20th Jan 2008, 21:15

Had to come back on because I was shell-shocked the first time. Probably too late with this, but the warning light with the arrow down with waves is low coolant. That information came from my $35 manual. Just want to say thanks for making public all the car troubles. I am just glad it was not just me with a lemon.

26th Jan 2008, 08:41

I have a 2001 Saturn L300 and it has been the curse of my life. Anything that has gone wrong with anyone else's cars that have been posted on here has happened to me. Service Engine Light, that stupid wrench, tires, and flat out dying while driving down the road. One question; Does anyone know how to change the battery in these stupid things!?! It won't just lift out like every other car in the world, it has to be a complete hassle (Much like the rest of the car.). You know why they have dent-resistant panels right? So you can kick the living crap out of them when they die on the side of the road!

11th Feb 2008, 17:45

WOW... I can't believe all the complaints about the SAturn L300. We bought our son's 2001 L300 in July of 06 as a graduation gift. Gee now I wish I would have known about this site. I will say the first year, except for the brakes which STILL squick (was told this is normal) is having the Engine light turn on and the car is trying to shift and can't. It is an automatic. Sorry don't know if they are all automatic or some are stick shift. Any way it finally will shift. Engine light eventually turns off, but when it does turn on that is the problem he gets. Happens occasionally. NOW the Serive light with the wrench is turning on. It was on before and supposedly they couldn't find anything wrong. So now we have an appointment with the Saturn dealer to see what they are going to claim. I spoke to my old mechanic and he told me that the Saturns are known for transmission problem. Never knew that. I have had friends who have Saturns and they love them and have kept purchasing a SAturn. He is saing they use parts from Japan, Germany and other countries to build the car which is why they are hard to fix. Gee, that would explain why they can't' figure out what is wrong with the car. We can't afford another car for him and he surely can't afford one being in College. I will try and come back to this site once I get the report on Friday.

This is a very formative site and I appreciate allt he comments people have said. Just a little to late. :- (

Thanks.

13th Feb 2008, 16:08

I have had the same issue as many of you had. My 2004 Saturn L300 has stalled while I was driving at highway speeds. The car has to be turned off and then started back up again before I am able to actually drive it. The first time the dealership replaced the ECM because it had the code P0606 (faulty PCM/ECM). The second time it happened, I had a parts store check for the problem and the same code came up P0606. I took it to the dealership and they said it was an old code (liars), so they just reset the computer. Then 12 days later it happened again and I had the same code P0606, along with several new ones (P0700, U2107, and U2105). I have no idea what the last two codes are, but the other P code has to do with the transmission, and I had that fixed once before.

As you can tell, they can replace all these parts and there is still no resolution. Instead of replacing good parts, they should really find out what is wrong with this model before they go on a wild goose hunt!!!

If you are experiencing similar issues, please make all your complaints to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

Maybe if enough of us show how prevalent this problem is, maybe we can find out the truth and get some action done.

17th Feb 2008, 10:53

I am read all of the complaints and really do appreciate them. So let me add to the problems, my wife is having a greyish smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. We asked the nearest mechanic and told us that it may be the rings. Has anyone experienced this problem yet. If you have or have a mechanic who can diagnose this problem without going to a Saturn dealer please let me know. thx.

19th Feb 2008, 12:53

I have a 2004 Saturn L300 V6 and am having quite a few problems with it. I had the same problems as everyone else, with having to replace the tires at around 20,000 or fewer miles. At 30,000 miles, the power steering pump needed replaced. Although I was under the 36,000 miles for the warranty, I was a few months out from 3 years, so the dealership would not cover it. I took it to another mechanic to get that repaired just 4 months ago. I now have a radiator leak (currently at 32,000 miles). I'm wondering if I should try to trade it in now, or if it's better to just fix this and hope nothing else goes wrong?

4th Mar 2008, 14:01

Thank you to everyone who took the time to post your comments. I was considering a 2001 Saturn L300 but after seeing them will steer well clear of it or any other Saturn for that matter.

16th Mar 2008, 19:56

I have a L300 2002 with 45000 miles on it and am just starting to experience stuttering while accel. Fortunately I have replaced tires/ brakes with after market parts so no issues. Thanks for the CPS heads up- my mechanic and I will be working on it shortly. When buying parts I noticed that this car shares a lot with the SAAB 9-3. Are the same issues reported on that car/ model/year??? Again thanks for your comments- later Saturn, back to Honda.

24th Mar 2008, 10:22

Everyday I watch the miles tick closer to 100,000 and wonder when and where this car is going to leave me sit. After 5-years, I have had just about every problem listed throughout roughly 90-some comments. I currently am experiencing the check engine light (a picture of the engine), which I have been told is due to a bad fuel pump--although now I am not so sure. I have a coolant leak, which appears to be getting worse--I am judging this by my parking space at work with a stain that keeps getting larger like that thing from the 80's movie, "The Blob". I am also experiencing a maintenance required light (the car with the wrench), which appears to an untrained eye to be a transmission problem. My car runs OK when this light is not on, which is 80% of the time, but when it comes on (for no apparent reason) the car shifts and feels like the transmission is being ripped from the car--Could this be an electrical issue???. No real answer as to what this is yet exactly--but I am sure it will be costly. Additionally, My father and I had to drop half the engine out to change the V-belt: so much for that 5-minute fix. Lemme know if anyone knows what the maintenance light "thing" is all about. I was hoping to get 200,000 miles from my 2003 Saturn L300, however, I am starting to think that is just a "pipe dream".

-PA Saturn Owner.