Window regulator or power window failure on the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero
When window regulator or power window failure gets reported
Owners of the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero report window regulator or power window failure at a median of 75,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 11 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 90,000 miles. It is the 22nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 10,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 100,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 87,045 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
27% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,000 miles | 31,500 miles | 75,000 miles | 90,523 miles | 99,045 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $250–$900 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 4 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2001, at a median of 55,000 miles, and latest on the 2004 at 135,000 miles.
By volume the 1999 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Drivers side window mechanism broken. Window fell while driving on interstate. What was found after door inside panel taken off was many broken plastic clips. These clips attach to the window and window regulator. After investigation through several olds dealers and used car parts dealers was that this is a known problem for which a service bulletin is in effect. Of note, you cannot purchase replacement clips for the window. In order to correct the problem, you must purchase the entire window motor, regulator and clips for which are not guaranteed to not break again. This unit costs over $250. We feel that this is a safety violation due to the fact that the slightest nick in the window can cause fatal damage if driven down the road.
I bought my car with 14 miles on it. In the first year, I had to have the molding on the doors replaced because they leaked. The drivers side window fell into the door. I've been told that it is my regulator that needs to be replaced. I also found a broken clip just sitting inside my door. You can't buy just a regulator or clips so I will need to buy those parts plus the motor which will cost at least $280. My rotors also needed to be shaved down because they were warped and my brakes needed to be replaced and now, only 5 months later, they need to be totally replaced because they are warped again and my brakes will have to be replaced as well. This is the worst car I've ever owned! My first and last experience I will ever have with gm!! I realize things happen to cars, but I would expect oldsmobile to acknowledge these re-occurring problems and be held accountable to fix them. *nlm
I bought my car with 14 miles on it. In the first year, I had to have the molding on the doors replaced because they leaked. The drivers side window fell into the door. I've been told that it is my regulator that needs to be replaced. I also found a broken clip just sitting inside my door. You can't buy just a regulator or clips so I will need to buy those parts plus the motor which will cost at least $280. My rotors also needed to be shaved down because they were warped and my brakes needed to be replaced and now, only 5 months later, they need to be totally replaced because they are warped again and my brakes will have to be replaced as well. This is the worst car I've ever owned! My first and last experience I will ever have with gm!! I realize things happen to cars, but I would expect oldsmobile to acknowledge these re-occurring problems and be held accountable to fix them. *nlm
Also reported on the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero
Premature brake pad or rotor wear
Other electrical problem
Other body or interior problem
Other brake problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Other visibility problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does window regulator or power window failure happen on the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero?
Across 11 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 75,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is window regulator or power window failure on the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed