Saturn L-series Wagon 2001

Model L-series Wagon made in 2001 by Saturn got 22 consumer complains, 10 investigations there is 1 recall as well as 4 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system, engine and engine cooling and exterior lighting. Technical service bulletines regarding engine and engine cooling, power train and seats. The car had some investigations: electrical system, engine and engine cooling and exterior lighting. There was one recall concerning exterior lighting .

Model 2001

Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS
05V245000GENERAL MOTORS CORP.from 06/01/2000 to 06/30/2001V (Vehicle)29165210/17/2005ODIGENERAL MOTORS CORP.06/02/200506/02/2005
Defect SummaryOn 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 SummaryThis 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 SummaryDealers 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.
NotesGm 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


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
313501/01/200410010045Pop noise from engine area during heavy throttle input. *tc11/03/2004
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
07073002510/01/200710023942Information 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. *nj02/20/2008
SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - POWER ADJUST
00T30A09/01/200000T30626019The driver's side 6-way power seat functions are inoperative. *jg12/12/2001
VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER
01T0501/01/2001616677Some vehicles built before and including vin 1y530200 may exhibit windshield wipers that chatter or hop across the windshield during wiper operation. *tt03/08/2001

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
DP05001GENERAL MOTORS CORP.02/10/200502/22/2005INOPERATIVE 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
PE06006GENERAL MOTORS CORP.01/24/200606/06/2006TIMING 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).
PE08061GENERAL MOTORS CORP.10/16/200804/08/2009TIMING 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.
EA06009GENERAL MOTORS CORP.06/06/200611/09/2007TIMING CHAIN FAILURE - STALL07V519000
 In a november 7, 2007 letter, general motors (gm) notified odi that it had determined that a safety defect existed in certain model year (my) 2001 saturn l-series vehicles equipped with the 2.2l 4-cylinder (l61) engine built from november 2000 through february 2001.the defect could result in engine stall while driving with no restart. gm will recall (07v-519) the vehicles to replace the timing chains with redesigned parts. during this engineering analysis gm and odi contacted saturn owners that had warranty work performed related to timing chain replacements or repairs in order to determine certain safety consequences associated with timing chain failure.based on analysis of warranty claim verbatim text for indications of stall while driving (swd) and the results from a survey of warranty claims with ambiguous text, gm estimated that 55% of all timing chain warranty repairs involved swd incidents.odi's analysis estimated approximately 76% of warranty repairs may have involved a swd.the surveys were also used to assess the safety consequences of the swd incidents.the calls found that none of the vehicles that experiencing stalls due to timing chain failure could be restarted.inaddition, approximately one-third of the stalls occurred at speeds greater than 40 mph and about 20% indicated that they were not able to get the vehicle out of traffic after the engine died.gm's statistical analyses of failure data estimated stall while driving rates of 1.7% and 5.2% at 3 and 6 years in service.odi's analyses estimated slightly higher rates of 2.3% and 7.0% at 3 and 6 years in service. this engineering analysis is closed based on gm's recall.
DP08002GENERAL MOTORS CORP.06/18/200810/16/2008TIMING 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.
DP05008GENERAL MOTORS CORP.12/20/200502/06/2006TIMING 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.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS
DP05001GENERAL MOTORS CORP.02/10/200502/22/2005INOPERATIVE 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 - BRAKE LIGHTS - SWITCH
DP05001GENERAL MOTORS CORP.02/10/200502/22/2005INOPERATIVE 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
DP05001GENERAL MOTORS CORP.02/10/200502/22/2005INOPERATIVE 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
DP05001GENERAL MOTORS CORP.02/10/200502/22/2005INOPERATIVE 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 datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
02/03/2009612811
 Ignition module will not release the key. it removes part way but appears to be stuck. tried obvious remedies like lubrication with no positive result. currently i cannot remove the key. *tr
01/19/200667000303/09/2001
 Numerous problems since day 1 of ownership. today the airbag light came & remained on, the gas gauge wouldn't move nor would the temp. gauge. the odometer went to zero. wiped all mileage out. car is a lemon and needs to be recalled. scared to drive it. *jb
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE
08/01/2004370005
 After inserting ignition key, the cylinder would not turn therefore not allowing the car to start. tried the spare key, but no difference. able to remove key and lubricate ignition cylinder with graphite. was able to start car 1 out of 5 tries. called dealer and was informed that it was a problem with ignition lock cylinder housing failure. in order to temporarily fix was told to jiggle the steering wheel and lubricate cylinder. in order to properly fix would need to replace ignition with new keys.*ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
01/09/20091047261
 Timing chain broke. engine is freewheeling, interference motor, cylinder head damage. a new motor was needed. i was driving on a highway at about 45 mph. when it happened. i was luck there was a turn out. it was a two lane, curvy road. *tr
04/16/200665000106/18/2001
 Car is a 2001 saturn lw 200 station wagon, which had been maintained regularly with the dealer (last date of service was approximately 3 1/2 to 4 months prior to incident). vehicle's timing belt failed during short local trip (2 miles from home) under normal driving conditions. timing belt failure resulted in additional engine damage including dented valves. driver had no warning of impending failure: engine simply stalled out and never started again. car had been maintained regularly with dealer and dealer never indicated that timing belt was worn or required scheduled maintenance. car is only five years old and had approximately 60,000 miles on it. car was towed to repair shop for evaluation of problem. first repair shop believed problem was timing belt but was not equipped to handle the problem; recommended dealer service. dealer estimated repair costs at $2300. owners decided to delay repair pending potential sale or donation of the damaged vehicle. *jb
02/19/200695306102/24/2001
 Sudden catastrophic failure of the timing belt on start-up one very cold morning(15 degree.) service mgr. at dealership later explained that water pump was leaking onto belt and frozen coolant may have forced the break. dealer replaced belt and pump at my expense ($1100). only warning i had was low coolant warning light that came on briefly daily at startup beginning 1 week before failure. no visible signs of water leaking on engine nor any puddling under the car before complete failure. *jb
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
10/03/201073365
 The engine on my 2001 saturn lw 200 (73k miles) suddenly quit while i was driving on an interstate freeway in seattle. i was lucky to be able to pull off to a shoulder without getting rammed. my mechanic found a broken enging timing chain, which he said is unusual for a car with that mileage. i checked on-line at nhtsa and saw that only a limited number of 2001 l series saturns were recalled for correction of this potentially life-endangering problem. when i contacted saturn, such as it is in 2010, the representative said that my particular vehicle (based on vin) was not covered by the recall, and that i was out of luck. i was nearly killed because of this defect, which many others have reported on-line. saturn should be responsible for the repair costs, which are in excess of $2,000.
11/01/2008960001
 Timing chain failure. no restart of vehicle, towed to nearest repair shop, ( not saturn) was told by saturn no recall was issued for this vehicle, therefore i had no recourse available to me. engine damage occurred. options are replace engine or purchase new vehicle. *tr
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE
07/14/200751283105/30/2001
 My pregnant wife was driving the car and it died as she was making a u-turn in the middle of the street. the car was towed to elk grove saturn and they stated the timing belt had broken and we needed a new engine. the car only has 51,283 miles on it. i found that there is investigation open into this issue. (dp05-008). it is a safety issue as she was on the road when it broke. i hate to think what would have happened if she was on the freeway with the kids in the car. *tr
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
07/05/200788000101/08/2001
 2001 saturn wagon. driving at 30k mph when timing chain failed. lost all power including power steering and breaks. was able to coast the car to a stop. currently being looked at by local service station. car has 88k miles. *tr
04/08/200656000104/14/2001
 1. driving at highway speed on interstate. 2. the engine timing chain broke which caused the engine to immediately stop, all power was lost but fortunately traffic was light and i was able to maneuver to the shoulder of the road. 3. the broken timing chain caused engine valves to be damaged. the timing chain, head and valves had to be replaced at a cost of $1969.00. *nm
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HAZARD FLASHING WARNING LIGHTS - SWITCH
08/15/200659253107/14/2001
 For the past several months i have noticed an electrical (burning) odor while operating my vehicle. the multi-function turn signal switch is very hot all the time and when i remove the key from the ignition, it too is very hot, to the point of it burning my leg through my pants pocket. i took the vehicle to the saturn dealership that i purchase it from for its annual inspection and advised the service tech of this. he later called to advised me that the turn signals had malfunctioned and the switch was smoking during their test. he advised me that the switch need replaced to the tune of $117. the vehicle is only 5 years old with 59,000 miles on it. i feel that this presents a safety/fire hazard and that these multi-function switches are defective and wear prematurely. *jb
POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE
11/30/2009950001
 Saturn l200 series has a recall 06074a for a faulty timing chain. they failed to notify me. my timing chain failed late one dark night on a busy interstate leaving me and my family stranded in the cold. my vin number falls in the range of the recall for mentioned. saturn admits that my vin falls in the recall range but claims my vin is somehow excluded. saturn will not provide a list of included vin numbers. this is a safety hazard for all saturns in the vin range of this recall. (1y504884
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP
05/04/200342764110/28/2000
 Complete failure of power steering pump. dealer replacement required. *jb
STEERING - RACK AND PINION
09/15/20033600011/29/2000
 Grinding noise when turning left or right. 'sounds' like it comes from tire area. independent mechanic states that strut is leaking & car requires new rack & pinion steering at 41k miles. problem is continuous.
STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR
06/01/20028000105/01/2001
 There was an intermittent clanking noise when turning the steering wheel left or right. the dealer cannot duplicate or determine cause of problem. mr scc
SUSPENSION - REAR
06/15/20061
 I purchased a 2001 saturn lw200 new from saturn of greenville, sc. my tire dealer upon checking alignment discovered that the rear camber (which is not adjustable) was out of spec. i had the saturn dealer check this & they verified it. i think this is an assembly or design defect. however, the saturn dealer wanted approximately $500 to retrofit a kit that would fix the problem. obviously, saturn is aware of the problem but will not take responsibility for dealing with it. *jb
06/08/20042
 I own two 2001 saturns, an l300 and a lw300, both purchased at saturn of silver spring. both of these cars have eaten rear tires on a regular basis. the dealer maintained that i didn't rotate tires enough. i previously never had a fwd car that ate rear tires. fortunately i regularly prematurely replaced tires before cupping led to blowouts. i believe that the fix outlined in service bulletin number: 00t72a nhtsa item number: 633545 should result in a manufacturer recall before someone gets killed in an accident as a result of this obvious defect.*ak

Car dealers selling


StateCityZipNamePhone
FLFT. LAUDERDALEKING AUTO MALL SATURN
GAMARIETTASATURN OF MARIETTA770-421-1400
MDOWINGS MILLS21117SATURN OF OWINGS MILLS410-356-6900
MDSILVER SPRINGSATURN OF SILVER SPRING
NJLIVINGSTONSATURN OF LIVINGSTON
NJSICKLERVILLE08081SATURN OF TURNERSVILLE856 728-1500
NYWILLIAMSVILLE14221SATURN OF CLARENCE716.689.8900
PAWEXFORD15090SATURN OF WEXFORD724-935-6677
SCGREENVILLESATURN OF GREENVILLE