Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | |||
| 06/22/2006 | 48035 | 02/26/2000 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated a recall letter was received back in october of 2005, regarding the tail light. letter was misplaced and the manufacturer was contacted to have copies of that letter as well as any related recalls on his vehicle. manufacturer refused to send copies. | |||
| 04/12/2001 | 4 | 04/24/2000 | |
| Consumer states there is a leak inside brake light housing, there is a rattle in the overhead light, third brake light failed, the second bulb from the left center high brake mount burnt out, the dome light was not seated properly causing a rattling noise. *slc | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BACK UP LIGHTS | |||
| 03/28/2005 | 10 | 09/16/2000 | |
| Taillights continue to work only intermittently, they have been fixed several times and continue to malfunction. | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS | |||
| 05/15/2007 | 105650 | 1 | 09/06/2004 |
| Recently my infant daughter just barely avoided being seriously injured when the rear window brake light on the 2000 ls1 suddenly and unexpectedly detached and fell while driving. we had checked with the dealership, who told me that no recall had been issued because of this problem, and the technician could find no reason why it should have fallen. his solution was to have us order a new part and pay a large sum of money for the part and labor to install it. a check with the nhtsa informed us that this was a known issue with 2000 l-series sedans. the nhtsa representative told us that this was due to electronics which may shift over time. furthermore, it appeared that this i was due to a defect in the design ,and replaced the brake light assembly .would do nothing to prevent further dangerous incidents. saturn offered to pay $55 toward the cost of replacing the part. a representative said that they would not issue any recalls or take any actions until forced to do so by nhtsa. they refused to provide any numbers regarding the size of the class, such as number of registered owners of 2000 l-series sedans.*ak | |||
| 08/23/2005 | 96045 | 3 | 08/01/2003 |
| Exterior lighting - brake lights and cruise control. brake lights randomly fail to work. when the headlights are on, brake lights, tail lights and cruise control do not work. we were able to adjust the lights slighty to get them to work for a period of time, but they would go off and on. we were not aware of this problem until driving at 10:30 p.m. and being told we have no rear lights. have changed the light bulbs a few times and also have been to the dealer 5 + times on this issue. the last time they replaced the complete light sockets. this seems to have stopped the problem for now. *nm | |||
| 03/28/2005 | 10 | 09/16/2000 | |
| Taillights continue to work only intermittently, they have been fixed several times and continue to malfunction. | |||
| 01/12/2005 | 12000 | 1 | 10/17/1999 |
| Constantly having people tell me my brake lights don't work. i've replaced bulbs and get them working for awhile and now i've come to the conclusion that tail light assembly is a bad design. the bulb holder contacts that light up the brake light does not always stay in contact with the tail light assembly. i get it working for awhile and then someone tells me my brake lights don't work. other electrical problems with this car - heater/ac blower quit working and truck release switch on dash board quit working. *jb | |||
| 12/28/2004 | 62000 | 2 | 05/09/2000 |
| Currently the blower motor for the heater/defroster is not working. i have had many many problems with this car, inparticular with the brakes and steering. the rack and pinion was repaired twice. i have had brakes replaced twice, and recently the brake drums, rotators and pads. i have had the power steering pump repaired and from time to time need to have the steering wheel lubricated when it starts to make noise again. i am wondering if i am the only one with these problems or are others with this same car having the same problems. i do not feel safe when i am driving this car. i have brought it to the dealer many times to have things checked with wheels and steering. *ak | |||
| 09/17/2004 | 50 | 07/18/2003 | |
| There were a number of near misses because of a defect in the brake lights/turn signal.*ak | |||
| 10/28/2004 | 8 | 01/15/2001 | |
| Have owned the car, 2000 ls1, since it had about 8k miles. have had to buy 3 sets of tires so far due to irregular wear. been to saturn dealership and other garages several times about this before finally learning from saturn this past summer that the lower control arms on this make and model are defective and that saturn had put together a shim kit to fix the problem. this solution would cost over $500, especially when you count the four wheel alignment that would also be necessary. also having brake light problems. brake lights don't work when parking lights are turned on. have replaced bulbs several times, particularly the driver side brake light. mechanic cleaned and adjusted the socket's contact points, but 3 weeks later the driver side brake light was not working again. wipers don't get windshield clean, even when brand new. auto unlock stopped working. *jb | |||
| 01/28/2004 | 60000 | 1 | |
| While driving power steering pump failed, making it hard for the consumer to turn the steering wheel. problems with brake lights intermittenly failing. when the headlights are on all three brake lights won't work. brake light failure almost caused an accident and had me pulled over by a police officer. the mechanic traced out and repaired a ground wire to correct the problem. *ak *mr | |||
| 12/13/2003 | 2 | 11/12/2000 | |
| Failure of left rear (driver side) tail light assembly causing the brake light to not light. this is my second tail light assembly failure in 3 years. *ak | |||
| Brake lights intermittent, bulbs vibrate in light assembly causing them to stop working. contacted local saturn dealer and was told they've seen the same thing several times before. dt | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS - SWITCH | |||
| 06/01/2004 | 61000 | 4 | 07/06/2000 |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2000 saturn ls1. the contact states that the electrical components on the driver's side of the vehicle do not work. the windows, the horn, and brakes lights are not working. the brake light problem has been happening for years, but the window, horn, speaker, driver side turn signal, and the dash lights started to malfunction at one time. the consumer indicates when she rolled the driver's side window down and back up that was when every thing quit working. the service dealer stated that each component would need to be replaced. the consumer has contacted the manufacturer.*ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | |||
| 1 | 08/02/1999 | ||
| Head lights are not adjusted properly causing poor visibility. mjs | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - SWITCH | |||
| 06/30/2007 | 1 | ||
| 2000 saturn ls1 with smoke coming out of the steering column**cc the dealer stated the reason for the smoke was because the headlight switch had shorted out. the consumer also stated the tail lights were shortening out. *jb | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TAIL LIGHTS | |||
| 06/30/2007 | 1 | ||
| 2000 saturn ls1 with smoke coming out of the steering column**cc the dealer stated the reason for the smoke was because the headlight switch had shorted out. the consumer also stated the tail lights were shortening out. *jb | |||
| 03/28/2005 | 10 | 09/16/2000 | |
| Taillights continue to work only intermittently, they have been fixed several times and continue to malfunction. | |||
| 12/28/2004 | 62000 | 2 | 05/09/2000 |
| Currently the blower motor for the heater/defroster is not working. i have had many many problems with this car, inparticular with the brakes and steering. the rack and pinion was repaired twice. i have had brakes replaced twice, and recently the brake drums, rotators and pads. i have had the power steering pump repaired and from time to time need to have the steering wheel lubricated when it starts to make noise again. i am wondering if i am the only one with these problems or are others with this same car having the same problems. i do not feel safe when i am driving this car. i have brought it to the dealer many times to have things checked with wheels and steering. *ak | |||
| 10/14/2000 | 44000 | 3 | 05/05/2000 |
| Rear taillight assembly improperly manufactured on 2000 saturn l-series sedan causes arcing in brake light bulb/socket and caused fuse to blow rendering parking lights inoperable. i have replaced the sockets 3 times and replaced an entire left rear tail light assembly. the right assembly is original. dealership stated there was a redesign of the tail light assembly to correct the problem. the tail light assembly cost $100 to replace (i did the labor myself). the cost to replace 3 sockets has been at a cost of $25/socket=$75 so far. total cost nearly $200 out of pocket for this improperly manufactured, but crucial part of the 2000 l-series sedan. *jb | |||
| 07/01/2004 | 20000 | 1 | 11/20/1999 |
| The plastic around the tail lights on the driver side melted due to bulbs overheating. dealer was notified. dealer informed consumer that the problem maybe due to an electrical surge.*ak | |||
| 05/15/2004 | 1 | 10/19/2001 | |
| Tail lights on my 2000 saturn ls1 keep blowing out. both housings were replaced under warranty a few months after i got my car and now they are doing the same thing. my warranty is expired and they want me to pay the cost out of pocket. i feel saturn owes me replacement taillights and all the money i have spent on replacement bulbs. this should be a saftey recall, as this is a common problem that saturn and many customers know about. it is extremly dangerous to drive around with tailights that you can not rely on working when you really need them.*ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TAIL LIGHTS - SWITCH | |||
| 12/14/2004 | 5 | ||
| Complaint received via e-mail. tail/stop light assembly failure on both sides began on 05/2003 with left side. replaced socket/bulb. however, problem recurred on 06/2003, and replaced assembly at a cost of $84.37. replaced sockets on both sides 3 more times. stopped by police twice, as recent as 12/2004 for no tail/stop lights on right side. the problem was with only with top socket/circuit. service and parts manager at temple saturn, 1-800-460-7688, was well aware of problems, and said this was a common problem only for 2000-2002 vehicles. contacted saturn customer assistance center, stated the problem, and was given case ref #1-14090108. also, was told not enough complaints for them to replace at their cost. the parts and service managers at temple saturn - heath green/chuck green could provide information. basic problem was the circuit board which was placed with plastic hold downs melted and caused the metal to move and short out. *ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TURN SIGNAL | |||
| 09/17/2004 | 50 | 07/18/2003 | |
| There were a number of near misses because of a defect in the brake lights/turn signal.*ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TURN SIGNAL - SWITCH | |||
| 09/07/2005 | 89018 | 1 | |
| Dt: while driving home and giving left turn signal there was smoke coming out of the steering column. took the vehicle to the dealer, and the switch was defective and it caught on fire on the inside. the dealer replaced the switch ,but they charge d the consumer for the work. this happened on september 7, 2005. *ak | |||
| 09/23/2002 | 637600 | 2 | 07/25/2000 |
| While using turn signal the brights would come on and sometimes wouldn't go off for awhile. this has happened to me twice and i have had it replaced twice at my cost seeing as how the vehicle had just gone out of warrenty the first time | |||
| 1 | |||
| Directional switch assembly was defective. *yh | |||