Question's

I have 03 Alero and it has 16000 miles on it brought it with 1 mile on it and i have had so many problems with my car First the brakes keep going out on me, and the roters got changed a month ago and my car was back in the shop last week for the same thing can anyone tell me why i am having this much problems with it. Also more things to. Some one please tell me what to do?????

[johny_boy32]

driving fast and slamming on the brakes?

sorry to hear about all the problems, i will tell you this though, aleros are notorios for going through breaks, i've had my car for a little over 6 months and already went through one pair of breaks. but other then that i seriously beet on my alero and no problems..

Rotors are bad on Aleros, it's a simple fact. You can learn how to replace them yourself, that'll save you money. You may want to invest in some better aftermarket ones, also. A slotted rotor will cool better, not warp, thus last you longer. If you're under warranty though, just keep complaining about it and they'll fix 'em for you for a while.

[Silentalero]

yea, seriously gm rotors on our cars suck...Might wanna upgrade to powerslot from pfyc.com

it is not driving fast got 2 kids in the car at ALL times. It is under warranty. I guess i will have to get after market ones and have my Husband put them on.

[j-work]

That is your best choice go aftermarket and have less problems. GM rotors sucks!

will our warranty (mine is extended from the dealership i bought it from) be voided if we put aftermarket brakes on? or any other parts...like strut tower braces, rims/wheels, CAI, exhaust?

I know if you put a cai the warrenty is void, but you can just change that back b4 you take it in.

[Fast Eddie]

Vodka, NO it won't only on the parts you replace

Stealth, no it wont, only on the parts you replace.

If a part downstream fails it is up to GM to prove that the aftermarket part caused the failure.

take a look at the Magnuson Moss Act

Did they actually replace the rotors the first time or just smooth them down on the brake laythe? Or did they just change your brake pads?

Here's my guesses

1. If they did smooth the rotors down on their laythe, the rotors become smooth but more thin which make them more vulnerable to warp. If they do warp, then you will feel the pulsating from the brake pedal.

2. If they replaced your rotors and not your pads, then maybe your pads were very worn and it wasn't long before your pads starting grinding into the new rotors, which depending on how long you let them grind will either have to be smoothed down or replaced if the rivets meet the rotor.

3. If they replaced your pads and not the rotors, and the rotors were terrible and they didn't smooth the rotors down, it wouldn't take long before the new pads would wear down to match the jagged edges on the rotors like the last pads.

4. The GM rotors just suck and its just time to go aftermarket. I rather feel safe in my car, then worry about voiding the warranty.

how much for after market ?? Thanks for allthe info~

Don't get aftermarket and performance mixed up. Any car shop where you live should be able to get new pads for you or have them in stock already. OE everything is normally more expensive, especially from the dealership. Just goto NAPA or a checker etc. and get some quotes. Either way, it should be way less expensive then the dealership. Half the charge from them is for labor.

Example, my moms expedition needed new pads and a set of new e-shoes and they wanted $1000 for parts and labor at the dealership. So i said, f$%* that and went to the store, and bought all the parts for $215 (WAY CHEAPER !!!)and will be doing all the work myself.

I bought all my brake parts from NAPA. You can search the prices online from them.

Thanks for the info i will check it out thanks again!!

For a front brake job (pads and rotors), you can get away with spending as little as $100.00. I got Bendix rotors at AdvanceAuto ($47.00 each) and Powerstopp 9-1-1 pads ($48.00 with shipping) from phil's inc. online. No problems whatsoever since then.

And it's not just Alero's. My wife's '98 Malibu had to have new brakes at 12,000 miles. It's GM in general.

Originally posted by Fast Eddie@Apr 27 2004, 12:52 AM
Vodka, NO it won't only on the parts you replace

Stealth, no it wont, only on the parts you replace.

If a part downstream fails it is up to GM to prove that the aftermarket part caused the failure.

take a look at the Magnuson Moss Act

If you really want to get into the burdon of proof, it's gonna fall on how much money are you willing to spend to take GM to court over it. That is basically what it is going to boil down to. It how complicated the electonics and the controls system have become basicaly GM is going to always win that one, as they best understand this part of the topic.

That act is old and in serious need of revision. It was written in the past to cover those people that used the cheap after market parts for repairs and what not, and in many cases is not applicable to modifications. Any of the things your do the intake and exhause, sensors what ever, have an impact on the control system of the vehicle. These impacts generally are in a negative direction. While a performance gain my be seen, you are no longer running that powertrain in the way that it was calibrated / tuned from the factory. By introduceing this, shift in how the controls system functions, that can be deamed the cause of part failure, thus it falls on the consumer that the failure was caused by in this example a CAI.

This is because the powertrain was not calibrated to deal with at airflow rate and other things associated with the change. You may think a CAI is a simple mod that can do no harm, but when you actually dig into the control systems on these vehicles, it has a huge impact on fueling, shifting (automatic) and emissions. incorrect fueling can lead to a learn or rich condition in the engine, which can both be harmful to the engine if to far from stoich in either direction.

So basically burden of proof is always on the vehicle manufactures side that they will always win that one based on there understanding of the engine control system and all the potential impacts changing just one minor part can have on it.

[brsexton]

I have an 03 also. At 16k it was in the shop for the same rotor crap and brakes were shot. Knowing what I had learned from you guys, I had a small talk with the dealer that done my work. He said that most of the time they always use aftermarket pads on customers cars becasue they are much thicker and last longer. They also changed the rotors with some other brand also. so here at almost 20k, it seems to be fine so far. I have never seen a car that would eat a set of pads in 16,000 miles though. That really made me sick when they told me that.

[alero168]

how can you tell if the rotors are bad is it just from the pulsating when you brake or can you see visuially? b/c i've had my car for over 50,000 miles i got it brand new and hadnt had any probs with brakes, but now i do need some new pads i heard the squealing when i brake now... so is it all rotors or just most of them that are bad or are they bad on mine and i just dont know it.

[brsexton]

Originally posted by alero168@Apr 28 2004, 07:06 PM
how can you tell if the rotors are bad is it just from the pulsating when you brake or can you see visuially? b/c i've had my car for over 50,000 miles i got it brand new and hadnt had any probs with brakes, but now i do need some new pads i heard the squealing when i brake now... so is it all rotors or just most of them that are bad or are they bad on mine and i just dont know it.

You will know when your rotors are bad. It will jerk and vibrate as you slow down. If yours have went 50k consider yourself one of the lucky ones.

[alero168]

sweet i guess i am one of the lucky ones... i think my dad was lucky too he had a '98 cutlass same as 3.4's malibu and it never had brake problems either, but i think that cutlass was made in oklahoma if that makes any difference