Alternator/generator/regulator problems of the 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

On September 24, 2015, my wife was driving our Monte Carlo. Unbeknown to her the car began smoking underneath, causing loss of control with neither steering nor braking capability. Other drivers, noticing the smoke, were attempting to notify her of the impending fire. She was able to drive about another mile before losing control and crashing into a tree on my neighbor's yard. The car became completely engulfed in flames and was destroyed. Were it not for several good samaritans, and police and fire personnel, she would have been killed. The following is a history of issues with this car, documented fully by service records from its purchase in 1998. 1. Brake lights working intermittently or not at all. 2. Turn signal failure. 3. Unable to start due to short in electrical system. 4. Wheel hub assembly replaced. 5. Power steering pump replaced. 6. Rear suspension (passenger's side) broken. 7. Premature alternator failure. 8. Premature brake replacement, I. E. , pads, calipers, rotors. 9. Total brake failure from hard braking (incident not connected with fire) 10. Intake manifold gasket replaced due to coolant flowing into cylinders and crankcase. 11. Premature radiator replacement. 12. Electrical spike distributed through system when starting, causing full-scale deflection of instrumentation and lights to become extremely bright.

Gm new car and pre-owned buyer beware. I purchased a 1999 Monte Carlo in August 2001 from Monday Chevrolet in houston, texas. They installed a new battery before I completed the purchase. I assumed that the 6-yr warranty on the battery was in force. Obviously, acdelco has a problem with the "positive post" on their batteries corroding and causing the post to separate from the battery. There are many customers chatting about this problem on the web. This is what happened to the battery in my car. It appears from the position that acdelco and gm take on warranties that I have never owned the battery and never had a warranty on the battery. In fact, as they explain their position, the proper thing for a customer purchasing a new gm vehicle or a pre-owned gm vehicle that has a new acdelco battery in it, is for the purchaser to ask the dealership to take out the oe battery, reduce the vehicle price in that amount, and install an acdelco battery that the vehicle purchaser buys from the dealership. That way the battery warranty is in the name of the purchaser and not gm or the dealership. Because on a new vehicle after 3 years, there is no warranty on a 6-yr warranty battery. Or on a pre-owned, there is no warranty after 6 months or 1-yr (depends on number of months you get from dealership for the entire vehicle)on a 6-yr warranty battery. There must be some way for the government or a regulatory agency to police this problem and force the vehicle manufacturer to issue the battery warranty in the name of the purchaser at the time of sale. Also to look into a recall of acdelco batteries. As I explained above and the acdelco representative agreed to, that there would be no cost difference if a purchaser did the "proper thing" that I explained above. Needlessly to say, I am upset that I would have to purchase a replacement battery for a 6-yr warranted battery that obviously has a factory defect and should be on recall.

Consumer states of having problems with the alternator,battery keep on dying,then car wouldn't star. Vehicle also had problems with pcm which was repair and the vehicle still has problems. Dealer was notified and vehicle was repair by a independent repair shop. Nlm.

Was traveling down the road when the "volts" light came on. I read the owner's manual and it said to turn off all electronics such as radio, air conditioning etc. And not to drive the vehicle. I was able to get it to a goodyear retailer who provided mechanical service. They tested the alternator and said that it was not putting out any amperage. They also said that this is a factory defective design since the alternator is located next to the engine and the heat from the engine eventually causes the diodes within the alternator to go bad. He also said that this is commonly seen around 60,000 miles on these vehicles. I am extremely disappointed with this because it could have left me stranded on the side of the road with little warning. This is not a "maintenance" item that should go bad within 3 years and there is no way to protect yourself (such as a maintenance check) if it happens. I had a Toyota for 11 years and only replaced the alternator once after 150,000 miles. No alternator should go bad this quickly.