1998 Saturn SL 1 from North America - Comments

The transmission went with less than 60,000 miles on the engine. This was the first sign that this was not a well made vehicle.

Throughout my ownership of this vehicle it slowly, but very surely, fell apart. From the dome light simply falling out of its socket, to the repeated failure of the rear light, to the upholstery splitting for no real reason, to the fabric of the ceiling and doors peeling away suddenly, to the service engine light coming on constantly (both when things were wrong with the vehicle, but also when nothing was wrong with the vehicle), to the driver-side window crank breaking, to the factory-issue stereo failing a mere 3 yrs. after its being created, to the persistent battery drain from bad wiring (i.e. a trunk light that stays on when the trunk is closed), to the cigarette lighter/charger that ceased working less than 4 yrs into it, to the back door which was, to say the very least, difficult to manage, this car proved to have absolutely no craftsmanship whatsoever. Did I mention the "service engine light" that seemed perpetually lit for six years? It became like an old friend.

Anyway, on top of these electrical and cosmetic faults, there was also a steady string of mechanical problems with the car, culminating in the head gasket blowing recently. I'm finally giving up on it. I had a pulley which regulated the tension on the serpentine belt replaced just two weeks before this "last straw."

The car started losing oil well before I hit 100K, which I've been told by mechanics is typical of this car.

It also lost coolant at a ridiculous rate, starting at about 100K.

This car, this Saturn car, is really about as powerful as a dog sled led by woodchucks. If the wind is with you, blinding highway speeds of 80 to 85 mph are yours to enjoy. If, however, the wind is against you, I hope you have a cell phone, just so you can call to let them know you'll be late. I also know someone with a VUE, which I think must have the same motor as this car and about 1,000 more pounds to move around. To be fair, you're probably not buying a Saturn if you have a need-for-speed kind of mentality.

It handles about average.

I found these seats to have been engineered for a race other than humans, something with a much different spine; although, I can't really imagine these creatures for the oddity of their shape. If you have any kind of back problems/issues, even of the minor variety, don't even think it. I mean it seriously, don't!

I will say that through all the problems this car continued to turn over in the morning. It might not have gone very far, but, darn it, it started, except, of course, for that aforementioned episode with the mysterious battery drain related to the persistent trunk light, during which time it did not start in morning... at all. But other than that it always got up, even if just to get knocked down again, like a boxer, like Rocky, except this Rocky isn't really much of a champion.

I don't understand what you went through with your Saturn to make you hate it so much. I have the very same car and I love it. Although, we are entitled to our opinions, huh? I do have back problems and I actually fall asleep in my car while waiting to pick someone up, for example. Give Saturn another chance :)

I don't dislike Saturn's, but I'm not to happy with my 1998 Saturn SL1 right now. I've only had it about 3 weeks and today my coolant light came on, and I stopped my car and waited about 2 hours, and went to go fill the coolant back up when I noticed that brown muddy like stuff had over flown from my coolant tank. I didn't notice any problems with my car, it still had the same power and stuff, no weird smoke from my tail pipe and no smoke from my engine. It seems like my oil mixed up with my coolant, but I'm not sure if it's my head gasket or not yet, any advice?

Well I have the same car (98 LS) but I have made it into a ricer.. my buddy had the car for the last 3 years and ran into a car... so I got it off him on the low low 100$.

Only needed a RADIATOR and new hood. I've had it for about 6 months... I have made it into a ricer.. new header. Exhaust. Taken off the coolant pump. Cold air intake and a lot more...

It runs real good, now kinda fast for what it is. I can keep up with any V6 car that isn't fixed up to much like Mustangs, Camaros...

On the bad side my lights have messed up a few times; the wiring has burned up... but everything else seems fine.

The engine light is on and has been on for about 5 years now, but nothing wrong with the motor at all. Seems to be real good really, and I still get high 30's (mpg).

I like it really, but I think my head gasket is bad now. The last few days it seems to be getting hot.. I have put a new water pump few weeks ago and all that good stuff, but now it seems to be getting hot. It wasn't getting hot when the water pump messed up,it just leaked water around the pump...

But this car is a alright all around car. The motor has about 290k and it will need a new clutch before long... but no matter what, you always know when you get in it it's gonna start right up and make it where you're going, and with it getting 38 mpg, you can't beat it...

I came across this page as I was searching the web for a new tail light socket. I'm currently having trouble with the tail lights; but I also had the dome light fall out, the seat fabric ripped from normal wear and tear easier than any other car I've had, oil leaks, and antifreeze disappears somewhere into an alternate reality and needs frequent topping off. The windshield wipers are weak, but a little WD40 on the hydraulic arm fixed that problem. Overall, it's been a dependable workhorse; but it's chock full of little "gremlins" issues. Thankfully, I have manual transmission; and other than the shifter cable snapping, that's still going strong. 193,000 miles, and I bought it from a friend 30,000 miles ago. Cosmetically very poor, but fundamentally sound enough.

I owned a '98 Saturn SL.

When I first bought the car 3 years ago, I loved it, deep inside I still love it, I think only because it was "mine".

I have had nothing but trouble with my Saturn. I bought the car in the winter so I was unaware of the constant overheating problem that it had. My car did not like the cold weather. I would turn my key for a good 30 seconds before it would turn over, only to find that when I pushed in the clutch, my car would rev up to 3000 rpms or higher, until I would let off the clutch to accelerate or turn it off and then back on.

Once summer hit it became even worse. I would still have problems starting it, I would turn the key and have to tap the accelerator to get it to turn over, only to have it spew white smoke, sputter, then stall. I was unable to let my car sit for longer than 15 minutes during the winter and no longer than 2 minutes in the middle of summer (Ohio). My car would over heat and my antifreeze would overflow.

I have a cracked or warped head or a gasket problem because one day I left it sit for about 5 minutes and it overheated. My fan never turned on, and my thermostat failed. Toward the end of the 3 years I was having to refill my antifreeze every 3-4 days, my check engine light would come on at random and stay on for months only to turn off at random. My car would leak oil not enough to make it a major problem, but it would leak out the back and side onto my serpentine belt.

My driver side door leaked when it rained, the driver side window crank busted, the driver side back seat window broke and would come off the track. The upholstery completely unattached from the ceiling. Anything I had to fix on my car was outrageous for a car that could barely pass itself, with that many problems.

All in all, I can't say that I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, because sometimes it's the luck of the draw, however, be leery. A deer jumped in front of my 98 Saturn and it was totaled, so I decided to try for another Saturn, despite my issues, thinking I was just unlucky. I test drove a 2002 Saturn SL and it revved to 2000 rpms sitting in park and started to overheat just as my 98 did. On that note let your Saturn sit for a little while to see what it does before you decide to buy, just in case, it tends to get pricey when having to purchase parts... Also when the deer hit my car it took out my driver side headlight and pushed in that side slightly, mashed in my hood also pushing it toward the windshield... my airbag never deployed.

173,000 miles on SL2. Car is bullet-proof. Uses a little bit of oil, other than that no real issues. Got hit by a Ford F-150 in rear end. Fixed it with a 2x4 and a big hammer. Can't even tell it was hit.