1994 Saturn SL from North America - Comments

3 alternators.

Front rotors needed replaced.

Trunk latch broke.

Water pump broke.

Automatic seat belt broke.

Engine burns oil.

Countless "minor" adjustments.

Ignition lock broke.

passenger side mirror fell off.

This car, besides having many mechanical problems, it has many design flaws. For starters the automatic seatbelts are a major annoyance. It makes the seatbelts harder to use than regular seatbelts.

There is no headroom in the back seat, I'm 5'8" and I have to bend over to sit back there.

The front seats are too narrow.

The 'tilt' wheel just raises and lowers, doesn't actually tilt and the steering wheel itself is awkward to handle.

The windshield wipers are difficult to change on this car.

No cup holders is quite an inconvience.

The tiny 4 cylinder is no performer, but it's about what I expect from such a car. The fact this engine burns so much oil at such low mileage is disturbing. It's comical that the speedometer goes up to 135.

Many other things are wrong, like the lights and wiper controls are on the wrong sides.

There's nothing special about the Saturns, they're just cheap economy cars, don't believe the hype.

I would have to agree with the sad design on these cars.

You are right/people have started to realise that these cars are junk.

Personally, I own a 1994 Saturn and I love it. As with any car company, there are going to be problems and cars are going to be made that have problems too. I'm very sorry that you had so much difficulty with your Saturn, but honestly most of them are not built that way. Every so often, every car company changes a design of some sort and a whole line of cars have problems that just don't seem to go away. But once they realize the problem, Saturn has made efficient and quick steps to fixing whatever was wrong. My car was used when I bought it and it runs perfectly to this day. Maybe I got lucky, maybe you just didn't. I wish you could experience the reliability of Saturn that I and so many other people have. It's hard to see things from my perspective since you experienced so many problems with your vehicle, but just because a couple hundred cars out of the millions they have made were lemons doesn't make the company or the car as horrible as it seems. No one is perfect. I also think that most of your problems with the interior were personal preference, and therefore you probably would be better off with a car that suits your needs.

I too am sorry that the reviewer had such problems with his 1994 Saturn. I own a 1994 Saturn with over 300,000 miles on it. I have replaced 1 alternator and the rotors once after 200,000 miles. Not bad, in my opinion.

I agree with the previous comment, it sounds like the reviewer needs a different car to suit his needs.

We own a 3 Saturns, SL, SL1, SL2 and are in the process of purchasing a fourth for our daughter who is turning 16. We still have all 3 Saturns and are extremely pleased with all of them.

Best of luck to the original reviewer in his search for a car that suits his needs.

My wife has a 1994 Saturn SL 2 sedan, that she has owned since new. Around 30K miles, the car began using oil and Saturn did a valve job at their expense that solved the problem. Other than what I would consider normal maintenance items, the car has been trouble free for most of the 100k that we have put on the car.

One must remember that it is a small, economy car. You cannot expect the seats to be wide and for the car to be roomy and spacious, as it is a small car and there are sacrifices one makes when choosing an economy car.

Overall the car performs well, is economical to operate and has no more or less problems than any new car my wife and I have owned.

I would not hesitate to recommend Saturn products to anyone based upon my experience with their cars and their dealerships and service departments.

Are you people kidding me, this Saturn is like the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps going and going.

I own one and love it, not for its looks performance or comfort, but its fuel economy!...

All these cars are good for is running around town and driving in winter, as they are sooo cheap and sooo ugly that you don't care if you crash them.