2001 Saturn L300 from North America - Comments

I also have a 2001 Saturn L-300 money pit. 12 times at Saturn in six months. They replaced the following: Throttle body, catalytic converter, engine control module, fuel pump and sensors, oxygen sensors (twice). Two thousand dollars later it still won't run more than ten miles without the engine control light coming on or stalling. I finally got disgusted with the folks at Saturn when they told me they wanted another $450.00 to keep looking for the problem. I took it straight to an independent mechanic with the challenge to find what the dummies at Saturn can't could not. Two days later he came back with a judgement. The car is nuts. When a proper diagnostic is done, here is what is going on. Engine running in park, the ECM thinks the car is traveling at 53 miles per hour at 8000rpm. It randomly sends fuel to the cylinders. It might read the sensors it might not. In short the computer is confused and cannot properly run the system. Also mine has been through four sets of tires in 72k miles. With this documented Saturn has now agreed to replace the ECM again. I only hope I can make it off of their lot long enough to dump it on a dealer as a trade before the SES light comes back on and it dies again.

2001 L300 Crapturn...Saturd

The list goes on and on doesn't it? Did I mention in a previous post that my Saturd dealer brought in a regional service manager to try to figure out what is wrong with my hunk-o-junk? They couldn't! Thousands of dollars later... I just ride around with the SES light on... and I almost hope the whole piece of crap explodes... What more can I do? If a Saturn dealer can't fix it... and they call in a regional guy to fix it, and he can't figure it out? Where do you turn? It's just not right that the car manufacturer isn't responsible for selling a car that EVERYONE HAS TROUBLE WITH...and, THE SAME TROUBLES AT THAT! Where's that Ralph Nader when you need him?

Anyone want a deal on a 2001 L300???

I think, if someone owns a car, that is truly a piece-of-crap-money-pit, they should tell everyone they know.

It might make you feel like a big whining complainer, but you'll never regret stepping up and telling it like it is.

You should not, however, keep riding your bike by the local dealership, giving them the 'bird'.

2002 L300 isn't looking so hot these days. Just replaced the battery for the second time since owning the car (65K), and now I have serious computer problems. All power (lights, gauges, everything) fliks on and off, thought it was a loose connection, but all is well under the hood. Service Engine light been there for a while, but after reading these comments I will have nothing to do with a dealership. Now the security light comes on after start-up, and the gear-box is locked, won't get out of park. I have had nothing, but problems with Saturn and I will never buy another GM car - ever. Any help would be appreciated.

Okay, so I have been here reading all of these comments thinking that they all could be written by my hand. SES, the wrench, um.. Now I have s twist.. my lights will not turn off, the power locks don't work, and the gas gauge is now broken. I have no idea what is going on. I just spent $300.00 to replace the Crank sensor. I really really really

To the comments from the 2002 owner... avoiding dealerships is a good start... putting a for sale sign in the window is the next step. There is no help. No set answer to fix the woes. The cars are rolling repair bills. Even the Saturd trained mechanics can't fix them. I hate to keep getting up on this soap box...but...I just drive mine around with the SES light on ALL THE TIME... maybe it will blow up... one can only hope.

Seriously...get rid of the car before you not only have auto repair bills, you'll have medical bills to cover the stomach ulcers, migraines, high blood pressure, dealership rage, mechanic range... need I go on? Care to buy a 2001 L300? I'll make you such a deal!

To August 9th - crank sensor replacement

Honey, you "really really really" need to ditch that hunk of crap. Seriously, there is no 'fix'. Fix one thing and another will pop up before you get the bill paid for the first thing.

This isn't right. I hope General Motors goes right down the toilet. Honda/Toyota are gonna clean their shorts, and as soon as I can afford one of those, I'm gonna dump this General Motors Crapturn, never to return to General Motors again, never ever never.

Wow, all such helpful comments. I'm going to break with tradition and offer some actual advice--to the 9 Aug commenters, sounds like you need a body control module (BCM). It's a common problem on the L-series (cue the whining), and manifests itself in weird electrical gremlins. It's not too cheap, and has to be programmed by the dealer following installation, so it's best to take it to the dealer.

OK folks... instead of an endless stream of whining/complaining and outrage...let's ALL do something about it.

Here's the link:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

This will bring you right to the NHTSA government site, to the application to complain about Saturn/General Motors...

If they receive enough complaints they WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

To the August 15th post, I have gone to that website. I actually went there before I put my post on this site. Also, it is the BCM. It was this website that pretty much confirmed that. I am trading the car in as soon as it is fixed. I can't keep spending $400 dollars a week on repairs. I called Saturn. They were condescending and displayed a very cavalier attitude about the issues that plague the posts on this site.

The Saturn dealership here was less fun than a root canal. The service office closes at 5pm. I was there at 4:15 and they let me know on no uncertain terms that they were closed and that I needed to bring the car back at 8am the next morning. I am in customer service. I work for one of the largest communication companies in the US.. I would never never never treat a customer like that. I can't even imagine. I then called GM.

I was given the runaround about everything. I spoke with more people who basically told me it wasn't their responsibility. I am angry because of the mediocrity that seems to be standard. However, there is a silver lining.

I have discovered a service shop in Tyler that is just amazing. Engines Express is wonderful. They are thorough and compassionate. It is the only service shop that started with the least expensive resolution and went from there.

I will never buy another Saturn. It is not because I think that the newer cars have the same problems. It is because I believe they do not stand behind their product. It is sad.. I like to buy American.. But Toyota has huge plants here, so do most of the others.

Oh.. one thing that I found interesting.. The other GM dealerships here refuse to touch Saturn.

For any of you who haven't disposed of your Saturn L series yet, I may be have the solution you've been looking for. I've been experiencing most of the same problems mentioned over and over in previous entries, such as hard shifting, periodic refusal to start, and occasional stalling. Fortunately, I have a great mechanic who takes a personal interest in all of his customers' problems and will do everything humanly possible to find a solution. (Note: I made the mistake of taking my 2002 L300 to the Saturn dealer when the problems first began appearing, only because the symptoms wouldn't occur when it was in my mechanic's shop... and I hoped that the dealer would recognize the problems as "common" -- instead, they charged me a fortune for a Mass Air Flow Sensor, which was obviously not the problem, since it solved nothing.) Anyway, to the point -- my mechanic drove the car himself for a few days until the problems surfaced and he was able to immediately hook up his equipment. He figured out that the Crankshaft Position Sensor was faulty. He replaced that part (for only $250, including parts and labor) and the car has run perfectly for the past 2 weeks. Previously, one or more of the problems would occur on a daily basis. So, there you have it.

OK...The Crank Position Sensor replacement comment...Please, Please, Please... stay on this site and let us ALL know how the car is running two more weeks from now, and then a month from now...

Well, I am glad I am not alone in the the Saturn L300 woes. We bought our '01 V6 back in '03. Got a good deal on it because it was my father in law's, but had a 88K miles on it. Paid 4K. But now that it has over 100K, the problems are popping up. Car was hesitating bad when driving and transmission would clunk and shudder while shifting. Dealer replaced PC Valve /Solenoid. Ran diagnostics and said that would eliminate the hesitiation. Did not. That was later found out to be bad EGR valve. Ironically, the day I ordered the EGR ($160), the car stalled twice while driving. I was able to re-start the first time (in neutral while doing 50), but the second time it took over an hour after sitting on the side of the road to start . It turns over, but the engine doesn't fire. Replaced the EGR valve last night, and the car ran great. For 20 minutes. Then it stalled again. No codes were found. So, not sure what would be causing the stalling at this point. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi, all. I'm the guy who reported that the Crank Position Sensor might be the solution to so many reported problems. It's only been a little more than 1 week since I originally posted that information (a total of 3+ weeks since my mechanic diagnosed the problem), but I wanted to report my growing confidence that this is indeed the solution. I used to have one or more of the various symptoms daily (stalling, hard shifts, and failing to start), but I have not had a single problem since the part was replaced. Glory, hallelujah! Cross your fingers. P.S. I had a couple of pizzas delivered to my mechanic and his four employees. Next step, find out what he wants for Christmas. (Before he solved the mystery, I was just about ready to push my 2002 L300 off a cliff.)

ATTENTION: CRANK POSITION SENSOR GUY

What city/state are you in? We may give your mechanic plus 4 guys more Saturn work than they can handle...