Engine Belts And Pulleys problems of the 2000 Oldsmobile Alero

Car dies without any warning. Car consistently misfires, hesitates. Occurs quite often. Especially dangerous on the highway and hills. Purchased the car used in may. Dealer had it for a while putting in a new serpentine belt and after the first stall, the catalytic converter. Didn't even have it ten days, when it first stalled and had to be towed. Brought it back to the dealer, changed spark plugs. Had it about a week, died on a hill with my two children in the car, started to roll back into another car. Muffler was worked on. Died again on the highway at 55mph. Called dealer, brought it back to his service person and he felt it, but no codes showed. Dealer was done with helping. Warranty on engine and transmission expired 08/01/09. Brought car to another mechanic, changed crank sensor. Car died two more times. Wrote a letter to gm, brought car to their mechanic. Asked gm to assist since there have been so many complaints concerning the same issue. To me this is a manufacturer defect, not a maintenance issue. Too many people have had this same complaint, some at the purchase of the vehicle new, some like me, bought it used. Gm needs to accept this responsibility, before someone is seriously injured or worse dead. As a single mom, my children are everything to me. Their life should not be jeopardized because of a car's malfunction, nor should anyone else's. I can't get rid of this car in good conscience, knowing another person may buy this vehicle and could lose their life or someone else's. Please review the complaints on line and previously made. This is a safety issue. The saddest part is gm could make this right and won't. Please know that I would appreciate your investigation into this issue. Thank you.

While driving 65mph in the fast lane on the highway my car died. I had to cross over the highway to make it to break down lane very scary and very dangerous three mechanics later no one can solve problem . It happened 4 times on the highway and now it happens on the main streets.

The 3. 4l v6 engine regularly lost coolant, and the reservoir had to be refilled about once a month. Also noticed thick white goo on the oil cap (but not on the oil dipstick), and heard a ticking sound after starting the engine, which went away after the engine warmed up. The dealer said the head gasket was leaking, and the repair cost $1,100. The engine had 53,000 miles at the time of the repair, which is well beyond the warranty, but this type of problem would have developed several thousand miles ago, before any symptoms were noticeable. It is very disappointing to have major engine work done with so few miles (also had to have serpentine belt replaced), especially when the Alero's sales brochure brags about "long life fluids, including coolant, that will last up to 100,000 miles or more. " when the dealer replaced the head gasket, they said that replacement part is the same as the original (gm had not made any design changes to the part), so this will most likely be a recurring problem for the life of the engine. Overall, Im happy with the cars design and performance, but its upsetting to have such high cost repairs on a car I plan to drive for several more years.

Lower intake manifold gasket failure causing leakage of coolant into the engine and onto pavement. This type of gasket failure is unacceptable at such low miles. August update: since filing the complaint, I had the intake manifold gasket replaced (along with the other gaskets, seals, and rings that are typically replaced in this procedure) by the olds dealer here in my area. This was done at mileage 51947 on 2/11/03 for my 2000 olds Alero that was purchased new on 7/6/2000. As for cost, I was able to do some negotiating with the service manager. About one month earlier, I had taken the car in to get the drivers side window repaired. It had fallen out of track (for the second time), and I raised the issue that this was unacceptable, and that their competitor cars do not do this (non gm vehicles). Having negotiated a low price on this window repair, the service manager remembered me for the intake manifold repair. I raised a number of issues and facts surrounding the intake manifold gasket and was able to get the entire repair done for $276. 75, along with an oil change and serpentine belt replacement, included. I have not noticed and problems with coolant leakage since the repair was preformed. Another concern that I have is, since my repair was done in February 2003, but the service bulletin is dated March 2003, were old parts used in my repair and will this happen again?.