Saturn Sl 1998
Model Sl made in 1998 by Saturn got 22 consumer complains there is 1 recall as well as 2 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to air bags, electrical system and equipment. Technical service bulletines regarding interior lighting, seats. There was one recall concerning exterior lighting . The car has one 1.9 engine.
Model 1998
| Engine [L] | Cylinders | Transmission | Drive | Estimate MPG (city/highway/combined) | Unadjusted MPG (city/highway/combined) | Fuel | Fuel cost | Class | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.9 | 4 | Lockup/automatic, 4 gears | F | 24/34/28 | 27.1548/43.2237/32.6102 | Regular | 669 | COMPACT CARS | |
| 1.9 | 4 | Lockup/automatic, 4 gears | F | 27/37/31 | 29.9659/47.4712/35.9277 | Regular | 606 | COMPACT CARS | |
| 1.9 | 4 | Manual, 5 gears | F | 26/36/30 | 28.6986/46.0497/34.5582 | Regular | 624 | COMPACT CARS | |
| 1.9 | 4 | Manual, 5 gears | F | 28/39/32 | 31.1987/50.3379/37.6385 | Regular | 585 | COMPACT CARS |
Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | ||||||||||||||||
| 09E012000 | SABERSPORT | E (Equipment) | 16270 | 05/11/2009 | OVSC | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 04/07/2009 | 04/07/2009 | 571 | 108 | ||||||
| Defect Summary | Sabersport is recalling 16,270 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. these headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment. these lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Sabersport will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. the safety recall began on may 11, 2009. owners may contact sabersport at 1-909-598-7589. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | This recall only pertains to aftermarket replacement equipment and has no relation to any original equipment installed on vehicles produced by the vehicle manufacturer.in order to determine if your aftermarket lamp assembly is affected by this noncompliance, please review the list of model numbers provided to us by sabersport.the list can be found under document search located at the bottom of your screen.owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov . | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INTERIOR LIGHTING | |||||
| 99T11 | 04/01/1999 | 605959 | Vehicles built after and including wz150315 may exhibit a dome lamp that is either inoperative, working intermittently, or flickers when turned on. *tt | 08/04/1999 | |
| SEATS | |||||
| 00T38 | 07/01/2000 | 614008 | Some customers may comment about abnormal wear or a cut on the inboard edge of the driver or passenger seat back cover. *tt | 09/26/2000 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 06/24/2005 | 4 | ||
| My brother was killed june 24, 2005, in a single car accident. he was driving a 1998 saturn sl on an interstate in mississippi, the saturn went out of control, his seatbelt (which he always wore) and he was ejected from the car. since his death, i've found on nhtsa's site almost 30 different complaints from 1998 saturn sly owners describing serious failures of that cars stability, brakes, steering, and air bags---all of which resulted in the car going out of control. fortunately, the drivers in the 30 complaints i've found all stated that the injuries were not fatal. my brother and our family are not so fortunate. the 1998 saturn sl's failures killed my brother. all of these failures were reported to nhtsa years ago, so his death could have been avoided. nhtsa and the saturn company owe me and my family some answers. and nhtsa and saturn must act now before more people are killed by this fatal car.*jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 02/19/1998 | 1 | 02/18/1998 | |
| Spark plug wire failed resulting in decreased power. yh | |||
| EQUIPMENT | |||
| 08/15/2003 | 62280 | ||
| Accessories: volume knob fell off...not replaced yet. overhead interior light fell off roof...repaired in august. other:since around 40,000 miles this car has had a severe vibration, wether from motor or transmission, or ??? is not known. vibration is so bad that you cannot see clearly out of rearview mirror when in park, or in drive with foot on brake. if you are sitting in car while in park, vibration can actually cause a numb feeling in your butt (i am serious...this is not a joke!!!) other times it is a fight to keep the car to a stop if in drive because of vibration and a "leaping" feeling. dash panel vibrates terribly loud, and is very distracting from this problem too. | |||
| EQUIPMENT - ELECTRICAL | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 0 | ||
| Before buying saturn sl the dealership told me they had to replace a motor mount and promised me a good running car. since buying this vehicle "used" in march of 2003 i have taken it to the shop on at least 5 occassions for a vibration in the motor that causes the vehicle to shake and a loud earing ringing humming in the car itself that would cause the steering wheel itself to shake. all but one of the times the dealer told me that it was a 4 cylinder and that is how they sound. yhey would then reset the service engine soon light and send me on my way. the noise got gradually worse to the point that it was uncomfortable physically to drive it. i recently requested another look at the vehicle, they did in fact finally say " ya that's bad" and questioned why the service engine soon light had not come on but again replaced the same defected motor mount again. now i have it back and there is still a noise in the engine that is not right and was told that it is no longer their problem.the vibration isn't as terrible as it was but my fear is that they never fixed the problem that casued the vibration just a symptom and therefore like when i first bought it it will come back. thank you for listening | |||
| OTHER | |||
| 08/15/2003 | 62280 | ||
| Accessories: volume knob fell off...not replaced yet. overhead interior light fell off roof...repaired in august. other:since around 40,000 miles this car has had a severe vibration, wether from motor or transmission, or ??? is not known. vibration is so bad that you cannot see clearly out of rearview mirror when in park, or in drive with foot on brake. if you are sitting in car while in park, vibration can actually cause a numb feeling in your butt (i am serious...this is not a joke!!!) other times it is a fight to keep the car to a stop if in drive because of vibration and a "leaping" feeling. dash panel vibrates terribly loud, and is very distracting from this problem too. | |||
| 09/15/2003 | 0 | ||
| Before buying saturn sl the dealership told me they had to replace a motor mount and promised me a good running car. since buying this vehicle "used" in march of 2003 i have taken it to the shop on at least 5 occassions for a vibration in the motor that causes the vehicle to shake and a loud earing ringing humming in the car itself that would cause the steering wheel itself to shake. all but one of the times the dealer told me that it was a 4 cylinder and that is how they sound. yhey would then reset the service engine soon light and send me on my way. the noise got gradually worse to the point that it was uncomfortable physically to drive it. i recently requested another look at the vehicle, they did in fact finally say " ya that's bad" and questioned why the service engine soon light had not come on but again replaced the same defected motor mount again. now i have it back and there is still a noise in the engine that is not right and was told that it is no longer their problem.the vibration isn't as terrible as it was but my fear is that they never fixed the problem that casued the vibration just a symptom and therefore like when i first bought it it will come back. thank you for listening | |||
| PARKING BRAKE - CONVENTIONAL | |||
| 04/08/2000 | 1 | 05/01/1998 | |
| Plastic button broke , parking brake would not remain engaged. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 05/15/2003 | 49000 | ||
| 1998 saturn with 49,000 miles needed the whole transmission to be rebuilt. the valve bodies are kept in stock at saturn of route 23 because this is such a common problem with saturn. the car had been properly maintained, trans service at 25,500 miles. saturn will take no responsibility in the cost of repairs. i've noted that saturn is on several webb sites with transmission failures documented. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 02/20/2003 | 79500 | 1 | 09/02/1997 |
| Small plastic ring in shifter linkage broke while in traffic leaving car stuck in first gear.*jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION - FLOOR SHIFT ASSEMBLY | |||
| 01/23/2005 | 55600 | 1 | 02/17/1998 |
| While parking my 1898 saturn sl in a hospital garage, the shift lever went limp without warning. there was no way to operate the transmission. when i removed the console, i discovered that the plastic bushing that connects the manual shift lever to the shift cable was missing. there was no longer any connection between the shift lever and the cable to the transmission. the entire shift cable assembly had to be replaced to fix the problem. saturn told me that the bushing is made onto the cable rather than being available as a separate part. if this bushing had failed in a traffic situation it could have resulted in an accident. the bushing should be designed such that if it brakes; the shift lever will remain connected to the shift cable and just cause sloppy shifting thereby warning the driver that repair is required. i still have the old shift cable assembly. *jb | |||
| 04/02/2004 | 130000 | 1 | 05/15/1998 |
| Shifter arm clutch linkage bushing broke while shifting gear. *jb | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT | |||
| 06/24/2005 | 4 | ||
| My brother was killed june 24, 2005, in a single car accident. he was driving a 1998 saturn sl on an interstate in mississippi, the saturn went out of control, his seatbelt (which he always wore) and he was ejected from the car. since his death, i've found on nhtsa's site almost 30 different complaints from 1998 saturn sly owners describing serious failures of that cars stability, brakes, steering, and air bags---all of which resulted in the car going out of control. fortunately, the drivers in the 30 complaints i've found all stated that the injuries were not fatal. my brother and our family are not so fortunate. the 1998 saturn sl's failures killed my brother. all of these failures were reported to nhtsa years ago, so his death could have been avoided. nhtsa and the saturn company owe me and my family some answers. and nhtsa and saturn must act now before more people are killed by this fatal car.*jb | |||
| 01/03/2005 | 1 | ||
| 1998 saturn sl seat belts are defective.***no answer required***. *mr the drivers seat belt would unlatch while the consumer was driving. *jb | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - BUCKLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 02/18/2004 | 59200 | 2 | 03/11/1998 |
| While driving/parking seat belt latch unlocked from the belt buckle. consumer was unable to wear seat belt correctly. *ak left front seat buckle were replaced on consumer's expense. dealer wasn't able to explain the main cause of the problem. *la | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - WEBBING | |||
| 08/09/2001 | 1 | ||
| When seat belt comes through slider to connect across chest belt it is cut. .*ak the belt must be cutting when it is pulled down to be fastened, the cuts are not noticeable because they are obscured by the slider when the belt is retracted and out of sight when the belt is fastened, the consumer retained the damaged part. nlm | |||
| SEAT BELTS - REAR | |||
| 11/20/2000 | |||
| Rear lap belt does not lock, when placing a car seat it causes seat not to be properly installed and moves frequently. saturn said lap belt needed to be replaced. it was a common problem. please provide further information.*ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 05/19/2004 | 2 | ||
| 1998 saturn 41,635 miles- bakes pulse and shakey steering- machine rotors new pads 48,343 miles-shakey steering-balance wheels replace suspected bad tire. 64,057 miles-shakey steering-machine rotors, pads okay for now.*mr there is something definitely wrong with the brakes and or the rotors. i have owned many vehicles and never had rotor problems. while at the repair shop i overheard two phone calls from customers with similar complaints. | |||
| 11/21/1998 | 2 | 09/25/1997 | |
| Rotors warped very frequently after service, causing the brake and the front end of the vehicle to vibrate and creating serious safety hazard. yh | |||
| TIRES | |||
| 10/22/2012 | 125000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1998 saturn sl, equipped with summit sienpre 6 tires, size 185/65/r15. the contact stated that he noticed that the rear driver and passenger tires had developed large bubbles in them. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the tires were not replaced. the failure and current mileages on the tire were approximately 30,000. the failure and current mileages on the vehicle were approximately 125,000. pmb | |||
| 10/22/2012 | 125000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1998 saturn sl, with summit sienpre 6 tires, size 185/65/r15. the contact stated that he noticed that the rear driver and passenger tires have large bubbles in them. the vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. the manufacturer was not contacted. the tires were not replaced. the failure and current mileages on the tire were approximately 30,000. the failure and current mileages on the vehicle were approximately 125,000. tb | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 07/31/2000 | 1 | ||
| Pe 00 020/tire tread separtion: reporting tires were cupping and a flat was received after two months of purchase on a 1998 saturn, sl. original equipment, p195/60r15, dot# unavailable. *ak | |||
Car dealers selling
| State | City | Zip | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FL | JACKSONVILLE | SATURN OF ORANGE PARK | ||
| KY | LOUISVILLE | 40299 | SATURN OF LOUISVILLE | 502-409-3800 |
| LA | METAIRIE | SATURN OF METAIRIE |