-6
i changed the plugs and wires. service engine light came on later that day. i have a pocket scanner and it said the #3 cylinder was not firing. so i changed the ignition coil. no luck. i am wandering what else could be wrong. i am hopeing it is not the fuel injector. also could it be the spark plug or a bad wire??

thewinemaker · April 2006

I have a 2004 4dr v8 alero,auto ..the problem I have encountered is the brakes are noisy scrapping noise when applied at low speed..although I have taken to dealer, the tech has assured me that its normal)very hard pads,4wheel disc)he said gm made like this so pads will wear longer............has anyone heard of this and does any else have same noise?? thewinemaker

rdeschene · April 2006

As you weren't having this problem before you did this service, try replacing the wire on cylinder #3 with the old one. Wires and spark plugs often come with multi-year warranties, so dig out that receipt just in case !

rdeschene · April 2006

On this forum, as on many others, we have posted the gas mileage we have seen. One thing that could affect hwy gas mileage pretty significantly is the type of toll road you (might) be driving on. On the NY Thruway from Syracuse to Buffalo, for example, you pick up a card when you get on the hwy and pay for your trip when you get off. If you've driven 1 hour that can be 1 hour with the engine running steady state on cruise control.

Comparatively, when I've driven from Chicago to Madison, WI I was stopping every 20 bloody minutes to pay a toll. Not only is that a pain in the butt, and requires far more lanes, I suspect those starts/stops are hurting gas mileage too. Even with "easypass" you have to slow to around 30mph and then accelerate back up to 60mph repeatedly. How much higher would state income tax really have to be to get rid of those tolls ?

thewinemaker · April 2006

well as of this date I have no replies to my query ref brakes on 2004 alero(4wheel disc)..If anyone has info regarding this problem would appreciate a reply....the winemaker

dad4 · April 2006

The car had been performing well since I cleared the symptom. Now that it has just occurred again, I checked for pressure in the fuel rail (no gauge, just checked if it sprayed.) Virtually no pressure. Cycled the ignition key several times then heard the fuel pump kick in. Still wouldn't start. Checked pressure again without turing off ignition, no much pressure. Cycled key several more times. Heard the fuel pump run-up better. Car started right up and ran fine.
Seems your correction may be the solution. Will try it this week-end and post results.

baustin1 · April 2006

I'm pretty much set to go in and buy a 2000 Alero GL w/2.4L and all the perks. It's got 59,600 miles on it and no warranty unless I want to buy one. I'm a little apprehensive about buying after reading about all the issues people have had, but I would think that by this time most of them would have played out on this particular vehicle.

I'm interested in people's opinions on my situation, and would appreciate any suggestions for what to watch out for when doing final inspection. Also, what type of extended warranty would best cover the array of problems most commonly seen?

rainbow1 · April 2006

When I originally got this alero I had the same problem..The key just will NOT turn..After I played around locking and unlocking the remote locks I was able to turn the key..Now it is doing it again..The key will not turn..So I had to call a tow truck..The dealer is telling me I need a new ignition etc but I am wondering if it has something to do with the security setting since it originally happened when it was new..They want $900 to repair this..Grrr! Can someone help?

burdawg · April 2006

The only kind of warranty I would buy is the GM Major Guard, but you can't if the original warranty is expired so that's not an option. An aftermarket powertrain only warranty won't help with the body electronics which seems to be the most troublesome parts of the Alero/Grand Am.
This model/year has the Quad 4 which is known to be a powerful but harsh running engine (noise/vibration). If maintained it can be reliable.
The biggest drawback to the N-body cars was that they were basically low priced cars which probably got less than steller maintenance, hence many problems crop up later.
My advice would be to find a later model with factory warranty remaining so you can get a GM Major Guard warranty.

rdeschene · April 2006

Some of the "classic" N-body problems are: front wheel bearings need to be replaced (CDN$600 each at garage), resistor for blower motor (CDN$25 dollar part, DYI job), fuel level sensor (CDN$600 at garage), warped rotors.

I would definitely ask for the service records and check to see if these have already been replaced. That would help me determine the price I'd be willing to pay. If it was serviced at a GM dealer, they may be able to pull up its service records on their computer.

You could ask the mechanic doing the inspection to see if he can tell if these parts have been replaced, but I'm not sure you could tell. Maybe with the rotors you could as you could assess the amount of rotor left on them and if they had been turned down.

Good luck.

janeirop · May 2006

I have a 2000 Alero and I have the same problem. I took it in twice to two different brake shops and they said that my brakes were practically new. I hear nothing but noise, so I think it has something to do with GM and the Alero

dxr012 · May 2006

This may sound stupid but are the pads on correctly. I mean the one on the outside is not on the inside. I made that mistake once and there was a shrill sound everytime I braked until I switched them. If it is the front brakes, the inner pad has the wear indicator and with the rear brakes, it is reverse.

madeintheusa · May 2006

Just bought a 2002 Alero with 17,000 miles. I love the car, and the gas mileage. I have only one problem if someone can point me in the right direction. The radio reception is almost nonexistent. I pick up only one FM station and that is mostly static. The cd player works great so it's not a speaker problem. I checked the rear window antenna connection, but that is all I have checked so far. Anybody else have a similar problem. Thanks.

madeintheusa · May 2006

Piece of cake. It turned out that the antenna somehow was disconnected (unplugged) in the area of the front passenger right knee. Plugged it back in and the radio works perfect.

shaynem · May 2006

Alright so the other day i bought a new CD player for my car Pioneer deh-3800mp turns out the stereo is broken so i just threw the old stereo back in the dash and didn't wire anything. This morning i was gonna go to school and my car would turn over, start but right away shut down, could it be the anti-theft system on the old stereo since its not hooked up or what, I also filled my car up and this morning when i looked it was at empty and yesterday it was at full so could it be my fuel pump or something. please post some answers to help me out thanks

plunderbunny · June 2006

although you are partially right about the quad 4 being a noisy engine, the engine in this car is not a quad 4. The quad 4 ended in 95 when the noise/vibration problem was fixed or at least lestened with the addition of ballance shafts to the bottom end to dampen vibration and a different oil pump which is geared to have higher pressure at lower rpms. this is why a 96+ as you called it "quad 4" has a lower redline. because after 5500rpm, the oil pressure drops off. The IDI cover looks similar, but if you look closely you'll notice that one says "quad 4" oand one says "2.4 twin cam". They are very different motors even though they look similar. the 2.4 twin cam of 00 is different then teh 2.4 twin cam of 96-98 model years because from 99 on there arent egr valves on that motor. along with miniscule other things like differently tapped holes for the knock sensor. The cam lift and durration are also different from the quad 4 to the 2.4. Not to mention a quad 4 is actually only 2.3 liters of displacement whereas the 96-02 2.4 twin cam is, as you guessed 2.4 liters of displacement. another quad 4 only thing is the quad four has DOHC option as well as an SOHC option. Although the sohc option is rare at best, and garbage to say the least. Essentially, if you are looking at a GM car with a 4 cylinder engine in it, from 96-02, i'd recomend the 2.4 twin cam for its "peppyness" and would strongly recomend one from 99-02 for it's lack of an EGR and the power that opens, although they are not as easy to fix as say a 2.2 ohc engine if you wish to do any major maintainance to it yourself suchas engine rebuild and head gasket replacement. anything newer then 02, i'd say get an ecotech motor. these are in just about everything GM makes any more it seems, and for good reason. If there was a Z cavalier available with an ecotech when i bought my 99 z24 (2.4 twin cam 5 spd manual tran.), i'd have spent the extra money to get it. The ecotech is in everything from pontiac sunfires, and chevy cavaliers, to pontiac g6's, chevy cobalts in 3 different variants (2.2 dohc, 2.4 dohc vvt, and the 2.0 dohc supercharged), to the saturn sky, and the chevy HHR. It will ultimately be a very damn sturdy motor over a long hual, and cheap to fix as a result of suply and demand. as far as any warranty is concerned, a little foreward planning and preventative maintaince and research into the used vehicle you are buying will ultimately cost you less. any shop can do simple compression, fuel pressure, and oil pressure tests to find anything out of norm before you buy that car, and many can also do engine diagnostics using newer obd II scan tools to tell you any historical engine codes and current ones, which you could possibly work out to be taken out of the sellers pocket or off the price of the car. Any GM dealer can give you service records for that vehicle under warranty, as well as current recalls that have not been performed if there are any, and if a current warranty is that important to you, buy a new car, and get a full one from teh begining. because a used car is only as good to you as the time you put towards finding the right one and maintaining it. any great deal has a reason it is great. I am a gm kind of guy myself and will stick with gm till they give me a reason not to. the best advice i can and have given to many people looking for used cars is don't buy the first thing you find. make a list, and do a lot of research. know the quarks about the car you are looking at. every car has tehm. my next car in example will be a BMW. Most probably an 02-05 bmw 330i 5spd. i know that i should keep my eyes open for cam position sensors going bad and causing the dual vaanos system to misread cam position and mis time the engine as a result causing rough running. Pick a car, find it's quarks, be prepared for them, and life can, and will be just a bit easier.

rajanomm · June 2006

I bought my alero used at 25,000 miles. As soon as my factory warranty expired my driver window quit working. I took it in and had to pay to have the motor replaced. Over a year later it stopped again. I took it in to have the dealer fix it since it was still pretty new. The warranty was gone even though it was under the number of years, it was over the milage :mad: . I didn't have it fixed at the time, because I couldn't afford it. I had to reset the oil light and like a miracle the window started working. Soooooooooooo.....the motor never needed replacing in the first place. I have had this window and my driver back window quit and start working again over and over again. Of coure I have the blinker intermittent problem, but can't get the car place here to fix the darn thing. I now have no blinkers because I pushed the hazard button to put my hazzards on and it just kept going. Now the button is buried deep in my dash somewhere with my hazards on. I have had to pull the fuse and even though it is not supposed to effect the blinkers........I have no blinkers and no money to fix this. I should not have to pay to fix this........THIS IS A DEFECT... not wear and tear. My brakes wear out in a matter of a year even though they are supposed to last much longer and I don't drive down steep hills (ever). I hate this car. I got screwed on the financing big time, and now the car is screwing me to. It is just not fair.

mikey00 · June 2006

You may be able to get the hazzard switch replaced for free. There was a recall on this consisting of a free switch replacement. I guess this was considered a safety recall due to its effect on the blinkers. As far as the power window goes my driver side quit a while back. I took my palm and hit the door panel in a few places. When I struck the rear portion of the panel the window started working and has been working ever since.

midniteryder · June 2006

hey, well im new to the forums. i have an 01 alero two door im happy with its quickness handling and the car period. i have done some modifications. i put a dual exhaust system on it, it does not sound like a rice burner though. i replaced the speakers in the back with rockfords so now when the stock amp hits the sound is amazing. i cant wait to get rims and bigger speakers, i saw some of the problems u guys had i had my driver side window stop working and fall off i needed a new regulator. other than that its been good.

anyway i was just wondering if anyone else here loves the car as much as me and has done anything with it mod wise, and if anyone has modified one and lives in delaware id like to know i live in delaware and never seen another hooked up alero. thanks sorry it was long

burdawg · June 2006

I agree with everything you said, but it's still a quad 4 with a balance shaft, and even though it's better it's only marginally better than before. There's a good bit of cam noise but of course that's pretty normal for twin overhead cam designs.
My input on N body cars hasn't changed over the years:
Inexpensive to buy, but without maintenance (which quite often doesn't get done on inexpensive cars) it won't last, which leads to bad reputations.

Oldsmobile Alero

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