Saturn LS Reviews from North America

The timing chain broke at about 130,000 miles, and screwed up the transmission.

The starter went out at about 200,000 miles.

Air conditioner has been out since about 200,000 miles. Been told it is the compressor.

The fuel pump went out at 270,000 miles.

Passenger side window will not go down all the way; has been like that for some time.

Overall I have been very happy with this car. I have put a ton of miles on it, because I had job that put a ton of highway miles on it. The car still looks good and does not look like it has the miles, 270,000, that it does have on it.

Would definitely buy another Saturn if they were still in business. Will probably drive it till the wheels fall off.

I have only changed the oil about once every 5,000 miles, and it has worked fine.

Wish I would have got the LS2 for the extra power, but this has decent enough pickup.

Service engine light is always on.

Hard shifting.

Loud.

Doesn't want to start after a long distance drive.

You will spend a lot of $$ on this car, because it seems like something is always going out. And when you go to the dealer, you get the run around.

Interior items:

Driver side AC vent broke.

CD/radio lights burned out except for time/station screen.

A/C control bulbs burned out. No replacement bulbs for either item.

Ride is a bit too stiff, so that any bump feels quite bad.

It got a little better putting Monroe struts and shocks all around.

Gasket at pillar between doors doesn't last long; two years at best before it breaks apart and lets in some air noise.

MPG have remained great! Recent long trip with four and a full load in the trunk got 32-33 MPG on the highway!

The cornering is great! Love to drive it on winding roads. Steering is very responsive.

No fluid leaks anywhere!

I've done a lot of my own work on the car and have found it fairly easy to repair: front brakes, struts and shocks, oil and filter changes, transmission drain, belt and hose replacements.

Vision around the vehicle is great all around, although the rake of the car is a little high at the rear. Nevertheless, that was easy to adjust to.

I have had no problems with this car.

I drive mostly city miles. It is the most economical car for gas and maintenance.

It handles great in the snow.

The folding back seats has been great for extra long cargo loads.

I would keep this car forever if I could.

Driver's power seat went out -- Dealer moved seat during oil change and when I got in the car, the seat wouldn't move. Dealer claimed they weren't responsible, I had to fight with them, they fixed the problem. Blown fuse.

Car wouldn't start -- Start switch went out less than 5 months of me owning it. Stranded. Had to get car towed to dealer. $400.

Oil plug stripped -- Dealer stripped the oil plug. Had to get it replaced by the dealer and couldn't get my oil changed elsewhere.

Countless exterior lights have blown out.

Tape player stopped working -- Will play tapes for about 30 seconds at a time, then flips tapes. Very strange.

Exhaust leak, knocking noise when starting -- Dealer claimed they couldn't duplicate the noise or find anything wrong with the car.

Air conditioner went out -- Dealer claimed compressor was locked up, but I could turn it with my hand. Wanted to replace it for over 800 dollars. A service garage said the car has serious electrical problems and the compressor is not the problem. It's a mystery.

Wiper fluid basin has a hole -- Dealer tells me every time I go, there is a hole in the windshield wiper fluid basin. Not worried about it; every time I use this feature fluid still sprays the windshield.

Crack on rear tail light cover -- Collects water, then drains upon opening the trunk and pours water over everything.

Transmission shifts rough -- I don't even notice this anymore, but the transmission jerks and jolts about half of the time I am driving. I think it's just poor quality not a legitimate issue.

Where do I begin? Seems like a nice car with a lot of nice features. The engine is one of the few things that actually works pretty good on this car. Acceleration is pretty good and it is reasonable on gas. The interior can only be described as tacky and cheesy. The colors are terrible, but the car isn't that uncomfortable unless you're driving over 70 mph, then you'll need to scream to passengers due to road noise.

Exterior wise the car is fine, unless, of course, one of your lights has blown out.

Then we get to the issue. Once your first problem begins, they don't stop. The best advice I can say is to bring a really good pair of walking shoes everywhere you go, because you'll probably get stranded at least once, an ice cold drink when the AC goes out, and some loud music if you'll be driving on the highway. You might want to bring some pain reliever for when you get the repair bill and the headaches Saturn will cause you.

Saturn service is a joke. The service department here is an absolute joke. They have no clue what is going on, usually scratch their heads at problems, and you'll go bankrupt paying for the repairs. You'll probably get scammed by the dealer at least once unless you can catch it in time, they will come up with some load of crap problem when its something minor and they tell you these big long explanations in hope you'll just let them rip you off. And friendly wise, haha! No wonder the dealer was itching to get this car out of their used lot.