Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 3668 | 10016548 | Tick noise from engine. *tt | 09/21/2005 | ||
| 3135 | 01/01/2004 | 10010045 | Pop noise from engine area during heavy throttle input. *tc | 11/03/2004 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 3933 | 09/29/2006 | 10020485 | Timing belt replacement. *kb | 10/26/2006 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 06/28/2008 | 75000 | 1 | |
| On 3 separate occasions i was driving and went to accelerate to pass a vehicle when the vehicle lost power causing me to put the vehicle into neutral to restart it causing the service engine soon light to come on and the vehicle to have hard shifting. the result was due to the failure of the o2 sensor which i replaced once with saturn that failed 2 years later and 2 others refurbished that were purchased from napa which the first failed 3 months after installation and the other a month after that one was replaced. *tr | |||
| 11/24/2007 | 2 | ||
| Crankshaft position sensor failed causing immediate loss of engine power, power steering and power brakes. failure occurred with any warning and could have caused a serious accident. *tr | |||
| 08/25/2007 | 56672 | 1 | 11/27/2000 |
| Sudden failure of timing belt in our 2001 saturn l300 (56,000 miles, regular dealer service), causing complete loss of power and control while driving. my wife was able to pull off road with no power steering. engine completely ruined. dealer wants $4,000 to repair. saturn says replace belt at 100,000 miles. internet research shows a large number of these complaints. dangerous loss of power. *jb | |||
| 06/06/2001 | 10 | ||
| Car stalls while driving for no apparent reason - computer analysis shows no problem - most pumps, plugs, starter have been replaced - still stalls while driving. *tr | |||
| 10/17/2005 | 94229 | 1 | 07/13/2005 |
| Oil cooler failure. noticed orange colored gunk on ground under car following oil change. seemed to be coming from coolant reservoir. took car in for coolant flush. was informed that there was oil in the coolant and that engine had major problems. independent mechanic said that he would have to tear into engine to discover source. found it to be a leaking oil cooler. oil cooler was replaced along with all coolant hoses, thermostat, and coolant reservoir. total was $2100 ($571 for oil cooler). have all old parts. saturn customer service acknowledges a tsb regarding oil cooler in the l81 engine but refuses to reimburse even for parts. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 09/18/2001 | 2 | 05/01/2001 | |
| Lower radiator gasket has been replaced 2 times and reinstalled 3 times. the enging coolant leakage happened 2 times within the first year of purchase. the light/turn indicator broke off where it attaches to the steering column while driving at night. battery acid was leaking which was caused by the electrical system not working properly and overcharging the battery. and somehow the serpentine belt is now damaged. the dealership is having trouble with the starter not wanting to turn off and are going to replace it in hopes this cures the problem. dt | |||
| 07/19/2001 | 1 | 03/27/2001 | |
| The oil cooler cover was leaking. nlm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - HOSE | |||
| 09/23/2005 | 44343 | 0 | 06/17/2004 |
| Exterior lighting and engine coolant leakage inside of car. car smoking. *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 11/15/2007 | 92000 | 1 | |
| 2001 saturn l300 3.0l v6 grinding noise engine stalled. took to mechanic said timing chain broke and seized engine. whole engine needs replaced. noticed 4 cylinders have recall but not the v6. *tr | |||
| 04/25/2008 | 57500 | ||
| 2001 l300 saturn 2.2 l v6 timing belt tensioner seized while driving in late april 2008. timing belt broke and engine jumped time and bent all valves according to saturn of rt. 33, pennsylvania. vehicle does not start, nor will run. saturn dealership offered to change engine for $4500 and saturn hotline offerred discount on new or used vehicle. no recalls were mentioned. engine has 57-58,000 miles. | |||
| 05/29/2007 | 94000 | 1 | |
| Driving home from work one night and car starting making a grinding noise and just stalled on me. fortunately i was able to coast off the main highway to a parking lot. had the car towed to put it on a computer diagnostic machine and was told the timing chain broke and has since ruined my whole engine. now my car sits in my yard with no good motor or timing chain and i still owe $4000 and paying $300 a month to pay for a car i cannot drive as i do not have the money for a new engine or even a used one. *tr | |||
| 02/28/2006 | 53000 | 1 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle would run rough at any speed. this first happened a year and a half ago. the dealership determined the third cylinder was not firing and replaced the spark plug and coil pack. the vehicle began to run rough again and the dealership determined the problem has reoccurred. | |||
| 01/10/2006 | 57000 | 3 | 10/14/2002 |
| 2001 l300 saturn has been to dealer for continuing repairs. car bucks when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear and wrench light or ses light will come on. dealers service personnel document they cannot see light on diagnostics, but problem continues intermittently. car failed completely on interstate in commuter traffic. state police assisted owner. car exited interstate. car failed again. car towed to repair shop for a battery which had just been replaced by dealer a month earlier. car driven from repair shop and failed for third time same day. car towed to dealership. car fixed and customer charged. complaint filed with saturn corporate. car bucking and shifting returned in less than two weeks. lights up intermittently. car unsafe! saturn corporate says dealer will offer a discounted repair. customer no longer trusts dealer or corporation due to repeated repairs for same issues. car has always been serviced by selling dealer except for single tow day of failure. supporting documentation and complete repair history available. *ak | |||
| 2 | |||
| While driving vehicle operates roughly and eratically, losing power. check engine and gas gauge lights illuminated the dash. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| While driving vehicle operates roughly and eratically, losing power. check engine and gas gage lights illuminated on the dash, blinking on and off. the speedometer and the rpm will fall to zero and come back up to where it should be while driving. consumer states that there is a recall on the 4 cynlinder with the same problem.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 02/11/2005 | 93000 | 1 | 01/20/2001 |
| Following routine maintenance by the dealer our saturn l300 experienced stuttering and hesitation. i immediately brought the car back to the dealership and expressed my concern for the timing belt. under the dealership's care the timing belt failed and the engine siezed, causing $3,000 worth of damage and subsequent repairs. the timing belt was not due for recommended service for another 6,000 miles.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - CRANKCASE (PCV) | |||
| 09/20/2004 | 1 | ||
| Consumer stated that while driving vehicle cut off. it did not matter the speed. consumerhad not taken the vehicle to a saturn dealer yet, but had a private mechanic look at it. the private mechanic told him it was the crank position sensor that was faulty.*ak | |||