Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76-90, 91-101
I bought my 1995 Saturn SL-1 last March. It's 10 years old and I picked it up for $1000 bucks. The only problem I have run into is that it tends to overheat, but that problem is quickly solved by turning on my air conditioner for a few minutes to kick start the fan. Maybe a fuse is out or there's a bad wire that needs replaced or something, but come on. The car is 10 years old with 140,000 miles on it. I need to get new spark plugs as it's starting to sound a little chug-a chug-a and I'm sure it could use a tranny flush and fill with new fluid, but I love my Saturn. I'm sorry that everyone else has all these problems. I guess that with any car there are hits and misses.
I own a 97 SL2 Saturn all power. It has 72K miles and pretty decent shape except for the plastic body paint chips. I recently went to change oil and could not for the life of me find the oil filter. I almost took the trans axle filter off by mistake. I still have yet to locate the oil filter. Other than that my Saturn runs like a charm. Any buffs out there who can tell me where the oil filter is?
I have a 95 SL-2. Currently has ~132000 miles on it and burns a lot of oil. I'm putting in at least a quart per gas fill up. Other than that, this has been a great car. I bought it new. If I can just cut the oil burning, I'll be happy with it until 200K. I'll try the MMO fix. Maybe go to synthetic oil, too.
Well... Mine finally went. Chalk one up to the power of the internet, because I found this page soon after I bought my 1997 SC2 two years ago when it had 138k on it. (I picked it up for $3500, and to the previous owners credit he also told me it burned some oil when I bought it.) I researched my car on the net and found this page, and with the oil treatment trick on the faulty seals and rings, I managed to push it to 197k, till today. It was due for an oil change, and in spite of having plenty of oil in it, one of the valves just clattered to a rediculously loud end. Obviously oil is now everywhere, all over my driveway, where I was lucky enough to be when it died. I've treated it with slick 50 with the last oil change, so it will still spin and actually fire off, but I'd be shredding valves if I did that thanks to pieces now floating around in there. I have to say, that car was a real piece, and saturn is the worst car company ever for this (and other) crap, regardless of the fact I was able to squeak that many miles out of it.
Lemme tell you another thing that saturn maintenance tries to screw people on, and how I beat them on it, just in case anyone has this problem. There is a plastic piece that connects the shift linkage to the shifter. When it breaks, your shifter just goes floppy in your hand. I discovered this because I was out in the boondocks when mine broke, and it was rig it up or not get home. I took it apart, and literally tied the shifter to the linkage with nylon string, and managed to limp it home. Anybody have the floppy shifter problem and get that fixed? saturn wants to make you replace the entire shift linkage for a $.50 plastic grommet, which is all that breaks. Oh hell no! I drilled the ball off the bottom of the shifter, got 2 big rubber grommets and a bolt from Ace hardware for less than $5, and bolted the shifter back to the linkage. 1 hour and $5 later, I was shifting better than I ever had on their cheap plastic crap. What was saturn going to do it for? $400, replace the ENTIRE shift linkage, because the plastic piece was connected to it.
Anyway - don't buy a Saturn. The SC2 is a deceptive monster - you've heard great things about saturn thanks to their media blitz - you see a sporty little SC2 somebody is willing to sell cheap... don't buy it. The car or the hype. I got lucky and saw this page right after I bought mine, so I was warned and yet mine still died. Tomorrow I'm buying a Honda.
The oil filter on any sl or sc car is on the back of the engine on the right side. If you slide under the car from the front it is on your right side mid way up. The oil will drain out and onto your passenger side frame. It is very easy to change as well, even with a oil filter wrench.
I own a 97 SW2 with auto trans. One day on the freeway without warning the transmission blew up. It was obvious to me that the trans was a total loss, so I had it towed to the dealer for repair. The service writer told me that he would have a better estimate of the repair cost after taking off the trans. This 750.00 labor charge would apply to the cost of replacing the trans so I agreed, assuming I would replace the trans. To no one's surprise, he reported to me that it was a total loss. I expected the total bill to be 2,000 to 2,500 US for a replacement, as these are supposed to be economy cars. Imagine my horror to learn that the total bill for a new trans would be over 5,000. Had the service writer warned me of the cost in advance, I would have junked the car before I spent a dime evaluating the old trans. I learned that Saturn parts are extremely expensive to replace and that service writers who work in their dealerships will not tell you the true cost of a potential problem until they have at least tricked you out of some money. I liked my car up to that point, but my experience with the trans was so negative that I will never buy another Saturn product again and I encourage everyone reading this to avoid Saturn like the plague.
$5000 for a new trans? Was it made of gold? You got duped--and bad. Why doesn't anyone shop around anymore? You would find that this car has a pretty common and reasonably priced transmission.
Oh thank God I found this website. I have a 1997 SL1 that has 130k miles on it. I paid 1k in repairs to get it inspected, because the windshield wiper motor burned itself out and a bunch of other little crap. Well, last year the shifter cable clips just randomly broke on me and I only could get into 3rd and 5th gear. Also, my radiator is leaking like CRAZY. I just looked in the engine to replace the thermostat because it's overheating also, and there's a big honking crack down the right side of my radiator. Plus, nothing (not even the battery) is easy to get to to work on yourself. I will NEVER buy another Saturn in my life. 1979 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel for me!!!
To all my Saturn friends. I'm sorry to hear all these problems, and yes I am a new member to the family with problems.
I purchased a used 1998 SL 5 speed manual with 138,425 back in May of 2006. Had it for about five long hard months.
First problem was the linkage to the shifter cables. Was at a Mc Donald's drive through and it just went limp. I called a tow company and they told me that it could be fixed on the spot. So I started to wonder why? I removed the center console and found that a plastic piece that connected the two together had broke. I said to myself well if they're going to charge me to fix it, I'll just try my shoe lace and to my surprise it worked. Drove it for about another 100 miles. Then had the cables replaced - cost $478. But now I know from one of our family members here that if it happens again, just drill the ball out and replace it with a rubber fitter and a bolt. I'm going to try that when it happens again because we all know its going to happen again.
Now my next problem is rough idle, changed everything from plugs to idler, still same problem. Maybe it's because it a 4 cylinder or just poor design? We all know American made anything is not worth the money.
Oil is my next problem - I have to add at least a quart every other week. It's something we all have done once or maybe even a few hundred times a year dealing with Saturns. I'm just going to run it until it dies. And get a more reliable car. Never again will I buy anything made here.
For all you people looking to buy a Saturn I say to you don't!!! It's not worth the headache.
"We all know that American made anything is not worth the money". Buddy you drive an 8 year old Saturn. They were always made with cheap plastics and wheezy engines. What's coming out of saturn now are truly world class products. You bought an 8 year old used car. Things are going to happen. Either pay for preventative/routine maintenance or just buy a new car.
I have a '95 SW2 with a 5 speed. It started consuming a lot of oil at 90,000 miles when the clutch went. A mechanic at the Saturn dealership told me there is a fuel additive that must be added at every oil change. I think it's that Chevron Techron stuff that costs $15 at the dealership or $6 at Walmart. He said if you don't, the rings get full of carbon and refuse to seal. I was using 1qt per 1000 miles at 135K when my car was broad sided by a much larger station wagon (Suburban). The Saturn mechanic said that they would do the top end soak discussed earlier in this forum and the oil consumption should go back to normal. My poor car never made it back to the shop...
I just bought a 1997 sl2 with 190k miles on it. It's only got one problem; it smokes profusely when the engine is idle. It also seems to burn oil. After only 250 miles after a full service oil change, the oil light comes on. A check under the hood reveals low oil... I guess I'll have to add oil... After some internet research I’ve determined that perhaps the piston rings need to be replaced. If there is not a proper seal, the oil that lubricates the piston gets into the combustion chamber; causing the smoke?
Now, how do I convince a mechanic to ONLY give me my ring job?
"But he said ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks."
hah
Well thanks for the tips. My shift linkage came apart as well. I have a 1995 Saturn SL1 and to be honest it has been a terrific vehicle for me. Very reliable. I really never thought about drilling the linkage out and replace it with a bolt and a couple of grommets. Good stuff. Again, thanks for the heads up.
I am so happy to see this website and see other people have had similar problems.
I bought my Saturn SL1 new in 2001. The experience was great!! I got the car that fit my personal criteria, we got a great deal, 0% intrest on the loan. We couldnt have been happier. Our first couple years of maintenance was included in the loan, so we didn't even have to worry about a thing until that ran out.
Well once it did...wow!!!
The oil changes are nearly impossible to do ourselves!!! The oil filter is hidden way back in an akward place near the tire. So no normal person can get in there! Our 2 ton jack couldnt even get the car high enough for me to get under the car. And I am a small framed woman! My husband is "big boned" and he didn't even bother trying!! LOL So we had to take the car in for oil changes which as everyone knows is so overpriced!!!
Since the warranty ran out (of course) things have been going wrong left and right.
The first big thing was the transmission sprung a leak. It turns out someone jacked up the filter and it caused big problems. They were going to charge about $1200 but I pitched a fit and I got it down to $800!! Then when they were done with that the ABS went out. Although they said it was just coincidence that it went out when the car was in their care, I blamed them and got that replaced on their dime! Lord knows how much they would have charged for that!!!
Then the engine started running rough. We replaced the plugs and wires and some coil thing. That improved it a little, but not all the way. I took it to a mom and pop shop which I delt with a lot and they quoted me $4k to fix the engine!! something with the cylinders losing pressure. Then I took it to the dealership for a 2nd opinion and it ended up just being a gasget and an O2 sensor and it was "only" $650 to fix. Although I may have gotten that done cheaper... I was so sick of having a broken down car I just sucked it up and paid $650.
Well of course while its in I was given a list 3 miles long of everything else that was wrong with the car. Everything from the Engine Mount being loose and needing to be replaced to the bolts on the steering column needs replacement. I was told that was $4 for parts and $100 for labor!!! WHAT?! I passed on that.
Well no more than 2 weeks after that is fixed the wiper motor went! You think that would be a quick fix, NOPE!! You have to take half the car apart just to get to the bolts!!! It took us (my husband and I working together) from 5pm-10:30pm JUST TO GET IT OUT!!! It was so agravating I'm taking it to my dad's house this week so he can finish the job!!!
Long rant later... My point...I will NEVER buy another Saturn again!!! When its new the car is great!! The safety features are high, the car looks great. I love how after the kids have knocked it with balls, bikes, frisbees and other hard objects the body still looks brand new!! I even had a women hit my door with a cart at walmart without a scratch!!! The car started off so great!! But it seems to me Saturns are not built for the Do It Yourselfer to work on!! We don't have the money to keep pumping into this car!! We are a single income young family. My husband makes barely enough to survive. the reason we got a "new" car was so that we thought it would last us 10+ years. We are barely getting 6!!! This car is on its way to the junk yard!! Its awful!! Even the simplest fixes are complicated. You can't do anything small without taking half the car apart. Its awful!!! I know they do it on purpose!! and even the best mechanics have told me that with some Saturn repairs you are better off going to the dealership because they are the only ones who know waht they are doing on thier confusing little cars. And forget finding parts!!! I can't even find wiper blades for the darned thing!! For years now I've been buying the wrong size because none of the local stores here carry them! And I'm not paying $20 each at the dealer!! It's a joke!!!
So if you are interested in getting a Saturn, be prepaired to get all your work done at the Dealer, because you won't be able to do it yourself. (UNless in a past life you were a saturn mechanic LOL) Be prepaired to pay the high dealer repair costs! Stock up on Saturn parts when you find them, because when you need them they will be nowhere to be found!! And don't expect it to run 10+ years. Get it on a lease and trade the sucker in after 4!!! that's about the time it starts going sour!!
And sadly my uncle has owned 3 saturns, my father in law has owned 2. ALL OF US have had the same problems!!! They are great cars at first... until age starts setting in, then its time to trade it in for a new one. Unfortunatly for us, we can't do that. So we have to suffer for a few more years.
Okay, sorry for the long rant. This site is great! Thanks for letting me vent a little!
*steps off soap box*
God Bless,
Angi.
I was on hold waiting for the service adviser at Saturn to pick up the phone and, once again, discuss this problem. I hung up and immediately checked the Internet and found this site. Thank You SO much for your comments. I have a 1997 SW2 which I have very much enjoyed for 10 years and 122K+ miles, but for the last few years, it's been using way too much oil. I thought I was the only one! This has been the only real problem with the car. That, and my O2 sensors seem to go out often. Now I know to look for a different make of car to purchase next time (NOT a Ford, either). You people just saved me a lot of money.