Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 3135 | 01/01/2004 | 10010045 | Pop noise from engine area during heavy throttle input. *tc | 11/03/2004 | |
| 040604008 | 10/01/2004 | 040604008A | 10006167 | Service engine soon (ses) lamp illuminated with dtc p0135 ho2s heater circuit performance bank 1 sensor 1 and/or dtc p0155 ho2s heater performance bank 2 sensor 1. *mr this bulletin replaces previous 04-06-04-008. *eh | 04/23/2004 |
| 030138007 | 06/01/2003 | 10002119 | Service information regarding elimination of front auxiliary water pump and instructions to install elbow in place of pump. *tt | 08/13/2003 | |
| 00T66A | 10/01/2001 | 00T66 | 627844 | Information regarding engine oil leaks and or engine coolant leaks. *yh | 02/25/2002 |
| 00T66A | 10/01/2001 | 00T66 | 627007 | Information regarding engine oil leaks and/or engine coolant leaks, on v-6 engines.*jb | 02/04/2002 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||||
| 02T86 | 12/01/2002 | 10000028 | Service information regarding elimination of auxiliary water pump and instructions to install 2nd design heater inlet hose and heater inlet elbow in place of the 1st design water pump and heat inlet hose. *tt | 02/10/2003 | |
| 02T37 | 05/01/2002 | 633449 | Subject regarding service information on new oil cooler cover sealant. *jg | 09/23/2002 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - FAN | |||||
| 00T04 | 01/01/2000 | 609908 | Some customers may comment of service wrench telltale on; engine coolant temperature telltale is on; coolant temperature gauge needle is in the red zone; 30a cool fan #1 fuse located in under hood fuse block (uhfb) is open. *tt | 04/11/2000 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 3120 | 01/01/2004 | 10009964 | Aux coolant pump will not connect to replacement radiator. *sc | 11/02/2004 | |
| 02T16 | 03/01/2002 | 632269 | Service information regarding design change to thermostat housing, thermostat housing bolts, and thermostat housing o-ring seal. *tt | 07/12/2002 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 040604085 | 12/01/2004 | 10011533 | Service engine soon (ses) and/or reduced power lamp illuminating following cold engine start up in subfreezing temperatures, diagnostic trouble codes (dtc) p0638, p1510 and/or p1516 stored in engine control module (ecm). *tt | 01/26/2005 | |
| 010604016 | 12/01/2004 | 010604016A | 10011039 | Service engine soon (ses) telltale illuminated with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0171, p0172, p0174 and/or p0175. *tt | 12/27/2004 |
| 040601011 | 05/01/2004 | 10006979 | Service manual update for engine block clearance, cylinder head clearance and fastener torque specifications. *tt | 05/20/2004 | |
| 040601009 | 04/01/2004 | 10006739 | Oil leak from front cover seal during extremely cold weather. *tt | 05/11/2004 | |
| 040601010 | 04/01/2004 | 10006740 | Blue smoke at engine start-up. *tt | 05/11/2004 | |
| 040601004 | 09/01/2004 | 040601004A | 10006088 | Service information regarding engine support during removal of right front engine mount assembly. *tt | 04/16/2004 |
| 030090003 | 09/01/2003 | 10003976 | Oil filter cap assembly and oil filter element design change. *tt | 11/10/2003 | |
| 030604043 | 09/01/2003 | 10003592 | Malfunction indicator lamp (mil) service engine soon telltale lamp on, reduced power lamp may illuminate with diagnostic trouble codes p0121, p0221, and/or p2135. *tt | 10/24/2003 | |
| 030601019 | 06/01/2003 | 10002882 | Service manual update - revised engine torque specification table. *tt | 09/30/2003 | |
| 030601017 | 06/01/2003 | 10002122 | Timing chain design change and revised service procedures. *tt | 08/13/2003 | |
| 030601015 | 05/01/2003 | 10001668 | Service manual update for removal of the sealer used on oil pump gasket during oil pump installation. *tt | 06/18/2003 | |
| 030601014 | 05/01/2003 | 10001667 | Service manual update regarding the use of saturn special tool j-42065 crank hub holding tool. *tt | 06/18/2003 | |
| 030604016 | 03/01/2003 | 10001199 | Service information regarding the engine control module (ecm) connector and terminal locations on saturn v6 engines. *tt | 04/22/2003 | |
| 02T86 | 12/01/2002 | 10000789 | Service information regarding elimination of auxiliary water pump and instruments to install 2nd design heater inlet hose and heater inlet elbow in place of the 1st design water pump and heater inlet hose. *tt | 03/31/2003 | |
| 01T39 | 08/01/2001 | 622180 | Service information regarding redesigned oil filter element and oil filter cap. *tt | 10/16/2001 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 02T22 | 04/01/2002 | 633395 | Subject regarding whistle noise under certain engine operating consitions. *jg | 09/23/2002 | |
| 02T40 | 06/01/2002 | 633468 | Subject regarding service manual update for engine service manuals regarding evaporative emission (evap) system flowchart. *jg | 09/23/2002 | |
| 02T35 | 05/01/2002 | 633443 | Subject regarding service manual update for engine service manuals regarding balance shaft timing procedure. *jg | 09/23/2002 | |
| 02T22 | 04/01/2002 | 631308 | Information regarding whistle noise under certain engine operating conditions.*jb | 05/22/2002 | |
| 01T16 | 03/01/2001 | 622167 | Some customers may comment about intermittent click / tick noise coming from engine compartment. *tt | 10/15/2001 | |
| 01T13 | 03/01/2001 | 619133 | Some customers may comment about the engine cranks but will not start and / or the engine starts and then stalls. *tt | 05/15/2001 | |
| 01T14 | 03/01/2001 | 619134 | Some customers may comment about the engine running rough at idle after a cold engine start in ambient temperatures between 10 degrees - 30 degrees celsius (50 degrees - 85 degrees fahrenheit. *tt | 05/15/2001 | |
| 00T70 | 12/01/2000 | 616623 | Customers may comment the service engine soon lamp is illuminated and / or the transaxle shifts are harsh or erratic. *tt | 03/06/2001 | |
| 00T50 | 10/01/2000 | 615590 | Some vehicles may exhibit engine hesitation under heavy acceleration or after turning a corner. *tt | 01/25/2001 | |
| 00T08 | 02/01/2000 | 611147 | Subject on (mil) service engine soon telltale on with dtc po333-knock sensor 2 high frequency, engine hesitation, and/or vehicle lacks power. *mjs | 05/31/2000 | |
| 00C09 | 03/01/2000 | 611150 | Subject on the inspection and replacement of 4 cylinder engines, if necessary. *mjs | 05/31/2000 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||||
| 02T48 | 06/01/2002 | 633491 | Subject regarding mass air flow sensor failure due to oil contamination of sensor membrane (install new mass air flow (maf) sensor and update electronic control module calibration) *jg | 09/23/2002 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| PE06006 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 01/24/2006 | 06/06/2006 | TIMING CHAIN FAILURE | ||
| On december 12, 2005, odi received a defect petition (dp05-008) requesting the investigation of timing chain failures that could cause stalling in saturn vehicles equipped with the 2.2l (l61) engine. odi opened pe06-006 on january 24, 2006, with 24 vehicle owner complaints that alleged a broken timing chain caused the vehicle to stop operating.on april 12, 2006, odi received information from general motors (gm) concerning timing chain failures in approximately 412,000 model year (my) 2000 through 2003 saturn l-series and ion vehicles with 2.2l engines. gm's response included 1,020 owner complaints and field reports concerning timing chain failure, including 228 that alleged the failure caused the vehicle to stall while driving.gm also provided warranty claim data that showed 1,902 subject vehicles receiving timing chain repairs, including 261 which indicated that a stall while driving resulted from the failure.the gm complaints, field reports and warranty claims that did not contain sufficient information to determine that a stall while driving occurred were provided in the category other.gm stated that the majority of these incidents probably occurred while the vehicles were parked since the timing chain is more likely to break during high chain load situations, such as engine startup.gm's data showed elevated failure rates in approximately 20,500 my 2001 l-series vehicles produced during a four month period from november 2000 through february 2001.over one-third of gm's total complaints and field reports (34.3%) and warranty claims (38.2%) involved l-series vehicles built during the 4-month period, which are only about 5% of subject vehicle production.the timing chain failure rate in the vehicles built during this range is over 10 times greater than the remaining subject vehicle population. for the my 2001 l-series vehicles built during the 4-month period, the 36-month failure rate for repairs involving stall while driving is slightly under one percent.however, if the incidents coded as other are added, the 36-month failure rate rises to nearly five percent for those vehicles.odi and gm are continuing to assess the number of complaints and warranty claims coded by gm as other that involve incidents of stall while driving.gm's statistical modeling of the failure data initially concluded that the failure rates were declining with age and mileage for any set of warranty data analyzed (e.g., stall while driving, other or combined).however, subsequent analysis showed that the failure rates are increasing. based on the high complaint and warranty rates for timing chain failure in the 4-month production period for the my 2001 l-series vehicles, this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis to further assess the frequency of stall incidents due to timing chain failures in those vehicles (ea06-009). | ||||||
| DP05008 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 12/20/2005 | 02/06/2006 | TIMING CHAIN FAILURE | ||
| Analysis undertaken in response to the petition identified 26 complaints alleging timing chain failures in my 2000-2003 saturn l-series vehicle equipped with the 2.2l l4 engine.most complaints of timing chain failure reportedly resulted in a sudden loss of engine power and stalling.odi also noted that certain my 2002-2003 saturn vue and my 2003 saturn ion model vehicles with the 2.2l engine vehiclescovered by a technical service bulletin (03-06-01-017) that addressed timing chain design and service procedure changes, exhibited no complaints of timing chain failure.odi will grant the petition and open a preliminary evaluation to assess the frequency, trend, scope and safety consequences associated with the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.refer to pe06-006. | ||||||
| DP08002 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 06/18/2008 | 10/16/2008 | TIMING CHAIN FAILURE-STALL | ||
| On june 6, 2006, odi opened an investigation of timing chain failure resulting in engine stall while driving with no restart in approximately 20,514 model year (my) 2001 saturn l-series vehicles equipped with 2.2l engines (l61) built from november 2000 through february 2001 (ea06-009).the vehicles built during those months exhibited higher failure rates than similarly equipped vehicles built before and after.gm introduced a new timing chain design in production in may 2002.odi closed its investigation after gm initiated a safety recall on november 7, 2007 (recall 07v-519). on may 22, 2008, the north carolina consumers council (nccc) submitted a defect petition to odi requesting the expansion of recall 07v-519 to include all my 1999 through 2003 saturn l-series vehicles with 2.2l engines using the same timing chain design as the recalled population.the petition states that the nccc continues to receive complaints from consumers that have had a timing chain fail in vehicles built outside the production range covered by the recall.the petition also notes that odi has continued to receive complaints.since the closing of ea06-009 odi has received 80 new complaints from consumers who had a timing chain fail in a my 2000 through 2002 saturn l-series with the 2.2l engine that were not covered by recall 07v-519 and were built prior to the timing belt change in may 2002.the complaints describe the same failure mode as the recalled population where the timing chain can break suddenly and without warning, resulting in engine damage and loss of motive power.the defect petition has been granted. a preliminary evaluation (pe08-061) has been opened. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 07/15/2008 | 140000 | 1 | |
| Timing chain broke on 2000 saturn l200 causing bent rods and engine failure. saturn estimates cost of repairs to be $2000-3000. i have been reading of the current nhtsa investigation of 1999-2003 saturns and the high occurrence of timing chain failures. i do hope something can be done for saturn to recall affected vehicles. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2008 | 1 | ||
| 2000 saturn with broken timing chain caused damage to engine. consumer states that the mechanic stated that the timing chain breaking caused damage to the engine. she states that upon her research this is a common problem with saturn vehicles. *kb consumer wrote in on behalf of her father-in-law. *jb | |||
| 08/01/2003 | 65000 | 1 | 08/01/2000 |
| Engine failure, had to replace the engine at saturn. they told me that the timing chain failed due to poor maintenance. they put a new engine in it which failed 60k miles later with the same problem. *jb | |||
| 01/01/2005 | 1 | ||
| While driving the vehicle lost power. this problem has continued to happen despite several attempts by the dealer to repair it. *nm *sc *jb | |||
| 06/15/2002 | 25 | 11/01/1999 | |
| When attempting to start vehicle would not start. the consumer would have to wait 10 minutes before the vehicle would start. the consumer took the vehicle to dealership for inspection, however, the mechanic could not duplicate the problem. *ak the modules in the engine and the remotes were changed but the problems continued to get worse. there was an extended crank at times which was intermittent, the security and wrench light would come on, the body control module caused the intermittent start, the pass lock was replaced due to the sensor(s), the bcm was replaced, the driver's side door would lock due to broken latch, and the ignition coil burned out. *sc | |||
| 03/08/2004 | 13 | ||
| Engine check light continually illuminated on the dashboard. independent repair shop and dealership inspected the vehicle about 13 times. the cause of the problem had not been determined.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 02/10/2007 | 100020 | 1 | 02/20/2003 |
| Driving on the highway around 55 m.p.h in my 2000 l-seize saturn when engine suddenly shuts down. coasted to the side of the highway after nearly being rearended had vehicle towed to a mechanic. was told by mechanic timing chain had broke destroying the engine. was also told by mechanic this was very common for saturns as there is a defect in the oiling system causing premature wear in the timing chain. contacted local saturn dealership they are aware of problem and could install a new engine for around 10,000.00$. currently car is still broke due to shortage of this engine. no surprise with all of them breaking. very lucky with no power steering,no brakes, and no power to make it to the side of the road. *tr | |||
| 04/27/2006 | 82000 | 1 | 08/22/1999 |
| I own a 2000 saturn ls1 with a 4 cylinder engine. it would not start after turning the ignition key in the morning while the vehicle was parked. the problem was diagnosed as a timing chain failure. my vehicle has approximately 82,000 miles and has had the recommended maintenance performed during the life of the car. the estimate for repair is $3,000. *nm | |||
| 04/21/2006 | 75000 | 2 | |
| For the 2nd time in two years i have had to replace the engine in my 2002 l series saturn due to a timing chain failure. i understand that this is a common problem with this model. the car just stops running in the middle of the road without any warning and will not restart. the engine then needs to be replaced and is a major expense.($3000 to $5000) i researched this problem on carsurvey.com and found many other owners with the same problem thank you. *jb | |||
| 10/12/2003 | 57000 | 1 | 11/12/2000 |
| While driving 45 mph the vehicle's engine died. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the timing chain broke. please provide any additional information. *nm *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 06/11/2005 | 63000 | 1 | 01/02/2002 |
| Was driving the car when the engine quit and all power was lost. mechanic said the timing chain broke and the engine damaged and needs to be replaced. | |||
| 06/01/2005 | 107000 | 1 | 02/15/2005 |
| Dt: timing chain broke. found information on service bulletin saying new oiling nozzle for the chain caused older nozzle does not apply oil properly on low rpms. took vehicle to dealer, and dealer said time chaining broke. further damage was done and the engine needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 03/22/2005 | 1 | ||
| While driving consumer heard a loud pop come from the engine. took vehicle to dealer for service , and mechanic determined it was the timing chain.*ak | |||
| 05/19/2004 | 3 | ||
| 2000 saturn 4cyl l series:power steering pump, serpentine belt, and idler arm all had to be replaced at 72,000 miles. parts started to fail at 65,000 miles, makes a noise like the transmission was failing.*ak | |||