02 Alero, My wonderful experience!

Skip to the bottom if you don't want to read all of this.

So I bought a 2002 Alero last summer after I lost my truck to a tornado and of course I didn't have time to look up any reviews before I bought it as I had to move up to college. I decided to take a trip up to see some friends before I went up to college and after I got up there I ran into a sequence of events that worried me. I was driving down the highway at about 55 and noticed the RPM was abnormally high compared the the previous 100 miles. So I slow down a bit and the RPMs didn't change, then the trac control lights came on, followed by the service engine soon, oil, and then it died. I managed to actually coast into the persons driveway I was going to see too :p. So I get the car towed to the dealer and about 4 hours later I get a call. "Yeah you have the 02 alero in the shop right?" "Yeah have you figured anything out yet?" "Well I hate to say it but your gonna have to get a new engine." I had to ask him to repeat himself as I was shocked. Turns out a bearing had gone out and so this lead to a couple of calls to the dealer I got it from and he replaced the engine for me with the only costs being the installation.
2 months later I get the car back...
I had a loaner from a friend for that time luckily though, but now heres where the real fun comes in. I have gone through 2 batteries in this car since august of 2007, on an average of replacing them every 3-4 months or so. The wonderful "Blinking security light"/passlock issue is now occuring and very randomly. The light will stay on sometimes while driving or decides that I'm stealing it and just wont start till I "Relearn the key."
I also have an aftermarket radio which decides that it will not turn on as well and in order for me to get it to turn on again I have to either take the fuse out for the radio, or disconnect the power wire.

So heres where my questions go out to you.
1. I do have an aftermarket "Chime" device so that it will beep when the car starts but it does not beep when I press the lock button once. I have it set so that if I press it once it will lock 5 seconds after I close the doors and it used to beep to tell me that it had been activated.

2. The aftermarket radio not getting power unless I take out the fuse or cut all power to the car. Has anyone experianced this before? If so did you get it fixed and how?

3. Other than the Passlock I or II disable what have you done to fix the security issue? Did you replace the whole ignition?

4. Has anyone else had a major issue with the battery being drained extremly fast and having to be jumped once a week? ( I do turn off all devices in the car before I get out as well as unplugging them)

5. Has anyone ever had a good experiance with an alero?!

Thank you in advance to all of you who reply!

I forgot to post this but it is an 02 Alero, I do believe its the GX Coupe. 4 Cyl engine, I do believe its the same engine as a stock alero but I can't be positive. Auto transmission and only other upgrade is a K&N Air Filter...

1. no, not uless someone installed a chime device. The factory chime is in the BCM under the glove box. But your problem is typical after a aftermarket stereo install, no chimes.

2. Sounds like someone hooked it up wrong or didnt use the proper connections. The stealership and other places sell the right harness to keep things working, ie. the chimes.

3. I have done many of the ignition switches and lock cyliners to resolve this issue. Sometime it takes one or the other or both, and sometimes it doesnt help. This usualy requires dealer intervention.
I'd start cheap, lock cylinder new key. :thumbsup:

4. You either hav a battery drain issue when the car is off or your alternator is going out.

5. I hav not actualy owned an Alero but I have thier sister cars and sometimes they are troublesome, and once in a while they are great. lol

Your 02 should have the 2.2 ecotec, nice little engines.

hope that helps and welcome to AF!

Yeah I thought I said that there was an aftermarket chime device but I must have missed it... it does beep when the car starts but after I take the key out no more beepy lol... yeah it either has a 2.2 or a 2.4 because i know which car it came from just haven't gotten around to asking the guy that had it before me. but yeah I think I'll try the #3 within the next week or so and hope my car stops thinking im stealing it! :P anyway thanks for the welcome! I have been reading a lot of the threads here before I joined and was bored today so I figured why not join up

Well, I'm sorry to hear of your problems and xeroinfinity has provided you with some good information, so I'll stick to your last question #5, realizing and respecting that there are many opposing views and people with lots of Alero problems.

My Alero experience has been a relatively good one. I've experienced some of the same problems that others have had, but I've worked through them and continue to enjoy my car. The only real difference between these cars and others, is the types of problems they have. Every car will eventually experience mechanical and/or electrical problems, and most all have their trouble-prone areas, and they never occur at a good time, so it's always a frustration.

I hope you're able to get your problems resolved and can then enjoy your car trouble-free for a while. :)

yeah its not like I hate the car but the whole "Have to wait 10 minutes to relearn the key" thing kinda annoys me... the thing with the stereo not turning on is a 2 minute fix (if even that long) but yeah this car ive actually had out of the shop longer than any other vehicle so i guess it says something haha

3. I have done many of the ignition switches and lock cyliners to resolve this issue. Sometime it takes one or the other or both, and sometimes it doesnt help. This usualy requires dealer intervention.
I'd start cheap, lock cylinder new key. :thumbsup:



Even cheaper, if you are comfortable working with a soldering iron...http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=698861&highlight=passlock+bypass
I did this about 8 months ago, and have had no starting problems since. It only took about an hour, and that was because I went slow. I think it cost about $2 for the resistors at Radio Shack.

As far as the stereo issue I just got a aftermarket put in i paid the extra money for the wire harness that maintained all the stock features and had it installed.

Walmarts sell the module to keep your chimes or anything else that might not work. Just seen these last weekend at my local store.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5691045

This ad lists them at $38.86, way cheaper then best buy or any other audio outlet. But at my local store, these are only $15.99. :screwy:

Chimes are anouying, but do sometimes go off for troubles with the engine systems.

:2cents:

my car did the same thing & the dealership told me it was the passlock sensor cost me 256 to have it repaired that was a year ago and about two months ago it started doing the same thing all over again so unless you have money to just waste dont bother

Item number 4--My Son had a 96 Alero--He was having the same prob; You have as to the Battery;Someone Replaced Battery and Alternater; about 4 days later triple AAA; brings car to my house;He said sell to salvage yard;
I started checking all Connections,I reached down to check Pos Batt cable on Stater,It moved I then tightened it 3/4 of full turn;not much,cost nothing I didn't tell him the 250 dollars He paid for Alt. and battery was a ripp off;
Everything on this car goes thru the Ignition,Which is located in the dash not steering colum; I bought the car from Him,I really like it ,My Wife hates the Anti-Theft alarm;

Your experience with your Alero sounds quite similar to an issue I had with, now don't laugh you do own a GM product, but it sounds uncannily similar to a problaem I had with a Chevy Blazer. My problem even had a couple more symptoms, I had problems getting the key out of the ignition was one and it absolutely would not shift into Park. I was at wits end, which is a short trip for me, but after checking into a few automotive forums I found that what was happening to me was of all thing a bad ignition switch. It's not an easy fix but the part was $130 and it fixed a few things that you wouldn't even imagine were related. If someone has ever had a heavy keychain hahging from the ignition you can bet it's the problem. For the good news-I have an Alero and I have yet to have a problem with it that wasn't of my own creation.