2001 Saturn L300 from North America - Comments

My son bought a 2001 L300 V6 about 3 months ago and it seemed like a very nice little car. Last week he got his car back from the body shop after being hit by another driver and that is when it seemed the problems started. He could be going 50 miles an hour and want to pass another vehicle, but when he steps down on the gas pedal, the tach revs up to 4 grand like it should, but he is still going 50 miles an hour. It's almost like the secondaries of a 4 barrel carburetor not kicking in. I test drove it tonight and it does exactly what he says. I've scoured the internet trying to figure out what might be the problem and it seems that it may come down to a Transmission Pressure Control Solenoid (PCS) but not sure. Not sure what this does or even sure it is the culprit. Has anyone else had a similar problem? Pls email me at sharrahl@ameritech.net. I would love to hear your story. I don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about this car anymore after reading all of the problems people have had with it.

Hello again. I am the guy who reported the Crankshaft Position Sensor solution. I notice that the number of postings at this site have dropped off dramatically -- perhaps that's because the solution to my problem was the solution for many other Saturn owners. Anyway, it has now been 2 months since my mechanic figured out the solution and I have had zero problems during that entire time. Thus, I can only conclude that the problem has indeed been solved. That said, this will be my last posting... if anyone is even still reading.

Dear October 7th Crank Position Sensor Poster:

I'm still here, still reading. Still riding around with the SES light on.

It's uplifting to know that someone's Saturn actually got fixed, AND not only stayed fixed, but hasn't had some other light or pump or belt or wheel or tie rod or whatever go bad.

Keep us posted down the road. OK?

I just wanted to add that the Crankshaft Position Sensor went out in my 2002 L300 a couple days ago. Symptoms were: hard shifting, and the car would just die and wouldn't start until it cooled down. Check engine light was also on.

I bought a code scanner from advance auto, pulled the trouble code showing no signal from crankshaft position sensor, and ordered the replacement part for $83 bucks shipped to my house. For those wanting to repair their own cars, go to:

http://www.saturnparts.net/

They are genuine factory parts and cheaper than 3rd party replacements found elsewhere (Autozone, Oreilly, etc).

I wish that I had a different experience as all the others, but I don't. Just another frustrated 2001 Saturn L300 owner. I feel lied to and cheated. Saturn knew that they were producing a car that was not only a hunk of junk, but difficult to work on. The last time my car went to the shop, the shop towed it to Saturn, Saturn had no idea what to do (aside from tearing down the motor) and so they sent it back to the shop. Super. Two weeks and no progress. My car won't go without flooring it - then, if you let up at all, it dies. I, of course, still owe on it. So, it sits in my garage until I can come to terms with two car payments or contacting Saturn to see what they will do. Which is almost just to make me laugh, because hey, you've still got to have a sense of humor.

I can truly sympathize with you, being a another lied to and cheated owner of a 2001 L300. There just seems to be no recourse. It seems impossible that an American car manufacturer, under the name General Motors, would not only be able to mass produce and market a car that clearly has more defects built into it than it has redeeming values. And, as the American public, our hands are tied. All we can do is pay repair bills and hope and pray that the local mechanic can figure out how to make our rolling money dump get us from point A to point B. Where is the justice?

What can a lowly Saturn owner do?

Unlike all the rest of you, I've had good things to say about my 2001 L300. We bought it used for a great price, knowing it had been returned to a dealer under the buyback program. I've done nothing, but scheduled maintenance (my schedule, not theirs) and had 50,000 miles of great service. Its second set of tires (I hated the originals) is starting to give up the ghost, but that's fine. My only gripe is the way the paint on the plastic body panels scratches so easily. But its paid for, an dI figure I will keep this thing until it comes apart since the resale is hilariously low.

Wow. Where do I start? I have a 2001 LW300 V6. My wife loves this car. It fits us well and drives well. But we have had a lot of weird problems. Right now, the heater blows hot air all the time! We are approaching 80K miles. Turning on the air-conditioner does no good. Does anybody have a diagnosis? I read earlier at some site that it seems the hot water isn't shutting off going to the heater core. I probably will take it to my local mechanic for repairs. I ABHOR the Saturn Dealers. What a joke - and RIPOFF too! But, I think my problems are minimal compared to others.

Here's a partial list of the problems I have experienced (to the best of my knowledge).

1. Tail light assemblies acting up. Finally replaced by recall after a few trips to the dealer.

2. Wiper fuses blew during the worst rainstorm ever! My wife was driving solo and couldn't see a thing. The fix? Here comes the weird/funny/ripoff part: The Saturn service guy said a rodent made a nest and chewed the wires and caused a short. Of course I believed him - who would make up a story like that? They said they had to replace the wiper motor wiring harness - but didn't have it in stock. They got one from a nearby dealer in another city. This was over a weekend, so it took about 3 days to fix. They did offer me a loaner, but I said we could get by with our other car. When I picked the car up I asked for the old parts. The wires looked like they were sliced with a knife or scraped while being pulled through a cowling hole. NO EVIDENCE OF CHEWING!!! Cost ~ $300.

3. Water pump and MAS replaced under warranty.

4. I came in for a free oil change. They wanted over $2000 for repairs. The largest item was the 'Rack' needed replacement - and this was at approximately 50K miles!! I've never experienced a problem like that - and I'm no spring chicken either! I said FORGET IT! That was about 2 years ago - the car steers just fine. (I think the dealers want to pad their pockets with outrageous / unwarranted repairs).

5. The right rear wheel bearing has been replaced.

6. I had the front brake pads replaced - I did not have the rotors turned because the dealer said they are too thin and can't be turned - only replaced at an exorbitant $$$ amount!

7. The car wouldn't start after I filled it with gas. A couple of good Sam's tried to jump it - no go. Had it towed to the Saturn dealer. They (wouldn't just replace the battery) - said they would have to do a charging system diagnostic. I reluctantly said OK. So they fiddle with the car - START IT UP - and drive it to the service stall. It cost me about $250 for the diagnostic and a new battery! I knew I should have just gone to the local auto parts store and got a new battery.

8. The cooling system water reservoir kept losing coolant. I took it to the dealer. They said the transmission cooling lines and the reservoir cap needed replacing at a cost of approximately $1000. NO DICE! I just had them replace the cap.

9. I later found out the heater core was leaking. How do you say "Gooey Coolant-Saturated Carpeting?" My local mechanic replaced the heater core.

10. I accidentally broke the turn signal stalk. The dealer said he could fix it for ~ $200. I repaired it myself for the cost of the $35 part.

I've also experienced the high cost of burned out 3rd-light brake light repairs. It's just too bad the dealers / service are so incompetent and that Saturn/GM won't stand behind their product. The new cars look good, but will they hold up? Even with a life-time warranty, who wants to ruin their life / health and take a chance?

I'm the guy with the hot air all-the-time problem. I took the car to the local shop (non-Saturn). They said the dash temperature control unit has to be replaced. The part costs $324. Add labor and the total cost is over $500.

I received an ad from Saturn today - Free wiper refills with a $29 rain-x application. Sounded pretty good to me. I called Saturn service and asked how much to install a new rear wiper blade also. He said he was new and would call me back. He called back after about an hour and said the rear wiper has to be replaced as a unit at a cost of $49. I don't think I believe that. Does anyone know?

Thanks for any/all answers!

2001 LW300 - 87971 miles

OK, I got the Rain-X treatment. I had to pay $20 more (total $49.95 + tax) because I didn't have the stock blade parts (the ad was for wiper FILLER's only). I also opted for the "free" oil change while I was there. Here's the list of recommended repairs:

1. Front and rear brake service - $1115 = tax

2. Power steering pump $955 + tax

3. Steering Gear $1877

4. Water pump $595 + tax

5. Oil cooler $1215 + tax

6. LFT side axle seal $865 + tax

Total = more than $6000 (How do you say ouch, ouch, rip-off, gouge me with a fork!!!).

The?Service? department strikes again!

BTW - I asked the parts guy how much the dash temperature control module cost. He asked me how much I paid. I told him $324. He said he would have charged $210. Not sure if this was the wholesale or retail cost. It may have been better to let Saturn do the repairs - although I don't know what their labor charge would have been. I got the original (faulty) part and the only problem was a broken plastic control arm pin. **Expensive**

I have a 2001 Saturn L300 and I was wondering if anyone had any answers on how to fix my car.

The check engine light stays on. when it was ran through the computer, a code about the left and right bank being lean popped up. the guy said that meant there was a problem with the O2 sensor. is there a cheap way to fix the problem.

The service light with a wrench comes on, and when it does, the car has a hard kicking feel when shifting. was is that, and how can I fix it.

If anyone knows what I can do please email me at

x3amtotherescue3x@yahoo.com.

Thanks a lot

-college student.

I have the same problem with my 2003 L300. During the drive suddenly wrench in the car warning in going on. I felt hard jerking when up shifting. Problem and ligth go away after tuning off engine, but appers again later.

Is it crankshaft position sensor symptom or transmission presser control solenoid?

Thanks for the help.

I have the same problem as above. My 2003 L300 hesitates and jerks upon up-shifting through the gears, and the service light comes on. The problem goes away, and the service engine light goes off when I restart the car. Does anyone have an idea what is wrong??

Have your mechanic check the MAF sensor. Check this website and others for this common problem. Will result in hard shifts and the service light.

I actually own a 2005 Saturn L300 and it is also a piece of junk. I bought the car brand new. The problems started after owning the car for less than a year. The car has been in the shop 4 times in two different summers for the coolant light being on and the car smelling like coolant. I think the fourth round may have fixed it, but not sure because it was only "fixed" by the end of this past summer. They said a sensor was getting knocked out and they replaced the sensor twice and the fans twice. While trying to figure out why the car was smelling like coolant, they also replaced the water pump 3 times.

The lights flicker all the time, but that is "normal" because of the pull the air conditioner or heater combined with the radio have.

Now, being just a little over 2 years old, the car will not start at all. We are not sure if it is the starter or something else as it is sitting in my garage. Luckily, all the repairs had been covered under the warranty until this last little hiccup with the car. We are only about 3,000 miles outside of our warranty so we are no longer covered. If I didn't know how much returning the car would kill my credit, I would drive the car to their lot and tell them to have fun with it. So much for the joys of owning a new car.