03/10/03

Alero Owners Standing Together!

We bought this car brand new in January 2002

• About a month after we got the car we went in because of a grinding noise

coming from the brakes.  The dealer said everything was fixed, and vaguely

mentioned the fact about there being a factory problem with the caliper, and

So they replaced it with no charge.  My brake pads were also changed because,

they were completely worn, WITHIN 1 MONTH!

• In early May 2002, three months later I stated noticing the noise again,

and this time my brakes were pulsing.  I went into the dealership for the

mechanic to pretty much tell me I didn't understand ABS.  I told I might be

a woman but I know ABS brakes and I knew that my brakes weren't pulsing the

quick 7 times like with ABS, they were slow and long making a grinding noise

when attempting to stop.  They sent me away and said there was nothing

wrong, so frustated I left but returned shortly after.

• On May 22, 2002 I went in for an oil change, and I insisted that they

check my brakes this time as the noise and grinding had continued after they

told me nothing was wrong.  After finally checking my brakes, they told me

that my brake pads were worn out again.  They didn't offer any apology for

turning me away when I told them I knew there was a problem, they replaced

them under warranty.

• My computer lights from that point on were flashing constantly, the ABS,

Service Vehicle Soon, and Traction.  I took the car in to have them tell me

time and time again that there was no problem, that I just need to turn the

car off then on again.  Did that still didn't work, but they insisted that

it must be something I was doing.

• In early November my rear defrost wasn't working, my dome light would not

turn off when in the door position, and the grinding noise was back and now

they were also screeching.  I told them to see why my lights kept coming on,

as they had been on for about 2 months straight.  They fixed the rear

defrost, they fixed the dome light, and once again my brakes were worn out,

and this time I also had to have my rotors changed.  As far as the lights, I

have the receipt saying once again "No Problem".  I also asked them why when

I was in drive on a hill why was I rolling back as if I was in a standard,

and the same if I was backing out of a driveway, I was in reverse going up a

hill but I would roll forward.  They told me that I was the new transmission

they have in these cars, maybe so but almost caused my to bang into another

cars on a hill as I was not expecting my automatic vehicle to roll, new to

me I guess.

• I bought a set of brake pads, as they were no longer under warranty.  I

paid $82.00 for the pads, and another $50.00 for labour, and turning the

rotors.

• The car came with all season tires, but by the end of November were

completely smooth no tread on them at all, so we replaced them for $630.00

• In December I was stuck in the snow and when I tried to press on the gas

to get myself out, there was no power, my RPM needle didn't move and I

wasn't going anywhere.  I went into the dealer, to ask why I couldn't get

myself out of a half a foot of snow.  They told me that it was this new

system which shuts down your engine in these cases so you don't rev it too

hard, maybe this is true but it was new to me, I've always been about to get

my self unstuck in other cars.  Basically they were telling me that if the

Alero gets stuck in snow, it will stay there which isn't good for Maritime

weather, so I ended up loading the trunk with sand which helped some.

• From January on my lights came and went, I gave up on calling the dealer

as they continuously insisted there was no problem.

• Starting late December and early January, my car was getting hard to

start at times.  I did not mention this to the dealer as it only happened

the rare time, but since I've been researching these cars there are a lot of

problems with this.

• Another thing I noticed since summer up until now, is that when I roll

up the windows, there is scratching on the windows and it's almost as though

the window goes off track briefly when rolling down the window.  I have not

mentioned this to the dealer yet, but probably should have as there have

been many alero owners complaining that there windows are falling out onto

the car while driving.

• In early February 2003 while on the highway, the car began to accelerate

quickly up to 140kms without me touching the gas.  I panicked and tried the

brakes but they would not work, after what seemed to be forever the car

slowed down.  I pulled over to the side of the road and wondered what would

have happened had I really panicked and was killed, who would have known

what really happened to the car.  From that point on I knew there was

definitely something wrong with this car.  There was a woman in the US that

had this happen to her but she had to slam into a mountain to stop.  On top

of that her airbags did not deploy, what if she had been killed, what if it

was someone from the dealer or GM that this was happening to...it would be a

different story then wouldn't it.

• I took the car in again, to explain what happened, and that my brakes

were grinding extremely bad this time, there was knocking under the car, and

it was very hard to stop, I was told from the dealer as well as another

mechanic that it was probably my rotors needed to be changed.  So on Feb

22/03 I bought a set of rotors for $90.00, and paid $75.00 to put them on. 

When that was finished they told me that the knocking I was hearing was my

wheel bearings.  My wheel bearings should not have had to be replaced after

only one year of owning the car.

• Within a 2 week period prior to taking the car into the dealer, the

brakes were grinding and moaning incredibly load, and when driving it was

like I had my emergency brake on.  I knew that this was going to cause my

brakes damage.

• I took it into the dealer again and demanded to speak to the person in

charge.  I sat down in his office and I stated all of these problems I had

been having, I threw 60 pages of complaints from other Alero owners who had

the same problems with their cars.  I asked him why was everyone making me

feel stupid for coming in so much, when they had to know about these

problems because there are so many people out there, I knew they had to

know.  Besides that I have been told that GM knows about the problem but

that there aren't enough people to do a recall.  On top of the wheel

bearings my lights were chiming again this time the emergency brake light

was on also, my dome light was broken again, a speaker was blown, and then

they told me that my brakes were worn AGAIN!

• They said they'd have to keep my car overnight because they also had to

do a wheel alignment.  I went in the next day and the stories began the

head manager told me that it was the last mechanic's from another shops

fault for these problems, they put a lubricant on my brakes that caused them

to seize, which ruined my rotors, my brake pads and my wheel bearings. 

Highly unlikely to me, but went along with it but still insisted an answer

to why in one year have my brakes been replaced so many times, why were my

rotors replaced twice, and turned once?  Why were my wheel bearings gone

when the car was only a year old?  My car wasn't safe, he said it was.  What

was going to happen when I had no warranty at all, my brakes already aren't

covered and I've had to pay for them.  I got a lot of talk that they were

there to help blah blah blah.  I told him that I guarantee I will be back in

now every time something goes wrong, and sarcastically I said I'd be back in

2 days.

• Sure enough I picked up my car Saturday, and I was back in on Tuesday. 

This time because the check engine light was on.  I called and told them I

was bringing the car in, and they told me to make sure I checked the gas cap

to make sure it wasn't off or loose.  It wasn't so I took the car in, sat in

it with the mechanic while he looked at the computer system because I don't

trust them anymore.  They told me that there were toxins in the gas tank

that weren't getting out.  The manager I had been talking to came down right

away.  I stated that I was going to a lawyer this week, that I was tired of

getting the run around and I was going to have something done, and now I

have this website to help me do just that.

• Up until this point he had been very nice to be, but I could tell that he

was irritated now as soon as I mentioned lawyer.  He tried to blame this

problem (code P0442) on us, he said that we were probably not turning the

car off while getting gas.  I looked at him and laughed, I said I don't know

about you but I live in Nova Scotia, I am not getting out of my car to pump

gas in the winter time, and I don't know any gas stations that would pump

gas while the car is on...they are not stupid and neither am I.

• I am on my last nerve, I am seeing a lawyer this week and I want to prove

that these cars have a defect in them with your help, so please e mail me

and tell me what problems you are having.