Saturn Ls 2002
Model Ls made in 2002 by Saturn got 20 consumer complains there are 3 investigations as well as 5 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to air bags, electrical system and engine and engine cooling. Technical service bulletines regarding electrical system, engine and engine cooling and equipment. The car had one investigation (engine and engine cooling).
Model 2002
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 08089-B | 11/01/2008 | 08089-C | 10027804 | General motors corp: special coverage adjustment; analog onstar deactivation. *pe updated 2/17/09. *pe | 02/09/2009 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - SOFTWARE | |||||
| 08089-B | 11/01/2008 | 08089-C | 10027804 | General motors corp: special coverage adjustment; analog onstar deactivation. *pe updated 2/17/09. *pe | 02/09/2009 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 3135 | 01/01/2004 | 10010045 | Pop noise from engine area during heavy throttle input. *tc | 11/03/2004 | |
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL | |||||
| 08-089 | 06/01/2008 | 10026586 | Gm: special coverage adjustment-analog onstar deactivation. fcc ruled in 2002 wireless carriers would no longer re required to support analog wireless network starting in 2008. *pe csc letter was received. updated 12/1/08. *pe | 11/14/2008 | |
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL - NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM) | |||||
| 08089-B | 11/01/2008 | 08089-C | 10027804 | General motors corp: special coverage adjustment; analog onstar deactivation. *pe updated 2/17/09. *pe | 02/09/2009 |
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). | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 08/27/2006 | 72000 | 2 | 09/29/2001 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 60 mph, the entire right front wheel assembly detached, causing the contact to have to guide the vehicle down the right guardrail with the brake depressed to keep the vehicle under control. also, the air bags failed to deploy. the vehicle was taken to a private repair shop, where the mechanic determined that the entire transaxle assembly had been smoothly sheared off. there were no repairs made immediately. there was a police report filed, and the manufacturer was also informed.*ak updated 10/25/2006 - *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 02/09/2004 | 30100 | 0 | 05/15/2002 |
| The saturn dealer of flint refused to hold in effect the warrianty after the engin locked up do to lack of oil. this occared after a failure of the dash board lights to say there was low oil in the car. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 03/18/2012 | 85000 | ||
| Driving on us hwy 290 at approx 70 mph, vehicle totally lost power. was able to pull over to shoulder, but we were nearly 50 miles outside of houston. vehicle would not restart. after $350 of towing and diagnosis fees, informed that the timing chain has failed, causing catostrophic failure to the engine. now i find out that there were recalls issued on this same engine for 2001 saturns, and only a tsb on the 2002 models indicating a need for a new oiler for the timing chain. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 06/15/2003 | 1 | ||
| Consumer states that while driving at any speed and with no warning vehicle will shut off, causing consumer to pull over, and it will be hard to get the vehicle back started.dealer notified.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 08/02/2002 | 1 | ||
| When driving or at a complete stop vehicle will start to rev even when foot is on the brake.*ak *jb | |||
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | |||
| 08/30/2010 | 78000 | 1 | |
| I noticed a very strong smell of gasoline and took my 2002 saturn vehicle to mechanic who informed me that the fuel pump was likely the issue. without dropping the tank he was not 100% sure. repair was made to a nipple near the fuel tank to see if that was the problem. the smell went away for approximately 3 months and at that time returned. i returned the vehicle to the mechanic and he dropped the fuel tank to confirm the fuel pump was damaged. repair was made at a significant cost to owner. (fyi - in 2010, 2 days after repairing the fuel pump, the transmission failed. it was repaired, and approximately 2 weeks after the transmission repair the body control module (bcm) failed and was repaired. now, in 2013 my timing belt has broken and i was informed my engine is garbage. i am currently fighting with gm as there was a recall issued for timing belts on saturn l200's, but they 'claim' my vin is not a part of that recall.) *tr | |||
| 08/30/2010 | 78000 | ||
| I noticed a very strong smell of gasoline and took my 2002 saturn vehicle to mechanic who informed me that the fuel pump was likely the issue. without dropping the tank he was not 100% sure. repair was made to a nipple near the fuel tank to see if that was the problem. the smell went away for approximately 3 months and at that time returned. i returned the vehicle to the mechanic and he dropped the fuel tank to confirm the fuel pump was damaged. repair was made at a significant cost to owner. (fyi - in 2010, 2 days after repairing the fuel pump, the transmission failed. it was repaired, and approximately 2 weeks after the transmission repair the body control module (bcm) failed and was repaired. now, in 2013 my timing belt has broken and i was informed my engine is garbage. i am currently fighting with gm as there was a recall issued for timing belts on saturn l200's, but they 'claim' my vin is not a part of that recall.) | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY - FUEL PUMP | |||
| 12/18/2012 | 2 | ||
| 2002 saturn l200. consumer writes in regards to a strong fuel smell in vehicle. *tgw according to the service invoice, the dealer found the supply line at the front of the fuel filter leaking fuel. the filter and supply line were replaced. however, later that evening, the consumer continued to smell the same strong odor of gas. the consumer returned to the dealer the next day and was informed that further repair was needed and it would require an additional cost of $ 900. the technician dropped the fuel tank and found fuel around the fuel pump and fuel was coming out of the pores of the plastic at the top pump. the fuel pump was replaced. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 08/27/2006 | 72000 | 2 | 09/29/2001 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 60 mph, the entire right front wheel assembly detached, causing the contact to have to guide the vehicle down the right guardrail with the brake depressed to keep the vehicle under control. also, the air bags failed to deploy. the vehicle was taken to a private repair shop, where the mechanic determined that the entire transaxle assembly had been smoothly sheared off. there were no repairs made immediately. there was a police report filed, and the manufacturer was also informed.*ak updated 10/25/2006 - *nm | |||
| SEAT BELTS | |||
| 12/28/2002 | 1 | 10/27/2001 | |
| The windshield wipers would skip around on the windshield when in use. the dealer has serviced the wipers several times but can't correct the problem. *nm the weatherstrip on the rear driver's side door was discolored. the lf seat belt height adjuster knob was missing. the driver's side of the dash rattled around the vent area when slowing to a stop. the technician determined that the left front door was out of alignment causing noise against primary weatherstrip. the windshield washers were inoperative because the hole was plugged. technician removed and cleaned the washers. the vehicle brakes were noise in the morning during the first couple of stops. the consumer initiated a lemon law claim with the bbb regarding the dealers inability to correct the problem with the windshield wipers. the consumer's claim was denied. *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 12/28/2002 | 1 | 10/27/2001 | |
| The windshield wipers would skip around on the windshield when in use. the dealer has serviced the wipers several times but can't correct the problem. *nm the weatherstrip on the rear driver's side door was discolored. the lf seat belt height adjuster knob was missing. the driver's side of the dash rattled around the vent area when slowing to a stop. the technician determined that the left front door was out of alignment causing noise against primary weatherstrip. the windshield washers were inoperative because the hole was plugged. technician removed and cleaned the washers. the vehicle brakes were noise in the morning during the first couple of stops. the consumer initiated a lemon law claim with the bbb regarding the dealers inability to correct the problem with the windshield wipers. the consumer's claim was denied. *nm | |||
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 12/28/2002 | 1 | 10/27/2001 | |
| The windshield wipers would skip around on the windshield when in use. the dealer has serviced the wipers several times but can't correct the problem. *nm the weatherstrip on the rear driver's side door was discolored. the lf seat belt height adjuster knob was missing. the driver's side of the dash rattled around the vent area when slowing to a stop. the technician determined that the left front door was out of alignment causing noise against primary weatherstrip. the windshield washers were inoperative because the hole was plugged. technician removed and cleaned the washers. the vehicle brakes were noise in the morning during the first couple of stops. the consumer initiated a lemon law claim with the bbb regarding the dealers inability to correct the problem with the windshield wipers. the consumer's claim was denied. *nm | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 12/28/2002 | 1 | 10/27/2001 | |
| The windshield wipers would skip around on the windshield when in use. the dealer has serviced the wipers several times but can't correct the problem. *nm the weatherstrip on the rear driver's side door was discolored. the lf seat belt height adjuster knob was missing. the driver's side of the dash rattled around the vent area when slowing to a stop. the technician determined that the left front door was out of alignment causing noise against primary weatherstrip. the windshield washers were inoperative because the hole was plugged. technician removed and cleaned the washers. the vehicle brakes were noise in the morning during the first couple of stops. the consumer initiated a lemon law claim with the bbb regarding the dealers inability to correct the problem with the windshield wipers. the consumer's claim was denied. *nm | |||
Car dealers selling
| State | City | Zip | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FL | DELRAY BEACH | SATURN OF DELRAY | 561-276-0400 | |
| MA | QUINCY | SATURN OF QUINCY | 617-325-4200 | |
| MI | FLINT | 48532 | SATURN OF FLINT | 810-722-8800 |
| NV | RENO | 89502 | CHAMPION CHEVROLET | 775-786-3111 |