2001 SATURN LS Complaints

FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS I HAVE NOTICED AN ELECTRICAL (BURNING) ODOR WHILE OPERATING MY VEHICLE. THE MULTI-FUNCTION TURN SIGNAL SWITCH IS VERY HOT ALL THE TIME AND WHEN I REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION, IT TOO IS VERY HOT, TO THE POINT OF IT BURNING MY LEG THROUGH MY PANTS POCKET. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE SATURN DEALERSHIP THAT I PURCHASE IT FROM FOR ITS ANNUAL INSPECTION AND ADVISED THE SERVICE TECH OF THIS. HE LATER CALLED TO ADVISED ME THAT THE TURN SIGNALS HAD MALFUNCTIONED AND THE SWITCH WAS SMOKING DURING THEIR TEST. HE ADVISED ME THAT THE SWITCH NEED REPLACED TO THE TUNE OF $117. THE VEHICLE IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD WITH 59,000 MILES ON IT. I FEEL THAT THIS PRESENTS A SAFETY/FIRE HAZARD AND THAT THESE MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCHES ARE DEFECTIVE AND WEAR PREMATURELY. *JB

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY I 293,AND MY ENGINE BLEW IT GOT TOWED TO SATURN OF NASHUA (OFFERED ME $200 ON A TRADE IN FOR IT OR OTHER WISE 3600 TO FIX).MY IGNITION MODULE S#%T THE BED (A RECALLED PART) SATURN OF NASHUA ONCE AGAIN COULD NOT HELP ME BECAUSE THEY REPLACED IT FOR THE PREVIOUS OWNER AND THEY WOULD HAVE REPLACED IT FOR ME IF IT WENT 1600 MI AGO (DIDN'T HELP AT ALL).THE TENTIONER SPRING WENT THREW THE SIDE OF THE HOUSING,02 CENSOR BROKE,LIGHTS DIM WHEN ROLLING UP & DOWN THE WINDOWS,LOOSE POWER WHEN THE AC IS ON,USE LIGHTER IN CAR ONCE THEN FUSE NEEDS REPLACING,CV JOINTS WENT,MY BRAKE LIGHTS GO OUT LIKE CRAZY AND I REPLACE THEM LIKE CRAZY AND GET PULLED OVER FOR IT TOO, WHAT ELSE OH YAGH! I DRIVE 61 MILES TO THEN FROM WORK 5 TO 6 DAYS A WEEK .AND DO ALL MY REQUIRED MAINTENANCE AND THEN SOME AND STILL OWE 4 MORE YEARS ON THIS CAR SUCKS HUGE I AM ONLY SUCKERED ONCE SATURN AND SATURN OF NASHUA HAS LOST MY BUSINESS FOR GOOD! BUT THEY DID COVER THE COST OF PUTTING MY CAR ON THE DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE $96.00 WHEN MY ENGINE BLEW BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO LEAVE IT THERE THANKS SATURN FOR ALL THE PEOPLE YOU RIPPED OFF. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH AND TURNING A CORNER THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE TIMING CHAIN FRACTURED AND CAUSED DAMAGE TO TWO CYLINDER HEADS. THE DEALER REPLACED THE TIMING CHAIN AND CYLINDER HEADS. THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED. UPDATED 09/13/06.*JB

ON AUGUST 4, 2006 MY 2001 SATURN L SERIES SEDAN DID NOT START. AS THE SATURN DEALERSHIP IS 20 MILES AWAY, I HAD MY CAR TOWED TO A LOCAL AUTO REPAIR SHOP. I WAS INFORMED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN ON THE VEHICLE AND GEARS WERE DEFECTIVE. THE MECHANIC AND MYSELF THOUGHT THIS WAS ODD AS THE CAR HAS ONLY 49,145 MILES ON IT. LUCKILY, I WAS NOT DRIVING THE CAR WHEN THIS FAILURE OCCURRED, ALTHOUGH I COULD HAVE BEEN. I RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND THERE IS AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION CONCERNING THIS PROBLEM IN MY TYPE VEHICLE. I CONTACTED SATURN AND WAS TOLD THERE WOULD BE NO REIMBURSEMENT AS THIS WAS NOT AN OPEN RECALL FOR MY CAR. THE COST TO REPAIR THIS DEFECTIVE PART WAS $940. I HAVE HAD THE GEARS AND TIMING CHAIN REPLACED AND STILL HAVE THE DEFECTIVE PARTS. *JB

THE CAR WOULD START ROCKING WHEN WAITING FOR A LIGHT. IT WOULD LOOSE POWER AT LOW RPMS AND EVENTUALLY THE WHOLE HEAD HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THE SATURN SERVICE CENTER IN CLARENCE DID NOT TELL US TO CHECK THE TIMING CHAIN. TYPICALLY I TRAVEL ON EXPRESSWAYS AND A BLOWN ENGINE COULD HAVE CAUSED A MULTIPLE CAR CRASH. *NM

JULY 4, 2006, SEVERAL MONTHS AFTER JUST HAVING NEW COMPUTER INSTALLED ON MY 2001 SATURN L-SERIES 200, I WAS DRIVING WITH MY MOTHER AND TWO SISTERS WHEN SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER INCLUDING STEERING AND BRAKING CAPABILITY. THE ENGINE DIED AND THE VEHICLE WAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. FORTUNATELY, I WAS TRAVELING AT A LOW RATE OF SPEED ROUNDING A RATHER INNOCUOUS BEND. BUT HAD THIS TAKEN PLACE UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES THE CASUALTY LOSS, BOTH PROPERTY AND PERSONAL, COULD HAVE BEEN DISASTROUS. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP, WHERE THE NEXT DAY A MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE TIMING CHAIN THAT BROKE. PROCEEDED TO CALL SATURN, THEY SAID IT WOULD BE ROUGHLY THREE-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO FIX. THE CAR IS OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY, BUT I WAS STILL MAKING PAYMENTS. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON WHY A CAR IN TODAY'S DAY AND AGE, SHOULD NOT BE WARRANTED AGAINST AN UNREASONABLE DANGEROUS DEFECT SUCH AS WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE SATURN L-SERIES 200. PLEASE HELP WITH CONTACTING SATURN AND SEEING ABOUT A REPLACEMENT TO COVER MY LOSS. THANK YOU. *NM

I HAVE A 2001 SATURN LS THAT I BOUGHT USED IN OCTOBER 2004. IT HAS ABOUT 54, 000 MILES ON IT AND THE TIMING CHAIN JUST BROKE. THIS CAUSED DAMAGED TO THE VALVES WHICH IS COSTING ME OVER $2,000 TO FIX. THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. *NM

MY WIFE AND I OWN A 2001 SATURN L200 SEDAN THAT WE HAVE BEEN VERY HAPPY WITH. OVER THE YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN NOTHING MORE THAN THE NORMAL LITTLE PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO MY WIFE STARTED NOTICING A 'TICKING' NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE SOUND CAME AND WENT BUT MOSTLY WHEN SHE STARTED THE CAR. WE HAD IT IN TO A GARAGE AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE, BUT ASSURED MY WIFE EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE. TWO DAYS LATER EVERYTHING WAS NOT FINE. MY WIFE, WHO IS A NURSE, WENT TO START HER CAR AFTER WORK. THE CAR STARTED, WITH THE NOISE, AND THEN STALLED. SHE TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR BUT WAS UNABLE TO. ALL OF THIS HAPPENED SUNDAY JULY 9TH AT 4:00 AM IN THE MORNING. WE HAD THE CAR TOWED THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, AT AN INCREASED EXPENSE BECAUSE SHE WAS IN A LOW CLEARANCE PARKING GARAGE. WE HAD THE ENGINE CHECKED AND IT WAS DISCOVERED TO BE A TIMING BELT FAILURE. LUCKY, FOR US IT HAPPENED WHEN SHE STARTED THE CAR NOT WHEN SHE WAS DRIVING, SO THERE WAS NO OTHER DAMAGE DONE TO THE MOTOR. AS I STATED EARLIER OUR CAR IS A 2001 SATURN L200 THAT HAS ONLY 78,000 MILES. NEVER BEFORE HAVE I HEARD OF A TIMING CHAIN FAILING, LET ALONE AT 78,000 MILES. THE LAST CAR WE OWNED, A 1993 NISSAN MAXIMA HAD A TIMING BELT AND THE MANUFACTURER DID NOT RECOMMEND REPLACEMENT UNTIL 90,000 MILE AT THAT. I HAVE HAD MANY CARS AND HAVE DRIVEN THEM WELL BEYOND 100,000 MILE MARK AND NEVER HAVE I HAD TO FIX A TIMING CHAIN BEFORE. *JB

MY SIXTEEN YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING OUR 2001 SATURN L200 AND CAME HOME TO TELL ME THAT THE CAR STARTED MAKING A KNOCKING SOUND. I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC TO INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM. HE CALLED ME TO SHOW ME THE RESULTS: A SHATTERING TIMING CHAIN. THE LINKS OF THE CHAIN WERE BREAKING APART, BUT HAD NOT YET COMPLETELY FAILED. SINCE THE PIECES THAT HAD BROKEN OFF COULD NOT BE CONFIDENTLY RECOVERED FROM THE ENGINE, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF REPLACING THE ENGINE. THIS FAILURE COULD HAVE CAUSED AN EMERGENCY THAT MY DAUGHTER WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE HAD THIS TIMING CHAIN FAILED COMPLETELY WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING ON ANY OF THE BUSIER STREETS IN OUR AREA, WHERE TRAFFIC CAN BE MODERATE TO HEAVY. THE ENGINE WITH THE FAILING TIMING CHAIN IS STILL CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IF NEEDED FOR EA06-009. *JB

IN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2005 WE PURCHASED REPLACEMENT TIRES FROM PEP BOYS. WE WERE TOLD THE TIRES PURCHASED WERE PROPER AND HAD A 65,000 MILE WARRANTY. FIRST OF JUNE 2006 MY DAUGHTER HAD A FLAT TIRE. SHE WENT TO PEP BOYS. THEY ADVISED HER TWO FRONT TIRES WERE BALD AT 20,000 MILES NOT DUE TO HER OR THE CAR BUT THE TIRES SOLD WERE WRONG AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN PUT ON THE CAR SHE HAS. PEP BOYS REFUSED TO REPLACE AT NO COST BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY ARE NOW USED? USED, YES BUT WRONGLY SOLD. WE WERE REPRESENTED AT THE SALE TO BE PROPER NO MENTION THEY WOULD NEVER HOLD UP. BEFORE THIS FLAT TIRE IN APRIL MY DAUGHTER WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT. IT WAS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. WE GOT THE CAR BACK MIDDLE OF MAY 2006. ONLY A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE FLAT. IT NEVER OCCURRED TO US THAT SHE HAD WRONG TIRES, I TALKED WITH MY LOCAL FIRESTONE DEALER WHO I USED FOR YEARS. HE ADVISED ME THAT THESE TIRES ARE RATED (V) WHICH BY THE STANDARDS IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE PUT ON THIS TYPE OF CAR BECAUSE THEY WILL FAIL AND NEVER HOLD UP THERE HAVE BEEN MANY LAWSUITS FROM ACCIDENTS OVER THIS SAME PROBLEM. MY PROBLEM IS THAT PEP BOYS KNOWING SOLD TIRES THAT WOULD NOT HOLD UP ON MY SATURN, APPARENTLY THERE IS A TIRE STANDARD THAT EVEN DICTATES THIS BUT IT WAS NOT FOLLOWED. I UNDERSTAND NO ONE WARRANTIES V RATED TIRES NOT SURE HOW TRUE. THIS PRACTICE PUTS END USERS AT LIFE SAFETY RISK AS WELL AS OTHERS DRIVING ON THE ROAD. PEP BOYS ATTITUDE IS YOU USED THEM ONLY IN THE CONTENT THEY RECOMMENDED AND PRESENTED THEM AT THE POINT OF SALE AS BEING PROPER FOR MY DAUGHTER??S CAR. NOT THAT THEY WOULD WEAR OUT AT 20,000 MILES AND PUT HERE AND OTHERS AT A LIFE SAFETY RISK. IT APPEARS THEY WANT TO THEN PRORATE TIRES AND CHARGE THE DIFFERENCE TO THE END USER WHO WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS. *JB