2002 Oldsmobile Alero

I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS IN FEB. OF THIS YEAR(2005). THE CAR WOULD NOT START. TOWED IT TO A DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE IGNITION CYLINDER. 3 DAYS LATER WAS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY THEN REPLACED THE HOUSING. BEGINING OF JUNE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURE AGIAN. TOWED IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. OF COURSE IT STARTED AT THE DEALER. 2 WEEKS LATER AND IT STILL WILL NOT START AGIAN. THE SECURITY LIGHT WAS COMMING ON BEFORE IT STOPED RUNNING. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING AND IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED. IF YOU GO TO WWW.AUTOMOTIVEHELPER.COM AND GO UNDER ALERO, YOU WILL FIND LOTS OF COMPLAINTS.

ON MAY 26TH, 2005 I STARTED MY 2002 OLDSMOBILE ALERO AND TURNED ON MY REAR DEFROSTER. AFTER ABOUT 3 MINUTES OF DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THERE WAS AN "EXPLOSION" IN THE REAR OF MY CAR. THE REAR DEFROSTER HEATING MECHANISM THAT HOOKS UP TO THE REAR WINDOW EXPLODED AND CAUGHT FIRE TO THE ENTIRE REAR OF MY CAR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE REPAIRED DUE TO THE COST, MY INSURANCE COMPANY TOTALED MY CAR. MY CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT AND NO MAJOR WORK HAS EVER BEEN PERFORMED. GM WILL NOT GET INVOLVED DUE TO THE FACT THAT LUCKILY NO ONE WAS INJURED.

MY TURN SINGALS DO NOT WORK PROPERLY. THE SINGNALS WORK ONLY PART OF THE TIME. WHEN THE TURN SIGNIALS DO NOT OPERATE THE HAZORD LIGHTS DONT WORK AS WELL. I FOUND OUT IT WILL COST APROX. $200.00 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY WILL NEED TO REPLACE THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH THAT COST 130.00 AND 70.00 FOR LABOR. THIS IS A HAZORD THAT I WILL NEED TO HAVE FIXED. THERE ARE SOME DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS WHERE I LIVE. IT IS ALSO AGAINTS THE LAW NOT TO SINGAL WHICH WAY YOU ARE TURNING. THE PROBLEM STARTED IN MARCH. IT HAD TAKEN IT IN SEVERAL TIMES BUT THEY COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM UNTIL IT WAS MORE FREQQENT AND THEY COULD REPRODUCE IT. I FINALLY FOUND OUT ON MAY 19, 2005 IT IS THE SWITCH.

I HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM FOR THE PAST 7 MONTHS. I HAVE CHANGED OUT THE BATTERY, THAT DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I HAVE TAKEN IT COUNTLESS TIME TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND THEY COULDN'T FIND OUT THE PROBLEM. I HAVE CALLED THE PLANT WHERE THE CAR CAME FROM AND THEY REFERRED ME TO A CAR SERVICE THAT SPECIALIZES IN OLDSMOBILES. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP, AND THEY FIXED IT. THEY ALSO SAID THAT IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELECTRICAL, HOWEVER THEY WON'T KNOW UNTIL THE CAR TEARS ALL THE WAY UP. THIS IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY CAR. IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WANTS TO START, HOWEVER, IT TAKES THREE TRIES BEFORE THE CAR FINALLY STARTS. SOMETIMES, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CAR WILL NOT EVEN START. I HAVE ALSO HAD OCCASSIONS WHERE THE CAR HAS CUT OFF AS I AM PULLING OFF FROM A STOP SIGN OR PULLING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT. THE CAR IS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD AND ONLY HAVE 49,900 MILES ON IT. IT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE CAR OR THE SEVERITY OF IT, HOW DO I KNOW WHETHER THE CAR WILL BREAKDOWN TO A POINT WHERE IT WILL CAUSE A FATAL ACCIDENT. I BELIEVE THE CAR NEEDS TO BE RECALLED.*AK

CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND DEALER DETERMINED THAT VEHICLE NEEDED THE FOLLOWING REPLACEMENTS: A NEW IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER, INTAKE MANIFOLD, MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH, AND AN ENGINE OIL FLUSH. CONSUMER STATED THAT WHEN SHE PUT KEY IN THE IGNITION IT WOULD NOT TURN, BUT DID NOT KNOW THAT VEHICLE WOULD NEED A NEW SWITCH. ALSO, THERE WAS TICKING NOISE WHEN SHE TRIED TO START THE VEHICLE. *AK

WHEN MY 2002 ALERO TURNED 37,500 THE FUSE TO THE TAIL AND DASH LIGHTS BLEW LEAVING ME DRIVING AFTER DARK WITH NO TAIL AND DASH LIGHTS. *AK SO FAR THE MECHANICS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO TRACE DOWN THE SHORT IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN ORDER TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY KEEP PUTTING IN NEW FUSES AND THEY JUST KEEP BLOWING. THEY HAVE ORDERED A SWITCH, AND IT IS TO GO BACK INTO THE SHOP AGAIN TO HAVE THE SWITCH REPLACED AGAIN, AND TO TRY ONCE MORE TO TRACK DOWN THE ELECTRICAL SHORT THAT IS CAUSING THE FUSE TO BLOW THAT TAKES OUT THE TAIL AND DASH LIGHTS. I CAN'T DRIVE THIS 2002 ALERO AFTER DARK EVEN IF I HAVE JUST PUT IN A NEW FUSE BECAUSE IT WILL JUST BLOW AGAIN. IF IT DOESN'T BLOW WHILE I AM DRIVING IT, IT WILL JUST BE BLOWN THE NEXT TIME I START IT. IT MAKES DRIVING THIS 2002 ALERO VERY UNSAFE TO DRIVE, ESPECIALLY AFTER DARK.

I MADE A LONG VACATION TRIP IN OCT. OF 2002 AT WHICH TIME MY 2002 OLDSMOBILE ALERO TURNED OVER 36,000 MILES. BY THE TIME I ARRIVED HOME, IT HAD TURNED 37,000. I DIDN'T DRIVE THE CAR FOR A FEW DAYS UPON MY RETURN. WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR TO DRIVE IT NEXT, I SAW THAT THE DASH AND THREE OF THE DOOR PADS HAD COME UNGLUED AND BUCKLED REALLY BADLY. I TOOK IT BACK TO DAN CUMMINS IN PARIS, KY AS SOON AS I DISCOVERED THAT THE INTERIOR WAS FALLING APART. THE SERVICE MANAGER REFUSED TO EVEN LOOK AT THE CAR SINCE IT HAD GONE OVER THE 36,000 MILE WARRANTY DURING MY VACATION BEFORE I RETURNED HOME. HE SUGGESTED I CALL GM AND COMPLAIN TO THEM ABOUT IT. I DID CALL THEM AND THEY TOOK MY COMPLAINT. THEY GAVE ME AN COMPLAINT NUMBER, BUT HAVE SINCE REFUSED TO ANSWER THEIR PHONE WHEN I CALL, OR TO CALL ME BACK AFTER I LEAVE THEM A VOICE MAIL ON THEIR MACHINE. I HAVE CREATED A WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.ALERO.INFO IN ORDER FOR INTERESTED PERSONS TO BE ABLE TO VIEW THE PICTURES OF THE POOR FACTORY WORKMANSHIP AND MATERIALS USED TO BUILD MY 2002 ALERO. THE PICTURES SAY IT ALL AS TO WHAT MY COMPLAINT IS ABOUT WITH THE DASH AND DOOR PADS COMING UNGLUED AND BUCKLING. AT 37,500 MILES WHILE IT IS STILL ONLY TWO YEARS OLD, IT HAS DEVELOPED AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM THAT COULD POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AS SOMETHING IS CAUSING THE FUSE TO THE TAIL AND INTERIOR LIGHTS TO BLOW WHILE DRIVING IT AT NIGHT. *NLM