I was on the interstate when my radio died. I didn't know what was going on at the time, then the lights went out (mind you, this was 6:45pm in the Fall!!) As soon as I got to church (we had Bible Study that night) the car died. Thank God we were somewhere safe. The only warning I got was a few weeks before, my dashboard lights flickered off. I thought it was a battery wire or something. Well, I did manage to get it fixed only for the alternator to go out again, 13 months later. This time my daughter and I were in the neighboring city at a doctor's appt. We had to call a tow truck to get home... this time the car would not go into drive, it only reversed.

Both times my mechanic found that oil had leaked from somewhere all over the alternator, causing it to defect. Outside of this, so far the vehicle is ok. I sold my Nissan Armanda for this car :-( The check engine light is always on, because I need to replace the sensor, but I'm not too worried about that at the moment, I'm more upset that two different mechanics can't find the source of the oil leak. I really don't want to buy a new car, but I don't want to be replacing an alternator every year either.

Anyone else have these or similar problems? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.