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 | |
| 3116 | 01/01/2004 | 10009971 | Ses illuminated engine miss/misfire feel or rough idle. *sc | 11/02/2004 | |
| 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 |
| 030602002 | 03/01/2003 | 10001193 | Insufficient heat, service engine soon (malfunction indicator lamp) telltale on, diagnostic trouble code p0128 set. *tt | 04/22/2003 | |
| 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 - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| PIP-4495C | 03/01/2011 | 10038510 | Gm: there may be noise coming from the cylinder head, because of low oil pressure which is caused by debris. *rm | 06/16/2011 | |
| PIP-4495C | 03/01/2011 | 10038510 | Ready | 06/16/2011 | |
| 0804 | 08/01/2004 | 10014346 | Oil life system reset procedures - cars. *nm | 04/29/2005 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 03T04 | 02/01/2003 | 10001127 | Spark plug usage change, and if necessary, update pcm (power train control module) calibration. *tt | 04/15/2003 | |
| 03T01 | 01/01/2003 | 10000876 | Service engine misfire on paired cylinders (1 and 4 or 2 and 3), diagnostic trouble codes p0300 - p0304 2.2l 4 cyl revised repair procedure. *tt | 04/02/2003 | |
| 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 | |
| 02T04 | 01/01/2002 | 631943 | Subject regarding service manual and quick reference specifications guide update regarding incorrect cylinder head bolt torque specifications. *slc | 06/25/2002 | |
| 02T22 | 04/01/2002 | 631308 | Information regarding whistle noise under certain engine operating conditions.*jb | 05/22/2002 | |
| 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 | |
| 01T37 | 08/01/2001 | 623903 | Some customers may complain of the service engine soon lamp illuminating with p0116 or p1683 set in pcm history. *slc | 10/31/2001 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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). | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 11/30/2008 | 92000 | 1 | |
| The timing chain on my 02 saturn l100 broke causing the car not to start. after reading some of the blogs, i feel fortunate that i was parked when its failure revealed itself. *tr | |||
| 11/10/2008 | 77000 | 1 | |
| Timing chain broke while driving. *tr | |||
| 05/19/2008 | 100000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn l200. while driving between 55-60 mph, the engine stalled and would not restart. the vehicle was coasted off the road and towed. there were no warning indications prior to the failure. the first diagnosis was that the fuel pump and fuel filter needed to be replaced. after they were replaced, the failure still persisted. the second diagnosis was that the timing chain needed to be replaced. the current and failure mileages were 100,000. | |||
| 09/07/2007 | 103900 | 1 | 08/01/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn l-100. while driving 60 mph, the vehicle began losing power and was towed to a mechanic. the mechanic stated that the timing chain failed and caused internal damage to the engine. the cost to replace the engine was $5,400. the purchase date and vin were unavailable. the current mileage was 103,940 and failure mileage was 103,900. updated 01/11/08. *lj updated *jb | |||
| 02/22/2006 | 68000 | 1 | |
| On the 22nd of february of 2006, my 2002 saturn l-200 engine suddenly and without warning, died. the car, luckily, was going approximately 25 mph. it was towed to a reputable repair shop and diagnosed with timing chain failure with possible repair costs starting at $ 2,800.00. my warranty had expired so i had the car towed to a saturn dealer to see if anything could be done to help save money. the saturn dealer recommended a full engine replacement for $2,130.00. i contacted corporate saturn to see if more could be done to help with costs at which time i quoted to them the information i had found online about the nhtsa investigation going on regarding the l-series and the timing chain failure. the representative stated that she had never heard of the investigation. they decline to assist me at that time. the car is now getting a new used engine the 580,000 miles on it with a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty. *jb | |||
| 06/25/2005 | 26000 | 9 | 09/21/2002 |
| This car has been nothing but trouble. i have had to have the drive shaft replaced, the motor mounts replaced, the tail light assembly replaced, the steering assembly replaced and i too have a problem with the dash lights dimming. the technicians at the local saturn dealership are nothing but rude. they dont fix the problems you bring the car in for and you end up having to take it back the next day or even sometimes that same evening for a repair that wasnt done properly. i thought this was going to be a good car but it has been constant trouble and is constantly in the repair shop. | |||
| 5 | |||
| While driving at any speed vehicle stalled. consumer restarted vehicle, and it was taken to the dealer for inspection. however, mechanic could not duplicate the problem. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 03/03/2011 | 0 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2002 saturn l series. the contact was driving 60 mph when the vehicle jolted abnormally and then stalled. the contact was unable to restart the vehicle and it was towed to a local mechanic shop where he was advised that the timing chain failed and caused the failure. the manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was unknown. | |||
| 03/03/2011 | 0 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 staurn l series. the contact stated while driving 60 mph the vehicle made a jolt and stalled. the vehicle was pull to the side and would not restart. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic shop and was told the timing chain fail and it would cost $2500 for the repairs. the dealer was contacted who stated there are no recalls on her vehicle. the manufacturer was also contacted who stated there are no recalls for her vehicle and offered no other assistance. the vehicle was not repair. the failure mileage was unknown | |||
| 04/10/2007 | 80000 | ||
| I purchased a 2002 saturn l200 about 1 1/2 year ago with a 1 year warranty it now has 80,000k miles. my warranty ran out a few months ago. i was backing out of a parking lot at about 2mph and my car just shut off. after taking into the shop they said my timming chain broke which caused a lot of damage to the engine. i am very upset and done a lot of research and found many people having this same issue. i get my oil changes done on time and i dont think this should have happened. my car bill was $2725.00. i went to the saturn dealership and they pretty much did not want to talk to me and said they did not know of this problem. | |||
| 11/30/2006 | 69000 | 1 | 06/15/2003 |
| Failed timing chain in my 2002 saturn l100. i only had 69,000 miles on this car. it took my mechanic hours to find the problem why the car wouldn't start. the timing chain looked ok. turned out it was stretched and wasn't catching. to find the problem this had to be done by turning the motor by hand. he suggested i have it towed to our local saturn dealer(of clarence) which i did. he also said there was a service bulletin out on this exact problem. also my mechanic said saturn has redesigned the timing chain because of past problems with it. it now is a whole kit. the hole that the oil goes through was too small and they designed it with a larger hole. this repair cost me $913.00!! i am very upset and have filed a complaint with saturn. they said they will review my complaint. *jb | |||
| 08/04/2006 | 62619 | 1 | 07/18/2000 |
| While driving at 50 mph, my 2002 saturn l100 locked up and quit working. after getting it towed to the saturn dealership, i was informed that the timing chain had broken and the head would need to be replaced, resulting in a cost of approximately $2,150, plus $190 in towing charges. although this car is 4 years old and out of warranty, i feel this is still a new enough car that a costly repair as this should not happen. after doing some research i found that there is a pattern of timing chains breaking on the l series cars. *nm | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| Problems with vehicle's steering and air bag equipment.*mr the consumer ignition control module failed prior to recall notice. the consumer was told that there were not parts available to fix the problem. the check engine light also illuminated. *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 02/09/2004 | 65628 | 1 | 10/20/2001 |
| Timing chain failure on 2002 saturn l-series vehicle. *nm | |||