Saturn L-series Wagon 2003
Model L-series Wagon made in 2003 by Saturn got 6 consumer complains, 2 investigations there are 2 recalls as well as 3 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system, engine and engine cooling and tires. Technical service bulletines regarding engine and engine cooling, power train and unknown or other. The car had one investigation (engine and engine cooling). There were some recalls concerningexterior lighting, seat belts.
Model 2003
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 02/01/2002 to 06/30/2003 | 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. | |||||||||||||||
| SEAT BELTS | ||||||||||||||||
| 05V158000 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | from 06/01/2002 to 06/30/2003 | V (Vehicle) | 20701 | 04/25/2005 | MFR | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 04/20/2005 | 04/20/2005 | 571 | 210 | |||||
| Defect Summary | Certain wagons fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 210, seat belt assembly anchorages. the seat belt anchor may separate from the floor of the vehicle before holding the required test load for the required time. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If a separation occurred in crash, the right and center rear seat occupants may not be properly restrained, increasing the risk of personal injury. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will install a rear seat center belt anchor reinforcement plate to the floor pan of the vehicle free of charge. the recall began on april 25, 2005. owners may contact saturn at 1-800-972-8876. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Gm recall no. 05041. 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 | |
| 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 | |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||||
| 02SE04 | 06/17/2002 | 633518 | Subject regarding vehicle content changes/deletions. *jg | 09/23/2002 | |
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. | ||||||
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 03/28/2009 | 56000 | 1 | |
| Body-control module failure: within 3 months of each other, the body-control module (bcm) and engine coolant thermostat had to be replaced. saturn dealer, on 3/28/2009 told me that the bcm, if not replaced, could lead to serious failures, such as failure to start, overheating and other problems. over prior several weeks, there were intermittent readings on dashboard, including check engine, service engine, airbag warning light and abs warning light. apparently nothing wrong with the engine, airbag or brakes themselves, but the bcm was going bad, causing the readings on dashboard. bcm replacement approx. $450 and engine coolant thermostat replacement cost approx $300. *tr | |||
| 09/15/2007 | 62000 | 1 | 10/14/2006 |
| Driving freeway speed. headlights went out, overhead interior light came on. finally got car pulled over, no dashlights. car quit. refused to restart. car did not want to come out of drive. key got stuck in ignition. finally got it in park and key out. this was at midnight on interstate. had to get family member to come get me. returned later to find car had been stolen. i have no way to know if the alarm had actually set or not. *tr | |||
| 08/12/2003 | 44000 | 1 | 08/01/2002 |
| Sudden electrical failure related (according to dealer) to failure of bcm (computer module. resulted in loss of gages in dashboard, loss of headlights, loss of windshield wipers, electric doorlocks failing, car could not be taken out of gear (park) when stopped.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 07/26/2007 | 60000 | 1 | 11/30/2003 |
| Headlamp/turn-signal stalk on steering column overheated and started smoking. stopped car and turned off power ... possibly avoiding a fire. replaced part. did not keep old part (left it at the dealer in olathe, ks, this morning). with new part there is no more smoke. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 03/28/2009 | 56000 | 1 | |
| Body-control module failure: within 3 months of each other, the body-control module (bcm) and engine coolant thermostat had to be replaced. saturn dealer, on 3/28/2009 told me that the bcm, if not replaced, could lead to serious failures, such as failure to start, overheating and other problems. over prior several weeks, there were intermittent readings on dashboard, including check engine, service engine, airbag warning light and abs warning light. apparently nothing wrong with the engine, airbag or brakes themselves, but the bcm was going bad, causing the readings on dashboard. bcm replacement approx. $450 and engine coolant thermostat replacement cost approx $300. *tr | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 08/04/2005 | 0 | 05/02/2003 | |
| The tires on my 2003 saturn lw300 have to be replaced after only 23,000 miles and i have been told that the suspension on the l series for saturn is causing excessive wear on the tires. i do feel it is worth you looking at how many people are having to buy new tires after only 2 years and low mileage use. *nm | |||
Car dealers selling
| State | City | Zip | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | GARDENDALE | SERRA KIA | ||
| NC | DURHAM | 27707 | SATURN OF CHAPEL HILL - DURHAM | 919-313-3400 |
| VA | MIDLOTHIAN | 23112 | SATURN OF RICHMOND | 804-379-9922 |