2000 SATURN LS Complaints

1) MY CAR WAS OPERATING NORMALLY UNTIL 8/26/06, WHEN I NOTICED AN OIL LEAK. I DISCOVERED A 3" FISSURE IN THE VALVE COVER, OVER THE TIMING CHAIN. 2) I REMOVED THE VALVE COVER AND DISCOVERED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN HAD GROUND AWAY THE UPPER GUIDE AND WAS WORKING ON "CHEWING THROUGH" THE VALVE COVER. THE TIMING CHAIN HAD NOT YET BROKEN, BUT HAD IT DONE SO, I WOULD BE LOOKING AT OVER $2000 OF ENGINE DAMAGE. I WAS UNABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL I REPAIRED THE TIMING CHAIN ISSUE. 3) ACCORDING TO A SATURN TSB 03-06-01-017, THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE OILIER FOR THE TIMING CHAIN WAS INEFFECTIVE. I HAVE BOUGHT A "NEW DESIGN" TIMING CHAIN KIT FROM THE DEALER AND INSTALLED IT MYSELF. I WILL KEEP ALL THE OLD PARTS (GUIDES, VALVE COVER, CHAIN, TENSIONER, ETC. FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS IF THE NHTSA WANTS THEM. *JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THERE WAS A RATTLING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE TIMING CHAIN WAS WORN AND NEEDED REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALERTED. UPDATED 11/21/2006- WHEN THE CONSUMER STARTED THE VEHICLE A LOUD NOISE WAS HEARD COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. WHILE DRIVING HTH NOISE BECAME LOUDER. THE CONSUMER CONTACTED EH MANUFACTURER ABOUT THE FAULTY TIMING CHAIN BUT THEY OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. *NM

THE TIMING CHAIN ON MY 2000 SATURN LS1 (WITH 80,000 MILES) FAILED WHILE DRIVING AT FULL SPEED (55 MPH) ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND I HAD TO PULL OFF THE HIGHWAY. NO WARNING OR PREVIOUS VEHICLE MALFUNCTION POINTED TO A NEED FOR MAINTENANCE. THE TIME CHAIN FAILURE CAN CAUSE SEVERE ENGINE DAMAGE AND REQUIRE COMPLETE ENGINE REPLACEMENT. MY VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY BEING LOOKED AT TO DETERMINE THE FULL EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE. AT A MINIMUM, THE TIMING CHAIN REPLACEMENT WILL BE $600. COMPLETE ENGINE REPLACEMENT COULD BE IN THE RANGE OF $3-4,000. IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR SEVERAL SATURN MODELS AT RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE AND MAY BE DUE TO POOR DESIGN ON THE CHAIN LUBRICATION SYSTEM. *NM

THE TIMING BELT ON MY 2000 SATURN LS1 BROKE ON JULY 20, 2006 WITH NO WARNING. THE CAR HAS APPROXIMATELY 65000 MILES ON IT, SO I BELIEVE THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR THE TIMING CHAIN TO BREAK EXCEPT THAT THERE IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT IN THE CAR. THE SATURN DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE ENTIRE ENGINE WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $6000-$7000. I UNDERSTAND THAT TIMING CHAIN FAILURE IS NOT UNCOMMON IN THESE CARS AND THAT THE NHTSA IS INVESTIGATING - THANK YOU.

MY DAUGHTER WAS TRAVELING ON I-95 NEAR RICHMOND, VA 120 MILES FROM HOME WHEN SHE HAD A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER IN THE SATURN, THE TIMING BELT SLIPPED AND RESULTED IN DAMAGE AND HER SITTING ON THE INTERSTATE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. *NM

TIMING CHAIN ON 2000LS SATURN "BROKE" AT 94,000 MILES; REGULAR MAINTENANCE MAINTAINED - SYNTHETIC OIL USED, ORIGINAL OWNER. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED A RECALL LETTER WAS RECEIVED BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2005, REGARDING THE TAIL LIGHT. LETTER WAS MISPLACED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED TO HAVE COPIES OF THAT LETTER AS WELL AS ANY RELATED RECALLS ON HIS VEHICLE. MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO SEND COPIES.

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE ENGINE MADE A TICKING SOUND WHILE RUNNING AND HESITATED TO START ON TWO OCCASIONS. ON ONE OCCASION WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING PULLED FROM THE GARAGE AT 3MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED, BUT RESTARTED AFTER A SHORT PERIOD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A SERVICE DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THERE IS CURRENTLY AN INVESTIGATION #EA06009, CONCERNING THE ENGINE WHICH INDICATES THAT OTHERS ARE HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS.

I HAVE A 2000 SATURN L SERIES STATION WAGON, VIN [XXX]. SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST 9 MONTHS (I ESTIMATE 6 TIMES) THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN IN THE IGNITION. IT WOULD SLIDE IN AND OUT OK, BUT WOULD NOT TURN. IT ACTED LIKE IT WAS THE WRONG KEY FOR THIS CAR. THE PROBLEM WAS NOT TENSION ON THE STEERING WHEEL OR TRANSMISSION NOT IN PARK. NO AMOUNT OF KEY JIGGLING FREED THE LOCK. I FOUND THE PROBLEM LISTED IN A GOOGLE SEARCH. THE RECOMMENDATION WAS A TAP WITH A HAMMER ON THE KEY WHILE IT WAS IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. IT TURNED OUT TO NEED A SIGNIFICANT SMACK. I WAS AFRAID THE KEY WOULD BE DAMAGED, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING TO LOSE AT THAT POINT. THAT WORKED THE FIRST FEW TIMES THE LOCKUP OCCURRED. SATURN SERVICE ADVISED ME NOT TO DO THAT, INSTEAD HAVE A NEW KEY CUT FROM THE KEY NUMBER. THEY THOUGHT MY KEY MAY BE WORN AND NO LONGER ACTIVATE THE TUMBLERS CORRECTLY. WE DID THAT AND THERE WERE NO INCIDENTS FOR THREE MONTHS. WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN NOTHING WORKED TO FREE IT UNTIL I DID THE HAMMER TRICK. THE DEALER SAYS THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS ISSUE, AND RECOMMENDS I BRING IT IN FOR TROUBLESHOOTING. AS THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE ROOT CAUSE IS, I EXPECT THEM TO DO WHAT OTHER CUSTOMERS HAVE REPORTED; WHICH IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE IGNITION LOCK SYSTEM FOR ABOUT $350. WITHOUT KNOWING THE ROOT CAUSE AND HAVING A REASONABLE EXPECTATION THAT THE NEW PART DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME ROOT PROBLEM, I AM RELUCTANT TO DO THAT. I HAVE THE DASH COVERS REMOVED SO WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURS AGAIN I CAN TAKE THE IGNITION SWITCH APART AND GET A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT IS GOING ON. *NM UPDATED 07/16/2012*JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

THE TIMING CHAIN BROKE AND RUINED MY ENGINE WHILE DRIVING THE CAR AT ONLY 60,000 MILES. THEY ARE NOT DUE FOR A CHANGE BEFORE 100,000 MILES. FROM DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH I FOUND OUT THAT THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE SATURN LS SERIES 4 CYLINDER ENGINES DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH ENGINE DESIGN AND AN OILIER PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS WIDE SPREAD AND A DANGEROUS ONE. *JB