Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 11/15/2005 | 44300 | 2 | 01/01/2001 |
| 1999 saturn sl1 44300 miles on it. 3-4 weeks ago coolant light came on. checked coolant level was fine but milky subs floating on top. checked with radiator shop, suggested flush system and replace coolant. 2 weeks later oil light came on. checked oil, none on dip stick (3 weeks after oil change). added oil and vehicle was driven about 15-20 miles and began to overheat. vehicle was towed to saturn of monrovia where they found a cracked block. dealership and saturn corp. are not willing to cover fixing the problem even though they know there are still problems with these engines. earlier models had warranties extended to 6 year/100,000 miles. saturn corp. stated that vehicle was past that warranty and i am out of luck. i think that saturn should fix the problem at their expense as they know of the defects but continue to do nothing about it. i don't think i should have to pay almost $2,000 to have this defect fixed. i do have receipts since i have owned the vehicle (less then a year) and my brother owned the veh. prior but didn't use saturn except twice to service the vehicle since they were not close to his residence while he lived in texas. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 02/15/2004 | 7500 | 1 | |
| 1999 saturn sl1 -overheating, waterpump, radiator fan motor, thermostat and coolant temp sensor all replaced with factory parts. still overheating. this vehicle has a cracked head - same problem that was experienced on earlier models wher the warranty was extended to six years/100,000 miles. *ak | |||
| 10/14/2002 | 1 | 03/02/2002 | |
| The engine and head gasket was replaced.*jb | |||
| 01/04/2002 | 03/01/2099 | ||
| 02 sensor failure, water pump, fuel pump, serpentine belt, fuse block - all parts defects within short span of time after their 36k warranty expired- atypical problems for car with this type of mileage. manufacturer contacted and would not reveal parts manfucturer - not legally obligated to tell the public. as this car was no longer under warranty, i was informed that saturn would not reimburse for defective parts but would document that i was unhappy with my saturn experience. saturn not concerned about safety factors involved with repetitive parts failures. offerred free oil change. did not offer to have car brought in for inspection or extending some kind of warranty in order to study any problems for corrective action with this particular car or model. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 04/09/2005 | 81280 | 1 | 02/14/1999 |
| At about 81200 miles, the low coolant light came on. upon refilling the reservoir, i noticed that the coolant was discolored. i checked the oil and it was contaminated (milky colored). i took the car to my mechanic and was told the head was cracked. he also informed me that this is a chronic problem with saturn sohc engines and that i should try to get saturn to pay for the repair. after doing my own research, i found this to be true. i called saturn, at spring hill and was told that since i hadn't taken the car back to saturn for scheduled maintenance, i probably would have to come out of pocket, for repairs. i do all my pm's and have receipts and mileage records to prove it. i was told, when i bought this car that that would be fine. all saturn has done so far, is give me a case number (1-5883104). my problem is, i don't have the money to fix this problem. i don't want to drive the car to saturn and compound the problem, yet saturn won't pay for a tow and from what i have read, regarding this exact same problem, with other saturn owners, once they have your car, you have to fight tooth and nail to get them to pay for the job and in some cases, they simply wont. i realize that my car is out of warranty, but this seems like this is something saturn has known about for several years and did nothing to correct it. *nm | |||
| 12/02/2004 | 64000 | 3 | |
| Oil was leaking from the engine going under the intake manifold. consumer contacted the manufacturer to resolve this issue. however, manufacturer was only willing to pay $200.00 toward the cost of repairing the vehicle. consumer was afraid that the defect may cause the vehicle to develop a blown head gasket. *ak.....vehicle experienced vibration in steering wheel when driving 50 mph due to defective brake rotors. also, replaced engine head gasket. *ak | |||
| 05/20/2004 | 2 | ||
| While driving, the vehicle stalled without warning. the consumer tried to restart the vehicle and was not able to do so. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. the mechanic informed the consumer that the engine was cracked and needed to be replaced. please provide further details. *jb | |||
| 03/08/2004 | 54950 | 1 | 06/26/2002 |
| The cylinder head cracked by #5 cylinder by cam journal on a 1999 saturn sl-1 4 door sedan with 54,950 miles. dealer cost was $2,100.00, saturn covered $700.00. dealer claimed this was an isolated incident yet had the replacement head assembly in stock. *jb | |||
| 10/27/2003 | 61000 | 1 | 02/13/2002 |
| A mixture of oil and anti-freeze were noted. i brought the vehicle to the dealer where they told me that the head was cracked due to a manufacturing defect. they replaced the head and cooling system hoses only. now 10,000 miles later i am hearing a knocking sound from the engine. i brought the car to a mechanic where he informed me that the bottom half of the engine is gone and needs to be replaced. he stated that the dealer (saturn of morristown, nj) should have replaced the entire engine instead of just the top half. *la | |||
| 11/25/2003 | 85000 | 2 | |
| While driving at 30 mph engine was very loud, and the check engine light came on. consumer took vehicle to a mechanic, who found no oil in the engine. three quarts were added, and the check engine light went out. two days later, check engine light blinked, and the temperature gauge was indicating that the vehicle was over heating. the consumer added coolant, but driving under three miles vehicle overheated again. the vehicle was taken back to the mechanic, who informed the consumer that oil and coolant were mixing together in the engine. a new engine was needed. *ak | |||
| 10/30/2003 | 50587 | 1 | 07/23/2002 |
| One of the engine mounts had to be replaced at 50587 miles.*ak | |||
| 02/19/2003 | 1 | ||
| The head gasket leaked.*jb | |||
| 04/25/2001 | 2 | 07/01/1999 | |
| Vehicle lost all power on two occasions, on first occasion, vehicle stalled while consumer was traveling 30 mph, vehicle would not restart and it was towed where dealer could not find anything wrong, the second occasion the vehicles electrical system turned off and on and vehicle would not restart, dealer again could not find any problems, dealer took a best guess and replaced the crankshaft position sensor and consumer states the vehicle has been running okay so far. *slc | |||
| 11/01/2000 | 08/01/1999 | ||
| Crack in head. can't drive. oe defect. *ak | |||
| 01/16/1999 | 1 | ||
| Timing chain broke causing extensive damage to engine. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 01/04/2002 | 03/01/2099 | ||
| 02 sensor failure, water pump, fuel pump, serpentine belt, fuse block - all parts defects within short span of time after their 36k warranty expired- atypical problems for car with this type of mileage. manufacturer contacted and would not reveal parts manfucturer - not legally obligated to tell the public. as this car was no longer under warranty, i was informed that saturn would not reimburse for defective parts but would document that i was unhappy with my saturn experience. saturn not concerned about safety factors involved with repetitive parts failures. offerred free oil change. did not offer to have car brought in for inspection or extending some kind of warranty in order to study any problems for corrective action with this particular car or model. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||
| 01/04/2002 | 03/01/2099 | ||
| 02 sensor failure, water pump, fuel pump, serpentine belt, fuse block - all parts defects within short span of time after their 36k warranty expired- atypical problems for car with this type of mileage. manufacturer contacted and would not reveal parts manfucturer - not legally obligated to tell the public. as this car was no longer under warranty, i was informed that saturn would not reimburse for defective parts but would document that i was unhappy with my saturn experience. saturn not concerned about safety factors involved with repetitive parts failures. offerred free oil change. did not offer to have car brought in for inspection or extending some kind of warranty in order to study any problems for corrective action with this particular car or model. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 12/02/2004 | 64000 | 3 | |
| Oil was leaking from the engine going under the intake manifold. consumer contacted the manufacturer to resolve this issue. however, manufacturer was only willing to pay $200.00 toward the cost of repairing the vehicle. consumer was afraid that the defect may cause the vehicle to develop a blown head gasket. *ak.....vehicle experienced vibration in steering wheel when driving 50 mph due to defective brake rotors. also, replaced engine head gasket. *ak | |||