While I was going down a busy road my car lost power it had a full tank of gas in it. Was able to pull over into a CVS parking lot but was stuck up the hill to the entrance to the drive thru. Although the company I bought it from sent a repair truck it still cost $357.00 and I only put 850 miles on the car since I had bought it. The car company told me it was not under warranty. After researching the 2003 Alero I found that it has many problems with the fuel pump and turning signals. I'm getting rid of this car!!!!!! Buyer BEWARE!

I was driving on the highway when my car all of a sudden just shut off and would not start again. I had to have it towed back home and my neighbor and myself worked on the fuel system finding out that it was the fuel pump and it was blown due to a plugged fuel filter and then the charcoal canister was shot because gas had gotten into it and that was done by over filling at the pump.

so for all you people who like to top off your gas tank, when it clicks off go to the next 5 cents and stop or you to will have a bad charcoal canister that will cost you $169.00 and then the fee to put it in unless of course you do it yourself. the fuel pump was about $350.00 and I did all the work which helped out big time. hope this helps you all.

I bought this car used from Middle Tn. Auto Mart in Hermitage, Tn. 12/23/09 and almost a year later the car stalled out on me. I had a fuel pump put on and for six months it did fine and then one day when it was about 85 degrees out the car would not turn over. I didn't hear the buzzing of the fuel pump. So when it cooled down in wheather about 72 degrees the fuel pump would buzz and I had no problem of starting the 2003 Alero. I've tried to do the old key thing and it didn't work, and my security light did not even come on or flash. I could have a problem with the security system, One day I went to start my car and the security light came on and stayed on the whole time I drove it and I was at highway speed and it shut down on me. I heard a buzzing from the fuel relay fuse in the box under the hood next to the fire wall. When I turned my hazzard lights on the noise went away and I turned the hazzard lights off the buzzing came back. I truly am puzzled by this. I want to bypass the secut

I first noticed the problem about 2-3 months ago (after I had the annual inspection done by the dealer who has always serviced it) - it would crank but not start. So, I thought there's not enough juice to fire the engine - I turn the radio off & it started. It would happen intermittently but it took longer and longer to start the car.

Finally, about 2 weeks ago, I could not get it to start at all. Called roadside assistance & the guy was able to fix it (sprayed something in a hose). Told me it might have something to do with the fuel system. I brought the car in to the dealer again. They told me it was loose battery connection and needs fuel injection service. That cost me $190.

After a couple of days, the same thing happened again - called roadside again & this time my car was towed to the same dealership. It fired up when the service guy took a look at it. But since I brought it in before, they agreed to do a diagnostic (which I requested the first time and did not get). Said that it's a bad fuel pump - that would cost $970.

I surfed the net and found this website - found that it's a very common problem with alero, that it happens again even if the pump has been replaced and that for this low mileage, fuel pump should not die. Called the service guy and told him what I found - the best he could do was give me 1 yr warranty on parts and service.

Called Oldsmobile customer service and complained about the premature dying of the pump. The lady said that she'll call the dealership and work with them about the cost. That was 30 mins ago - still waiting on the result.

Update from May 9, 2009: Here's the update on the my complaint - I called to follow up with customer service after 3 hrs of waiting - said they haven't had a chance to call the dealer yet. Told them that I am to pick up the car that day so she put me on hold while she talked to the dealer. Came back & said that the dealer will give me 15% discount on parts and 10% on service. She did not give me the breakdown of the charges. Eventually, I said okey since I don't want to belabor the point any longer.

When I picked the car up, I found that they charged me $866. Turned out that I only got 15% off from the parts since the service discount was what the service guy initially offered to me because they did not fix the problem the first time I brought it in (& had to pay for parts & service that I did not need).

The work order said that they changed the pump but it still would start intermittently. They checked the fuel & found water mixed in. They drained the gas and changed the fuel filter. The car finally started every time they turn the ignition on.

Had they checked the small things first (like the fuel filter then the gas), I would have only been out $165. It was even more frustrating when I saw that they only put in $8 worth of fuel (which I also had to pay) - the pointer barely went higher than the line (the tank was 3/4 full when I brought it in).

Lessons learned - (1) I will never have that service guy work on my car again, (2) I will not be railroaded into making a decision without them first looking at car and, (3) I will ask for the breakdown of costs before calling customer service or talking to the manager.

The good thing is, the car is fixed. (Knock on wood!)

I had the same issue as all of you with my Alero! Drop the fuel tank and fix it yourselves for free or $30 if you want to use a fuel pump rebuild kit. The process is dirty but simple to understand. Chances are, the brushes in the pump motor are warn down or stuck. I simply had to smack the motor to dislodge the brushes. There is a rebuild kit, easily found on ebay for around $30 that will make it like! My car now runs great!

Dropping the tank involves disconnecting wires and hoses, removing the mounting straps, removing the pump from the tank, disassembling the pump, then reassembling it all once rebuilt or dislodged. It takes about a minute of cranking to deliver fuel to the engine when it is back together. Buy a Hanes manual to assist for a visual before hand.

We owned a 2003 Alero from 2004 until just recently. I'm thrilled beyond belief to have that giant millstone of a car removed from my neck. Our problems began with the front bearings. First the left went out, we fixed it for $700 or so. Then the right went out only a few months later and well before 100,000 miles. We fixed it for another $700. After that we got stranded in a small town in rural northern Minnesota where a small town mechanic fixed the fuel pump by replacing it for about $500. 6 months later that fuel pump needed to be replaced again to the tune of $450. After that the left bearing went out again, which cost an additional $700. By that time we were at 100,000 miles, so we expected that things would begin to really fall apart. We put the car up for sale, and got NO bites at all for the blue book value of it. Shortly after we put an ad in the paper, on a trip to Chicago, the heater core began to leak antifreeze, causing me to add water the whole drive home, and when we got back to the dealership, it cost $400 to replace the heater core. We finally had a bite on the car when we reduced the price, and THAT DAY the battery went dead. We replaced it, and the car still wouldn't start. We ended up having it towed to a mechanic who replaced the crank sensor and ignition module for the bargain price of $450. After $3800 in repairs the past 2 years, I can happily say that we no longer buy anything by GM, and we tell our friends and family to buy at their own risk. We celebrated like there was no tomorrow the day we transfered that title.