1999 Oldsmobile Alero

LOWER INTAKE GASKET FAILURE CAUSES NEAR COLLISION ON FREEWAY. WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME ON A BUSY DAY MY COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON AND MY ENGINE STARTED PULSING STRANGELY. TRYING TO PULL INTO THE EMERGENCY LANE CAUSED SEVERAL CARS TO NEARLY SLAM INTO THE BACK OF MY CAR. THE PROBLEM WITH THE COOLANT WAS FOUND TO BE A COMMON FLAW IN THE LOWER INTAKE GASKET ON 3.4L (3400) GM ENGINES. AFTER INVESTIGATION, I'VE FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM YET GM IS DOING NOTHING TO ADDRESS IT.*AK

AT 50K MILES, LOW COOLANT LIGHT WOULD FLICKER ON AND OFF SO PER THE MANUAL DEXCOOL/WATER MIXTURE WAS ADDED. THIS ALLEVIATED THE PROBLEM ONLY TEMPORARILY HOWEVER. LIGHT CONTINUED TO COME ON, AND LATER AT 61K, OIL LEAK WAS NOTICED ON THE SIDE OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. AN APPOINTMENT WAS MADE TO BRING THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THE SAME WEEK, DURING WHICH THE SECURITY DUMMY LIGHT CAME ON (FOR NO APPARENT REASON). ALSO DURING THIS WEEK, THE "CHANGE OIL" DUMMY LIGHT CAME ON 100 MILES BEFORE THE OIL CHANGE WAS DUE (AT 2900 MILES). THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO FIX PER ITS APPOINTMENT, AND NOT ONLY WAS COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE ENGINE, BUT THE UPPER AND LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. IN ADDITION, ON ITS WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE ENGINE STARTED TO MISFIRE CAUSING THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT TO FLASH FOR SEVERAL MOMENTS BEFORE TURNING TO A STEADILY LIT DUMMY LIGHT. CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GIVEN ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND OIL CHANGES EVERY 3K OR AS NECESSARY, SO THIS PERFORMANCE AND OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW ARE VERY DISAPPOINTING. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS CAR/3.4L V6 ENGINE TO ANYONE LOOKING TO PURCHASE A NEW VEHICLE AND CONSIDERING THIS MAKE/MODEL/ENGINE TYPE. *JB

I OWN A 1999 OLDS ALERO. THE REAR WINDOW DEFROSTER STOPPED WORKING. I CHECKED AND FOUND THAT THE PLUG GOING INTO THE REAR DEFOGGER/RADIO MODULE WAS MELTED. I BELIEVE THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A FIRE. I CHECKED WITH MY LOCAL DEALER AND THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE. I ASKED IF THEY HAD A REPLACEMENT PART SO THAT I COULD REPAIR THIS AND THEY SAID NONE WERE AVAILABLE. I WENT TO MY LOCAL SCRAP YARD AND WAS ABLE TO GET A REPLACEMENT END FROM A WRECKED ALERO. THIS WAS ONLY AFTER FINDING MELTED PLUGS IN TWO OTHER ONES THEY HAD. A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED IMMEDIATELY DUE THE DANGER OF A FIRE WITH THIS VEHICLE. *JB - 3/17/04- CONSUMER CALLED WITH THE CORRECT VIN#. COMPLAINT HAS BEEN UPDATED. *RP *SC *JB

I BOUGHT MY ALERO IN MAY OF 2003, AND IT IS NOT MARCH 2004 AND I AM REPLACING THE MOTOR. STARTED OUT WITH BRAKE PROBLEMS, THEN WENT ON TO THE LEATHER UNDER THE WINDOWS AND ON THE DASH "BUBBLING" UP IN THE SUN. NEXT, I HAD COOLANT/OIL LEAKS AT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. LOW TRAC LIGHT CAME ON ALL THE TIME, LOW TIRE PRESSURE LIGHT STAYS ON, THE FAN FOR THE A/C OR HEAT ONLY WORKED IN THE 3-5 POSITIONS. (IT'S FULL BLAST OR NOTHING.) COOLANT LIGHT FREQUENTLY CAME ON, TRANSMISSION FLUID VANISHES, COOLANT LEAKS, YET NO ONE KNOWS WHERE FROM. THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE NEVER GOES BELOW HALFWAY, AND IT RAN HOT A LOT. HAD TO REPLACE THE COOLANT CAP AND OVERFLOW RESEVOIR. THE GAS HAND STICKS, THE SPEEDOMETER STICKS, THE LEATHER SEATS ARE TEARING, HAD TO REPLACE THE FACTORY RADIO BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT PICK UP ANY CHANNELS, REAR DEFROST WORKS ONLY WHEN IT WANTS TO, AND SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON ABOUT HALF THE TIME. I TOOK THIS CAR TO 7 MECHANICS, HAD IT HOOKED UP TO DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTERS, HAD EVERYTHING CHECKED-YET NO ONE COULD TELL ME WHAT WAS GOING ON. FINALLY, I LEFT THE MECHANIC SHOP AFTER BEING TOLD THAT THE CAR WAS "GOOD TO GO" (WHICH I WOULD NEVER PUT IN THE SAME SENTENCE WITH ALERO AGAIN.), AND IT STARTING SKIPPING. I HAD IT TOWED, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT I HAD A CRACKED BLOCK AND CRACKED HEADS. (NEW MOTOR NEEDED-FINAL PROGNOSIS) MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT IT WOULD DO ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD TO PUT A MOTOR IN IT BECAUSE IN 2 YEARS-THE NEW MOTOR WILL DO THE SAME! OLDSMOBILE SHOULD BE ASHAMED THAT THEY WOULD RECALL A GLOVE BOX LATCH, YET NOT THE MOTOR. AFTER READING THE REVIEWS THAT I HAVE READ IN THE PAST WEEK, I AM SEEKING LEGAL ACTION IN REGARDS TO THIS ISSUE. I DID NOT PAY $17,000 FOR A LEMON, WHICH IS ALL I GOT!! DON'T BUY!! BUYER BEWARE!! *AK