Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | |||
| 09/23/2005 | 44343 | 0 | 06/17/2004 |
| Exterior lighting and engine coolant leakage inside of car. car smoking. *nm | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS | |||
| 03/10/2005 | 97000 | 2 | 03/01/2001 |
| Brake lights ceased to function. car rear ended during early morning pile up on i-85 due to tire failure on car two positions in advance. investigate cause of light failure and found melted/burned light socket area. tried to repair then called saturn for parts availability. informed that there would be a recall in oct 05 but that i could purchase the new light assemblies myself and might be able to get reimbursement later. cost over $350.00 per assembly! unable to spend this amount immediately so i parked the car until the recall letter comes!*jb | |||
| 05/16/2005 | 81250 | 02/01/2004 | |
| Tail lights do not work after repeated replacement. noticed same models having the same problem | |||
| 07/28/2003 | 75425 | 1 | |
| Passenger side brake light failed to light upon depression of the brake pedal. dealer replaced socket with part sn 21019709. firm belief that there is an inherent design flaw in this socket/tailight connection.*ak | |||
| 10/26/2004 | 5 | 02/04/2001 | |
| My brake, tail, and interior lights keep failling. i've replaced harnesses and other wires. i also have shaking of steering wheel and automatic locking system failure. then i have trouble starting my vehicle and the service engine light comes on. now i have other lamp (light) problems. i also have problems with my audio system where it will not allow me to use any of the buttons, whatever is playing that is what you hear until it decides to work again. my fuel efficiency is not good either, i'm having engine noises and exhaust problems.*ak | |||
| 04/23/2004 | 3 | 08/17/2003 | |
| Brake lights fail when all other lights are on (headlights, taillights). when lights are off - brake light will work. tail lights keep shorting out due to design flaw of light housing unit. pull bulb out, apply bulb grease, pull springs up, and reinsert. works for a couple of weeks. *ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | |||
| 08/20/2004 | 18000 | 40 | 07/27/2001 |
| I was driving late at night and my headlights started to dimm almost to the point of going out and coming back on. it did it every 2 or 3 minutes for the entire time i was driving. i never had this problem before and i do alot of nite driving cause of the late hours i work.i took the car in for service and was told that they have had at least 100complaints of cars doing the same thing. they have a service bullitin about the lights flickering. i advised that they don`t flicker , they go out and come back on. i was told by the service manager that they all flicker, the 100 of us are the unlucky ones that go out and come back on and saturn is ignoring the problem.the car was checked and no problems found. i was advised by the service manager to call saturn and complain. i did. saturn told me to go to another dealership over two hours away for a second opinion.i called that dealership and was told by there service manager that i would be wasting my time to drive all the way up there, the problem can`t be solved .you can watch it do it and the computer says alls fine.saturn has no idea why it does it to some and not all.*ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TAIL LIGHTS | |||
| 09/07/2005 | 0 | 1 | 06/01/2001 |
| Fyi - comment not a complaint the issue of the tail light going dim or just out. saturn is aware of this issue and they are starting a campaign to replace the tail light on the 00-02 l series starting in october. if the taillight problem is causing to many problem - you local dealership at no cost replace with the same tail light, but you will still have to have your tail light replaced once the new design ones come in. want more info - call saturn customer service 1-800-553-6000. *nm | |||
| 11/23/2004 | 63473 | 1 | 11/30/2000 |
| Dealer found brake tail lights were defective. the lights would not work or dim when driver applied the brake. dealer says this problem is inherent to saturn l series; apparently due to bulb not making contact with socket on circuit board assembly.*ak | |||
| 10/26/2004 | 5 | 02/04/2001 | |
| My brake, tail, and interior lights keep failling. i've replaced harnesses and other wires. i also have shaking of steering wheel and automatic locking system failure. then i have trouble starting my vehicle and the service engine light comes on. now i have other lamp (light) problems. i also have problems with my audio system where it will not allow me to use any of the buttons, whatever is playing that is what you hear until it decides to work again. my fuel efficiency is not good either, i'm having engine noises and exhaust problems.*ak | |||
| 03/24/2004 | 80000 | 3 | |
| The brake lights went out when the headlights were turned on. the dealership indicated it was due to a faulty circuit board in the tail light assembly. the dealership replaced the faulty part with an updated tailgate assembly. *jb | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TURN SIGNAL | |||
| 11/10/2004 | 89850 | 10 | 03/10/2001 |
| For the past couple of weeks my wife's 2001 saturn l300 turn signals have been working and not-working intermittently. we heard about the recall, and think that the same and/or similar problem may be occurring with her vehicle. *ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - TURN SIGNAL - FLASHER UNIT | |||
| 09/18/2001 | 2 | 05/01/2001 | |
| Lower radiator gasket has been replaced 2 times and reinstalled 3 times. the enging coolant leakage happened 2 times within the first year of purchase. the light/turn indicator broke off where it attaches to the steering column while driving at night. battery acid was leaking which was caused by the electrical system not working properly and overcharging the battery. and somehow the serpentine belt is now damaged. the dealership is having trouble with the starter not wanting to turn off and are going to replace it in hopes this cures the problem. dt | |||