Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 709 | 09/01/2005 | 10018126 | Oil life system reset procedures - cars. gm tech link. *tt | 12/15/2005 | |
| 3135 | 01/01/2004 | 10010045 | Pop noise from engine area during heavy throttle input. *tc | 11/03/2004 | |
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. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | |||
| 12/12/2012 | 78000 | 1 | |
| I am mortified by all of the complaints of engine failure of the l200 series due to the timing chain and am even more devastated that there is no recall information on it. my car had 78k miles on it and did not start today. it was towed to a shop and they called me to inform me that it was my engine due to the timing chain. the repair shop also said that it was the 4th saturn with the same exact problem that they had seen this month. i am a college student without a car that is still making car payments living on my own. saturn better be happy that it no longer exists, but gm better have some answers for me. there are recalls for the same problem for 2001 models, there are even more reported issues with later models. how has gm gotten away with this? *tr | |||
| 12/12/2012 | 78000 | ||
| I am mortified by all of the complaints of engine failure of the l200 series due to the timing chain and am even more devistated that there is no recall information on it. my car had 78k miles on it and did not start today. it was towed to a shop and they called me to inform me that it was my engine due to the timing chain. the repair shop also said that it was the 4th saturn with the same exact problem that they had seen this month. i am a college student without a car that is still making car payments living on my own. saturn better be happy that it no longer exists, but gm better have some answers for me. there are recalls for the same problem for 2001 models, there are even more reported issues with later models. how has gm gotten away with this? | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 50000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. the contact stated that the body control module shut off which caused the gauges to malfunctioned. the contact mentioned that the vehicle to stall and failed to restart. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnose that the body control module needed to be replaced. the failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 70,000.pmb | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 50000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. the contact stated that body control module shut off and caused the gauges to malfunction. the failure also caused the vehicle to stall and not restart. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was determined the body control module needed to be replaced. the failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 70,000.rl | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 10/21/2010 | 80000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. while driving up an incline approximately 35 mph, the engine stalled without warning. the engine failed to restart after numerous attempts. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the fuel pump and fuel filter were replaced. the failure mileage was approximately 81,230. js | |||
| 02/08/2010 | 69400 | 1 | |
| Premature failure of timing chain on 2003 saturn l200 at 69,400 miles. this car has the same timing chain components as involved in the 2000 model year recall. the parts were not revised until after this car was built. the car was maintained with recommended oil change intervals, but the chain still failed prematurely. *tr | |||
| 07/24/2008 | 81000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. the vehicle was parked and the contact could not get it to start. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic and they stated that the timing chain failed for the second time in seven months. the vin was unknown. the current mileage was 93,800 and failure mileage was 81,000. | |||
| 03/06/2007 | 42300 | 2 | 01/06/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. the contact stated that her son's vehicle failed and completely shut down twice. the contact also stated that the vehicle would make a loose, rattling noise while making a turn. she stated that there was a recall on the vehicle involving the steering module. the steering wheel would lock and her son could not return it to the proper position. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and they proceeded to sell her son a warranty, although the vehicle was already under warranty. the dealer was unable to locate any failures. the speed was unknown. the current mileage was 55,253 and failure mileage was 42,300. updated 04/29/08. *lj the vehicle would not shift out of park , the engine, air bag and abs lights illuminated. updated | |||
| 07/26/2004 | 49728 | 2 | |
| My service engine light came on. the first time i took it to saturn dealership in lynchburg, virginia they told me they could not find a problem. it has come on again and is reading the same code. i have to take it back again for the same problem. the code reads p1887. i truly think that this is a problem with the saturn l 2003. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 06/28/2009 | 63000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. the contact was unable to start the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and a technician concluded that the timing belt and engine valves needed to be replaced. engine failure while driving increased the risk for a vehicle crash. no repairs were made. the current and failure mileages were 63000. | |||
| 08/27/2008 | 105000 | 1 | |
| The timing chain on my 2003 saturn l200 with 108,000 miles is about to fail and apparently there is a known (nhtsa investigated even) problem with these vehicles. $1300 i don't have to fix it. this is along with a series of air conditioner problems (improper tube mounting such that it wore through) costing over $1000 dollars since i purchased the vehicle. *tr | |||
| 07/07/2008 | 84000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 saturn l200. while driving 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly shut off and was unable to be restarted. prior to the failure, the vehicle hesitated while driving. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and they stated that the timing chain was the cause of the failure. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current and failure mileages were 84,000. | |||
| 07/07/2008 | 84000 | 1 | |
| Car died while traveling on local highway. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 07/28/2005 | 32000 | 1 | 10/19/2003 |
| Timing chain breaks prematurely resulting in loss of power creating a potential road hazard. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 11/05/2006 | 48400 | 3 | 02/03/2003 |
| 2003 saturn l200 with 48,000 miles died while driving. we had to quickly swerve to opposite side of road where there was a shoulder in order to get out of the traffic lane(no shoulder on the lane we were in). car was towed, and was diagnosed with a broken timing chain, probable engine damage, and possible fuel pump failure. since i just put a new alternator and battery in the vehicle three weeks prior, i contacted manufacturer and talked with dealer about working with me to fix this car. they would not even discuss next step until i authorized (paid for) a $750 tear down of the motor to fully diagnose the problem. i refused to to authorize, because all of the burden at that point would be on me, whatever happened. situation was never resolved; i traded the car (at a drastic reduction of value due to its non-working condition). *nm | |||