After about 20 minutes of driving the engine completely dies in the middle of traffic. This has happened 3 times in 8 days (just bought the car, obviously used, seller didn't mention it). Battery and oil lights come on and once parked on the side of the road it starts right up and drives 20 more minutes without a problem (until 2 or 3 days later).

I don't like throwing money at arbitrary electrical problems and a computer scan will unlikely tell anything until there is a permanent failure which seems to be about the only way these 'shutdown' problems can be discovered. But, given the above listed conditions of my particular failure it would seem logical to begin looking at areas or parts that fail once they get hot (always happens after 20 minutes).

It seems that many mechanics love to throw a new fuel pump at this type of problem but removing a gas tank and installing an expensive fuel pump on a whim seems irresponsible (not to mention shady). Since cost is an issue, I will start by replacing (or swapping) the fuel pump relay. From what I've read, relays can suffer from overheat issues and perhaps the contacts in this relay are kicking off momentarily causing the fuel pump to shutdown. I could take it apart and clean the points but perhaps swapping it with say, the headlight relay, might be smarter (then, if the headlights subsequently fail, I'll know it was the relay.

One additonal thought ... has anyone every purchased an inexpensive scanner (HarborCrap) and left it plugged in so that the code could be found at the rare moment of failure? I don't like making this investment but a bright yellow scanner poking out of my toolbox might make me the envy of the neighborhood shade-tree mechanics.

Any additional thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I'm playing Russian Roulette!

While driving to work the car just stopped. It woulod not start. Had it towed to a service station and they said that the fuel gauge was not working properly and that I was out of gas. They put gas in the car and it started right up. After paying $160 for the look see I went and put gas in it, but it filled up at 4.8 gallons. I added dry gas as well. I thought there was water in the tank or something. It ran well for about 100 miles and then stalled out while driving. I was able to restart it, but it only ran for a few minutes before stalling out again. Finally, it would not stay running long enough to drive to a service station so I had to get it towed. Had it towed to a GM dealer this time. Because of the holiday weekend, they are just getting to it. When I called they said they were able to start it and even get it to stall once. Now they are checking things out again.

I bought it used with only 44000 miles on it in 2010. It seemed like a nice car. Since then I have had to put in a new transmission, replace a leaking fuel tank,and head gasket. I won't mention that the rear window defogger quit as well as the driver side seat adjuster. Now this. I have always bought American cars. No more GM for me. I have learned my lesson the expensive way. It has been such a disappointment. It looked good, but a car is after all supposed to run.

Was driving my car and all electronics went haywire. All gauges went down to zero, radio quit, sunroof did not work. Got it back to my garage, 1/2 mile, and shut it off. Tried to restart and got the click of the fuel pump, but nothing else. It did not try to turn over, but at that time my radio worked again so I was pretty sure it was not the battery. I waited half a day and it started again, but within 20 seconds the engine started to chug and chug and went dead. Took it into a shop and it was the alternator. Fixed the problem.

It all started while i was trying to find a parking spot in the parking lot at my college, you have to drive around forever since there's no where to park, and right as i was waiting for someone to back out, my car suddenly died! pissed i threw it in park quick and turned it back on, i just assumed it was because it was -15 degrees windchill, but then my car started doing it more and more. It would die at stop lights, in slow moving traffic, at drive thru's etc. I was starting to get so frustrated, it would start sputtering like it was going to die, so i'd let it roll and it'd stop? The last straw was when my car died 5 TIMES between turning onto my road and parking in my parking spot.... i brought it in and they said it was the idle valve, really alero? how random is that?! it still dies every now & then... pisses me off

I own a 2001 Alero, and it has been a wonderful car for me until recently. It began while I was returning home from a trip. As I was in my car sitting at a stop light, it began acting like it was going to die (the RPM's would go down very low, and my car began shaking). It did that every time I would come to a stop the rest of my 2 hour drive home, but it never actually died. We decided to try to replace the fuel filter and put some fuel injector cleaner in it to see if that would help it since that was the cheapest thing to begin with. That did not help, and my problem continued to get worse. Now it has been almost 2 months and my car will run perfectly at times, then there are some times where it will die 10 times in a few hour time span. I will be driving it and when I stop, or press the brake it dies, and when it feels like it is going to die-if I press on the gas pedal-the RPM's will go down instead up up. It has also died while I was turning off a busy road, and getting on and off the highway. It always starts right back up but I am terrified it is going to die one day and I am going to cause a bad accident. I have been told it may be the fuel pump but I have not found out for sure yet.

I have spent more on my car fixing it than I actually paid for it.....first the fuel pump....then it started cutting off again....then they had to reprogram the computer system......then the ignition switch......the fuel pump again.......the shalfs or something...now the signal lights stopped working....now there is a sensor that they cant find...........when i turn my steering wheel all the light in my car come on....my motor just really bad when the car is running...I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy an Oldsmobile Alero....

my car suddenly dies while driving down the road. i have taken it to numerous mechanics and they'll make up something they think is causing the problem and then i'll spend hundreds of $ 'fixing' it when it dies the exact same way it did before. i've had people tell me all sorta things: the key is loose in the ignition and when it goes over bumps that supposedly loosens the key er some sh*t.. or, the exhaust is clogged, or the fuel injection is broken, or it needs a tune up, or the 1st cylinder is miss firing, or some coil is bad.. need i go on? or do you get the picture?