Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 03/10/2003 | 12/23/1997 | ||
| Saturn sl2 was taken to dealership for 15,000 check up on 3/17/, as i was selling to son. car has approx. 15,690 miles on it. service mgr. howard gorman took information. my husband told him the place that changes the oil said to have anti-freeze flushed because we were losing anti-freeze and we could not see leak. mr. gorman after checking car and calling us, performed close to $500 worth of repairs on car, including rotating ties etc. he then told us that car may have a hairline crack in head. this should not happen on a car with this low mileage. i bought the car new at saturn north, 8600 north high st., wortington, ohio. i drive car back and forth to work whick is approx. 8 miles one way. mr. gorman suggested that we take car home and put some miles on the car as it is not driven for long periods of time. it stay in garage and is not left out in weather. he put die in the anti-freezee to check and asked us to bring back in a week and he would recheck. we took the car back on 3/31/03 at this time mr. gorman told us special die came through the head on #4 cylinder position. after taxes it would cost us $3000 to fix. we argued and complained . they told us they would reduce that to $2,268.35 because of the low miles. i then called a christie at saturn headqtrs. after mr. gorman suggested we do this. she took several days to get back to us and today told us saturn would do nothing for us. i feel that for a head to have a crack at 15,000 miles is horrible and wonder how many other cars have had the same problem. this is my second saturn and the first car i traded in had only 16,000 miles on it. it is my work car and i do not drive great distances. this should not have happened. | |||
| 03/26/2001 | 1 | 11/01/1997 | |
| Car overheated with no warning and smoke spilled out of front. coolant burst out of container and flooded car and ground. technician found that the sensor broken and wires removed but could not offer any explanation. car has not been in accident and has not been tampered with. the only people with access to engine is saturn technicians. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||
| 06/01/1998 | 1 | 06/01/1998 | |
| The coolant overflow tank cap not tight. yh | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 06/01/1999 | 11979 | 1 | 11/01/1998 |
| The vehicle stalled intermittently while driving. the cam switch was replaced twice, the idle control was adjusted and the throttle was replaced yet the problem recurred. the vehicle lunged forward when the vehicle was shifted in reverse. the transmission was replaced. *nm | |||
| 10/17/2003 | 60000 | 2 | 05/05/1998 |
| For the past 2-3 years i have had a massive oil consumption problem with my saturn sl2 '98. i brought it to two saturn dealerships who told me that i had no leak nor was my car burning oil, in essence that i was imagining this problem. in july of 2003, the problem had gotten so bad that i was adding oil every 100 miles, then the car broke down and i brought it to a saturn dealership. they said it was the timing belt/gasket and i replaced them on their recommendation that it would fix all the problems - cost $1000. the car continues to consume massive amounts of oil and regularly exhibits a burning smell. i brought it to a saturn dealer last week who now tells me that the cam cover is cracked and needs to be replaced; however, he told me that i probably indeed have significant engine damage as a result of my many oil problems that this repair will not fix. i have worked my way up the saturn corporate complaint system and i cannot get anyone to either pay for the repair, reimburse me for the previous repair or even acknowledge the underlying engine problem. originally, i thought that this was a just me getting a lemon but after researching the problem my concern is much much greater. specifically, there are numerous (well over 100) complaints on various internet cites about the same problem - everyone has massive oil consumption and many people's engines have actually caught on fire as a result of low oil. they have also tried to get saturn to acknowledge the problem with the engines and to no avail. i am now afraid to drive the car for fear of it catching on fire. i would like the nhtsa to investigate the problems with saturn engines and oil consumption. i am an attorney and plan to pursue my own case against saturn for the cost of my repairs, but really feel like is a safety issue and that saturn or the nhtsa needs to issue a warning to consumers to keep careful watch on their engines. *la | |||
| 01/08/2002 | 51000 | 1 | 02/14/1998 |
| The motor mount failed. dealer notified. *ak the mount probably malfunctioned prior to 52184 miles. the mounts for the vibration was found on the top of the engine in which the mount(s) cracked. *scc the water pump was replaced because a leak was found. *jb | |||
| 06/06/2003 | 1 | ||
| While traveling on the highway engine is leaking oil from underneath the vehicle. *ak | |||
| 01/08/2002 | 1 | 03/01/1998 | |
| Cylinder head cracked in engine after approx. 85000 miles. all engine oil leaked from the automobile as a result. engine was covered with oil upon inspection but luckily, did not ignite. needed to be replaced with new engine at a cost of $2400 as repairs would have been risky and at a higher cost.*ak | |||
| 06/18/1999 | 1 | 02/01/1998 | |
| Cracked head cylinder at 16k miles without any unusual or harsh driving. car had to be towed to the dealer. no oil was left in the car -- it was in an undriveable condition. the service dept was shocked this happened on a twin overhead cam engine & thus didn't even stock the part to fix the car. dealer also said there was no engine damage, although i find that hard to believe since the car was driven for some time without realizing the problem. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer states the vehicle looses 30% of power at random times. nlm | |||
| 04/28/1998 | 1 | 09/01/1997 | |
| Engine experiencing knocking problems. | |||
| 11/12/1997 | 11 | ||
| Driving at any speed the vehicle will vibrate and make bucking sounds from time to time. the vehicle has been in the shop eight times for different problems. also, there is a lack of power and grinding noise coming from the vehicle. tide rod end had to be replaced. in addition, consumer had power steering/ window problems. repaired vehicle three times, and they can't determine the problem. vehicle has been in shop eight more times. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||
| 09/12/1999 | 1 | 04/01/1998 | |
| No summary | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 02/20/2003 | 81000 | 1 | |
| Saturn sl2 1998 - cracked cylinder head. *ak | |||