2001 SATURN LS Complaints

WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH ON AN 8 LANE HIGHWAY (INTERSTATE 75 AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING SIGNS THE 2001 SATURN L200 LOST POWER. IT COASTED ACROSS 2 LANES OF MOVING TRAFFIC AND 2 LANES ACROSS THE FONTAGE ROAD IN ORDER TO PARK THE CAR AND CALLED FOR HELP. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A MECHANIC THAT INSPECTED THE CAR AND SAID THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. SATURN INFORMED ME THAT THE TIMING CHAIN DID NOT HAVE AN EXPECTED LIFE, AND WOULD NOT FAIL IF THE CAR WAS PROPERLY MAINTAINED , IF THE OIL WAS CHANGED PROPERLY, WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN DONE) I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN WAS DEFECTIVE IN SATURN L SERIES CARS FOR MODEL YEARS 2000-2003. SATURN HAS DONE NOTHING TO HELP ME, AND DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEFECTIVE TIMING CHAIN.*AK

MY 23 YEAR OLD SON WAS DRIVING MY 2001 SATURN L200 DOWN A HIGHWAY ON THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2007, ABOUT 8PM, DOING APPROXIMATELY 45 MILES PER HOUR, WHEN THE CAR STALLED WHILE DRIVING. LUCKILY, HE WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER ON THE SHOULDER. BUT, THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A TRAGEDY. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A SATURN DEALER WHO IS INDICATING A $ 2800.00 CHARGE FOR A KNOWN DEFECT, TIMING CHAIN FAILURE, WITH AN EVER INCREASING TREND. IT IS INEXCUSABLE THAT THERE IS NOT A RECALL ON THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DEFECT. I HAVE LOST ALL CONFIDENCE IN SATURN AND IT'S COMPANY AFTER FINDING OUT THAT MANY THOUSANDS OF OTHER SATURN OWNERS HAVE HAD TO LIVE THROUGH THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS EXPERIENCE. I ENCOURAGE THE NHTSA TO QUICKLY RECOMMEND A RECALL BEFORE A LIFE IS LOST DUE TO SATURN NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS MATTER. *TR

CAR STALLS WHILE DRIVING FOR NO APPARENT REASON - COMPUTER ANALYSIS SHOWS NO PROBLEM - MOST PUMPS, PLUGS, STARTER HAVE BEEN REPLACED - STILL STALLS WHILE DRIVING. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2001 SATURN L200 WITH APPROXIMATELY 37- OR 29K MILES FROM A SATURN DEALER IN JULY OF 2004. THERE ARE ABOUT 80,500 MILES ON THE CAR NOW. TWO DAYS AGO I WENT OUT TO START THE CAR AND THE TIMING CHAIN "FAILED" AND BEAT UP THE ENGINE (PER THE SATURN DEALER, WHERE I HAD THE CAR TOWED THAT MORNING). ALTHOUGH I NEVER USED SATURN FOR OIL CHANGES, I DID CHANGE THE OIL EVERY 3,000 TO 5,000 MILES. RECENTLY, HOWEVER (SEVERAL MONTHS AGO) AFTER HAVING THE CAR IN TO REPLACE THE IGNITION AND HOUSING, SATURN GAVE ME A COMPLETE INSPECTION. THERE WERE SEVERAL MINOR ITEMS LISTED NEEDING ATTENTION, BUT THE TIMING CHAIN ISSUE WAS NEVER MENTIONED, NOR DID I EVER RECEIVE NOTICE OF THIS INHERENT AND DANGEROUS DEFECT (FUNNY HOW THEY CAN FIND ME TO SEND NOTICES OF THEIR UPCOMING SALES "EVENTS", HOWEVER). SINCE IT WAS LATE FRIDAY WHEN I CONTACTED THE ZONE REP, I WAS TOLD I SHOULD RECEIVE A RETURN CALL FROM SATURN BY MONDAY NOON. I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO UPDATE THIS IF YOU LIKE. *TR

HI, I AM THE OWNER OF A 2001 SATURN L200, 4 DOOR SEDAN. ON MONDAY JUNE 4, 2007, I WAS DRIVING TO WORK IN A RAINSTORM WHEN MY VEHICLE AT HIGHWAY SPEED APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH LOST POWER LOCKED. COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND LUCKILY AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT ON THE BUSY HIGHWAY. STUCK IN THE RAIN FOR A FEW HOURS UNTIL THE TOWING COMPANY I CALLED PICKED ME UP AND TOWED ME TO A LOCAL GARAGE. AT THE GARAGE THEY CHECKED MY VEHICLE AND ADVISED ME TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST SATURN WHICH WAS SATURN OF WHITE PLAINS, NY. THEY SAID THAT MY VEHICLE NEEDED DEALER SERVICE AND THEY SAID THAT MY VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE ANY COMPRESSION. IT HAD FUEL, SPARK.IT DID NOT HAVE COMPRESSION. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO SATURN AT WHITE PLAINS AGAIN IN CARRYING ANOTHER TOWING EXPENSE. THE CAR SAT AT THE SATURN DEALERSHIP SINCE THEY WERE BUSY WITH OTHER VEHICLES. ON WEDNESDAY,THE SERVICE LADY CALLED ME TO TELL ME THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO RUN SOME DIAGNOSTICS AND IT TURNS OUT THAT MY "TIMING CHAIN BROKE" WHICH CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE AND IT WOULD COST ABOUT $3600.00 TO FIX THE VEHICLE. I TOLD SERVICE THAT I NEEDED TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND DURING THE CONVERSATION ASKED TO GET TRANSFERRED TO SALES TO WEIGH OUT MY OPTIONS SINCE I STILL HAD A LOAN ON MY VEHICLE ESTIMATED REMAINDER $ 4000.00. THE SALESMAN SAID I WOULD GET $ 500 FOR MY CAR, WHICH WAS A HUGE LOSS. I CALLED HIM BACK A LITTLE BIT LATER AND TOLD HIM I WOULD REPAIR MY VEHICLE ON MY OWN, WHICH THAN LED TO ANOTHER $ 200.00 TOW. ON JUNE 8TH, I RENTED A CAR - $ 250/WK. JUNE 10, 2007 - VEHICLE GETTING SERVICED WITH A NEW/USED ENGINE. IT WAS A HORRIBLE LAST FEW WEEKS WITH MY CAR. THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST PROBLEM I HAVE HAD WITH MY SATURN AN THIS IS ONE IN A STRING OF FRUSTRATIONS THAT HAVE OCCURRED. VEHICLE WAS WELL MAINTAINED, OIL CHANGED AND PREVENTIVELY CARE. HE VEHICLE HAD 126,000 MILES AND IT WAS DRIVEN PRIMARILY ON THE HIGHWAY. *AK

TIMING CHAIN BROKE OFF AND DAMGED THE HEAD, RODS AND VALVES. CAR HAS ONLY 7)K MILES. I HAVE RECEIVED AN ESTIMATE FROM SATURN TO REPAIR FOR 3K

MY FAMILY AND I WERE TRAVELING ON U.S. 301 AT 9:00 A.M. ON OUR WAY HOME IN OUR 2001 SATURN (L100) COUPE. THERE WAS A CLICKING SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE THAT HAD STARTED WHILE DRIVING HOME. WHILE GOING 65 MPH, THERE WAS A POPPING SOUND AND THE OIL LIGHT CAME ON. THE CAR QUICKLY LOST POWER AND FORCED US TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. WE WERE SHAKEN BY THE THOUGHT WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPEN IF WE WERE IN AN AREA WITH HEAVY TRAFFIC. I WAS ABLE TO FLAG DOWN A PASSING TOW TRUCK TO HELP US OUT. THE ROAD SERVICE UNIT DROPPED THE CAR OFF AT A LOCAL MECHANIC AND THE FAMILY AT HOME. THE LOCAL CAR MECHANIC COULD NOT DETERMINE WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR UNTIL IT WAS TAKEN APART AND EXAMINED. THE FIRST EXAMINATION DETERMINED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN AND HAD FAILED AND WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE MECHANIC ALSO EXPLAIN THAT THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE TO BE TAKEN APART TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE. I SAID YES, ALTHOUGH I KNOW IT WOULD BE AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR. I THOUGHT WITH THE LOW MILES (58,767) ON THE CAR, THE WORK WOULD BE WORTH WHILE. THE EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED A DAMAGED HEAD AND BENT VALVES. WHAT LOOKED LIKE A $1000.00 TIMING CHANGE REPLACEMENT QUICKLY WENT TO SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF DAMAGE! I CALLED THE SATURN DEALER TO SEE ABOUT WARRANTIES THAT WENT WITH THE CAR AND WHAT HELP THEY COULD PROVIDE. THEY EXPLAIN THAT THEY COULDN'T CONSIDER A WARRANTY WITHOUT FIRST EXAMING THE CAR IN THEIR OWN SHOP AND HAVING ALL THE MAINTENANCE RECORDS PROVIDED TO THEM. WITH THE ADDITIONAL TOWING FEES, EXAMINATION FEES FROM THE LOCAL MECHANIC, AND NO GURANTEES FROM THE SATURN DEALER; I DECIDE TO ALLOW THE LOCAL MECHANIC TO DO THE WORK. THE FOLLOWING PARTS HAD TO BE REPLACE DUE TO THE 'PREMATURE" FAILURE OF THE TIMING CHAIN: HEAD, HEAD GASKET, VALVE GASKET, FRONT COVER GASKET, TIMING CHAIN KIT, VALVES, BELT, SPARK PLUGS, WIRE SET, FILTER, OIL, AND ANTIFREEZE. THE TOTAL BILL CAME TO $ 2,480.80. THE CAR IS RUNNING FINE NOW.

2001 SATURN L 200 SERIES CUSTOMER STATES THAT THE CAR WOULD NOT START AND THEN AFTER GETTING A BOOSTER THE CAR STARTED SMOKING AND SPARKS CAME OUT OF THE IGNITION AREA**CC THE CONSUMER HAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE. THE IGNITION SWITCH HAD BURNED OUT DUE TO THE STARTER BEING STUCK. THE DEALER HAD TO REPLACE THE BURNED OUT STARTER, IGNITION SWITCH, IGNITION HOUSING AND IGNITION CYLINDER. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE BATTERY WOULD NOT HOLD A CHARGE, AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ON, THE DEALER FOUND A CODE AND THE BCM HAD TO BE RECALIBRATED. THE SERPENTINE BELT WAS REPLACED. THE AIR CONDITION WAS INOPERABLE, THE DEALER STATED THE AC CONTROL HAD SHORTED OUT. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 SATURN LS2. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING, A STREAM OF SMOKE APPEARED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. THE FIRST TIME WAS TWO WEEKS AGO AND THE MOST RECENT WAS ON JUNE 5, 2007. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE'S HIGH BEAMS ILLUMINATE WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL IS ACTIVATED AND THE DAY TIME RUNNING LAMPS AND THE BRAKE LIGHTS FLASH INTERCHANGEABLY. THE PURCHASE DATE, ENGINE SIZE, AND POWERTRAIN WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 56,979. UPDATED 09/05/07. *JB

TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH ON INTERSTATE 271 IN OHIO DURING RUSH HOUR, THE TIMING CHAIN ON MY 2001 SATURN L200 FAILED CAUSING ENGINE SHUT DOWN. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND PARK THE CAR. AFTER HAVING THE VEHICLE TOWED AND THEN MOVED TO THE SATURN DEALERSHIP, THE TIMING CHAIN WITH THE NEW OILING MECHANISM WAS INSTALLED AND THE ENGINE HEAD NEEDED REPLACED DUE TO BENT VALVES. *TR