Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | |||
| 03/01/2010 | 90000 | ||
| 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. campaign number: 05v245000 this item had been replaced yet the replaced item has the same fault 40,000 miles after the recall warrent. | |||
| 11/27/2009 | 88000 | 1 | |
| Recall nhtsa campaign id number 05v245000. component: exterior lighting brake lights. i had my recall service done on dec. 26 2005. on nov. 27th 2009. i got pulled over by the police. my rear running and brake lights were out. no ticket because i was close to home. took it to a mechanic the next day to find out that both light bulbs were broke. plastic melted down and hit the bulbs. tried to replace bulbs but the melted plastic was in the way. i took pictures of the melted plastic. went to saturn dealer to have them look at it and they said that a front driver side parking light was out and it had condensation under the lens. they said that shorted the rear lights. they replaced the bulbs by grinding the melted plastic out of the way. they said they did not but there was no way to get the bulb past the melted plastic. i took more pictures. so the lights work for now. but it won't be long before the plastic melts down onto the bulbs again. i do believe this has to do with the recall. it reads-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. not a burned out parking light with condensation under the lens. this could become very dangerous. no tail or brake lights! tailgaiters! i now carry extra light bulbs and wait for the next melt down. saturn has been no help. just a bandaid. *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. | |||
| 11/20/2006 | 49200 | 5 | 08/17/2002 |
| Rear brake light assemblies finally replaced via a bulletin. however, the center brake light assembly mounted up near the top of the window continuously has one of the center lamps inoperative, one time the lamp had just fallen out. it has been fixed 5 times by the dealership. *jb | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS | |||
| 11/27/2009 | 88000 | 1 | |
| Recall nhtsa campaign id number 05v245000. component: exterior lighting brake lights. i had my recall service done on dec. 26 2005. on nov. 27th 2009. i got pulled over by the police. my rear running and brake lights were out. no ticket because i was close to home. took it to a mechanic the next day to find out that both light bulbs were broke. plastic melted down and hit the bulbs. tried to replace bulbs but the melted plastic was in the way. i took pictures of the melted plastic. went to saturn dealer to have them look at it and they said that a front driver side parking light was out and it had condensation under the lens. they said that shorted the rear lights. they replaced the bulbs by grinding the melted plastic out of the way. they said they did not but there was no way to get the bulb past the melted plastic. i took more pictures. so the lights work for now. but it won't be long before the plastic melts down onto the bulbs again. i do believe this has to do with the recall. it reads-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. not a burned out parking light with condensation under the lens. this could become very dangerous. no tail or brake lights! tailgaiters! i now carry extra light bulbs and wait for the next melt down. saturn has been no help. just a bandaid. *tr | |||
| 11/20/2006 | 49200 | 5 | 08/17/2002 |
| Rear brake light assemblies finally replaced via a bulletin. however, the center brake light assembly mounted up near the top of the window continuously has one of the center lamps inoperative, one time the lamp had just fallen out. it has been fixed 5 times by the dealership. *jb | |||
| 03/16/2006 | 75200 | 1 | 04/14/2002 |
| Dt*: the contact stated there was a nhtsa recall, # 05v245000 concerning the exterior lighting that was performed however; numerous electrical problems evolved since the repair. the dash panel lights intermittently illuminated while driving at various speeds. although the ignition was turned off the headlights illuminated which resulted in a battery failure. the vehicle was seen by a dealer and the headlight high/low beam dimmer switch was replaced, but the problem persisted. additionally, the vehicle stalled and was towed back to the dealer which determined there was a failure of the drive shaft and this was replaced. the ongoing electrical problems persisted and the vehicle was taken to the dealer to await further inspection. | |||
| 08/12/2005 | 58000 | 1 | 02/12/2002 |
| We purchased a 2002 l-300 saturn new in february 2002. the left brake light stopped working recently, and the dealership in fort collins, co replaced the brake light assembly under warranty, and informed us that there was an upcoming recall on this assembly. *jb | |||
| 05/15/2005 | 32995 | 3 | 05/12/2005 |
| I purchased my '02 saturn l300 from a highly recommended local used car dealership here in florida mid may '05. it was close to closing time when the final papers were drawn so the salesman and i walked around the car and i noticed then that the left rear brake lamp was out. he told me that the parts dept was closed so to come back the next business day. i came back that monday and they fixed it no problem. well a month or so later, on my way to work, i was pulled over by a state trooper and was told my left rear brake light was out. i informed her that i had just fixed it at the dealership so she gave me a warning and told me to fix it again. i set up an appointment with the dealership that day. while leaving work, i glanced into the windows reflection as i was backing up and saw that the light was working. i have been pulled over three times and all times was giving warnings. is the next cop going to be so nice? it works when it wants to. i am always questioning whether or not its working. this is a $38 part. how many must i purchase? i did not know there was any kind of recall. the dealership did not notify me of any at time of sale. is there anything i can do now? also, a friend who owned a smaller version of the l-series said he had to replace his tires constantly. also saying he dealt with continuous obnoxious road noise. is that a discrepancy? i have had my current tires balanced and rotated twice since may. is this a problem? the front two do not match the rear two. they were that way at time of vehicle purchase. vehicle has 36,000 miles. i tried to match them but it's just to expensive. the cheapest tire i could find in size p215-55-r16 is $98...????? *nm | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS - SWITCH | |||
| 1 | |||
| The brake lights failed to illuminate simultaneously. dealership had to replace the brake lights constantly. the problem was traced to the electrical system. *ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | |||
| 06/13/2006 | 71000 | 1 | 09/06/2002 |
| Several times when transitioning from daytime running lights to normal headlights using the auto headlight function. the lights come on high beam and will not dim. the only action that will clear the problem is turn off the ignition and wait a few seconds. the dimmer switch then acts normally. *nm | |||
| 03/16/2006 | 75200 | 1 | 04/14/2002 |
| Dt*: the contact stated there was a nhtsa recall, # 05v245000 concerning the exterior lighting that was performed however; numerous electrical problems evolved since the repair. the dash panel lights intermittently illuminated while driving at various speeds. although the ignition was turned off the headlights illuminated which resulted in a battery failure. the vehicle was seen by a dealer and the headlight high/low beam dimmer switch was replaced, but the problem persisted. additionally, the vehicle stalled and was towed back to the dealer which determined there was a failure of the drive shaft and this was replaced. the ongoing electrical problems persisted and the vehicle was taken to the dealer to await further inspection. | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH | |||
| 03/16/2006 | 75200 | 1 | 04/14/2002 |
| Dt*: the contact stated there was a nhtsa recall, # 05v245000 concerning the exterior lighting that was performed however; numerous electrical problems evolved since the repair. the dash panel lights intermittently illuminated while driving at various speeds. although the ignition was turned off the headlights illuminated which resulted in a battery failure. the vehicle was seen by a dealer and the headlight high/low beam dimmer switch was replaced, but the problem persisted. additionally, the vehicle stalled and was towed back to the dealer which determined there was a failure of the drive shaft and this was replaced. the ongoing electrical problems persisted and the vehicle was taken to the dealer to await further inspection. | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - SWITCH | |||
| 07/14/2006 | 90000 | 1 | |
| My husband and i own a 2002 saturn l300, of which i am the primary driver. a few weeks ago, i noticed that the bright indicator would appear sometimes when the daytime running lights were on. then the daytime running lights would stay on sometimes for a few minutes after the motor was stopped. the lights always went out, and we thought it would be ok to wait until our next maintenance visit to the dealer to ask about the problem. last week the lights wouldn't go off, so we made an appointment. we also discovered that if we pushed the light stick (the long switch that projects out from the steering column) slightly toward the dashboard, the lights would go out. we thought using this discovery and propping the light switch toward the dashboard would hold us until our appointment. however, the day before the appointment, the lights became more stubborn and the steering column became fiery hot next to the switch. there was also the odor of something burning. i parked the car and stayed home. the next day at the appointment, my husband was told that the service people see a shorting out of the light stick all the time with saturns. as a matter of fact, there was another car in the shop at that moment having the same repair work done. i am not an expert and don't know if this problem is dangerous. any time there is a short in a car, i just assume there is an associated fire danger. however, i do know that if this problem is as common as the dealers service personnel say, then the public needs to be notified. i didn't recognize the problem when it began, and now believe that we avoided a fire from the short circuit. *jb | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TAIL LIGHTS | |||
| 08/15/2002 | 7100 | 4 | |
| The rear tail lights are defective. the owner has had the rear tail lights replaced on 4 separate occasions. owner has contacted the dealer and the manufacturer. the dealer has made the replacements but the manufacturer does not see the seriousness of the defective rear lamps. provide further details. *jb | |||