1996 Saturn SC 1 review from North America

There was an air bag problem at 9000 miles. The dashboard light stayed on for several minutes. The technician said that had it not been repaired, the air bag may not have gone off in a collision or may have gone off randomly while driving down the road.

The brakes pulsated. The Saturn dealer rotated the rotors, but the problem continued. Another service technician found that the air hose for the brakes was too long and therefore, kinking, which decreased the performance of the brakes.

There have been numerous times that the engine has needed miscellaneous repairs. The #1 cylinder seems to be the culprit most often, misfiring frequently. At one point, I had the car in 4 times within 1000 miles. Now, I am being told that the engine cannot be fixed and needs to be replaced - at 56,000 miles!

The car has been consuming oil at a noticeable higher than average rate, since somewhere around 50,000 miles.

Although I loved my 1996 Saturn SC1 for the first 3 years/36,000 miles (which happened to coincide nicely for me), my eyes have since been opened. Stupidly, I did not pay attention to what needed repair while the car was under warranty, but just accepted the free repairs happily. Now that I am responsible for paying for those repairs out of pocket, I am much more aware of what is going wrong with the car that I have babied since 200 miles.

At 56,000 miles, I am being told that the engine needs to be replaced, even though I was so good about taking it in for all of its recommended maintenance and attending to other needs so quickly. I am very disappointed with my overall Saturn experience.