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 | |
| 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 | ||||||
| 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). | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | |||
| 08/01/2008 | 88000 | 1 | |
| Battery died in 2008. it was replaced and the odometer reset back to zero. the security alarm/ power doors do not function properly ( unable to lock with remote control). security light stays on while driving. cd player stopped working and fuel gauge does not show the accurate amount of gas. i have to wait until the light comes on. now in july 2012, the ac was fixed due to a hole in the line and the car immediately shut off in traffic. the ac no longer works and is giving a code p0102 (maf- mass air flow -referring to low voltage). the service engine light is on along with the airbag, gas gauge and temperature needles not moving at all. in addition, the traction control is not working. *tr | |||
| 08/01/2008 | 88000 | ||
| Battery died in 2008. it was replaced and the odometer reset back to zero. the security alarm/ power doors do not function properly ( unable to lock with remote control). security light stays on while driving. cd player stopped working and fuel gauge does not show the accurate amount of gas. i have to wait until the light comes on. now in july 2012, the ac was fixed due to a hole in the line and the car immediately shut off in traffic. the ac no longer works and is giving a code p0102 (maf- mass air flow -referring to low voltage). the service engine light is on along with the airbag, gas gauge and temperature needles not moving at all. in addition, the traction control is not working. | |||
| 04/22/2012 | 148000 | ||
| We were driving the car when it cut off unexpectedly with no warning, while we were going 70 in a pack of traffic. luckily, we managed to get to the shoulder without a wreck. it would not restart. we had it towed to the mechanic who said the timing belt broke which in turn cause the engine to be damaged. we had to replace the engine as a result. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 06/10/2007 | 120000 | ||
| The oil and antifreeze have a common wall in the radiator. the antifreze is corrosive and ate thru allowing the oil and antifreeze to mix in the engine causing the engine to be completely rebuilt with most parts replaced. the temp guage has been replaced 4 times as the engine runs cool and will fail inspection and destroy the o2 sensors. the power steering pump has gone out 2 times as well as the ac compressor. the rear lights on the driver side are always getting hot and burning out. the taillight fittings for the stop light have gotten so hot that they needed to be replaced 3 times. dash lights are constantly flickering when you apply the brake or (when it is running) turn on the ac unit or the heating system. the saftey latch on the front doors have been replaced 2 times as they were cracking. i paid for all of the repairs and was told that there was a recall based on the antifreeze that gm used as it was corrosive and affected many models of gm cars. i filled in all of the forms for the class action suit and at the end i was told that the saturns were not covered - that the government had allowed this class to be removed from the gm claim. this was not fair as it was the same problem caused by the corrosive antifreeze used by gm and the poor design of using a common thin wall to seperate the oil and the antifreeze. | |||
| 02/16/2009 | 56000 | ||
| 2002 saturn l300 v6 excessive tire wear and engine problems the oil drained into the radiator and the whole engine had to be reworked all hoses sensors and radiator had to be replaced the valves and lots of other head work had to be done. we have had to have it aligned 3 times in 18,000miles and 60,000 mile tires last about 12-18,000 miles before being told they are hazardous and have to be replaced. the new oil sensor replaced with the engine rebuild now is leaking again and we have to replace it again. rear brake lamps blow out constantly and even burned the wiring and plastic frame. | |||
| 06/23/2009 | 90000 | 1 | |
| 2002 saturn l300 . have followed all maint. guidelines. though it is on it's third battery, third set of tires, power steering pump replaced, timing belt replaced, ecm replaced, two catalytic converters replaced, the list goes on and on. less than 90,000 miles. drove the car. got out, pushed the keyless alarm ( original factory) got dinner, pushed the keyless entry, got into the car , turned the key..and the car was dead. car does not start. locked in park, had to have it towed. tow truck driver had to use the dolly lifts to move the car, so he could position it to be able to tow it. had it towed to a service garage, they followed gm's instructions ..no luck. the car had to be towed again , to a saturn dealership ( the only ones who have the codes) to reset the vehicle. they told me they could not reset it. told me it needs a new bcm. stated ecm and bcm are unable to communicate. so that until the module is replaced the car is inoperable. stated they knew the bcm's go bad, stated they have had alot of these go bad ( alot)???. the service tech stated they are like a computer hard drive on steroids . stated they burn out with no way to check them or fix them. he said they should be able tofix the car. but they do not keep any bcm in stock. it will be a week before they can get the part. after replacing the bcm i was told the cars information will not be accurate. they told me the odometer goes back to zero. how can that be the dealer just turn back the odometer isn't that illegal? i was told that sometimes there maybe some other issues also after installing a new bcm?? if they know that the bcm is a problem, and that when it goes bad, the car is completely useless! why isn't something being done ! you are at the mercy of saturn / gm because no one else is allowed to fix the car. i will now be waiting a week for my vehicle to be repaired. only to hope it runs correctly after it's repaired. *tr | |||
| 01/13/2009 | 47000 | 1 | |
| On january 13, 2009 i took my care to saturn to have a couple issues assessed in regards to several lights that were on steady or blinking on and off on the dash. i dropped my car off the night before the appointment. the technician noticed ny inspection sticker was about to expire and asked if they would be taking care of that this visit. i told him no i was more interested in what was going on with the lights at the present time. on the following morning the technician called me and told me what they found wrong with the vehicle. i was told the following repairs were needed: body control module (shorted), thermostat - engine oil cooler (leaking), oil pressure switch (leaking) and driver's front axle seal (leaking). i was quoted a price in excess of $2,000 for the repairs. i have kept my car, purchased brand new, well maintained and don't see how my car with less than 50,000 miles should need this kind work at one time. none of these issues are normal wear on a car. something must be awry somewhere. this is unacceptable. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 01/13/2009 | 47000 | 1 | |
| On january 13, 2009 i took my care to saturn to have a couple issues assessed in regards to several lights that were on steady or blinking on and off on the dash. i dropped my car off the night before the appointment. the technician noticed ny inspection sticker was about to expire and asked if they would be taking care of that this visit. i told him no i was more interested in what was going on with the lights at the present time. on the following morning the technician called me and told me what they found wrong with the vehicle. i was told the following repairs were needed: body control module (shorted), thermostat - engine oil cooler (leaking), oil pressure switch (leaking) and driver's front axle seal (leaking). i was quoted a price in excess of $2,000 for the repairs. i have kept my car, purchased brand new, well maintained and don't see how my car with less than 50,000 miles should need this kind work at one time. none of these issues are normal wear on a car. something must be awry somewhere. this is unacceptable. *tr | |||
| 06/13/2002 | 500 | 50 | 06/13/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn l300. while driving the vehicle at various speeds, the exterior lights remain illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the switches for all the lights on the vehicle needed to be replaced. the check engine light was illuminated because the engine module computer needed to be replaced along with other sensors. the contact also stated that the oil housing failed. while getting an oil change at jiffy lube, the contact was informed that the oil housing screw was loose and the filter could not be changed. the current mileage was 82,564 and failure mileage was 500. | |||