Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 06/01/1998 | 07/01/1994 | ||
| Engine head gasket blew/engine head cracked. temperature gauge does not function properly. also, while driving transmission would pop out of gear. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - FAN | |||
| 10/10/2004 | 5 | ||
| Air bag light was not working, replaced 2 of the componenets under the dash one under the drivers side up in the corner and the other up behind the glove box. cooling fan does not function properly must keep the ac on for the fan to work. a friend of mine has the same car and has the same problem. tried to fix by replacing the sensors had a mechanic try to trouble shoot, can't find a reason so it is not fixed just keep ac on always. car vibrates and can't find a reason still looking for problem, vibrates so much body parts on front are becoming misaligned! and it seems the auto-transmission shifts funny. check engine light comes and then stays on after driving apx. 1 mile. cruise control does not work properly. my friend has all the same complaints. *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 10/10/2004 | 5 | ||
| Air bag light was not working, replaced 2 of the componenets under the dash one under the drivers side up in the corner and the other up behind the glove box. cooling fan does not function properly must keep the ac on for the fan to work. a friend of mine has the same car and has the same problem. tried to fix by replacing the sensors had a mechanic try to trouble shoot, can't find a reason so it is not fixed just keep ac on always. car vibrates and can't find a reason still looking for problem, vibrates so much body parts on front are becoming misaligned! and it seems the auto-transmission shifts funny. check engine light comes and then stays on after driving apx. 1 mile. cruise control does not work properly. my friend has all the same complaints. *nm | |||
| 03/17/2001 | 1 | 01/01/1996 | |
| Cylinder head cracked. this could result in sudden total engine failure, causing loss of control of vehicle. investigation revealed this is a result of a known manufacturing defect. i found several other instances through internet research. manufacturer not helpful in resolving issue. | |||
| 10/01/2000 | 1 | 01/01/1994 | |
| Vehicle was brought in to dealer's service department for another problem. dealer indicated that motor mount was cracked and in need of replacement. vehicle has not been abused or involved in a collision, and all recommended scheduled maintenance has been performed according to schedule. this is a highly unusual set of circumstances for failure of a motor mount. review of usenet internet newsgroups indicates this problem is widespread and well-known to dealers. apparent cause is a design defect in the original design, now supplanted by a strengthened design in the replacement parts, with no admission of fault by the manufacturer for the deficient design in the original. | |||
| 02/22/2000 | 06/01/1999 | ||
| My car's timing chain and assembly exploded killing the engine of the saturn sl1 i have owned for less than one year. the extended service plan was 12 months or 12,000 miles and i have driven about 15,000 miles. the car had about 65,000 miles when i bought it from saturn of lewisville. the car is currently at a saturn dealer called saturn of irving in texas. i feel that saturn has a measure of responsibility for this. i can not find all my receipts but do have some showing maintenance i have done and the emmissions test results from 12/29/99. i have been talking with saturn since 2/24/00. saturn sent a sample of the oil for testing on 2/25/00 with a promise of results within a week. i am still waiting! i have a written statement from a firestone on the initial condition of the car after the failure as they were the first to see the car. *ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Timing chain failed. nlm | |||
| 05/22/1999 | 1 | 03/16/1998 | |
| Head gasket cracked causing extensive damage to engine components. mjs | |||
| 06/04/1999 | 1 | 12/01/1993 | |
| The timing chain on my car and two others that i am aware of wore through the plastic guides, causing metal to get into the engine and causing an engine seizure ruining the engine. it happened to all three cars within a month of each other. one engine had 58,000 miles and mine has 62,000 miles . the manufacturer and the dealer both say it is not their problem and i have to replace the engine with a new one or a used one at my expense. it would appear that there is an engineering problem if i know of two others that failed for the same reason. can you help? what else can i do? *ak | |||
| 05/12/1999 | 05/19/1999 | ||
| Timing chain broke, causing loud noise. also, there is some problem with the engine as a whole due to the timing chain belt breaking. *ak | |||
| 04/28/1999 | 3 | 08/01/1993 | |
| Oil is in my radiator fluid. probably a cracked engine head. *ak | |||
| 12/12/1998 | |||
| While driving engine check light will come off and on, and the oil is leaking out of the pistons. when the consumer takes off,smoke comes out from the vehicle. also, timing belt had to be replaced, and consumer is having problems with the air conditioner motor. saturn agreed that there is a problem with the oil. *ak | |||
| 06/01/1998 | 07/01/1994 | ||
| Engine head gasket blew/engine head cracked. temperature gauge does not function properly. also, while driving transmission would pop out of gear. | |||
| 05/18/1998 | 1 | 04/01/1994 | |
| Loose bolt inside the engine came off and broke the rear shaft/rocker arm. | |||
| 03/21/1995 | 1 | ||
| Engine valves sticking due to carbon build-up. *skd | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 11/26/2001 | 01/01/1997 | ||
| I feel that saturn made a lemon and i bought it! i have brought this up to my sales person. he refused to take my phone calls. saturn refuses to give me the names of the higher-ups in which to bring my grievances too. i feel there are too many major repairs for only 29,000 miles that i have put on this car. no safety defect listed. *ak | |||
| 04/12/2000 | 1 | 12/01/1997 | |
| With no indication, engine was short 3 or more quarts of oil causing a possible failure of lifters and/or valves. oil warning light functions when starting the car. vehicle is not usable and may require engine replacement. we have heard this same problem from two other sources who have saturns. oil has been changed at 3,000 mile intervals since we purchased. discovered the problem when taken for oil change. | |||
| 04/12/1999 | 1 | 04/01/1994 | |
| Broken rocker shaft caused car to lose power while driving on a freeway. | |||
| 05/18/1998 | 1 | 04/01/1994 | |
| Loose bolt inside the engine came off and broke the rear shaft/rocker arm. | |||
| 08/12/1994 | 2 | ||
| Engine missed/emittted popping noise. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - CATALYTIC CONVERTOR | |||
| 05/01/1995 | |||
| Calif. required the recall of 1994 saturns due to faulty catalytic converters. i called saturn and they use the date of purchase as a reason not to comply. this car was purchased in may 1995 with over 300 miles on it. also, i noticed one time when i was having another problem to repair, saturn had replaced catalytic converter on the work form. i watched the repair and no one touched the catalytic converter. saturn is not complying with calif. recall completely by using purchase date instead of mfg. date. calif. dept. of air resources and auto repair ask me to notify ntsa. the recall was nov. 22,1999. this car has been marginal on smog readings. i would appreciate you checking this out. thank you. *ak | |||