Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 11/15/2003 | 55600 | 1 | 12/24/1994 |
| My 1995 sl1 saturn developed a cracked cylinder head at almost nine years and only 55,000 miles. saturn issued a letter dated june 1999 stating that this may happen but it was not a recall and they would extend the warranty to 6 years or 100,000 miles, whichever came first (only had 1 1/2 years more to go). the cost to repair was going to be $2,400. saturn know of this problem and ignores any responsibility to the consumer.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 05/07/2002 | 54908 | 04/22/2000 | |
| I purchased a 1995 saturn sedan sl1 with 32,000 mile. at 54,000 miles, the car started experiencing problems with water and oil mixing. i contacted saturn corporation about the problem they told me that they had a service bulletin out on the car. they stated that the car was over the years but under the miles for this recall. i contacted steve at saturn corp. and he gave me this confirmation number (1-2120506). | |||
| 03/30/1998 | 1 | ||
| Engine head cracked and water pump failed. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - FAN | |||
| 06/12/1997 | 45000 | 4 | 01/01/1997 |
| The vehicle has caused me nothing but problems, it eats oil without any sign of where it is going. the auto belt tightener is not working and cost an arm and a leg to fix. sunroof broke without any notice or cause, the fan switch never did operate correctly, now it is shifting real hard all the time while your driving, once it is warmed up. this vehicle is definitely a lemon. ak scc ***dimsii ivoq posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis****744336 | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 02/08/2004 | 49000 | ||
| The caris a 1995 saturn sl1 was bought in oct of 2002 it had only 38,962 actual miles on it, when i seen the overall shape of this vehicle it was awesome, the low mileage was the ultimate reason for buying the car ( since all i heard was how great these cars run) from a local chevrolet dealership in the area it has a sohc 4cyc. motor,within 10k miles of driving this car it started drinking oil uncontrolably, now the car has 84k onit and every month it needs a fresh set of plugs in it because the oil consumption that blows past the pistons fouls out the plugs.in 1000 miles of driving this car it will consume 3.5 quarts of oil,the car has regular oil chages at every 2000 miles(along with a case of oil in the trunk) needless to say the car still looks awesome...but loves that oil.*ak | |||
| 09/26/2003 | 114000 | 1 | 05/05/2003 |
| 1995 saturn sl1 - crack in cylinder head causing oil to leak into cooling system. i had to purchase new head and gasket set, oil pump and various other misc. parts in order to fix this. saturn has known about this problem and has not corrected it-i am a very unhappy saturn owner. up until this point, i was happy with the car. *nlm | |||
| 11/14/2002 | 56686 | 1 | |
| My 1995 saturn sl1 overheated in november 2002 due to a cracked cylinder head. there were 56,686 miles on the car. while there is a technical services bulletin related to this problem stating that saturns built between 1994 and 1996 may develop cracks and offering compensation if his occurs within 6 years or 100,000 miles, my car was over the 6 years that the warranty covered. in researching this problem, i have found that this is not an uncommon experience for saturn owners and feel that a recall of the cylinder heads is necessary and/or that saturn needs to compensate owners beyond the 6 year limit. *jb | |||
| 05/05/2003 | |||
| In june of 1999 the consumer received a notice from the manufacturer that her vehicles engine may develop a crack and they would cover the vehicle for a specified amount of time or mileage. now the time and mileage has expired and the vehicle has developed this problem. the manufacturer does not want to help the consumer with the problem. *nlm | |||
| 06/12/1997 | 45000 | 4 | 01/01/1997 |
| The vehicle has caused me nothing but problems, it eats oil without any sign of where it is going. the auto belt tightener is not working and cost an arm and a leg to fix. sunroof broke without any notice or cause, the fan switch never did operate correctly, now it is shifting real hard all the time while your driving, once it is warmed up. this vehicle is definitely a lemon. ak scc ***dimsii ivoq posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis****744336 | |||
| 08/01/2000 | 2 | 06/24/1995 | |
| The vehicle cylinder head cracked twice. the first cylinder head was replaced at no cost. the consumer had to pay for the second replacement. ph *nlm | |||
| 03/16/2003 | 103000 | 1 | |
| Internal crack in cylinder head due to manufacturing defect, allowing oil to mix with engine coolant. occurred at 103,000 miles and 8 year, so not covered by saturn's extended warranty on this defective head! saturn should have recalled and replaced all of these defective heads, at no charge to the consumers. *jb | |||
| 01/01/2002 | 1 | ||
| The vehicle had a defective oil pan and oil gasket. *dt *jb | |||
| 10/16/1999 | 75000 | 1 | |
| While driving instrument panel light kept going on and off.had vehicle serviced. engine cracked and oil leaked into radiator. had problem fixed. however, problem reoccurred.*ak *nlm | |||
| 02/12/2002 | 1 | 08/01/2001 | |
| Car was using oil, but was not leaking or burning it. car then started overheating, and i took it to the service station i always use. when changing anti freeze for overheating problem, found oil in the anti- freeze. this led to engine head problems. and head was sent out to be repaired and reinstalled. drove car for about a week and it started using anti- freeze again. this time when the head was pulled off, it was found to have a crack in it and now i have to buy a new head. i have spent about $1,800.00 so far and hope i din't have to spend more. my mechanis called the saturn mechanic in albany n.y. and he said this was common with 1995 saturn sl-1s. i also looked it up on the internet and found it to be a big problem with consumers of this year car. are you people going to do any thing about this problem. i think the comsumers of these junk cars are getting the shaft from you people, and you should be reinbersing all of us for these problems that your engines are causing. right?.*ak | |||
| 02/28/2001 | 01/01/1995 | ||
| Car overheated after a week of problems with the coolant fuild. at time of failure, oil was found mixed with the coolan fluid, and coolant fluid was in the engine. a cracked cylander has since been found. car has burned oil for 4 of the 6 years. mechanic has documentation of identical failures on 2 other 1995 saturns. | |||
| 09/19/1995 | 1 | 01/01/1995 | |
| This car has constantly had problems since the timing chain went at 15,000 miles. i'd like more information concerning engine failures on 1995 saturns. that is the only year they manufactured this particular engine and am interested to know why, since i coming across large amounts of engine complaints for this year.*ak | |||
| 03/01/2000 | |||
| Engine excessivley burns oil. head gasket has been replaced, and problem still occurs. please add additional information. *ak. | |||
| Casting of cylinder head was cracked. this caused engine to stall out. took vehicle to dealership & was informed by mechanic that problem was a factory defect in casting of cylinder head. it needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 01/01/2000 | 1 | ||
| While traveling, consuemr heard a clanking noise which turned out to be a crack in the cylinder head, customer is upset due to the fact that this failure happened after 100000 miles which would not be covered under saturns special policy regarding an extra coverage for 6 years or 100000 miles. consumer states that the air conditioning system has a degradable o-ring connection which causes massive freon leaks. *slc | |||
| 07/10/2000 | 03/01/1995 | ||
| Excessive use of oil for life of car. head gasket has now blown | |||
| 03/30/1998 | 1 | ||
| Engine head cracked and water pump failed. | |||
| 1 | 10/01/1994 | ||
| Screeching noise upon start up. | |||
| 10/24/1997 | 3 | ||
| While drivng, the vehicle just stopped completely in the middle of traffic. vehicle was towed to a shop, where the alternator and battery were replaced. owner still experienced problems with vehicle. when taken to the dealer, the alternator was replaced again. the alternator has been replaced (3) times within a (2) year period. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 1 | |||
| The vehicle has developed a smoke emmision from the tail pipe due to oil leakage in the engine becasue of a defective ring on a piston in the no.1 cylinder. the vehicle has been examined by several local mechanics but no one wants to take on such a big responsibility. it was advised that a replacement engine was the only remedy. consumer feels saturn should resole this at no cost to consumer. *jg | |||
| 11/01/1994 | |||
| I became aware of an oil consumption problem when my oil light came on when the car was 1000 miles and one month early for the next oil change. the complaint was dismissed by service techs at that time, explaining that saturn egines run hot, and that it was not unusual to use one or two quarts of oil between changes. on a trip back to virginia form new jersey, my ses light came on, and i began to notice a fairly loud ticking in my engine. when i pulled over i found i had no oil in my oil pan. my engine could have seized on a major highway, and the oil light never came on (i was about 500 miles and two weeks early for my next oil change). i had regular routine maintenance at the dealership, but the dealership recently informed me that i would have to have a massive overhaul of my engine before i even had 100,000 miles on it. this seems highly irregular for a vehile which was impeccably maintained. i have also become aware of similar complaints on other internet sites. this is not an uncommon problem, but it is a very cosly one.*ak | |||
| 06/01/1999 | |||
| Vehicle has been using a lot of oil in last year and a half. currently, consumer could smell oil burning. saturn told consumer that was because she did not change oil every 3000 miles, but waited until 3200 miles.*ak | |||
| Vehicle is burning an excessive amount of oil which has caused engine to lock up. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| 03/01/1998 | 3 | 07/21/1995 | |
| Engine/ignition/computer/speedomer/cruise control/rear window defroster: elecrical wiring/windshield wiper motor/driver's seat latch and parking brake failed. | |||
| 10/27/1997 | 1 | 12/01/1994 | |
| Vehicle loses power and makes noise due to engine failure. | |||
| 10/24/1997 | 3 | ||
| While drivng, the vehicle just stopped completely in the middle of traffic. vehicle was towed to a shop, where the alternator and battery were replaced. owner still experienced problems with vehicle. when taken to the dealer, the alternator was replaced again. the alternator has been replaced (3) times within a (2) year period. *ak | |||
| 02/11/1997 | 2 | ||
| Owner indicates that the engine stalls at any given time. *ak | |||
| 01/27/1995 | 7 | ||
| Bad valve springs and bent connecting rod. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE) | |||
| 12/02/2000 | 10 | 12/01/1994 | |
| When egr vlalve fails, car stalls and takes a minute to restart. this is a common problem with saturns. it took 2 weeks to get a replacement part since they are on national backorder. please help!*ak | |||
| 03/17/1997 | 1 | ||
| Egr valve was sticking causing the ses light to illuminate and the vehicle to hesitate/stall. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 05/18/2006 | 168000 | 1 | 11/01/1997 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the engine temperature gauge elevated without warning. upon further inspection, the contact noticed the oil and antifreeze were mixed together. the vehicle was seen by a dealer who determined there was a fractured engine head. after replacement of the head, the problem persisted. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop to await further inspection. | |||