Saturn Sl1 2002
Model Sl1 made in 2002 by Saturn got 44 consumer complains as well as 1 service bulletin. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to air bags and electrical system. Technical service bulletines regarding wheels.
Model 2002
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHEELS - RIM | |||||
| 050310003 | 05/01/2009 | SB-050310003D | 10024405 | Low tire pressure, leaking cast aluminum wheels (repair with adhesive sealant). 2008 and prior gm passenger car and light duty trucks (including saturn) and hummer h2, h3 and saab 9-7x with cast aluminum wheels. *nj updated 10/23 | 04/11/2008 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 20000 | 1 | 06/07/2002 |
| My car has a lot of problems. the steering system has been replaced 2 times. the climate blower motor has been replaced 2 times. it has broken down 2 times. this car is a lemon and gm will do nothing to help with any problems i have.. they just give me the run around. and my windshield wiper system has been replaced 1 time.. which still never corrected the problem.. the speed of the wipers when on high are slower then most cars resulting in poor vision. the air bags never went off when i got in to a head on collision at 45 mph.. this has to be the worst car out there. *jb | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 09/15/2005 | 45000 | 1 | 06/01/2002 |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2002 saturn sl1. the contact stated his daughter was involved in a front and rear end collision while driving approximately 20 mph. the contact daughter's vehicle hydroplaned into a vehicle and was struck from behind by another vehicle. upon impact, front air bags did not deploy. the consumer has not contacted the service dealer or manufacturer to determine why the airbags may not have deployed. *ak | |||
| 07/22/2002 | |||
| Vehicle was involved in a six car rear end collision and neither air bag deployed. dealer notified. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 01/02/2009 | 1 | ||
| Car idles high. if you are at a light or parked in the car the car will idle high then shut off. if youare driving on the highway and need to pick up speed the car revs up and then rpms go real high but not any power put into the car to move. this issue has been a problem since we first bought the car. and is getting worse. *tr | |||
| 02/23/2005 | 2 | ||
| When brakes applied the brake light failed to come on, the brake light did not illuminated. the consumer drove to the dealer and the mechanic informed the consumer that there was an electrical shortage connecting from the steering harness. please provide additional information. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 01/10/2008 | 87000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn sl1. whenever the contact attempts to turn on the vehicle, the ignition will not turn to the start position. the contact stated that it takes 5-10 minutes of attempting to turn on the vehicle before the ignition would turn. the contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle prior to the failure. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current mileage was 103,787 and failure mileage was 87,000. | |||
| 05/03/2005 | 48000 | 42 | 10/15/2001 |
| Dt: while trying to start the car with the key it will not turn the ignition to start the car. a recall was issued on the same component but for a different model car. dealer has fixed problem, butcaller has to pay for it. manufacturer has not been contacted yet.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 03/26/2007 | 95000 | 1 | 08/15/2006 |
| My son had an accident involving 3 other vehicles. the motor of the 2002 saturn sl1 in which he was driving stalled as he exited the highway onto a service road. once the engine stalled,he did not have the ability to steer or stop the vehicle. as a result, he struck 2 vehicles that were stopped at a red light causing a chain reaction. the second vehicle that he struck hit the vehicle in front of it. the airbags deployed in the vehicle my son drove. the right side of vehicle 1 sustained damage. the rear and front bumpers were damaged on vehicle 2. the rear of vehicle 3 is damaged. the saturn in which my son was driving had front bumper damage, hood crumpled, airbag deployment, left rear view mirror separated from the car, left head light and brackets destroyed, and damage along the left front quarter panel. *jb my son received a superficial cut in which the emergency paramedics bandaged while on site. the saturn was towed to saturn of arlington for diagnostic tests. the technician explained that the computer contains vehicle systems information that occured immediately prior to the collision, however he did not have the capability to extract the information. | |||
| 03/16/2002 | 2 | 01/28/2002 | |
| While driving vehicle exhibits ticking noise and then stalled. consumer attempted to restart vehcle as it died out again. dealer replaced main module computer (ecm) engine control moduel. *tt | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 11/01/2005 | 59736 | 1 | 06/12/2002 |
| Intake manifold gasket. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 11/24/2007 | 60000 | 1 | 12/14/2004 |
| At around 60k the saturn sl1 2002 showed a trouble code with the intake gasket leaking fuel mileage suffered. this car can not pass smog and now the car is consuming 1 qt of oil in 300 miles, as well as getting terrible gas mileage. no repairs have been made as i would think that since the net is littered with this problem on the sl1 1.9 it should be covered by saturn. if there is not a common failure with the intake gasket why has saturn made a upgraded gasket?? recall this pos! *tr | |||
| 10/16/2006 | 52068 | 1 | 03/28/2002 |
| Head gasket failure in a relatively young vehicle with 52,000 miles. not covered under warranty and cost $600.00 to fix. *nm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 03/26/2007 | 95000 | 1 | 08/15/2006 |
| My son had an accident involving 3 other vehicles. the motor of the 2002 saturn sl1 in which he was driving stalled as he exited the highway onto a service road. once the engine stalled,he did not have the ability to steer or stop the vehicle. as a result, he struck 2 vehicles that were stopped at a red light causing a chain reaction. the second vehicle that he struck hit the vehicle in front of it. the airbags deployed in the vehicle my son drove. the right side of vehicle 1 sustained damage. the rear and front bumpers were damaged on vehicle 2. the rear of vehicle 3 is damaged. the saturn in which my son was driving had front bumper damage, hood crumpled, airbag deployment, left rear view mirror separated from the car, left head light and brackets destroyed, and damage along the left front quarter panel. *jb my son received a superficial cut in which the emergency paramedics bandaged while on site. the saturn was towed to saturn of arlington for diagnostic tests. the technician explained that the computer contains vehicle systems information that occured immediately prior to the collision, however he did not have the capability to extract the information. | |||
| 07/15/2002 | 5 | 06/01/2002 | |
| The car idles rough, has lousy gas mileage, and no power. i was told on the 5th time to the saturn repair shop, that the sl1s have an engineering defect and saturn does not know how to fix it. dt | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - DELIVERY | |||
| 11/01/2005 | 59736 | 1 | 06/12/2002 |
| Intake manifold gasket. *jb | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER | |||
| 01/02/2009 | 1 | ||
| Car idles high. if you are at a light or parked in the car the car will idle high then shut off. if youare driving on the highway and need to pick up speed the car revs up and then rpms go real high but not any power put into the car to move. this issue has been a problem since we first bought the car. and is getting worse. *tr | |||
| 04/27/2002 | 4 | ||
| Fuel gauge is not registering proper amount of fuel, causing vehicle to stop running while driving. vehicle been to dealer on four occasions, and problem reoccurring. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| OTHER | |||
| 12/20/2005 | 42000 | 1 | |
| Antenna connector (holder) fails on a 2002 saturn sl1 with 42k miles on it radio wouldn't receive fm reception over 30 miles! had factory put back in and no difference thought radio was bad not the case! removed holder which was difficult to do took 5 hours removing and putting a new one in cost 44.00 for part dealer refused to pay for it! spent 50.00 removing radio and re-installing radio! antenna connector (holder) had salt build up in it! *jb | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 20000 | 1 | 06/07/2002 |
| My car has a lot of problems. the steering system has been replaced 2 times. the climate blower motor has been replaced 2 times. it has broken down 2 times. this car is a lemon and gm will do nothing to help with any problems i have.. they just give me the run around. and my windshield wiper system has been replaced 1 time.. which still never corrected the problem.. the speed of the wipers when on high are slower then most cars resulting in poor vision. the air bags never went off when i got in to a head on collision at 45 mph.. this has to be the worst car out there. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 07/10/2005 | 55 | 1 | |
| Transmission failure on 2002 saturn sl mileage: 50+k only 2nd owner bought from used auto dealer. covered on dealer warranty and fixed in 2005. transmission failure again after warranty expiration- 2008. *tr | |||
| 10/16/2008 | 86500 | 1 | |
| One evening last week i noticed that when i would shift gears after being parked, it felt like something dropped under my car. the same night, i would be driving about 35-40 miles and hour in the 1-2 rpm range, all of a sudden the gauge would quickly jump to 3 rpms and then drop back down. it did this consistently every 2-3 minutes. i took my car to a local transmission shop the next morning because i felt that it was a serious problem. the body valve was damaged which was the main problem. that was replaced along with a few other parts. when i was paying ($2895) the man that had been helping me informed me that his shop had encountered many transmission problems with my model car (2002 saturn sl1) and that they checked in to any kind of recall or bulletins. he said that he felt that gm would be issuing a bulletin relatively soon. i did my own research and found multiple complaints about saturn transmission problems, in particular the body valve. when my father originally purchased the new vehicle, he had complained about the shifting of the car and gone to the saturn dealership to complain a few times, and he was told, oh, that's just the way car is. i feel that this car had a transmission problem in the beginning that was brushed under the rug, and has created a almost $3000 problem. *tr | |||
| 04/01/2008 | 150000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2002 sl1 (auto transmission)with over 150,000 miles on it. the transmission had started clunking when engaged in reverse and also when shifting between other gears. i decided to have my transmission rebuilt. i have had my car at a transmission shop for over a month now. the mechanics replaced my valve box and still am having the same issues. my mechanics is at a loss right now. i have read alot of blogs on the internet about the saturn transmissions and believe i am not going to get my car fixed by my current mechanic nor anyone else. *tr | |||
| 10/13/2004 | 48000 | 1 | 05/13/2002 |
| This is regarded to the valve body issue that is common in saturns. i have a 2002 sl1 with 50,000 miles on it and must need to be replaced after doing research online i have found that there is hundreds of people with the same problem. why has saturn not done anything to fix this problem, or offer to help pay for the cost of repairs?*ak | |||
| Automatic transmission not able to shift into low gear while descending steep grade/mountain roads. brakes are scorched due to excessive pedal application, and controlling vehicle is with difficulty. please describe details. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - COLUMN SHIFT | |||
| 09/02/2003 | 1 | 06/20/2002 | |
| Gear shift started smoking then caught on fire.*mr there was a recall for 2000-2003 saturns of the same model. the dealer stated they weren't responsible for the fire and wasn't going to pay for the damages. *ph *nlm | |||
| Transmission pawl will not disengage if vehicle is parked on slightest incline even with emergency brake. this problem is becoming repetitious more frequently. vehicle must be left in neutral with hand brake engaged. please describe details. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 01/14/2002 | 12900 | 6 | 09/10/2001 |
| Car has been taken back to saturn for repairs 5 times and after the max of 2 days the problems were back. the car is not safe to drive and has been parked in my garage for now two years. saturn is not willing to buy the car back through the wisconsin lemon law and by an inspector and myself it is a pure lemon. the car vibrates, idles very rough, and has the curious tendency to stall, lose power while driving at any speed. the car does not know what first gear is, the back end tells you of any bump in the road. car has stalled several times when turning in a major intersection just love the sight of on coming cars and getting the finger and the horn. not to mention the fear of going to the hospital for injuries, maybe not me, but maybe my passenger at the time in this car was 6, my daughter. *ak | |||
| 38026 | 1 | ||
| While driving consumer heard a loud noise. took vehicle to dealer, who determined that the gears broke and went through the transmission. manual transmission was replaced. *ak | |||
| SEAT BELTS - FRONT - BUCKLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 07/22/2002 | |||
| Vehicle was involved in a six car rear end collision.driver's side seat belt came unlatched ,and driver sustained injuries. dealer was notified. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| SEATS | |||
| 03/18/2002 | 1 | 07/01/2001 | |
| Upon rear impact, the driver's seat immediately fell backward to a total reclining position. the driver was forced backward, into a reclining position, unable to see through the windshield to navigate the car. the seat is not broken. when the lever was pressed, the seat returned to it's normal upright position.*ak | |||
| SEATS - FRONT ASSEMBLY - RECLINER | |||
| 01/28/2005 | 48500 | 1 | 01/31/2002 |
| Upon sitting at a stop light consumer's vehicle was rear-ended. the driver's side seat back reclined completely. upon impact, the air bags did not deploy. *ak *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 10/26/2006 | 15000 | 1 | 10/31/2002 |
| The brakes on my 2002 sl1 saturn had to be replaced at 15,000 mi; now, at 30,000 mi, the saturn dealership is telling me they need to be replaced again. i previously had a 1991 saturn sl1, for 11 years and with more than 100,000 mi, and did not have any problems with the brakes, so it's not my style of driving - it's apparently the equipment on the car itself (and the replacement parts as well.) *nm | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS | |||
| Automatic transmission not able to shift into low gear while descending steep grade/mountain roads. brakes are scorched due to excessive pedal application, and controlling vehicle is with difficulty. please describe details. *ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DISC - ROTOR | |||
| 01/12/2003 | 2 | ||
| Consumer complained about front brake rotors. front brake rotors were replaced on two separate occasions, but the problem recurred. *ak | |||
| STEERING | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 20000 | 1 | 06/07/2002 |
| My car has a lot of problems. the steering system has been replaced 2 times. the climate blower motor has been replaced 2 times. it has broken down 2 times. this car is a lemon and gm will do nothing to help with any problems i have.. they just give me the run around. and my windshield wiper system has been replaced 1 time.. which still never corrected the problem.. the speed of the wipers when on high are slower then most cars resulting in poor vision. the air bags never went off when i got in to a head on collision at 45 mph.. this has to be the worst car out there. *jb | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION | |||
| 01/01/2007 | 70000 | 2 | |
| Rack and pinion system.. it has been replaced twice and now needs to be replaced again.. saturn told me since my car is out of warrenty that it's going to cost me 999.99 dollars to fix it a lot of other things have been replaced more then once.. *jb | |||
| STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR | |||
| 10/16/2002 | 2 | 08/01/2001 | |
| No summary. dt | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||
| 04/11/2006 | 48 | 1 | 03/28/2002 |
| Left front strut/coil spring broke in half while driving. cause was attributed to extreme rust. vehicle was a 2002 year model with 45,000 miles. not covered under warranty and dealer did not consider rust-induced failure to be abnormal. could have been catastrophic! *nm | |||
| TIRES | |||
| 08/03/2008 | 16000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 saturn sl1. while driving between 65-75 mph, both driver's side tires blew out. two weeks prior to the failures, the contact had the vehicle inspected to find out if it was safe to drive long distances. the vehicle passed inspection and the dealer was unaware of the faulty valve stems. aaa informed the contact that the valve stems on the tires were faulty. the current mileage was 17,000 and failure mileage was 16,000. | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer wanted to replaced the tires due to the recall. *ph *jb | |||
| 03/25/2004 | 24500 | 1 | |
| The right rear tire separated at the sidewall, causing the car to swerve violently into the next lane, striking a tractor trailer and totaling the car.*ak | |||
| 1 | 05/23/2002 | ||
| Consumer stated, she could feel a slight thumping in the steering column, consumer then made an appointment to take the vehicle in, while in route to the dealer, the right front tire separated from the rim, there was no audible sound of a blowout, consumer was able to pull over and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, consumer is requesting 4 new tires, but the dealer refused stating that it was just one of those things.(firestone tires)*jb | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD | |||
| 03/04/2002 | 1 | 01/28/2002 | |
| Vehicles taken to dealership to have windows tinted. consumer picks up vehicle and notice numerous bubbles on the glass. dealership advised bubbles would go away, however bubbles got worse. dealership replaced tint on both driver side and passenger side window. *tt | |||
| VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 20000 | 1 | 06/07/2002 |
| My car has a lot of problems. the steering system has been replaced 2 times. the climate blower motor has been replaced 2 times. it has broken down 2 times. this car is a lemon and gm will do nothing to help with any problems i have.. they just give me the run around. and my windshield wiper system has been replaced 1 time.. which still never corrected the problem.. the speed of the wipers when on high are slower then most cars resulting in poor vision. the air bags never went off when i got in to a head on collision at 45 mph.. this has to be the worst car out there. *jb | |||
Car dealers selling
| State | City | Zip | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | ANCHORAGE | 99501 | SATURN OF ANCHORAGE | 907-272-4022 |
| IL | FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS | 62208 | SATURN OF METRO EAST | 618 624 6400 |
| MA | MEDFORD | SATURN | ||
| MA | NORWOOD | 02062 | SATURN OF NORWOOD | (617) 325-4200 |
| MI | KALAMAZOO | 49009 | SATURN OF KALAMAZOO | 888-728-5296 |
| MI | SOUTH FEILD | SATURN OF SOUTHFEILD | ||
| NC | RALEIGH | SATURN OF RALEIGH | ||
| NV | LAS VEGAS | 89146 | SATURN OF SAHARA | 702-252-8900 |
| NY | SPENCERPORT | 14559 | SATURN OF WEST RIDGE | 1-585-352-5995 |
| PA | WEXFORD | 15090 | SATURN OF WEXFORD | 724-935-6677 |
| WI | WAUKESHA | SATURN OF WAUKESHA | 262-548-8200 |