1999 OLDSMOBILE ALERO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 456 complaints · 4 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (92 complaints · 20.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 13
  • Fires 11
  • Injuries 13
  • Deaths 2
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 92 of 456 owner complaints (20.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 92 complaints, 20.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 92 · 20.2% · 4 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 64 complaints, 14.0% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 64 · 14.0% · 3 crash reports 4 fire reports ENGINE: 64 complaints, 14.0% of reports ENGINE 64 · 14.0% · 3 fire reports VISIBILITY: 38 complaints, 8.3% of reports VISIBILITY 38 · 8.3% · 2 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 37 complaints, 8.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 37 · 8.1% SUSPENSION: 30 complaints, 6.6% of reports SUSPENSION 30 · 6.6% · 1 crash reports STRUCTURE: 23 complaints, 5.0% of reports STRUCTURE 23 · 5.0% FUEL SYSTEM: 18 complaints, 4.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 18 · 4.0% POWER TRAIN: 18 complaints, 4.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 18 · 4.0% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 342 complaints, 75.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 342 · 75.0% · 5 crash reports 8 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 92 20.2% 4 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 64 14.0% 3 crashes · 4 fires
ENGINE 64 14.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
VISIBILITY 38 8.3% 0 crashes · 2 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 37 8.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 30 6.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 23 5.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 18 4.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 18 4.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 342 75.0% 5 crashes · 8 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1999; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 1998. 1999-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1999-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 1999-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2000-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2000-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2000-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2000-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2001-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2001-Q2: 25 owner reports 25 2001-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2001-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2002-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2002-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2003-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2003-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 2003-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2004-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2004-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2004-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2004-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2005-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2005-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2005-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2006-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2007-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Dec 1998 Oct 2017 Recall campaign 98V320000 ◆ Recall campaign 98V320000 Recall campaign 00V140000 ◆ Recall campaign 00V140000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000 Recall campaign 14V400000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V400000 Investigation RQ04005 ● Investigation RQ04005
  • Campaign 00V140000 was reported 177 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 2,695 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 14V400000 was reported 5,543 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1999-Q2 Owner reports 8
1999-Q3 Owner reports 7
1999-Q4 Owner reports 15
2000-Q1 Owner reports 9
2000-Q2 Owner reports 21
2000-Q3 Owner reports 16
2000-Q4 Owner reports 16
2001-Q1 Owner reports 14
2001-Q2 Owner reports 25
2001-Q3 Owner reports 19
2001-Q4 Owner reports 10
2002-Q1 Owner reports 11
2002-Q2 Owner reports 16
2002-Q3 Owner reports 10
2002-Q4 Owner reports 5
2003-Q1 Owner reports 13
2003-Q2 Owner reports 18
2003-Q3 Owner reports 21
2003-Q4 Owner reports 15
2004-Q1 Owner reports 25
2004-Q2 Owner reports 21
2004-Q3 Owner reports 16
2004-Q4 Owner reports 11
2005-Q1 Owner reports 4
2005-Q2 Owner reports 13
2005-Q3 Owner reports 10
2005-Q4 Owner reports 7
2006-Q1 Owner reports 5
2006-Q2 Owner reports 5
2006-Q3 Owner reports 3
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 6
2007-Q4 Owner reports 3
2008-Q1 Owner reports 4
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 2
2009-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 4
2014-Q4 Owner reports 12
2015-Q1 Owner reports 5
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 98V320000
Recall campaign 1 00V140000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
Recall campaign 1 14V400000
Defect investigation 1 RQ04005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 00V140000

    Report date
    Component:
    STRUCTURE
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE CONSOLE COVER COULD OPEN AND THE COVER OR ITEMS STORED UNDER IT COULD INJURE AN OCCUPANT.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CONSOLE LATCH MECHANISM.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E021000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
    Consequence:
    FUEL MAY LEAK, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE UPR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 23, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 877-411-8770.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V400000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 9, 2014. GM's number for this recall is 14350.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 98V320000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE A LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE STEERING WHEEL RETAINING NUT FOR CORRECT TIGHTNESS AND TIGHTEN IF NECESSARY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 456 complaints · page 1 of 19

No complaints match the current filters.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources