2002 SATURN LS Complaints

I'LL KEEP THIS QUICK. NO CRASH, NO DEATHS, JUST FAULTY EQUIPMENT. I'M GOING TO REFERENCE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 03V231000 , SATURN RECALL 03-C-06. I HAVE AN 2002 L300 V6 ENGINE THAT IS NOT THE ENGINE IN THIS RECALL, BUT, I KID YOU NOT, WORD FOR WORD SUMMARY YOU WROTE FOR THE ABOVE FITS MY CAR COMPLETELY. I HAVE REPORTED TO SATURN AND THEY'RE SEEING WHAT THEY CAN DO, BUT SINCE MY ENGINE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT, IT'S NOT COVERED IN THE RECALL. I'M NOW FACING UPWARDS 3K BILL TO FIX ALL THE DAMAGE THAT I BELIEVE TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THIS SIMILAR PROBLEM. *TR

ON JANUARY 13, 2009 I TOOK MY CARE TO SATURN TO HAVE A COUPLE ISSUES ASSESSED IN REGARDS TO SEVERAL LIGHTS THAT WERE ON STEADY OR BLINKING ON AND OFF ON THE DASH. I DROPPED MY CAR OFF THE NIGHT BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT. THE TECHNICIAN NOTICED NY INSPECTION STICKER WAS ABOUT TO EXPIRE AND ASKED IF THEY WOULD BE TAKING CARE OF THAT THIS VISIT. I TOLD HIM NO I WAS MORE INTERESTED IN WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE LIGHTS AT THE PRESENT TIME. ON THE FOLLOWING MORNING THE TECHNICIAN CALLED ME AND TOLD ME WHAT THEY FOUND WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. I WAS TOLD THE FOLLOWING REPAIRS WERE NEEDED: BODY CONTROL MODULE (SHORTED), THERMOSTAT - ENGINE OIL COOLER (LEAKING), OIL PRESSURE SWITCH (LEAKING) AND DRIVER'S FRONT AXLE SEAL (LEAKING). I WAS QUOTED A PRICE IN EXCESS OF $2,000 FOR THE REPAIRS. I HAVE KEPT MY CAR, PURCHASED BRAND NEW, WELL MAINTAINED AND DON'T SEE HOW MY CAR WITH LESS THAN 50,000 MILES SHOULD NEED THIS KIND WORK AT ONE TIME. NONE OF THESE ISSUES ARE NORMAL WEAR ON A CAR. SOMETHING MUST BE AWRY SOMEWHERE. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. *TR

TIMING CHAIN BROKE AT 93,000 MILES. THE ENGINE SUDDENLY LOST POWER, LUCKILY WE WERE ON A COUNTRY ROAD TRAVELING ABOUT 30 MILES PER HOUR. WILL COST NEARLY $2000 TO REPAIR. *TR

2002 SATURN L200 HIT ON DRIVERS SIDE FRONT AND REAR BY A LARGE 4 DOOR TRUCK AND SIDE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY . DRIVER HIT HEAD ON DRIVER WINDOW , 2 PASSENGERS HURT NECKS . *TR

CAR WAS PURCHASED IN NOVEMBER OF 2004 USED FROM SATURN OF FAYETTEVILLE NC. IN FEBRUARY OF 2006 WHILE ENTERING HIGHWAY MY CAR SUDDENLY SHUT DOWN. I HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO FIND THAT THE TIMING CHAIN WAS THE PROBLEM. I HAD A USED ENGINE PUT IN MY VEHICLE WHICH ONLY LASTED ME JUST OVER A YEAR AND COST ME OVER 1,800.00. IN OCTOBER OF 2008 I WENT OUTSIDE TO START MY VEHICLE TO FIND IT WOULD NOT START, THINKING THAT THE BATTERY WAS BAD I REPLACED IT, IT WAS NOT THE PROBLEM THINKING IT MIGHT BE THE SPARK PLUGS THEY WERE REPLACED AS WELL. FRUSTRATED I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE PLACE THAT REPLACED THE FIRST ENGINE AND AGAIN TO MY SURPRISE GUESS WHAT BAD TIMING CHAIN. I HAVE HAD THIS VEHICLE FOR ONLY 4 YEARS STILL OWING ON THIS VEHICLE I AM VERY FRUSTRATED. I HAVE CALLED SATURN AND I WAS INFORMED THAT MY VEHICLE WAS NOT UNDER RECALL. I HAVE BEEN ONLINE TO DISCOVER THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS HORRIBLE PROBLEM. *TR

MY UPPER BRAKE LIGHTS KEEP BURNING OUT. I REPLACED 5 OF THESE LIGHTS TO GET MY INSPECTION STICKER. RIGHT NOW ONLY 2 ARE WORKING. YOU CAN ONLY GET THESE BULBS AT A SATURN DEALER AT A COST OF $7.00 EACH. I CALLED THE SATURN DEALER AND THEY SAY THAT THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS. THIS IS PART OF THE BRAKE LIGHT SYSTEM AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO KEEP SPENDING $7.00 EACH TO REPLACE THEM. I HAVE ALSO CHECKED ON THE SATURNFANS.COM WEB SITE AND I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS THIS PROBLEM. I BOUGHT THE CAR AT SATURN OF NORWOOD,MA. I THINK THAT IT MAYBE A SHORT SOMEWHERE. *TR

2002 SATURN L200 LEAKING GAS DUE TO FAULTY FUEL PUMP. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL REPORTED INCIDENTS AND I CAN IMAGINE THE NUMBER OF OWNERS THAT DID NOT COMPLAIN. SATURN HAS BEEN AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND IT CONTINUED ON TO THE 2003 MODELS. SATURN SAID YOUR ORGANIZATIONS IS THE ONLY AUTHORITY TO ISSUE RECALLS. HOW MANY COMPLAINTS DOES IT TAKE FOR A RECALL TO BE MANDATED, OR DOES IT TAKE A FATALITY FOR THIS TO OCCUR. *TR

FUEL SMELL AND SMALL LEAK. DEALER SAYS FUEL TANK IS LEAKING AT SEAM OF VENT COVER PLATE OF FUEL TANK. ALSO, FUEL PUMP OUTPUT FITTINGS ARE PLASTIC AND "BECOME BRITTLE" AND ARE LEAKING. "BECOME BRITTLE" IS THE DEALER SERVICE WRITER'S WORDS. I GOOGLED THIS AND FOUND AT LEAST TWO MORE INSTANCES IN A 5 MINUTE SEARCH. OTHER INSTANCES FROM GOOGLE WERE VERY RECENT ALSO! NOVEMBER 2008. THIS MIGHT BE A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. PLEASE CATCH IT EARLY! *TR

TIMING CHAIN FAILED ON 2002 L200 WITH 111K MILES ON IT. CAR HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED WITH NO MAJOR DEFECTS OR COMPLAINTS. THIS WAS A VERY UNSAFE SITUATION AS THE ENGINE COMPLETELY STALLED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER INTO A PARKING LOT SAFELY WITHOUT INVOLVING ANY OTHER VEHICLES OR PEDESTRIANS. THE CAR IS CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP FOR REPAIR AND IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT NOT ONLY DID THE TIMING CHAIN FAIL BUT THE HYDRAULIC TENSIONER HAS COMPLETELY COME LOOSE AND ENDED UP IN THE OIL PAN. SO FAR THE REPAIR, INCLUDING THE LABOR AND CHAIN KIT, WILL RUN AROUND $1500 IF THERE IS NO OTHER DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE FAILURE. I AM HAVING MECHANIC KEEP OLD PARTS SINCE THERE IS CURRENTLY A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION UNDERWAY. I WANT MY PARTS AVAILABLE SHOULD THEY BE NEEDED. SINCE THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE 2001 MODEL WITH THE SAME ENGINE AND TIMING CHAIN COMPONENT I FEEL THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ONE ON ALL MODELS WITH THIS SAME ENGINE/CHAIN COMBINATION! *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SATURN L SERIES. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE CONTACT SMELLED A STRONG ODOR OF FUEL OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE AND OBSERVED FUEL SPILLAGE ON THE GROUND. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND CRACKED FUEL LINE WAS DISCOVERED. IN ADDITION, THE FUEL PUMP EXHIBITED CRACKS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY FAIL. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 36,140.