IllustrationWAS DRIVING ON IN TOLL ROAD WHEN MY HEADLIGHTS WENT OFF. I WAS ABLE TO GET THEM BACK ON BY GOING TO MANUAL. THEY ALSO FLICKERED ON & OFF EVEN WITH CAR OFF AND KEY OUT OF IGNITION. HAD RECALL ON IGNITION, RECALL 143510, ADVISED GM AND DEALER OF PROBLEM. THEY SAID WASN'T COVERED BY RECALL. STILL A RECURRING PROBLEM. *TR
2004 Oldsmobile Alero
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Fewer warning signs than most model years
Owner complaints for the 2004 Oldsmobile Alero are lower than the model-year median of 279.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Alero years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
60–25K
1125–50K
1050–75K
1575–100K
24100–150K
12150K+
78 reports with mileage · 31 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 57 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
7 crash reports2 fire reports7 injury reports
What owners actually said
109 reports2004 OLDSMOBILE ALERO. HAZARD LIGHT BUTTON IS PUSHED BACK WHERE HE WAS UNABLE TO ACTIVE MY HAZARD LIGHTS IF NEEDED. ALSO, THERE WERE SOME UNIDENTIFIED LIGHTS STUCK ON THE DASHBOARD. *MW
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 OLDSMOBILE ALERO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START AFTER INSERTING THE KEY IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. THE PROBLEM RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH, LOCK AND KEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAI…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 OLDSMOBILE ALERO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START AFTER INSERTING THE KEY IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. THE PROBLEM RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH, LOCK AND KEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000.
IGNITION SWITCH ISSUE. TOOK VEHICLE IN FOR RECALL. ALL THEY DID WAS STICK PLASTIC ON KEYS. WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO SINCE THE IGNITION SWITCH IS STILL FALLING OUT OF PLACE? ALSO, WHY DIDN'T THEY REPLACE THE IGNITION MODULE SINCE IT IS A KNOWN DEFECT? THE SWITCH IS THE PROBLEM ON THE VEHICLE. NOT THE KEYS!!! *TR
2004 OLDSMOBILE ALERO, CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO WARNING LIGHT COMING ON AND THEN GOING OFF. *CW THE CONSUMER STATED THE OIL AND TRACTION LIGHT ILLUMINATED. *JB
THE BLINKERS ONLY WORK 5 % OF THE TIME. I HAVE ALMOST BEEN HIT IN THE REAR SEVERAL TIMES DUE TO THIS ISSUE. NEITHER BLINKER WILL WORK. I NOTICE A RECALL WAS DONE ON THE 2001 OLDS ALERO FOR THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE A 2004 OLDS ALERO THAT IS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. THE BLINKERS DO NOT WORK DUE TO A DEFECTIVE HAZARD WARNING LIGHT SWITCH…
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THE BLINKERS ONLY WORK 5 % OF THE TIME. I HAVE ALMOST BEEN HIT IN THE REAR SEVERAL TIMES DUE TO THIS ISSUE. NEITHER BLINKER WILL WORK. I NOTICE A RECALL WAS DONE ON THE 2001 OLDS ALERO FOR THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE A 2004 OLDS ALERO THAT IS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. THE BLINKERS DO NOT WORK DUE TO A DEFECTIVE HAZARD WARNING LIGHT SWITCH. A RECALL SHOULD BE DONE ON 2004 OLDS ALERO. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 OLDSMOBILE ALERO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION FAILED, PREVENTING THE VEHICLE FROM BEING STARTED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION FOR RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V400000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE R…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 OLDSMOBILE ALERO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION FAILED, PREVENTING THE VEHICLE FROM BEING STARTED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION FOR RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V400000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 OLDSMOBILE ALERO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH AND GOING OVER A BUMP, THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 189,283.
I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND MY CAR TURNED OFF WITHOUT WARNING. MY CAR TURNED OFF (POWER SHEERING LOCKED UP) I MADE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BUT NOT BEFORE ALMOST GETTING HIT BY A 2 DIFFERENT SEMI-TRUCKS. I WAS STRANDED ON THE FREEWAY FOR 4 HOURS WITH A NEW BORN BABY. I HAVE YET TO BE ABLE TO FIX MY CAR DUE TO THIS ISSUE. …
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I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND MY CAR TURNED OFF WITHOUT WARNING. MY CAR TURNED OFF (POWER SHEERING LOCKED UP) I MADE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BUT NOT BEFORE ALMOST GETTING HIT BY A 2 DIFFERENT SEMI-TRUCKS. I WAS STRANDED ON THE FREEWAY FOR 4 HOURS WITH A NEW BORN BABY. I HAVE YET TO BE ABLE TO FIX MY CAR DUE TO THIS ISSUE. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CAR WHEN I FOUND THE RECALL. *TR
WHILE DRIVING DOWN A STREET A CAR RAN A STOP SIGN CAUSING A T-BONE COLLISION. MY AIRBAGS NEVER DEPLOYED BECAUSE OF MY AIRBAGS NOT DEPLOYING I HIT MY HEAD ON THE FRONT WINDOW PANE. IF THE AIRBAG HAD DEPLOYED I WOULD HAVE NEVER HIT THE FRONT WINDOW CAUSING MY TWO HEAD CONTUSIONS, SPRAINED NECK, AND HERNIATED DISCS. *TR
Official recalls
114V400000 · Electrical System:ignition
Jul 3, 2014
This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 3, 2014, that they are recalling 5,877,718 model year 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo, 1997-2003 Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2005 Malibu Classic, 1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero, 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue, 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am and 2004-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix vehicles. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 9, 2014. GM's number for this recall is 14350.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.