Comments: 1-15, 16-28
I bought this car new and have had it for five years. From the very beginning, it has been a poorly made heap.
Little things have gone wrong with it right from the beginning. For example, the interior light will not turn on unless you bang the ceiling (this has been true from about 5000 miles!) Not a big deal, unless you want to sell the car and people wonder what else might be wrong with the wiring!
At about 8000 miles the rubber lining of the front doors fell off and had to be replaced.
At about 50,000 the transmission started "slipping" (when you put it in reverse, it takes about 3 to 5 seconds to respond). This transmission problem still exists today at 95,000 miles, because I have never wanted to drop the $2500 to get it fixed!!
The lumbar support also broke many miles ago.
In general, I feel that the car is a piece of plastic that easily falls apart. I am VERY disappointed with my Saturn, and I would never buy one again under any circumstances. I have tried to sell it three different times, under Blue Book value, and was never successful. So I believe the resale value is very low as well!
In addition, my experiences with the Saturn dealership have been terrible. They have been so rude to me that I actually went to the trouble of complaining to national Saturn, only to be told that they are independent dealerships and it's not their problem.
The only good thing I can say about it is that it is comfortable to ride in and drive.
I bought a new 1994 Saturn SL2 and have noted some serious flaws with both this car and Saturn Dealerships.
During the warranty period all of the window motors have been replaced. They continue to break after warranty, but now I pay for the replacements.
At about 34,000 miles the transmission started acting up (taking 3 to 5 seconds to shift into reverse and then SLAMMING into gear with the car stopped). The dealership mechanics claimed not to be able to reproduce it while in warranty. Once out of warranty, 40,000 miles, the dealership mechanics diagnosed it and the repair would cost over $1,000.
During the first brake job (approximately 50,000 miles) one dealership insisted the rotors needed to be replaced before they even inspected them. Their rational was that the Saturn Factory recommends replacing the rotors when you replace the pads. I balked and went to another dealership who told me the Saturn Factory recommends NOT replacing the rotors when you replace the pads. Finally, I called the Saturn Factory and was told the Factory never makes recommendations to the dealerships because they are independently owned and are free to recommend whatever they want.
These cars have some serious flaws in addition to the ones already mentioned. Leaking sun-roof which the dealership can't seem to fix. Consistently needs a new alternator about every 2 years/18,000 miles and the dealership says this is normal.
I now have over 180,000 miles on my Saturn and the transmission is only now starting to show signs of impending failure. Certainly not the most sturdy of cars.
I would never buy another one.
A little harsh, but I have had similar problems. The dome light works intermittently. Had a motor mount replaced under warranty. Exhaust system had to be repaired under warranty, starting to leak again. Battery leaked after 3 years. I have the manual transmission which has been OK, makes the car enjoyable to drive. Wind noise is still a problem after having almost all the weather stripping replaced. Overall a very average car, pretty typical of north American built cars. OK, but fit and finish really lacking. Affordable transportation, but lots of little problems can make it frustrating to own.
I bought a 1998 SL-1 as in early 99. Basically, its been an average car. The exhaust has always had a slight backfire, due to unburnt fuel in the converter, the door weatherstripping does not fit well, the throw-out bearing went out at 60,000 miles, requiring a whole new clutch job, and the instrument odometer light has burned out. It does get excellent mileage, very easy on tires and brakes (back brakes at 93,000 miles are still original) ; and the paint looks like new. However, its uncomfortable to drive for ling distances and hard to get into. For what I paid for the car, it was worth it. But the resale value is also very poor.
Never buying Saturn again. Will hopefully trade it in for something more reliable like Toyota when it's paid off in September.
(A) I'm honestly glad that my Saturn SC2 (1998) isn't the only one that slips when it goes into reverse. I've had many garages look at the car, but they can't find anything to fix. I thought as long as it worked, I would just keep driving it, expecting the transmission to go out at any time...
(B) But, most recently my moon roof/sun roof won't shut completely. The snow storm just leaked so much water into the ceiling of my car! I moved it in my garage and am afraid to drive in any weather that has precipitation. The fabric on the roof of the car is now discolored from the leak...
(C) And, the main interior light has never worked. If you smack that part of the roof, it flickers, but that's about it.
I had one mechanic tell me that Saturns are essentially disposable cars - they are built to "last" roughly until the warranty runs out and after that it is hit or miss whether they work or not.
The thing I find audacious is that Saturn now wants to go more upscale with more expensive models. This totally goes against its original philosophy (good bang for the buck and quality service/reliability) and will alienate its core market.
I'm guessing it is one of the divisions that will ultimately be eliminated like Oldsmobile and Geo.
Purchased a 1998 Saturn SL-1 12/12/97 -- been driving it for 9-and-a-half years. Total of 173,000 miles as of today.
All the problems I see listed here I have also experienced: the dome light went out some time in early 1998; the transmission has slammed into gear on a regular basis since around the 40,000-mile mark (summer 1999). I have not had this fixed since it's a MAJOR expense; Now the tranny is very sluggish from 1st to 2nd gear when I first drive it in the morning (it's summer, it's Louisiana, it's not cold!) ; Just spent $762 to "replace some wires and coils" after the engine would die while driving at full speed, then it wouldn't re-start.. left me stranded on a busy country highway with NO emergency lanes.
Oh yeah, I had to replace a tensioner for the drive belt after I got stranded 100 miles from home in late 2004.
So more than 9 years, 173,000-plus miles, and I'm ready to trade. I know I won't get ANYTHING for the car.
I just want to warn people that at least in my case, the car isn't going to last much past 150,000 miles. Even with regular maintenance. I've been gently babying the thing the last two years.
I'm considering a new VUE... but those Altimas I see at the dealership down the road sure look inviting...
I have a 1997 Saturn SC2 (auto transmission), bought with 80,000+ miles. It's now at 98,000+ and just started with the same transmission problems as everyone else is describing. It harshly slams into reverse when the car is completely stopped, and it feels like the transmission is going to break as it shifts from 1st to 2nd. Luckily, if you ease off the gas right as it is about to shift, you can bypass the harsh shifting.
Mechanic #1 quoted me $1,370 for a transmission installation from an '01 SC2
Mechanic #2 quoted me $1,200 to rebuild mine, or $600 to replace just the valve body. Both quotes in Niagara Falls, NY.
Based on similar problems from other people on here, I'm surprised I JUST started having this issue at almost 100,000 miles. The previous owner seemed to keep up on all it's maintenance. Thanks Saturn.
I have a 98 SC2 that I bought a year ago. It's transmission has the problem described of the car slamming when going to reverse. I've found that if you put the car in park and step off of the brake it will change with no problem. You only need to be in park for a second.
I have a 95 Saturn SC2 with auto trans. Has a rebuilt engine with less than 40K.
Just like everyone else, I am having a hard shift problem. My girlfriends previous SL2 had the problem with it "slamming" into reverse. My car does this no matter what the gear.
I was told by one technician that if you can disconnect a wire going to the trans (torque converter?) that this might be a temporary fix. Haven't tried that because I really need this car to make it to work.
Still, if Saturn is going to compete in the auto market, I suggest finding a new transmission vendor. I actually love the car when it's working right, but it kicks like a mule now.
You guys need to find a dealership that knows what they are doing. The harsh shift in all gears is a line pressure solenoid problem. This can be fixed in about 1.5hrs. The solenoid is about $65 new. The dome light "problems" the bulb is loose pull the light spread the prongs so it makes better contact. The harsh shift in reverse is a valve body issue due to lack of maintenance. Tranny fluid should be changed every 30,000 miles "read the manual". I have 97 SL1 that has 355,000 maintained correctly and has not had these problems.
It called "preventative maintenance". It is to "prevent" big problems.
I own a 1998 Saturn SL2. It now has 129,000 miles and I'm not having any trouble with the tranny because I have religiously changed the fluid every 30,000 miles and made sure to use fluid and filter at the Saturn Dealer, around $40 for the products. I do the service myself, not hard with a good CHILTON Manual.
Problems I have had are the dome light lens has broken off, but the light still works.
Tensioner pully broken twice. Again fixed myself.
General maintenance after that, belt, hoses, radiator at 115,000 miles, front struts, nothing that can't be explained by mileage.
I really don't regret buying the car. A lot of problems can be avoided by simply following the maintenance schedule in the owners manual.
I have a 1994 Saturn SL2 which has a leak in the roof causing the whole area near the gear shift mechanism and carpet below on the driver's side to become wet. I took the car to several places, and then to a sunroof repair shop. The shop owner checked to see if the water vents in the sunroof were working. There are four vents under the sunroof, just little holes, which vent water down through the car and onto the street. These vents were put in by Saturn to deter water from building up under the sunroof.
The sunroof seems to fit fine, and I don't think the seal is the problem because the sunroof man stated that the two front water vents were blocked. The back water vents were fine, and when he poured a little water in each of them, the water came out in front of the back wheels on each side, thus those vents were clear.
The problem is that when you try to clear the front vents, they dogleg to the left and follow the contours of the car and I believe they vent the water just behind the backs of the front wheels. So the problem is, how to open the water vents.
I purchased the care in yr 2000 and have not used the sunroof at all. Recently the car started leaking water into the front driver's side seat and onto the floor, and the upholstery has now pulled from the top of the car and is falling down.
When I opened the sunroof to show the sunroof man what the area under the opened sunroof looked, we found a lot of rust debris near where the mechanism to lift the sunroof was. The iron work used to raise the sunroof has flaked off due to rusting from unvented water sitting under the sunroof.
I actually thought of getting a plumber to unplug the block, but because of the dogleg, this won't work. In the meantime, I am constantly looking at the sky. It has rained for three days here, and I haven't been able to use my car during that time... The car only has 139,000 miles on it and still has some life in it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I own a small dealership and work with a LOT of Saturns. One of my customers has purchased three from me; the oldest is a 97 with 270,000 miles on it and still going strong.
As for tranny shift problems on automatics, changing the valve body will usually cure the reverse clunk problem. The valve body is relatively easily accessed by removing the battery and its holder and then removing the transmission cover. A transmission supply shop can supply a rebuilt valve body for somewhere around $300 or less. It's not difficult to install. If the tranny thunks in all gears, then as stated above, it's likely the line pressure solenoid, which is inside the valve body. You can replace the entire valve body or just the solenoid if you want to open the valve body. Before doing anything, though, you should check the line pressure fuses in the fuse box under the hood. These will cause a similar thunk (usually in reverse and 2nd gears).
I own a 1998 Saturn SL2 and it has about 218,000 miles on it and it runs great the only problems I have with it is a small oil leak and the dome light, also the light that shines on my speedometer. It runs great and sounds great.
I own a 1994 SL1 with 135,000 miles on it. Have had to install 2 alternators over 14 years and had the brakes done about 2 years ago. I am now looking at having to replace the clutch which is very expensive but since it has been so reliable otherwise, it's a good investment and I hope it'll last many more years. Haven't heard great things about reliability in the newer Saturn models at all so I am not sure if I would buy another one today. I NEVER use Saturn dealerships- only local mechanics that I have built a relationship with.