Saturn Ls 2001
Model Ls made in 2001 by Saturn got 29 consumer complains there are 3 investigations as well as 1 service bulletin. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system, engine and engine and engine cooling. Technical service bulletines regarding engine and engine cooling. The car had one investigation (engine and engine cooling).
Model 2001
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 | |
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. | ||||||
| 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 | |||
| 10/15/2008 | 60000 | 1 | |
| I was driving my 2001 saturn and it seemed like it was running okay. i stopped at my daughters house to pick her up for an appointment and when i got back into the car it would not start. i had a mechanic look at it and he said the timing chain was bad. my car has about 60,000 miles on it. i cannot give the exact amount right now because the car is sitting at saturn of boise. i had it towed to the saturn dealership, because i read about the recall of 2001 saturn's for timing chain issues and they said they might be able to help me. well, they said it was my fault the timing chain went out of it, because the oil had not been changed often enough. that is untrue, but my husband changes the oil every 6000 miles or less, but i do not have any records showing this because he is the one to change the oil. they said that it had probably slapped the valves, even though it was not broken so i had to get the engine replaced and they could do it for only $3100. i am having the car towed home and will have a local mechanic change the timing chain. i am glad that i was stopped when it quit working, because i would have lost control of the car. my local mechanics said that the chain should not have given out so soon as i only drive this car 8 or so miles per workday. *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 06/02/2001 | 0 | ||
| After being drivenvehicle stopped, and flames were coming from engine. vehicle was totaled. dealer's technician did not know what caused the fire.*ak | |||
| ENGINE | |||
| 03/10/2013 | 146000 | ||
| The vehicle failed to start. upon being inspected by an in dependent garage, it was determined to be a timing chain failure. should this be covered under 07v-519? | |||
| 02/26/2013 | 80000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2001 saturn l200. the contact stated that while making a left turn, the vehicle stalled and all the warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure and current mileage was 80,000. | |||
| 01/20/2013 | 51000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2001 saturn ls. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the driver heard a pop and the vehicle powered off without any warning. the contact merged to the shoulder of the road and attempted to restart the vehicle and failed. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for a diagnostic testing. the mechanic stated the timing chain needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not included under nhtsa campaign id number: 07v519000 (engine and engine cooling). the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage and current mileage was 51,000. dr | |||
| 01/09/2013 | 146000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2001 saturn l2. the contact stated that while accelerating from a stop and attempting a right turn, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic for inspection. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic where it was determined that the timing chain failed. the mechanic advised that there was a recall for the vehicle under nhtsa campaign id number: 07v519000 (engine and engine cooling), but the manufacturer advised that the vehicle was not included in the recall campaign. the failure and the current mileage was 146,000. | |||
| 01/09/2013 | 146000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2001 saturn l2. the contact stated that while accelerating from a stop and attempting a right turn, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic for inspection. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic where it was determined that the timing chain failed. the mechanic advised that there was a recall for the vehicle under nhtsa campaign id number: 07v519000 (engine and engine cooling), but the manufacturer advised that the vehicle was not included in the recall campaign. the failure and the current mileage was 146,000. kmj | |||
| 01/09/2013 | 146000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2001 saturn l2. the contact stated that pulling away from a stop sign and making a right hand turn when the vehicle stalled. the contact had the vehicle towed to a mechanic to be inspected. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic and it was determined that the timing chain had failed. the mechainc stated there was a nhtsa recall campaign id number: 07v519000 (engine and engine cooling) for the timing chain, but the manufacturer stated the vehicle was not included. the failure mileage and current mileages were 146, 000, rl | |||
| 01/05/2013 | 100670 | 1 | |
| Under cruise control at speed, hill prompted a downshift and engine immediately stalled. would not restart. *tr | |||
| 01/05/2013 | 100670 | ||
| Under cruise control at speed, hill prompted a downshift and engine immediately stalled. would not restart. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 12/26/2007 | 128749 | 1 | 06/10/2002 |
| Wife was driving at 50 mph where the engine died. the cause of the failure was a broken timing chain which also damaged the head and values. the vehicle was repaired by replacing the timing chain, resurfacing the head, and replacing the bad exhaust values i mailed in my recall materials on 2/9/2008. on 2/13/2008 saturn called to tell me they approved my request for reimbursement on 2/25/2008 saturn called to tell me that they were denying my reimbursement. *tr | |||
| 03/25/2006 | 97000 | 1 | 08/01/2001 |
| I was traveling on the highway in the middle lane at approximately 60 mph i moved to the fast lane to pass a slower moving vehicle and pressed the accelerator at which point i noticed a sudden loss of engine power and rapid deceleration. i managed to get the car over to the right side of the road without any serious incident. after having the car diagnosed it turned out to be the timing chain, after looking at your web site i found there was an investigation into the timing chain on this make and model. the file number seems to be pe06-006. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 11/09/2003 | 48000 | 1 | 07/27/2002 |
| While driving at 65 mph and without any warning, the vehicle stopped stalled there was no indication that anything was wrong with the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the consumer that the timing chain snapped and a new engine was needed. *ak *jb *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 03/20/2006 | 1 | 09/01/2001 | |
| 2001 saturn ls 4-door - timing chain went bad after barely 100,000 miles. repair to fix will cost about $2,000. we relied on saturn's claims that timing chains are better than timing belts because chains never have to be replaced. that being said, we now have a busted timing chain with exhaust valve problems on a 2001 saturn ls 4-door sedan. *nm | |||
| 03/10/2005 | 36000 | 1 | |
| While driving at 65 mph engine failed due to timing chain which caused the valves in the engine to bend. had a local mechanic check engine and was told consumer needed a new engine.*ak | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - FUEL PUMP | |||
| 11/16/2006 | 33000 | 1 | 04/19/2001 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while traveling various speeds, the vehicle's fuel pump leaked gas profusely and on a worsening basis. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined there was a crack in the fuel pump and the fuel pump assembly needed to be replaced. the dealer serviced the vehicle, and no further problems had occurred. updated 12/15/06. *jb | |||
| 06/26/2004 | 3 | 11/07/2000 | |
| Problems with vehicle's fuel pump. *mr the fuel pump was bad. the mechanic stated when he pulled the gas tank and started to remove the fuel pump part of the fuel pump fell apart which was not normal. the two rear tires were replaced. *sc *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 01/05/2013 | 100670 | 1 | |
| Under cruise control at speed, hill prompted a downshift and engine immediately stalled. would not restart. *tr | |||
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - RECLINER | |||
| 03/11/2004 | 1 | ||
| 2001 saturn ls sedan. front passenger seat back collapsed upon impact to left rear. front passenger was killed. autopsy available from coroner. accident report available from country sherriff's office. car still available as insurance has yet to be settled but subject to be auctioned immediately thereafter. no airbags actuated although side air curtains are installed. *ak | |||
| TIRES | |||
| 06/26/2004 | 3 | 11/07/2000 | |
| Problems with vehicle's fuel pump. *mr the fuel pump was bad. the mechanic stated when he pulled the gas tank and started to remove the fuel pump part of the fuel pump fell apart which was not normal. the two rear tires were replaced. *sc *jb | |||
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | |||
| 02/01/2013 | 182000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2000 saturn ls1. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the turning signals and the hazard lights failed without any warning. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure and current mileage was 182,000. dr | |||
Car dealers selling
| State | City | Zip | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FL | TAMPA | COURTESTY USED CARS | ||
| IL | MORTON | 61550 | BOB GRIMM CHEVROLET | |
| PA | HARRISBURG | SATURN OF HARRISBURG | ||
| TX | HOUSTON | SATURN OF HOUSTON |