1999 Oldsmobile Alero

DISCOVERED DURING A VEHICLE INSPECTION THAT OIL WAS LEAKING AROUND THE UPPER PART OF THE ENGINE...NEAR THE HEAD AND INTAKE MANIFOLD AREA. PLUS HAVE BEEN SMELLING BURNING OIL THROUGH THE VENTILATION SYSTEM...OCCASIONALLY. AT THE TIME, VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER UNDER MANUFACTURE WARRANTY...CONTACT MANUFACTURE FOR ASSISTANCE, BUT ASSISTANCE WAS DENIED.

PURCHASED THE CAR IN FEBRUARY'03. BAD VIBRATION WHEN DRIVING AT SPEEDS OVER 45 MPH, TIRES ROTATED AND BALANCED 4+ TIMES, BOTH FRONT WHEEL BEARING/HUB KITS REPLACED IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE, STILL OCCURS AND HAVE JUST GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO THE SHAKING. ENGINE COOLANT LEAKS: REPLACED PUMP AND "O" RING. POWER STEERING PUMP AND RETURN HOSE REPLACED. DRIVER SIDE WINDOW DOES NOT ROLL BACK UP(BELIEVE DEALERSHIP REPLACED PRIO TO PURCHASE). DRIVER SIDE MIRROR MOTOR HAS NEVER WORKED PROPERLY, DEALER(IN ROCHESTER) PUT ON RECEIPT OF LAST REPAIR THAT THEY REPLACED MOTOR, BUT DIDN'T ACTUALLY HAVE PART, BUT WAS ON ORDER. NEVER RECEIVED A PHONE CALL BACK WHEN OR IF PART CAME IN(DEALERSHIP IS OVER 300 MILES FROM MY HOME, PURCHASED CAR ON THE INTERNET).*JB

1999 OLDSMOBILE ALERO (OUT OF WARRANTY) BEGAN TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH TRANSMISSION "SLIPPING" OCCASIONALLY DURING THE SUMMER. I WAS TOLD NO PROBLEM COULD BE FOUND. WHILE DRIVING HOME LAST EVENING, THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON AS WELL AS THE "TRAC OFF" LIGHT AND IT WAS VERY HARD TO GET THE CAR TO GO MORE THAN 30 MPH ON A 50 MPH HIGHWAY VERY NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. BY THE GRACE OF GOD, THAT DID NOT HAPPEN, BUT NOW I AM TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION MAY "POSSIBLY BE BAD" OR IT "COULD BE SEVERAL OTHER THINGS." IN EITHER CASE, IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE FOUND THE ERROR BEFORE. ADDITIONALLY, THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 65,000 MILES ON IT AND THOUGH IT WAS SLUGGISH FROM THE TIME I BOUGHT IT AND WOULD OCCASIONALLY LURCH FORWARD WHEN PULLING AWAY FROM A STOP, IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE SUMMER THAT IT BECAME A FREQUENT AS OPPOSED TO A RARE OCCURRENCE. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THERE IS SOME FLAW IN THE TRANSMISSION. OF NOTE ALSO IS THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW ONLY ROLLS DOWN ON OCCASION AND SOMETIMES WILL NOT GO BACK UP, THE FAN ONLY WORKS ON THE HIGHEST 2 SETTINGS AND THE ENTIRE WIPER BLADE ASSEMBLY (SOME SORT OF SENSOR) HAD TO BE REPLACED 1 MONTH OUT OF WARRANTY. WHAT A PIECE OF JUNK. AND, THE AIR CONDITIONER NO LONGER COOLS THE CAR AND I WAS TOLD I HAD A SLOW LEAK.*AK

CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR A SUDDEN ACCELERATION ISSUE. VEHICLE WAS ACCELERATING WITHOUT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BEING DEPRESSED. WHILE HAVING THIS ISSUE CHECKED DEALERSHIP NOTICED THAT THE HEAD GASKET FAILED AND LEAKED RADIATOR ANTI FREEZE INTO THE ENGINE. THE CAUSE OF THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION WAS DUE TO A BAD CHIP IN THE MOTHER BOARD. THE CAUSE OF THE RADIATOR ANTI FREEZE LEAK WAS UNDETERMINED.*AK *NM

MY CAR'S COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON THE FIRST TIME ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO. AT THAT TIME I REPLACED THE COOLANT THAT WAS MISSING, ONLY TO HAVE THE LIGHT COME ON AGAIN 2 DAYS LATER. I AGAIN REPLACED THE COOLANT. I COULD NOT FIND ANY VISIBLE LEAKS UNDER THE CAR. I WAS DRIVING TO THE MECHANIC WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE CHECK COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON. THE CARS TEMPATURE GAUGE WAS TOPPED OUT. I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF A MAJOR FREEWAY AND CALL FOR HELP. AFTER 2 HOURS OF WAITING FOR A TOW TRUCK. THE MECHANIC TELLS ME THAT THE UPPER AND LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS NEED REPLACED. ALSO, THE COOLANT HAD LEAKED INTO MY ENGINE AND MIXED WITH THE OIL CAUSING THE ENGINE TO MISS. I HAD TO HAVE THE GASKETS REPLACED WITH A NEW VERSION. AND ALSO HAVE THE ENGINE FLUSHED, AN OIL CHANGE AND A COOLANT FLUSH AS WELL AS A COOLANT CHANGE. ALL OF THIS COSTING WELL OVER $700. APPARENTLY, GM HAS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN RELATED TO THIS ISSUE BUT HAS FAILED TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THAT PARTICULAR PART. MY SAFETY SHOULD BE OF SOME CONCERN TO THIS CAR MANUFACTUER TO SAY THE LEAST! *AK

A LEAK IN THE INTAKE MANIFOLD THAT IS ALLOWING COOLANT AND OIL TO LEAK INTO THE ENGINE. IT COSTS BETWEEN $600 - $800 TO REPAIR AND THIS IS A FAULTY PART IN A MAJORITY OF THE GM VEHICLES. THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN DATED MARCH 2003 THAT ENTAILS THE EXACT DETAILS OF THE PROBLEM, YET GM HAS NOT OFFERED ITS CUSTOMERS ANY REMEDIES TO THE PROBLEM SUCH AS PAYING FOR THE REPAIR. I HAVE MAINTAINED THIS VEHICLE WITH ALL REQUIRED SERVICE WORK. I WANT GM TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR.*AK