Saturn L-series Sedan 2000
Model L-series Sedan made in 2000 by Saturn got 18 consumer complains, 13 investigations there is 1 recall as well as 13 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system, engine and engine and engine cooling. Technical service bulletines regarding engine and engine cooling, equipment and power train. The car had some investigations: electrical system, engine and engine cooling and exterior lighting. There was one recall concerning exterior lighting .
Model 2000
Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS | ||||||||||||||||
| 05V245000 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | from 05/01/1999 to 07/31/2000 | V (Vehicle) | 291652 | 10/17/2005 | ODI | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 06/02/2005 | 06/02/2005 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | On certain sedans and wagons, the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | This can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake lamps (including the center high-mounted stop lamp) or tail lamps. a following driver may not know when the brakes have been applied, and a rear-end crash could occur without prior warning. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will install two new tail lamp reinforcing socket adapters and sockets free of charge. the recall began on october 17, 2005. owners may contact saturn at 1-800-972-8876. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Gm recall no. 05052.customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
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 | |
| 00T18 | 03/01/2000 | 611152 | Subject on incorrect engine cooling fan operation on low speed and/or increased under hood noise at idle. *mjs | 05/31/2000 | |
| EQUIPMENT | |||||
| 99T52A | 09/01/2000 | 99T52 | 618431 | The purpose of this bulletin is to inform saturn retailer personnel of the system function and procedure used to install the trap-resistant trunk kit. *tt | 04/12/2001 |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 070730025 | 10/01/2007 | 10023942 | Information on 4t40-e (mn4) and 4t45-e (mn5) front wheel drive automatic transmission valve body reconditioning, dtc p0741, p0742, p0751, p0752, p0756, p0757, p1811, harsh shifts, slips, no drive, no reverse. *nj | 02/20/2008 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 00T32A | 01/01/2001 | 00T32 | 616675 | Some customers may comment the service wrench lamp illuminated and no driveabilty symptoms were present. *tt | 03/08/2001 |
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - POWER ADJUST | |||||
| 00T30A | 09/01/2000 | 00T30 | 626019 | The driver's side 6-way power seat functions are inoperative. *jg | 12/12/2001 |
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||||
| 00T17B | 08/01/2001 | 00T17A | 623857 | Customers may complain of headliner sagging or hanging too low at the rear of the sunroof opening. *slc | 10/30/2001 |
| 00T17A | 11/01/2000 | 00T17 | 615597 | Some customers may comment about the headliner sagging or hanging too low at the rear of the sunroof opening. *tt | 01/25/2001 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||||
| 00T17C | 02/01/2002 | 00T17B | 629475 | Subject regarding headliner sags or hangs too low at rear of sunroof opening. *yd | 04/02/2002 |
| 00T17 | 03/01/2000 | 611166 | Vehicle may experience headliner sagging or hanging too low at rear of sunroof opening. *mjs | 05/31/2000 | |
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD | |||||
| 00T01 | 01/01/2000 | 609902 | A condition may exist where the driver and passenger front door glass binds on and distorts outer window run channel weatherstrips. *tt | 04/11/2000 | |
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||||
| 00T07A | 10/01/2000 | 00T07 | 615589 | Some customers may comment about the windshield wipers chattering or hopping across the windshield during wiper operation. *tt | 01/25/2001 |
| 00T07 | 02/01/2000 | 611142 | Vehicles may experience windshield wiper chatter or hop across windshield during wiper operation. *mjs | 05/31/2000 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ||||||
| PE05010 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/15/2005 | 06/03/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | 05V245000 | |
| General motors has decided that a safety related defect exists on certain model saturn sedans and wagons.the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time.this can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake or tail lamps (including the center high-mounted stop lamp).gm will conduct a safety recall on an expanded scope of saturn vehicles to install a reinforcing socket adapter (and corresponding nw socket) to the back of the existing lamp assembly.general motors will recall 291,652 my 2000-2002 saturn ls sedans and my 2000-2004 saturn lw wagons.the recall is identified by nhtsa number 05v-245. | ||||||
| DP05001 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/10/2005 | 02/22/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | ||
| On january 25, 2005, a safety defect petition was received by the office of defects investigation (odi), requesting an investigation of inoperative tail lamps on my 2000-2002 saturn l-series vehicles.the petitioner alleges a defect in the design and assembly of the tail lamp assembly circuit board and light socket contact.the petitioner identified 47 vehicle owner questionnaire's (voq's) associated with the alleged defect, and odi concurs that 40 of those voq's satisfy the scope of this investigation.odi has found an additional 10 voq's related to the allegation.odi has granted the petition and opened a preliminary evaluation (pe05-010). | ||||||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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). | ||||||
| PE08061 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 10/16/2008 | 04/08/2009 | TIMING CHAIN BREAKS, ENGINE STALL | ||
| On may 22, 2008, theoffice of defects investigation (odi) was petitioned by the north carolina consumers council (nccc) to broaden the scope of safety recall 07v-519, which was conducted by general motors corporation (gm) for model year (my) 2001 saturn l-series vehicles equipped with the l61 2.2l engine and built during a 4-month period from november 2000 through february 2001 (dp08-002). on october 16, 2008, odi granted dp08-002 and opened pe08-061 to investigate timing chain failures resulting in engine stall while driving (swd) in the saturn l-series vehicles equipped with l61 engines and that used the same design timing chain and timing chain lubrication system as the recalled vehicles.a redesigned timing chain and lubrication system were implemented late in my 2002 production (may 1, 2002).hence, the subject vehicles for this investigation are all my 2000 through 2002 saturn l-series vehicles equipped with 2.2l l61 engines and built prior to may 2002 that were not included in recall 07v-519. in this investigation, odi analyzed updated complaint and warranty claims data for timing chain failures resulting in incidents of engine stall while driving, which comprise slightly over half of all timing chain failures occurring in the subject vehicle population.odi's analysis of complaint and warranty data shows that vehicles produced with the subject timing chain and lubrication system experienced elevated failure rates when compared with the my 2002 through 2003 vehicles using the revised components.however, the analysis also showed that the my 2001 saturn l-series vehicles recalled in 07v-518 experienced a significantly higher rate of timing chain failures than the subject vehicles.the complaint rate for timing chain failures resulting in swd was approximately 5 times higher for the recalled vehicles,19.2 incidents per thousand vehicles (iptv), than for the subject vehicles, 3.7 iptv.the warranty claims rate for chain failures resulting in swd was over 3 times higher for the recalled vehicles, 2.4 percent, than for the subject vehicles, 0.7 percent.the complaint and warranty rates for the subject vehicles were similar to rates recorded in other recently closed investigations for conditions that could result in swd with no engine re-start, ea07-015 and ea07-018.analysis of all complaints, field reports and warranty claims found no allegations of crashes or injuries associated with the alleged defect in the subject vehicles after approximately 7 to 9 years in service. odi's analysis of the stalling incidents that have resulted from timing chain failures in the subject vehicles found that they can occur at any speed and almost always result in a no restart condition.these are generally considered to be factors that increase the severity of stalling incidents.however, analysis of swd failure rates in the subject vehicles show that they have occurred at much lower rates than were observed in the recalled population.in addition, the swd complaint and warranty rates for the subject vehicles are similar to rates observed in prior investigations involving similar categories of engine stall consequences that were closed with no action.further investigation of this matter would not be an efficient allocation of agency resources.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action if warranted. | ||||||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | ||||||
| PE05010 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/15/2005 | 06/03/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | 05V245000 | |
| General motors has decided that a safety related defect exists on certain model saturn sedans and wagons.the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time.this can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake or tail lamps (including the center high-mounted stop lamp).gm will conduct a safety recall on an expanded scope of saturn vehicles to install a reinforcing socket adapter (and corresponding nw socket) to the back of the existing lamp assembly.general motors will recall 291,652 my 2000-2002 saturn ls sedans and my 2000-2004 saturn lw wagons.the recall is identified by nhtsa number 05v-245. | ||||||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS | ||||||
| DP05001 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/10/2005 | 02/22/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | ||
| On january 25, 2005, a safety defect petition was received by the office of defects investigation (odi), requesting an investigation of inoperative tail lamps on my 2000-2002 saturn l-series vehicles.the petitioner alleges a defect in the design and assembly of the tail lamp assembly circuit board and light socket contact.the petitioner identified 47 vehicle owner questionnaire's (voq's) associated with the alleged defect, and odi concurs that 40 of those voq's satisfy the scope of this investigation.odi has found an additional 10 voq's related to the allegation.odi has granted the petition and opened a preliminary evaluation (pe05-010). | ||||||
| PE05010 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/15/2005 | 06/03/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | 05V245000 | |
| General motors has decided that a safety related defect exists on certain model saturn sedans and wagons.the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time.this can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake or tail lamps (including the center high-mounted stop lamp).gm will conduct a safety recall on an expanded scope of saturn vehicles to install a reinforcing socket adapter (and corresponding nw socket) to the back of the existing lamp assembly.general motors will recall 291,652 my 2000-2002 saturn ls sedans and my 2000-2004 saturn lw wagons.the recall is identified by nhtsa number 05v-245. | ||||||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS - SWITCH | ||||||
| DP05001 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/10/2005 | 02/22/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | ||
| On january 25, 2005, a safety defect petition was received by the office of defects investigation (odi), requesting an investigation of inoperative tail lamps on my 2000-2002 saturn l-series vehicles.the petitioner alleges a defect in the design and assembly of the tail lamp assembly circuit board and light socket contact.the petitioner identified 47 vehicle owner questionnaire's (voq's) associated with the alleged defect, and odi concurs that 40 of those voq's satisfy the scope of this investigation.odi has found an additional 10 voq's related to the allegation.odi has granted the petition and opened a preliminary evaluation (pe05-010). | ||||||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TAIL LIGHTS | ||||||
| PE05010 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/15/2005 | 06/03/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | 05V245000 | |
| General motors has decided that a safety related defect exists on certain model saturn sedans and wagons.the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time.this can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake or tail lamps (including the center high-mounted stop lamp).gm will conduct a safety recall on an expanded scope of saturn vehicles to install a reinforcing socket adapter (and corresponding nw socket) to the back of the existing lamp assembly.general motors will recall 291,652 my 2000-2002 saturn ls sedans and my 2000-2004 saturn lw wagons.the recall is identified by nhtsa number 05v-245. | ||||||
| DP05001 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/10/2005 | 02/22/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | ||
| On january 25, 2005, a safety defect petition was received by the office of defects investigation (odi), requesting an investigation of inoperative tail lamps on my 2000-2002 saturn l-series vehicles.the petitioner alleges a defect in the design and assembly of the tail lamp assembly circuit board and light socket contact.the petitioner identified 47 vehicle owner questionnaire's (voq's) associated with the alleged defect, and odi concurs that 40 of those voq's satisfy the scope of this investigation.odi has found an additional 10 voq's related to the allegation.odi has granted the petition and opened a preliminary evaluation (pe05-010). | ||||||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TAIL LIGHTS - SWITCH | ||||||
| DP05001 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/10/2005 | 02/22/2005 | INOPERATIVE TAIL LAMPS | ||
| On january 25, 2005, a safety defect petition was received by the office of defects investigation (odi), requesting an investigation of inoperative tail lamps on my 2000-2002 saturn l-series vehicles.the petitioner alleges a defect in the design and assembly of the tail lamp assembly circuit board and light socket contact.the petitioner identified 47 vehicle owner questionnaire's (voq's) associated with the alleged defect, and odi concurs that 40 of those voq's satisfy the scope of this investigation.odi has found an additional 10 voq's related to the allegation.odi has granted the petition and opened a preliminary evaluation (pe05-010). | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 04/16/2003 | 77000 | 0 | 10/07/1999 |
| There is an internal short in the tail light housings that results in no brake lights when parking lights or headlights are on. dealer told me that this is an occasional problem in this model but that saturn does not view this as a defect and it is owners responsibility. this is a potential safety hazard. a neighbor owns the same model car and has the same problem. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 08/31/2003 | 2 | ||
| I have been notified of a 2002 saturn l-series recall nhtsa campaign id number 03v231000. i have contacted the manufacturer and dealership numerous times regarding my electrical system; o2 oxygen sensor, etc. they have refused to even check my vehicle stating my vin was not effected by this recall. i'm not sure how i can proceed with this as i have had numerous machanics inspect my vehicle, and all have concluded my vin should have been included in the recall. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 1 | ||
| Since we bought the car, we have had chronic problems with the hvac system and other minor electrical problems; re-charging the ac the first 3 summers we owned the car, determining the ac did not have enough power going to it to run properly, dash lights going out, automatic doors not working, and the taillights going out intermittently, and difficulties with the wipers working appropriately. the engine light would chronically go on, but the dealer mechanics could find nothing wrong after reading the codes. we requested the dealership please trace the electrical lines to find a short, but said there was none and the problem was fixed. then, after 6 years of ongoing problems, and no ac for 2 years, the heater began to remain on for approx. 30 seconds after the car was turned off and the key was no longer in the ignition. a week later the car failed to start. a personal mechanic friend discovered that the blower motor was cross wired and there was a short in the relay from the hvac system to the engine. we have replace the relay and the blower motor. the ac and the heater now work fine. i am frustrated that saturn refused to deal with this chronic problem appropriately. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - REAR COMPARTMENT/TRUNK | |||
| 09/21/2004 | 1 | 09/10/2002 | |
| Both rear lights assemblies shorted out, leaving my vehicle without any rear lighting. service department stated that they knew there had been problems with the units shorting out and that they would only charge $25 per tail light for the replacement units instead of the cots ($165) for each. i feel this is a true safety problem and the manufacturer and dealership should be responsible for recall and replacement- especially in the 2000 saturn which has been a complete 'safety' nightmare with problems too numerous to count.*ak | |||
| ENGINE | |||
| 06/28/2012 | 98000 | ||
| I arrived at my destination, turned off the engine, ran inside for no more than 5 mins and when i came back out the engine was unable to turn over and made horrible noises when attempting to start. i called a tow truck to come pick it up to bring it back to their shop to check it out. when i arrive at the shop today they tell me that the timing chain has broken and bent the valves. the whole engine now needs to be replaced. they tell me it is $3600 minimum to replace and this is with a used engine for $2400+ just for his used engine. all in all, i'm very glad the vehicle wasn't moving when this happened but still very frustrated since this does not seem to be an uncommon thing with the saturn l-series. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 11/26/2007 | 3 | ||
| I was driving home from work with the cruise on. i thought the car did something funny, maybe it slowed down so i looked down at my speedometer. the check engine light was flashing, i tapped my brakes. then more lights started flashing and the car was just slowing down. i thought i should start pulling over to stop so i tapped my brakes and it sounded like something flew off my car. i slowly coasted to a stop. i put the car into park and it wasn't running. i turned off the car and lights and called my husband. it was really scary to have the car just stop on you while you were driving and it wouldn't have been good if people were around. my husband came to see if he could get the car running and when he turned the key it just sounded like metal scraping on metal. it was a horrible noise i have never heard before. we towed the car in the middle of the night to the closest town and in the morning found out they did not fix saturns. another place in town, when our car broke down 2 months ago, could not even figure out what was wrong with it and recommended we bring it to a saturn dealer (no one closer than 250 miles). we hauled our car to a different mechanic who had worked on it in 2005 when the water pump broke while we were driving it. he has stated that the timing belt broke. it will be at least $1500 and that's if it didn't wreck the engine. we aren't sure if we are going to fix it because we are still paying on the car itself. and we just put about $1200 into it in september. we get the oil changed every month because of the miles we drive and we take very good care of the car. this is very frustrating and i have read online that this has happened to many other people owning a 2000 saturn l series car. i hope that someone will do something about this and fix it! if it is a manufacturing problem then we shouldn't have to pay for it. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 05/12/2006 | 1 | 02/13/2000 | |
| I was driving home at approximately 9:30 pm on a busy highway (rte 695 - the baltimore beltway) and approaching the intersection of interstate 70 when my car engine cut out with no warning. i was almost rear ended by a semi and fortunate to coast to the shoulder without an accident. fortunately a maryland state police vehicle came by to provide flares for more visibility while i awaited a tow to the saturn dealership. my complaint is similar to pending cases (pe06-006 and dp05-008) in that the source of the failure is attributed to a timing chain that skipped. the dealership refuses to recognize the wide spread problem as does saturn headquarters in tenn. they offer no mitigation to the $3,200 estimate for repair. if circumstances had been different, i.e., rain or snow, i am my family could have been seriously injured by an automobile with this known defect that died on the road with absolutely no warning. does someone have to die in an accident before this known defect is corrected?? *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 07/16/2005 | 69000 | 1 | 04/01/2000 |
| I was driving on california highway 101 south when on an incline, my motor on my saturn 2000 l suddenly stopped working. i had it hauled to my saturn dealer, and was told several days later that the timing chain broke and the entire motor needed to be replaced. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||
| 08/31/2003 | 2 | ||
| I have been notified of a 2002 saturn l-series recall nhtsa campaign id number 03v231000. i have contacted the manufacturer and dealership numerous times regarding my electrical system; o2 oxygen sensor, etc. they have refused to even check my vehicle stating my vin was not effected by this recall. i'm not sure how i can proceed with this as i have had numerous machanics inspect my vehicle, and all have concluded my vin should have been included in the recall. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 09/08/2011 | 110000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns 2000 saturn l-series sedan. while driving approximately 25 mph the vehicle began to decelerate. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. the technician stated the timing chain fractured causing damage to the head of the engine. the technician stated the timing chain had to be replaced and depending on the severity of the damage the head on the engine also had to be rebuilt or replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. nhtsa recall campaign number: 07v519000 (engine and engine cooling) may be related to the failure but it do not include 2000 models. the approximate failure mileage was 110,000. rvk | |||
| 09/08/2011 | 110000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns 2000 saturn l series sedan. while driving at approximately 25 mph the vehicle began to decelerate. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostics. the technician stated the timing chain had fractured causing damage to the head of the engine. the technician stated the timing chain would have to be replaced and depending on the severity of the damage the head of the engine would have to be rebuilt or replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. there was a recall under nhtsa campaign id number: 07v519000 (engine and engine cooling) that may be related to the failure but it do not included 2000 models. the approximate failure mileage was 110,000. ds | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||
| 01/03/2006 | 3 | ||
| 2000 saturn ls, 6 cylinder, had slippage of the transmission followed by the service light. by the time i reached the dealer the car was bucking and felt like i was repeatedly being hit from behind. the mechanic told me it was the sensor module and when it broke the pressure was full open and that's what caused that problem. subsequently the light came on again, the transmission slipped and the module was replaced again. it then happened a 3rd time and the module was replaced again. when driving it home after repair, i noticed that the trans was slipping a little. took it back into the shop, they say they can't rip down the trans unless the light comes on and it gives codes again. i only have 11,000 miles on the warranty. i believe there is another problem with the transmission. *nm | |||
| SEATS | |||
| 08/31/2009 | 154182 | 1 | |
| Driver's side power seat motor overheated and began to melt upholstery. i had to pull the fuse out of the right side fuse panel to cutoff electrical supply and avoid likely fire. *tr | |||
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 09/15/2005 | 1 | ||
| Excessive noise from the steering rack, loss of power steering assist intermittently. *jb | |||
Car dealers selling
| State | City | Zip | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | SANTA ROSA | 95401 | SATURN | |
| MD | ELLICOTT CITY | SATURN OF ELLICOTT CITY | 410-313-9000 | |
| OH | COLUMBUS | 43235 | SATURN NORTH | 614-436-2001 |
| PA | DEVON | 19333 | SATURN OF DEVON | 610-687-0700 |